Shi Hui. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-34). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Contents / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.4 / Chapter 3 --- Theoretical Model and Predictions --- p.7 / Chapter 4 --- Hypotheses Development / Chapter 5 --- Research Methodology / Chapter 5.1 --- Data --- p.15 / Chapter 5.2 --- Variables --- p.16 / Chapter 5.3 --- Regression Models --- p.18 / Chapter 6 --- Empirical Results --- p.21 / Chapter 6.1 --- Individual Housework Time / Chapter 6.2 --- Housework Allocation Within a Family / Chapter 7 --- Conclusion --- p.27 / References --- p.31 / Tables --- p.35

Through the Smart Metering Initiative in the Canadian province of Ontario, all residential electricity customers will be converted from a tiered rate regime to a time-of-use (TOU) rate regime by the year 2010. Although TOU rates are designed to be cost-neutral for the average consumer, research suggests that TOU rates may affect consumers differently depending on their socioeconomic characteristics. In an effort to better understand the effects of TOU rates on lower-income and senior-headed households, a case-study in Milton was conducted between June and December of 2007. The overarching thesis question is: What are the behavioural responses to, and financial impacts of, TOU electricity rates on lower-income and senior-headed households? Nine expert interviews were conducted with Ontario professionals working in government, environmental non-profit groups, citizen advocacy organizations and affordable housing associations in order to provide context for the study. Time-differentiated electricity consumption data were then collected from 199 households from two senior housing complexes and two affordable housing complexes in Milton, Ontario between June and December 2007. A questionnaire was also sent to each household to determine some socio-economic and structural characteristics of the households. The electricity consumption data collected from the four sites suggest that the households would not benefit financially from TOU rates given electricity consumption behaviour during the period prior to the implementation of TOU rates in June 2007. Thus, they would have to change their behaviour in order to benefit financially from TOU rates. During this pre-TOU period, Site A, Site B and Site C would have paid more, on average, for their electricity under TOU rates than on tiered rates ($0.34, $0.61 and $0.15 per week, respectively). While Site D, on average, would have seen no change under TOU rates. A conservation effect was detected by comparing the electricity consumption from billing periods in 2006 to corresponding billing periods in 2007 after the implementation of TOU rates. Site A saw a conservation effect during the first corresponding billing period (35%); while Site B saw a conservation effect for three corresponding billing periods (21%, 24% and 9%). Site C saw a conservation effect for the first five corresponding billing periods (ranging from 8% to 21%), while Site D saw a conservation effect for all corresponding billing periods (ranging from 10% to 34%). The presence of a conservation effect at Site D was unexpected, particularly because households at Site D are not responsible for paying their own electricity bills. Although a conservation effect was observed after the implementation of TOU rates, the extent to which it could be attributed to the implementation of TOU rates is unclear, and should be investigated further. There was no considerable shift in the proportion of electricity consumed during each of the peak periods during the summer TOU period for Site A and Site D after the introduction of TOU rates. There was, however, a slight reduction in the portion of electricity consumed during the summer TOU period for Site B and Site C (0.2% and 0.1% per week, respectively). Due to the change in the on-, mid- and off-peak schedule from the summer TOU period to the winter TOU period, the households consume more electricity during the off-peak periods in the winter than they do during the off-peak periods in the summer (even though their patterns of consumption do not change). Similar to the pre-TOU period, during the summer post-TOU period, Site A and Site B, and Site C, on average, paid more for electricity (commodity) under TOU rates than they would have paid if they had continued on tiered rates ($0.38, $0.51 and $0.16 more per week, respectively), while Site D would have seen no change in their electricity costs. In contrast, during the winter post-TOU period several sites paid less for electricity on TOU rates than they would have if they had continued on tiered rates. Site B, Site C and Site D paid, on average, $0.78, $0.16 and $1.76 less per week, respectively. Although Site A paid more under on TOU rates during the winter post-TOU (on average $0.18 more per week), the cost was less than during the summer post-TOU period. The change in costs expressed here does not reflect any reduced costs that may have resulted from conservation. For example, if the households were shown to have a conservation effect, they might have lower electricity costs. Additionally, the changes in costs do not reflect any additional fees or charges that might be attributed to the smart meter installation and the Smart Metering Initiative (e.g., additional fees from Milton Hydro). In conclusion, TOU rates appear to be ineffective at motivating these lower-income and senior-headed households in Milton, Ontario to shift electricity from on-peak periods to off-peak periods, however, a reduction in electricity usage may be attributed to TOU rates. Further research is required to confirm these effects. It is important to note that some of the lower-income and senior-headed households in this study appeared to see an increase in their electricity bill, particularly during the summer TOU period. Lower-income and senior-headed households are thought to be less able to shift electricity consumption, therefore it is important to develop mechanisms to identify households that are at risk of bill increases.

Through the Smart Metering Initiative in the Canadian province of Ontario, all residential electricity customers will be converted from a tiered rate regime to a time-of-use (TOU) rate regime by the year 2010. Although TOU rates are designed to be cost-neutral for the average consumer, research suggests that TOU rates may affect consumers differently depending on their socioeconomic characteristics. In an effort to better understand the effects of TOU rates on lower-income and senior-headed households, a case-study in Milton was conducted between June and December of 2007. The overarching thesis question is: What are the behavioural responses to, and financial impacts of, TOU electricity rates on lower-income and senior-headed households? Nine expert interviews were conducted with Ontario professionals working in government, environmental non-profit groups, citizen advocacy organizations and affordable housing associations in order to provide context for the study. Time-differentiated electricity consumption data were then collected from 199 households from two senior housing complexes and two affordable housing complexes in Milton, Ontario between June and December 2007. A questionnaire was also sent to each household to determine some socio-economic and structural characteristics of the households. The electricity consumption data collected from the four sites suggest that the households would not benefit financially from TOU rates given electricity consumption behaviour during the period prior to the implementation of TOU rates in June 2007. Thus, they would have to change their behaviour in order to benefit financially from TOU rates. During this pre-TOU period, Site A, Site B and Site C would have paid more, on average, for their electricity under TOU rates than on tiered rates ($0.34, $0.61 and $0.15 per week, respectively). While Site D, on average, would have seen no change under TOU rates. A conservation effect was detected by comparing the electricity consumption from billing periods in 2006 to corresponding billing periods in 2007 after the implementation of TOU rates. Site A saw a conservation effect during the first corresponding billing period (35%); while Site B saw a conservation effect for three corresponding billing periods (21%, 24% and 9%). Site C saw a conservation effect for the first five corresponding billing periods (ranging from 8% to 21%), while Site D saw a conservation effect for all corresponding billing periods (ranging from 10% to 34%). The presence of a conservation effect at Site D was unexpected, particularly because households at Site D are not responsible for paying their own electricity bills. Although a conservation effect was observed after the implementation of TOU rates, the extent to which it could be attributed to the implementation of TOU rates is unclear, and should be investigated further. There was no considerable shift in the proportion of electricity consumed during each of the peak periods during the summer TOU period for Site A and Site D after the introduction of TOU rates. There was, however, a slight reduction in the portion of electricity consumed during the summer TOU period for Site B and Site C (0.2% and 0.1% per week, respectively). Due to the change in the on-, mid- and off-peak schedule from the summer TOU period to the winter TOU period, the households consume more electricity during the off-peak periods in the winter than they do during the off-peak periods in the summer (even though their patterns of consumption do not change). Similar to the pre-TOU period, during the summer post-TOU period, Site A and Site B, and Site C, on average, paid more for electricity (commodity) under TOU rates than they would have paid if they had continued on tiered rates ($0.38, $0.51 and $0.16 more per week, respectively), while Site D would have seen no change in their electricity costs. In contrast, during the winter post-TOU period several sites paid less for electricity on TOU rates than they would have if they had continued on tiered rates. Site B, Site C and Site D paid, on average, $0.78, $0.16 and $1.76 less per week, respectively. Although Site A paid more under on TOU rates during the winter post-TOU (on average $0.18 more per week), the cost was less than during the summer post-TOU period. The change in costs expressed here does not reflect any reduced costs that may have resulted from conservation. For example, if the households were shown to have a conservation effect, they might have lower electricity costs. Additionally, the changes in costs do not reflect any additional fees or charges that might be attributed to the smart meter installation and the Smart Metering Initiative (e.g., additional fees from Milton Hydro). In conclusion, TOU rates appear to be ineffective at motivating these lower-income and senior-headed households in Milton, Ontario to shift electricity from on-peak periods to off-peak periods, however, a reduction in electricity usage may be attributed to TOU rates. Further research is required to confirm these effects. It is important to note that some of the lower-income and senior-headed households in this study appeared to see an increase in their electricity bill, particularly during the summer TOU period. Lower-income and senior-headed households are thought to be less able to shift electricity consumption, therefore it is important to develop mechanisms to identify households that are at risk of bill increases.

In this study, a household resilience score was developed as a measure of rural household resilience to identify households with low resilience and to measure progress towards improved household resilience. Resilience is the ability of households to cope with risk. The motivation for the study originated from the first objective of the Framework of African Food Security (FAFS) of improved household risk management, and the indicator of progress towards this objective – proposed by the FAFS - a resilience score. A review of the literature indicated that the assets owned by a household could be used as a proxy for resilience. The household component of the Demographic and Health Surveys for six African countries was used to develop and apply the resilience score. The score was estimated using an index of assets owned by the household and information regarding household access to certain services and characteristics of the dwelling. There is disagreement in the literature concerning the best method of constructing an asset index in terms of how to weight the variables included in the index. As a result, four methods of constructing an index of socio-economic status (SES) were selected for comparison in this study: two linear principal component analysis (PCA) techniques; a non-linear or categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) method; and a simple sum of assets technique. The results from the application of each of the four indices to the country data and the resulting classification of households into quintiles of SES were compared across several assessment criteria. No single method out-performed the others across all the assessment criteria. However, the CATPCA method performed better in terms of the proportion of variance explained by the first principal component and the stability of the solution. The results showed that for all methods, SES was not evenly distributed across the sample populations for the countries analysed. This violates the assumption of uniformity implied when using quintiles as classification cut-off points. As an alternate to the quintile split cluster analysis was applied to the SES scores derived for each country. The classification of households into SES groups was repeated using k-means cluster analysis of the household SES scores estimated by the CATPCA method for each country. The results showed that a greater proportion of households fell into relatively lower levels of SES, which is in contrast to the assumption of uniformity of SES made when using the quintile cut-off approach. Cluster analysis better reflected the clustered nature of the household data analysed in this study, compared to the quintile cut-off method. In a final analysis, the index of SES along with k-means cluster analysis was applied to household data from two different time periods for five African countries to determine whether the resilience measure was able to detect changes in household SES between the two periods and, therefore, whether the tool could be used to monitor changes in household resilience over time. The results showed evidence of adjustments in SES over time: there were differences in the per cent of households allocated to the clusters of SES between the two periods. Using the CATPCA index and k-means cluster analysis, Egypt, Uganda and Mali showed an increase in the per cent of 'poor' households, while for Kenya and Tanzania there was a reduction in the per cent of households allocated to the first cluster between time periods: the decrease for Kenya from 2003 to 2008 was as much as 13 percentage points. The observed changes in SES were then compared to changes in national poverty estimates reported in the literature. The resilience score developed in the study displayed an ability to track changes in household SES over time and could be used as a measure of progress towards improved household resilience. As such, the resilience measure could be valuable to policy-makers for monitoring the impacts of policies aimed at improving household resilience. Future research is recommended before the reliability of the resilience measure developed here can be fully ascertained. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to regionalize the final consumption expenditure of households, general government and also non-profit organisations serving households. It is necessary to search for suitable regionalisation keys (weights) for each of consumption expenditure of all three sectors mentioned above. With these keys it is then possible to divide the national value (taken from national accounts) into the regions. The national values are regionalised to NUTS 3 level (14 regions called "kraj" in the Czech Republic). In the thesis obtained results are also assessed from the regional point of view. Further, the potential alternative indicators are being discussed, that are not possible to use now, but could be a good aim for further research in this topic.

Studien ämnar att tillgängliggöra kunskap om svenska hushålls konsumtionsbeteenden i en ekonomiskt svår tid; en tid präglad av hög inflation och höga elpriser. Kunskap och förståelse för svenska hushålls konsumtionsbeteenden är en avgörande faktor för att Sverige ska nå uppställda klimatmål – genom träffsäkra policyer och utveckling av klimatsmarta verktyg.   Genom en litteraturstudie, enkätundersökning samt semi-strukturerade intervjuer har detta utretts och av detta framgår att majoriteten av svenska hushåll har minskat sin elkonsumtion utan att uppfatta att denna förändring har en stor påverkan på livskvalitet. Det framgår även att 59% hushåll som minskat sin elkonsumtion inte uppskattar att deras elkonsumtion kommer att återgå till högre nivåer i det fall då priserna sjunker. Det kartläggs även att det bland svenska hushåll råder en hög kunskapsnivå som är en avgörande faktor för att medvetenheten även ska mynna ut i träffsäkra energieffektiviserings- och besparingsåtgärder. / This study aims to increase knowledge about the electricity consumption patterns observed in Swedish households during economically challenging times, characterised by inflation and high electricity prices. Knowledge and understanding of Swedish households' consumption patterns is a crucial factor in increasing Sweden’s ability to reach set climate goals – through accurate policies and through development of climate-smart tools.  Through a literature study, a survey, and semi-structured interviews, this has been investigated and it appears that a majority of Swedish households have reduced their electricity consumption without perceiving their applied changes as having a major impact on their quality of life. It is also observed that 59% of the households that have reduced their electricity consumption do not estimate that their electricity consumption will return to higher levels in the event that electricity prices were to decrease. This study also shows that there is a high level of knowledge among Swedish households, which is a decisive factor for the awareness to also result in accurate energy efficiency and saving measures.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The present study chiefly aimed to explore, identify and clarify the role that familial capabilities, characteristics and resources (collectively referred to as resilience factors) play in cushioning the impact of relocation on the family unit and assisting the family to recover from this crisis. The study emanates from the salutogenic paradigm, focusing on resilience, rather than mere pathology. The main theoretical basis of this investigation resides in the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & Thompson, 1991). The study claims distinction in terms of its amalgamation of a combined cross-sectional survey research design and qualitative analysis in identifying and describing the critical familial resilience factors. Self-report questionnaires were completed by either a parent (husband or wife) or by both a parent and an adolescent child as representatives of the family. A total of sixty-eight families completed the questionnaires, including an open-ended question. The results identified (i) traits and abilities of individual family members, (ii) the family system’s internal resources and support, (iii) familial integration and stability, (iv) the family unit’s utilisation of their internal strengths and durability to manage problems outside of their boundaries, (v) social support, as well as (vi) a passive appraisal coping style amidst the crisis, as important resilience-enhancing resources. It is hoped that this information could be used to develop more effective, culture-bound therapeutic intervention programmes that may prevent problems, foster family resilience and affirm the reparative potential of families. In so doing, South African families in need may be supported, strengthened and empowered. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie ondersoek is gefokus op die identifikasie en beskrywing van gesinsvermoëns, eienskappe en hulpbronne (waarna gesamentlik verwys word as veerkragtigheidsfaktore) wat meewerk om die impak van hervestiging op die gesinseenheid te demp en bystand te lewer aan die gesin om van hierdie krisis te herstel. Die studie is gedoen vanuit die salutogeniese paradigma en plaas klem op veerkragtigheid, eerder as op patologie. McCubbin en Thompson (1991) se “Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation” is benut as teoretiese basis. ’n Dwarssnit opname-navorsingsontwerp is gebruik om kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe data te versamel en te ontleed in die identifisering en beskrywing van kritiese gesinsveerkragtigheidsfaktore. Selfrapporteringsvraelyste is voltooi deur òf ’n ouer (man of vrou) òf ’n ouer en adolessente kind, as verteenwoordigers van die gesin. Verteenwoordigers van 68 gesinne het vraelyste sowel as ‘n oop vraag voltooi. Die resultate dui op (i) trekke en vermoëns van individuele gesinslede, (ii) die gesinsisteem se interne hulpbronne en ondersteuning, (iii) gesinsintegrasie en stabiliteit, (iv) die gesinseenheid se benutting van hul interne sterkpunte en duursaamheid om probleme buite die gesinsgrense te hanteer, (v) sosiale ondersteuning, sowel as (vi) ’n passiewe waarderingshanteringstyl temidde van die krisis, as belangrike veerkragtigheidskenmerke. Hierdie bevindinge kan gebruik word om meer effektiewe, kultuurgebonde terapeutiese intervensieprogramme te ontwikkel, wat probleme voorkom, gesinsveerkragtigheid fasiliteer en die herstellende potensiaal van gesinne bevestig. Op dié manier, kan gesinne wat hulle moet hervestig, ondersteun, versterk en bemagtig word.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Microinsurance services have been operating in Ghana for the last decade, but the question whether they have enhanced the welfare of low-income households, mostly in the informal sector, is largely unresearched. In particular the study asks: does microinsurance improve the welfare of households through asset retention, consumption smoothing and inequality reduction? This question has been examined through the use of the 2010 FINSCOPE survey which contains in-depth information on 3 642 households across the rural and urban settings of the country. In order to control for selection bias and endogeneity bias, Heckman sample selection, instrumental variable and treatment effect models were employed for the evaluation. The results of the assessment have been compiled into four empirical essays. The first essay investigates the impact of microinsurance on household asset accumulation. The findings show that microinsurance has a positive welfare impact in terms of household asset accumulation. This suggests that microinsurance prevents asset pawning and liquidation of essential household assets at ‘give away’ prices. By absorbing the risk of low-income households, insurance equips them to cope effectively with risk, empowers them to escape poverty and sustains the welfare gains achieved. The second essay examines the impact of microinsurance on consumption smoothing. It delves into the capacity of microinsurance to enable households to avoid costly risk-coping methods which are detrimental to health and well-being. The results reveal that insured households are less likely to reduce the daily intake of meals, which is an indication that microinsurance is a better option for managing consumption smoothing among low-income households. The third essay investigates the effect of microinsurance on households’ asset inequality. The findings indicate that the asset inequality of insured households is less than that of uninsured households. Insured female-headed households have much lower asset inequality than male-headed households, but uninsured female-headed households are worse off than both uninsured and insured male-headed households. The regional trend reveals that developmental gaps impede the capacity of microinsurance to bridge the asset inequality gap. The fourth essay asks: Does microcredit improve the well-being of low-income households in the absence of microinsurance? The findings show a weak influence of microcredit on household welfare. However households using microcredit in combination with microinsurance derive significant gains in terms of welfare improvement. Microcredit may be good, but its real benefits to the poor is best realised if the poverty trapping risks are covered with microinsurance. To this extent, combining microcredit with microinsurance will empower the poor to make a sustainable exit from poverty. The findings of this thesis have pertinent policy implications for the government, the development community and stakeholders in the insurance industry. Microinsurance is a good instrument for improving the welfare of households and thus this research recommends its integration into the poverty reduction strategy of Ghana and a greater insurance inclusion for the lower end of the market.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A high savings culture is important for sustainable economic development of any country. Whilst Botswana has one of the highest gross national savings in sub-Saharan Africa, the same cannot be said regarding household savings. Household savings in Botswana have grown at a very slow pace between 2003 and 2012, a worrisome trend given the importance of savings. The main objective of the research assignment was to determine the factors that influence households saving behaviour in Botswana. A probit econometric model was used to find out what factors influence households to choose to save and which ones influence them not to save. Saving behaviour was measured by whether an individual has saved money with a financial institution within the past 12 months. The individual characteristics that were modelled for influence on households saving behaviour were age, income level, education level, gender, formal credit, informal credit, insurance and property ownership. The results indicated that, as suggested by theory and empirical evidence, age, income level and education level have a positive and significant influence on households saving behaviour, whereas, also in line with theory, formal and informal credit and insurance have a negative and significant influence on households saving behaviour. Being female also has a negative but insignificant influence on households saving behaviour. Contrary to expectations, property ownership, which was used as proxy for non-financial assets, has a positive influence on household saving behaviour, although the influence is not significant.

Poverty has been a challenge for many years and continues to exist in many parts of the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. In many countries, poverty reduction programmes remain the main preoccupation in economic policies. Poverty is not gender neutral, as women tend to be more likely exposed to poverty because of their restricted access to labour and other markets and their general lower level of education than men. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between gender and poverty in a South African township of Kwakwatsi. The study used the Lived Poverty Index (LPI) as a measurement of poverty to analyse the extent and level of access to basic necessities among inhabitants of Kwakwatsi. The major focus of this study was on comparing the poverty status between female-headed and male-headed households. It was also important to investigate the relationship between poverty status and demographic and socio-economic variables. A literature review of poverty indicates a multidimensional concept, with a need to be untangled from different perspectives. Poverty includes lack of factors such as food, income, sanitation facilities, shelter, health care, safe drinking water, education and information. The empirical portion of the study was based on data from a survey questionnaire with a sample of 225 households selected randomly from Kwakwatsi Township in April 2013. Various quantitative methods, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), descriptive analysis (such as means core, cross tabulation and frequency tables) and regression analysis, were used to identify the level of access to basic necessities and how this access is influenced by identified demographic and socioeconomic variables among both female-headed and male-headed households. The LPI was used to assess people’s ability to secure income, food, fuel for cooking, electricity, clean water for home use and access to medicines and medical treatment. PCA indicated that all six items of basic necessities could be loaded into one component of LPI, indicating that the measure was adequate for the study. Households headed by females seemed to be poorer (53.62%) than those headed by males (45.51%), implying that female-headed households appeared more likely to experience the lack of basic necessities than male-headed households. Access to basic necessities such as medicines or medical treatment, water, electricity and fuel. The relationship between gender and poverty in a South African township for cooking have an effect on the quality of life. Access to medicines and medical treatment remains a lingering challenge for the inhabitants of Kwakwatsi, especially in female-headed households. Regarding the employment status of the participants, the unemployment rate of the head was found to be slightly higher for male heads than female heads, but the total number of employed people within a household was found to be less in households headed by females compare to those headed by males. The average total income in female-headed households was found to be lower than that of male-headed households. To add to this, a high number of female heads work in the informal sector, with low wages and poor working conditions. This was found to be associated with a higher level of illiteracy among female household heads, thus making it difficult for them to compete in the formal labour market. Deprivation levels were seen to decrease with the number of employed persons in female-headed households, while this was the opposite in male-headed households. The number of household members was found to increase with the poverty level in female-headed households, while there was no effect among male-headed households. Married male household heads were found to have less access to basic necessities than unmarried ones, while the relationship was the opposite where female married household heads appeared to have less access to basic necessities than those who are not married. Overall, descriptive analysis revealed that female-headed households tend to be deprived from stable and sustainable access to basic necessities. The results of the regression analysis showed that the number of household members who are employed, household head’s income and other income of the household are significant predictors of poverty in Kwakwatsi. The study recommends that the gender gap in income can be alleviated by empowering women labourers through collective action and increase of vocational education and training for better skills. There is a need for using public works programmes efficiently in order to address the problem of low income in the area. Furthermore, the importance of the informal sectors of the economy, especially in low income areas, should be acknowledged because it seems to be an important source of income for the residents of Kwakwatsi. Finally, there is a need to improve primary health care provision for the township of Kwakwatsi. The relationship between gender and poverty in a South African township / MCom (Economics), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014