Mich., Univ. of Michigan, Diss.--Ann Arbor, 2003. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich. - Enth 3 Beitr.

NJ, Univ., Dep. of Economics, Diss.--Princeton, 2005. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich. - Enth. 3 Beitr.

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As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age in the coming decades, American metropolitan areas face the serious problem of an increased demand for supportive services. This situation is complicated by the fact that many of the elderly will have limited financial resources, leading to a growing number of seniors struggling with poverty and financial insecurity. At the same time, federal funding for social services is shrinking, and local organizations will play a key role in supporting the low-income elderly in American metropolitan areas. The concept of social resilience offers a useful starting point for understanding the mechanisms that hinder or enable local communities and individuals, in order to recognize and cope with the slow, continuous changes that these demographic changes present. A resilient metropolitan area is one in which markets, local political structures, communities, and individuals continually adapt to changing conditions. This research focuses on the adaptive resilience of the Phoenix metropolitan area through the ability of systems to support low-income seniors to age in place, independently, for as long as possible. Phoenix is an attractive retirement location, and the case study aims to understand if and how the metropolitan area is preparing for the impending demographic changes, viewed as a lasting disturbance. The research uses a descriptive quantitative approach based on triangulation of an online survey of local governments, expert interviews with representatives of local organizations working with the aging population, and document analysis. The major findings for the research period from 2012 to 2014 show that local level actors of public and nonprofit sectors demonstrated involvement in the network of support for the aging population, where nonprofit actors are mainly dependent on the decisions and funding of the public sector and rely increasingly on volunteer support. The current study found that only a few of the participating actors from the public sector expressed clear recognition of the extent of financial insecurity among seniors. Research also revealed an understanding of poverty as predominantly focusing on the personal faults of members of society, which does not require any proactive action from the government. The existing network of services is targeted to reactive support services, which promotes individual resilience and responsibilization. Community services, which can provide prolonged independent aging in place, are less developed or in the early stages of development; operation of these services anticipates significant involvement of volunteers as well. Funding shortages challenge the ability of the public and nonprofit sectors to maintain the existing level of support services for a growing population, and actors need to compensate through local partnerships and innovations. From a theoretical perspective, the research results show that adaptation to the growing number of aging people is emerging in the Phoenix metropolitan area, while financial insecurity is widely considered the personal responsibility of seniors. A reliance on public engagement also refers to individual resilience and can be seen as the next step of a responsibilization process in American society. Thus, the role of individual resilience is growing in American society compared to the role of social or community resilience. A balance should be found that recognizes the power of and limits to both individual and social resilience in creating a social realm that benefits all citizens.

Economic growth alone may not solve the problem of poverty. Our behavioral analyses reveal that human capital is one of the key forces of reducing poverty and promoting economic growth. However, one''s human capital accumulation is restricted by his personal lifetime funds. Then the efficiency of national funds allocation in China is investigated. Results show that an equal allocation of national funds should be adopted by Chinese government, with which the economy can develop in a way both fast and just.:Acknowledgements IV Short Table of Contents VI List of Figures XI List of Tables XIII List of Abbreviations XIV List of Used Symbols XV 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 Important Concepts 2 1.2.1 Poverty 2 1.2.2 Absolute Poverty and Relative Poverty 3 1.2.3 The Household Responsibility System (HRS) 7 1.3 The Plan and Novelty of theWork 9 2 The Efforts, Features, and Problems of the Reduction of Peasants’ Poverty in the Past Three Decades in China 11 2.1 How Did the Problem of Peasants’ Poverty Originate and Evolve? 11 2.2 China’s Poverty Reduction Efforts 15 2.2.1 Phase 1: Rural Reforms and the Implementation of the HRS 15 2.2.2 Phase 2: County-Based Poverty Reduction during 1986-1993 16 2.2.3 Phase 3: The 8-7 Poverty Reduction Plan during 1994-2000 18 2.2.4 Phase 4: The New Century Rural Poverty Alleviation Plan for 2001-2010 19 2.3 Features of the Peasants’ Poverty Reduction 20 2.3.1 The Overall Achievement Is Remarkable 20 2.3.2 The Decline in the Incidence of Poverty Was Uneven 23 2.3.3 The Role of Human Capital Is Crucial in Income Generating 25 2.3.4 Migration Is a Path out of Poverty, But it Is Restricted by many Factors 26 2.4 Existing Problems in China’s Poverty Reduction Course 31 2.4.1 The Total Funds for Poverty Alleviation Programs Are Insufficient 31 2.4.2 The Official Poverty Line Is Too Low to Reflect the Real Situation of Peasants’ Poverty 33 2.4.3 The Overall Economic Growth Has Become Less Responsive to Poverty Reduction 35 2.4.4 Vulnerability to Poverty Extensively Exists 36 3 Literature Review on the Peasants’ Economic Behaviour 39 3.1 About the Rationality of Peasants 39 3.2 The Economic Behavior of Chinese Peasants before the Land Collectivization Movement in the Late 1950s 43 3.3 The Economic Behavior of Peasants after 1978 under the HRS and the “Hukou” System 45 4 The Job Choice and Land Rent Determination 47 4.1 Assumptions 47 4.2 The Job Choice 48 4.3 The Land Rent Determination and the Corresponding Optimal Farm Scale 50 4.4 The Empirical Evidence 54 4.4.1 Evidence for Proposition 1 55 4.4.2 Evidence for Proposition 2 56 4.4.3 A Case of the Land Rental Activities in L village 61 4.4.4 Summary 64 5 The Human Capital Accumulation 65 5.1 Introduction 65 5.2 The Basic Model 70 5.3 An Extension to the Case of an Imperfect Capital Market 77 5.4 Summary 79 6 The Rural-Urban Migration 81 6.1 A Review of Todaro’s Work 81 6.2 A Review of the Harris-Todaro Model 88 6.3 Remarks on the Above Models 95 6.4 Our Model 96 6.5 Empirical Evidence 101 6.6 Conclusions 102 7 The National Funds Allocation Efficiency in China 103 7.1 Introduction 103 7.2 Literature Review 106 7.3 Possible Relations between the Expected PLE and the PLF 109 7.3 Empirical Analysis 115 7.3.1 The Trends of Per-Capita Income of Urban and Rural Residents 115 7.3.2 The Trends of Per-Capita Earnings of Urban and Rural Residents 117 7.3.3 The Trends of Per-Capita Non-Earning Income of Urban and Rural Residents 118 7.3.4 An Estimate for the Relationship between the Expected PLE and PLF in China 120 7.4 Concluding Remarks 122 8 Review and Conclusions 123 8.1 Review 123 8.2 Conclusions 125 8.3 Suggestions to Further Research 125 Appendix 127 References 132

Jakob Vetter zeigt in seiner Untersuchung zu ‚Fortes fortuna adjuvat‘: Armut, Risikodenken und Männlichkeitskonstruktionen in Christian Gotthilf Salzmanns Roman Carl von Carlsberg (1783-1788), dass die Wahrnehmung des sozialen Phänomens Armut vor allem über normative geschlechtsspezifische Narrative strukturiert wird und der bürgerlich geprägte abendländische Armutsdiskurs im späten 18. Jahrhundert primär um die Frage kreist, ob und wie Armut durch individuelle Entscheidungen verhindert oder behoben werden kann. Diese Armutsnarrative sind dabei stark geschlechtlich codiert. Der im Zentrum der Analyse stehende Roman Salzmanns wurde zeitgenössisch zwar breit rezipiert, ist von der Forschung aber stark vernachlässigt worden. In seiner Analyse des in seiner Gestaltung und generischen Hybridität nach wie vor einzigartigen Romans arbeitet Jakob Vetter die bemerkenswerte literarische Umsetzung von spätaufklärerischen Armutsnarrativen heraus und weist eine hochsignifikante Brüchigkeit und Widersprüchlichkeit nach.

German text / In dieser Studie wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob der Jakobusbrief den Weg zum vollkommenen Glauben zeigt. Dazu wird zunächst die Berechtigung einer solchen Fragestellung anhand der neueren Forschung aufgezeigt. Dann werden in knapper Form allgemeine Fragen zum Jakobusbrief behandelt, bevor die beiden Zentralbegriffe dieser Studie untersucht werden: Glaube und vollkommen. Um eine inhaltliche Definition dieser Begriffe im Jakobusbrief geben zu können, wird zunächst dargelegt, welche sprachlichen bzw. inhaltlichen Kontexte in der damaligen Zeit gegeben waren und den Schreiber des Jakobusbriefes beeinflusst haben könnten. Die so gewonnenen Ergebnisse fließen sodann in die Untersuchung von Jakobus 2 ein. Dabei werden unter Berücksichtigung des rhetorischen Aufbaus, der sprachlichen Besonderheiten und der kulturellen Gegebenheiten die Verse Jakobus 2:1-13 und 2:14-26 untersucht. Hierbei ist das Beispiel von Abrahams Glauben in Jakobus 2:22 von besonderer Bedeutung. Abschließend wird eine Antwort auf die eingangs aufgeworfene Frage gegeben. / This thesis examines whether and in what way the Epistle of James shows the way to perfect faith. A detailed survey of research indicates that this is an important and relevant question that has, as yet, not been adequately examined. General questions about the Epistle of James are addressed before a detailed analysis of the central terminology of this study, the language of faith and of perfection. Assessment of this terminology requires an understanding of which linguistic and other contexts were prevalent at the time of writing and how these may have influenced the author. The results of these analyses are included in a detailed exegesis of James 2:1-26 (which constitutes the main part of the thesis). Close attention is paid to the rhetorical structure, the linguistic features and the cultural background of the passage. This thesis argues that the example of Abraham’s faith in James 2:22 is of special significance in the argumentation of the letter and in the quest for perfect faith. The conclusion confirms the notion that the Letter of James makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of faith and its perfection. This thesis also draws out certain implications for New Testament theology, the contemporary church and society at large. / New Testament / M. Th. (New Testament)

Die Wahrnehmung der Kinderarmut in Kamerunischen Familien in Berlin Laut Professor Thomas Pogge ist die Armut eine Frage der Gerechtigkeit. So stellt Kinderarmut ein mehrdimensionales Phänomen dar. Aber die Kinderarmut wird in der kamerunischen Kultur nicht wahrgenommen, denn das Kind ist ein Symbol des Reichtums für kamerunische Familien, und die kamerunische Eltern in Berlin versuchen ihre Kinder durch ihre afrikanischen Netzwerke mit ihren eigenen kulturellen Werten großzuziehen. Durch ein Empirisches Vorgehen sind vier kamerunischen Familien in Berlin untersucht worden, und es hat sich erwiesen, dass die untersuchten Eltern in Berlin sich nicht vorstellen konnten, dass eine Kinderreiche Familie in Armutsgefahr sich verrät. Je mehr Kinder man hat, umso reicher fühlt man sich. Kamerunische Sprachen sind untersucht worden, mit dem Beschluss, dass der Begriff „Kinderarmut“ existiert in keinen von den untersuchten Sprachen. Der kamerunische Autor Simplice Kitleur Lekoumo argumentiert in 2007, dass die Armut des Haushalts mit der Armut jedes einzelnen Kindes nichts zu tun hat. Die Eltern können Beispielweise materiell arm sein, aber durch die Solidarität zwischen Familienmitglieder können die Kinder eine Ausbildung bekommen. Diese Denkweise wird von kamerunischen Familien in Berlin auch so erlebt und sie bekommen auch wesentlich mehr Kinder im Vergleich von deutschen Verhältnisse. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung haben auch festgestellt, dass die Kinder eine ganz andere Wahrnehmung der Armut haben als ihre Eltern, und dies prägt ihre „Capabilities“ unterschiedlich. Die Kraft und die Motivation, um von ihrem Leben das Beste daraus zu machen, die diese Kinder von zu Hause gut gebrauchen können, haben sie meistens durch ihre verschiedenen Freundschaften in Berlin und dadurch entwickeln sie sonderliche Fähigkeiten wie hervorragende deutsche Sprachkenntnisse, und sehr gute soziale Netzwerke. / Why should the perception of child poverty in Cameroonian families in Germany be analysed? This is a question we had to deal with all through this research phase. Why does it matter to take time trying to understand how Cameroonian people perceive child poverty and how it can impacts the Capabilities of their children in the German setting? Although the concept of poverty may seem obvious, experiencing it is a different story because of the way people perceive it. An interesting point in Cameroonian families in Berlin is that the concept of child poverty does not exist in their cultural background based on their languages. This is because children are viewed as their wealth. This study is an investigation of the Cameroonian perception of child poverty in Berlin and the application of the Capability Approach on it. The aim is to find out according to this, the future life opportunities of children with Cameroonian background in Germany. The concern in this study is to give this particular migrant group in Berlin the opportunity to express themselves on their opinion of child poverty in connection to opportunities their children are likely to have for their future in Germany. The choice of the perception of child poverty in Cameroonian households in Berlin is guided by several factors. First of all, Cameroonian migrants in Berlin leave their home country for the long term to a better life in Germany. It is therefore interesting to analyse their perception of child poverty in the new life setting. The second step is to analyse and establish if their particular perception of child poverty impacts their children´s capabilities. Thirdly, the German population is ageing and reproducing less children than before, meaning that children with migrant background will play a central role in the future German society.

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