Recent literature shows that income diversification is an important strategy for rural households to manage drought risk in arid and semiarid regions. This article examines whether income diversification can help rural households to overcome the adverse impact of drought in Northern China. Based on field interview data from 291 rural households in 13 townships of Northern China, we found that r...

The main purpose of this study was to investigate effect of access to health facilities on the health status of rural households at Kermanshah Province. Statistical pupation of this study consisted of all heads of rural households at Bisotoun district in Harsin Township, Kermanshah Province, Iran (N=1020), that 278 of them were selected by the cluster random sampling method. The main instrument...

BACKGROUND Burning biomass fuels indoors for cooking is associated with high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO). More efficient biomass-burning stoves and chimneys for ventilation have been proposed as solutions to reduce indoor pollution. We sought to quantify indoor PM and CO exposures in urban and rural households and determine factors associated with higher e...

Internationally a debate on the distributional impact of energy taxation has focused on the tax burden relative to income. The general conclusion is that taxes are regressive, but at a varying degree for different countries. This study examines the relationship between location, income, heating technology characteristics, and the energy tax that the households pay. The paper aims at identifying...

Th e article investigates the consequences of credit constraints on rural household consumption in China. Based on a unique rural fi nance and consumption survey, the authors fi rst identify the credit constraint status of rural households from formal fi nancial institutions. Th en, they apply an endogenous switching regression model to compare the consumption responses to household production ...

This paper surveys the status of food security in the South Asian countries, particularly India. Particular attention has been paid to small landholders (those households owning less than 2 hectares of land). Using NSS data from 1993–94 and 2004–05 the paper shows that small landholders are an increasing proportion of i) total rural households, ii) rural households who are poor, and iii) rural ...

Ð Analysis of rural households and environmental resources is beset by inadequate data, especially in Africa. Using purpose-collected panel data from Zimbabwe, we demonstrate seven empirical regularities in the rural poverty-environment relationship. Most important, environmental resources make a signi®cant contribution to average rural incomes. Poorer households also depend heavily on these re...

The increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Rwanda – along with the devastating effects of the genocide of 1994 – means that many rural households face extreme stress. Since 90 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, the consequences should be reflected in agricultural production. This research evaluates differences between households directly affected by HIV/AIDS and other illnesses ...