Faculty Publications
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Item Can rural livelihood programs enhance capabilities and reduce vulnerability to poverty? Evidence from a tribal region of eastern India(Elsevier B.V., 2023) Khosla, S.; Jena, P.R.; Rahut, D.B.Quantitative evidence on the impact of social protection such as livelihood programs (LPs) on reducing vulnerability to poverty (VtP) is scant. Therefore, this paper aims to estimate VtP and the ability of LPs to reduce it. The analysis is based on the primary data collected in 2018–19 from 479 households in a tribal region of eastern India. First, household VtP was estimated using the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method. Households were categorized into four groups based on their current and predicted future poverty status: chronic poor, transient poor, escaped poverty, and non-poor. Second, factors influencing this movement of households from current to future poverty states were determined using multinomial logistic regression. Third, the impact of the LP on VtP was investigated using the endogenous switching regression (ESR) approach. The FGLS estimates show that 34.7% of households are vulnerable to future poverty, which exceeds the actual poverty rate of 28.6%. The major factors responsible for exacerbating chronic poverty and causing transient poverty are chronic illness, climate shocks, and the sale of assets. The ESR results indicate that a household's VtP is reduced by 3% for those that participate in LPs. Although the LP evaluated in this study has an average positive impact in reducing vulnerability, there is wide heterogeneity among the beneficiaries as the geographically disadvantaged communities lag behind the others. Therefore, the study suggests strengthening such LPs with a particular focus on disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. © 2022 Economic Society of Australia, QueenslandItem Can farmers with higher capabilities fend off falling into future Poverty? Empirical evidence from a tribal region in eastern India(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Jena, P.R.; Khosla, S.; Rahut, D.B.The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 (no poverty), targets those individuals who are below the poverty line and those who are vulnerable to falling below the poverty line (VtP). Farmers are more VtP due to limited resilience capacity against the covariate and idiosyncratic shocks. However, literature on farmers’ VtP and their capabilities to mitigate the adverse effects of shocks is relatively scant. Thus, this study aims to examine if higher capabilities lead to less VtP. Using a survey dataset from 222 farm households in rural eastern India, this study first estimated VtP by employing the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) approach. Secondly, it used a counting approach and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method to examine the relationship between the capabilities of households and their VtP. The FGLS results show that about 50% of households are VtP, which exceeds the actual poverty rate of about 36%. The counting approach results show that households with higher capabilities are less VtP. The PSM results indicate that a household's VtP is reduced by 27–37% for those with higher capabilities. Thus, the policy targeting the household below poverty line and also VtP would significantly reduce poverty and contribute to achieving SDG1. This would involve identifying and targeting households most in need of assistance such as households with low income, lack of education, and limited access to resources. This study also suggests increasing the resilience capabilities of households by providing job skill training, diversifying income portfolios, insurance coverage, and social safety nets. © 2023 Elsevier LtdItem Can a Universal Public Health Insurance Policy Dent Vulnerability to Poverty? Empirical Evidence from Rural India(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2024) Khosla, S.; Jena, P.R.Idiosyncratic shocks, mainly health shocks, are common among rural households in developing countries, and as a result, many non-poor households fall into poverty and poor households remain poor. This study investigates the impact of a universal public health insurance policy, namely Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), on household vulnerability to poverty (VtP) in rural India. Using 17,468 national-level household data, household VtP has been estimated using feasible generalised least squares (FGLS), and the impact of a health insurance policy on household VtP has been investigated using propensity score matching (PSM) and endogenous switching regression (ESR). FGLS estimates show that VtP is found to be 33 per cent compared to a currently classified poverty headcount rate of 27 per cent. PSM and ESR results indicate that access to RSBY significantly reduces household VtP, especially in less developed states. JEL codes: I00, I13, I15, I18, I30, I32, I38, I39 © 2025 SAGE Publications.