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Food Security, Gender, and Occupational Choice among Urban Low-Income Households

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  • Floro, Maria Sagrario
  • Bali Swain, Ranjula

Abstract

This paper examines an adaptive strategy using occupational choice that can be undertaken by household members in urban poor areas to help ensure their access to food. Our investigation focuses on self-employed women and men in 14 predominantly slum communities in Bolivia, Ecuador, Philippines, and Thailand. Results of our empirical analysis show that choice of business is associated with household vulnerability to food insecurity, with women in vulnerable households likely to engage in food enterprises. The findings suggest that urban low-income households can mitigate the risk of food shortage through the selection of an enterprise activity that earns money income and is a direct source of food for consumption.

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  • Floro, Maria Sagrario & Bali Swain, Ranjula, 2013. "Food Security, Gender, and Occupational Choice among Urban Low-Income Households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 89-99.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:42:y:2013:i:c:p:89-99
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.08.005
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    2. Muhammad Masood Azeem & Amin W. Mugera & Steven Schilizzi & Kadambot H. M. Siddique, 2017. "An Assessment of Vulnerability to Poverty in Punjab, Pakistan: Subjective Choices of Poverty Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 117-152, October.
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    5. Chandana Maitra & Sriram Shankar & D.S. Prasada Rao, 2016. "Income Poor or Calorie Poor? Who should get the Subsidy?," Discussion Papers Series 564, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    6. Rivaldo A. B. Kpadonou & Bruno Barbier & Tom Owiyo & Fatima Denton & Franck Rutabingwa, 2019. "Manure and adoption of modern seeds in cereal‐based systems in West African drylands: linkages and (non)complementarities," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(1), pages 41-55, February.
    7. Vicka Kharisma & Naoya Abe, 2020. "Food Insecurity and Associated Socioeconomic Factors: Application of Rasch and Binary Logistic Models with Household Survey Data in Three Megacities in Indonesia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 655-679, April.
    8. Lincove, Jane Arnold, 2015. "Improving Identification of Demand-Side Obstacles to Schooling: Findings from Revealed and Stated Preference Models in Two SSA Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 69-83.
    9. Vial, Virginie & Hanoteau, Julien, 2015. "Returns to Micro-Entrepreneurship in an Emerging Economy: A Quantile Study of Entrepreneurial Indonesian Households’ Welfare," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 142-157.
    10. Ranjula Bali Swain & Supriya Garikipati, 2019. "Microfinance in the Global South: Examining Evidence on Social Efficacy," Working Papers 201908, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    11. Leanne Roncolato & John Willoughby, 2017. "Job Quality Complexities," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 49(1), pages 30-53, March.
    12. Parikh, Priti & Fu, Kun & Parikh, Himanshu & McRobie, Allan & George, Gerard, 2015. "Infrastructure Provision, Gender, and Poverty in Indian Slums," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 468-486.
    13. C.W. Kalansooriya & W. G. V. Gunasekara & P. G. S. A. Jayarathne, 2020. "Food Security in Urban Households: The Role of Women in an Asian Context," Economy, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 7(1), pages 11-18.
    14. Azeem, Muhammad Masood & Mugera, Amin W. & Schilizzi, Steven, 2016. "Living on the edge: Household vulnerability to food-insecurity in the Punjab, Pakistan," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-13.
    15. Sara Stevano & Deborah Johnston & Emmanuel Codjoe, 2018. "Urban food security in the context of inequality and dietary change: a study of school children in Accra," Working Papers 20181804, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Bristol.
    16. Olga Gorelkina & Ioanna Grypari & Erin Hengel, 2019. "One strike and you’re out! The Master Lever’s effect on senatorial policy-making," Working Papers 201906, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    17. Radchenko, Natalia, 2014. "Heterogeneity in Informal Salaried Employment: Evidence from the Egyptian Labor Market Survey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 169-188.
    18. Supriya Garikipati & Rebecca J. Docherty & Penelope A. Phillips-Howard, 2019. "What’s the bleeding problem? Policy and attitudes towards sustainable menstrual hygiene materials in India," Working Papers 201907, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    19. repec:rom:campco:v:9:y:2013:i:1:p:113-126 is not listed on IDEAS

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