Existing gender inequality is believed to be heightened as a result of weather events and climate-related disasters that are likely to become more common in the future. We show that an already marginalized group-female-headed households in South Africa-is differentially affected by relatively modest levels of variation in rainfall, which households experience on a year-to-year basis. Data from three waves of the National Income Dynamics Survey in South Africa allow us to follow incomes of 4,162 households from 2006 to 2012. By observing how household income is affected by variation in rainfall relative to what is normally experienced during the rainy season in each district, our study employs a series of naturally occurring experiments that allow us to identify causal effects. We find that households where a single head can be identified based on residency or work status are more vulnerable to climate variability than households headed by two adults. Single male-headed households are more vulnerable because of lower initial earnings and, to a lesser extent, other household characteristics that contribute to economic disadvantages. However, this can only explain some of the differential vulnerability of female-headed households. This suggests that there are traits specific to female-headed households, such as limited access to protective social networks or other coping strategies, which makes this an important dimension of marginalization to consider for further research and policy in South Africa and other national contexts. Households headed by widows, never-married women, and women with a non-resident spouse (e.g., "left-behind" migrant households) are particularly vulnerable. We find vulnerable households only in districts where rainfall has a large effect on agricultural yields, and female-headed households remain vulnerable when accounting for dynamic impacts of rainfall on income.

The purpose of this essay was to study some selected magazine articles by examining how the concept of child poverty is produced in the public debate, and to see if the definition of the term has changed over time. The theoretical approach on which this study is based has been used as a tool to provide better understanding on the subject. Furthermore, theories of consumer society, the "collateral damage" and the theory of welfare regimes have been used. In the previous research presented in the paper focuses on linking children and families living in precarious economic conditions, consumer standards and welfare systems that characterize society. This study has a qualitative approach as it attempts to capture and increase understanding of how the concept of child poverty can be understood from a Swedish context. The study is based on newspaper articles that are studied using a structural text analysis. Consequently, the analysis is divided into three themes, the first is the role of children in the family, and the second are political decisions and welfare role of the state and the third theme is the importance of the charity. Finally, the study's results indicate that the definition of child poverty has changed over time and also that the child has received more attention in the public debate. / Syftet med denna studie var att genom några valda tidningsartiklar undersöka hur begreppet barnfattigdom framställs i den offentliga debatten, samt att se ifall definitionen av begreppet har förändrats över tid. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna som denna studie bygger på har använts som verktyg för att ge ökad förståelse kring ämnet. Vidare har teorier om konsumtionssamhället, "collateral damage" samt teorin om välfärdsstatsregimer använts. I den tidigare forskningen som presenteras i uppsatsen ligger fokus på att länka samman barn och familjer som lever under knappa ekonomiska förhållanden med konsumtionsnormer och de välfärdssystem som präglar samhället.  Denna undersökning har kvalitativ ansats då den försöker fånga samt öka förståelsen kring hur begreppet barnfattigdom kan förstås utifrån en svensk kontext. Studiens datamaterial baseras på tidningsartiklar som undersökts med hjälp av en strukturell textanalys. Följaktligen är analysen uppdelad på tre teman, varav det första är barnens roll i familjen, de andra är politiska beslut och välfärdsstatens roll och det tredje välgörenhetsorganisationers betydelse. Avslutningsvis visar studiens resultat på att definitionen av barnfattigdom har förändrats över tid och även att barnet har fått ett större utrymme i den offentliga debatten.

Economic growth in emerging economies has been changing the livelihoods of many smallholders. Typically, disparity increases as economies emerge, and the agricultural sector experiences lower growth relative to other sectors. Growing inequalities and economic vulnerabilities during this critical period of development in emerging economies are often associated with social problems and political tensions, as this is the case in Thailand. In the latter, the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy (SE) has been employed through the monarchy in a number of ways. Due to laws prohibiting critique of the monarchy, these projects are not fairly evaluated and the perspectives of smallholders affected are largely unknown. Knowledge on the effectiveness of Thailand’s Philosophy of SE in combating the disparity problem and economic vulnerability in the agricultural sectors of emerging economies was gained through semi-structured interviews. An organic farming project run by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), called ISAC follows the principles of Sufficiency Economy, and is located in the Mae Taeng district in the north of the province of Chiang Mai. A sample of 20 farmers from two villages (Don Chiang and San Pa Yang) who participate in the project was interviewed. Questions regarding age and education level of all family members also created a quantitative sample of 72 individuals. An epistemological framework based in critical realism was employed with the use of purposive interview sampling methods Results indicate that employing SE can help a select group of farmers to escape economic vulnerability. This group includes farmers in an older age group with sufficient land and access to guidance. The philosophy may help keep this group of farmers satisfied as the countries economy evolves. The project appears to be sustainable only in the short-term as younger generations seem to be reaching higher levels of education than their elders and are likely to pursue lives outside of agriculture. In addition, some benefits of farming with the principles of SE include, lower financial stress, improved health, and a better family life. Conversely, a decision to live by the principles of SE can lead to a stigmatization of farmers within their community, creating in-groups and out-groups.

This independent project is about child poverty from a preschool teacher perspective. The aim of the study is to examine how a team of preschool teachers converse about the concept of child poverty, and how they discuss their professional role, in relation to children who live in economic vulnerability. Questions of the study are: What image of the concept of child poverty appears in the preschool teachers’ conversations? How do the preschool teachers regard their room for manoeuvre and their social responsibility, in relation to children who live in economical vulnerability? The results of the study were gathered through the method of focus group and the results processed through a qualitative content analysis. Conclusions show that the representation of child poverty that appears in the preschool teachers’ conversation, indicates that it is an invisible phenomenon that is hard to define, and that it strongly connects to expected feelings of shame among children and parents. This representation is setting the frame of how the preschool teachers regard their room for manoeuvre and their social responsibility. Foremost they express difficulties in supporting the economically vulnerable children and their families in a way that is non demonstrative and in the same time retains a relation of confidence to the parents. / Detta examensarbete handlar om barnfattigdom ur ett förskollärarperspektiv. Syftet för studien är att undersöka hur ett arbetslag av förskollärare samtalar om begreppet barnfattigdom, och hur de diskuterar sin professionella roll, i relation till barn som lever i ekonomisk utsatthet. Studiens frågeställningar är: Vilken bild av begreppet barnfattigdom framträder i förskollärarnas samtal? Hur ser förskollärarna på sitt handlingsutrymme och sociala ansvar, i relation till barn som lever i ekonomisk utsatthet? Studiens resultat samlades in genom metoden fokusgrupp, och resultatet bearbetades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Slutsatserna visar att den bild av barnfattigdom, som framträder i förskollärarnas samtal, indikerar att det är ett svårdefinierat och osynligt fenomen, som starkt kopplas till förväntade skamkänslor hos barn och föräldrar. Denna bild sätter sedan ramarna för hur förskollärarna ser på sitt handlingsutrymme och sociala ansvar. Framförallt uttrycker de en svårighet i att kunna stödja de ekonomiskt utsatta barnen och deras familjer på ett sätt, som inte är utpekande och som samtidigt bevarar en förtroendefull relation till föräldrarna.

Economic growth in emerging economies has been changing the livelihoods of many smallholders. Typically, disparity increases as economies emerge, and the agricultural sector experiences lower growth relative to other sectors. Growing inequalities and economic vulnerabilities during this critical period of development in emerging economies are often associated with social problems and political tensions, as this is the case in Thailand. In the latter, the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy (SE) has been employed through the monarchy in a number of ways. Due to laws prohibiting critique of the monarchy, these projects are not fairly evaluated and the perspectives of smallholders affected are largely unknown. Knowledge on the effectiveness of Thailand’s Philosophy of SE in combating the disparity problem and economic vulnerability in the agricultural sectors of emerging economies was gained through semi-structured interviews. An organic farming project run by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), called ISAC follows the principles of Sufficiency Economy, and is located in the Mae Taeng district in the north of the province of Chiang Mai. A sample of 20 farmers from two villages (Don Chiang and San Pa Yang) who participate in the project was interviewed. Questions regarding age and education level of all family members also created a quantitative sample of 72 individuals. An epistemological framework based in critical realism was employed with the use of purposive interview sampling methods Results indicate that employing SE can help a select group of farmers to escape economic vulnerability. This group includes farmers in an older age group with sufficient land and access to guidance. The philosophy may help keep this group of farmers satisfied as the countries economy evolves. The project appears to be sustainable only in the short-term as younger generations seem to be reaching higher levels of education than their elders and are likely to pursue lives outside of agriculture. In addition, some benefits of farming with the principles of SE include, lower financial stress, improved health, and a better family life. Conversely, a decision to live by the principles of SE can lead to a stigmatization of farmers within their community, creating in-groups and out-groups.

Arbetets utgångspunkt är att göra en jämförelse mellan hur förutsättningar i ett socioekonomiskt svagt och ett socioekonomiskt starkare område påverkar fältarbete riktat mot ungdomar. Bakgrunden till studien är bristen på tidigare forskning och det kunskapsglapp som finns om fenomenet. Studien baseras på kvalitativ metod med empiriskt material hämtat från intervjuer. Hermeneutiskt perspektiv används som analysverktyg. Informanter från två olika fältverksamheter i områden med olika socioekonomiska förutsättningar intervjuades. Arbetets syfte är att besvara frågeställningarna: Vilka skillnader och likheter finns mellan verksamheterna gällande metoder och förhållningssätt? Hur arbetar fältverksamheten med ungdomsproblematik i området? Påverkar områdets socioekonomiska förutsättningar verksamhetens arbetssätt? Resultatet av studien visar att skillnader finns mellan de undersökta verksamheterna vilka kan kopplas till områdenas socioekonomiska status. Samband kan urskiljas mellan ett områdes socioekonomiska status, ungdomsproblematik och fältverksamheternas metoder och förhållningssätt. Däremot är det svårt att dra konkreta slutsatser eftersom flera faktorer kan påverka samtliga delar. Vidare kan ses att stort behov finns att utveckla forskning inom området och att kunskap om fältarbete sprids. / The starting point is to make a comparison between how conditions in a socio-economically weak and a socio-economically stronger area affects fieldwork targeting youths. The background of the study is the lack of previous research and the lack of knowledge about the phenomenon. The study is based on a qualitative method with empirical material collected from interviews. Hermeneutic perspective is used as the analysis tool. Informants from two different field activities in areas with different socio-economic conditions were interviewed. The purpose of the work is to answer the questions: What are the differences and similarities between the two field-groups in terms of methods and attitudes? How does the different fieldgroups work with youth issues in the area? Do the area's socio-economic conditions affect the way field-groups work? The results of the study show that there are differences between the investigated activities which can be linked to the areas' socio-economic status. Connections can be distinguished between an area's socio-economic status, youth issues and the methods and attitudes the fieldworkers use. However, it is difficult to draw concrete conclusions because several factors can affect all parts. Furthermore, it can be seen that there is a great need to develop research in the field and that knowledge about field work is spread.

L'objet de la thèse est d'étudier le lien entre les différents volets de la vulnérabilité économique, définie selon les termes de Guillaumont, et le niveau d'Investissement Direct Etranger (IDE). Plus précisément, l'objectif des papiers présentés dans la thèse s'articule selon la logique suivante. Tout d'abord, il s'agit de déceler dans le cadre du premier papier les différentes formes de vulnérabilité qui affectent le niveau d'IDE. Dans un second temps, notre analyse se focalise sur le lien avec les traités d'investissements et étudie comment ces traités modifient la relation IDE - Vulnérabilité. Dans un troisième temps, notre focus concerne l'étroite relation qui existe entre l'aide au développement et les IDE, afin de préciser dans quelles mesures l'Aide et les IDE sont intimement liés. Finalement, nous abordons un spectre plus large en étudiant non plus seulement l'investissement mais aussi l'économie en général, avec un travail sur l'influence de l'incertitude de la politique économique sur les variables macroéconomiques. / The aim of the thesis is to analyze to what extent Economic Vulnerability, defined by Guillaumont, affects Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). More precisely, various papers in the thesis follow the current logic. First, It is important to unveil the relationship between various components of economic vulnerability affecting the level of FDI. Second, our analysis focus on how investment treaties modify the link FDI-Vulnerability. Third, focus on the close link between FDI and Official Development Assistance. Finally, We assess a larger spectrum by taking into account how uncertainty resulting from economic policy could affect macroeconomic aggregates.

ABSTRACT Poverty, and in particular child poverty, is a serious social problem. Statistics show that the number of children living in poverty has increased over the last ten years. Earlier research shows that there are huge gaps in our knowledge of how the actors in civil society handle child poverty. With this study we hope to help fill this gap. The aim of our study is to look at how four different organisations working in the civil society in Uppsala perceive and handle child poverty. We have chosen to conduct an empirical study of fieldwork interviews. Our informants were selected from organisations in the municipality of Uppsala that were known to us as working with children's needs.   The results show that our informants consider child poverty an overly narrow and one-sided concept and rather see child poverty as a multifaceted social phenomenon. They view poverty as not only a matter of lack of economic resources but also as other welfare deficits – a view which agrees with previous research (Bitterman and Franzén 2008:243). All our informants express and, to a great extent, practice a children's rights perspective (Archard 2009). They construct children as citizens and bearers of rights, with the idea that adults have a common responsibility to supply for children’s needs of care and participation. None of the four organisations have a family poverty approach to the children. Instead they view children as unique individuals with their own needs beyond the family. The selection process is based on trust. There is no means test or strict investigation though the concept of need is an important criterion. All our informants’ organisations position themselves as something other than social services. They see their role as a complement to social services and public welfare. None of our informants express any desire to replace it.   Key Words: child poverty, economic vulnerability, civil society, voluntary work, child rights perspective.

Salonen (2012a) skriver att Sverige är ett av världens rikaste länder där välståndet har ökat. I samma veva som välståndet har ökat har även klyftorna mellan rika och fattiga ökat och därmed har siffran gällande barnfattigdom stigit (Salonen 2012a). Syftet med studien är att undersöka och beskriva hur fem aktörer inom den ideella sektorn definierar begreppet barnfattigdom. Målet är att identifiera och förstå hur organisationer arbetar med att förbättra barnens livssituation. Våra tre forskningsfrågor är: Hur definierar aktörerna barnfattigdom i sin yrkesroll? Vilka problem kring barnfattigdom har aktörerna identifierat? Hur beskriver aktörerna sitt arbete mot barnfattigdom och på vilket sätt kan de förbättra sitt arbete? Vi har valt att använda oss av empowerment teorin för att våra informanter beskriver att deras arbete till mycket handlar om att stödja och stärka individer som lever i en utsatt situation. Genom detta arbete försöker man skapa en grund för barnens rätt att delta på samma villkor. Den andra teorin vi har valt är organisationsteori som beskriver att organisationer anpassar sig utifrån det omgivningen behöver och intresset av ömsesidiga och kulturella band mellan organisation och omgivning är centralt. Vi har utgått från en kvalitativ vetenskaplig metod där studien är uppbyggd på en empirisk studie grundad på intervjuer. Intervjuerna gjordes med tio informanter från organisationerna: Rädda Barnen, Majblomman, Svenska kyrkan, Frälsningsarmén och Stadsmissionen. Frågorna utgick ifrån vilken uppfattning de har kring barnfattigdom i Stockholm och hur deras arbete och problemidentifiering kring barfattigdom såg ut. Resultatet från vår studie visar att informanterna upplever att barnfattigdom finns i Stockholm, men dem definierar det på olika sätt. Alla våra informanter upplever många gånger samma problem kring barnfattigdom. De berättar att det finns olika problemområden och lyfter fram den problematik de själva har sett. Våra informanter berättar främst om det utanförskap som uppstår, vidare berättar de även om andra problemområden inom barnfattigdom. De lyfter fram att flera organisationer måste arbeta med påtryckningar och opinionsbildning för att påverka dagens politiker och göra allmänheten medvetna om barnfattigdomen i Sverige. / Salonen (2012a) writes that Sweden is one of the richest countries where the wealth has increased. In the same time while prosperity has increased, the gap between rich and poor people has increased and the figure of child poverty has risen. The study aims to explore and describe how five actors in the nonprofit sector define the definition of child poverty and to identify and understand how organizations are working to improve children's lives. Our three research questions are: How do the actors define child poverty as professionals? What problems around child poverty have the actors identified? How do they describe the work against child poverty and how can they work to improve their work against child poverty? We have chosen to use the theory of empowerment because our informants describe their work about supporting individuals living in a vulnerable situation and are working to enable children to participate on an equal basis by strengthening children. The second theory we have chosen is the organizational theory that describes that the organizations adapt, based on the needs and environment of mutual interest and cultural ties between organization and environment. We have used a qualitative research method in which the study has been based on an empirical study, based on interviews. Our interviews were conducted with ten informants from the organizations: Save the Children, Mayflower, Swedish Church, the Salvation Army and the City Mission. The questions were based on what perception they have about child poverty in Stockholm and how their work and problem identification around child poverty looked like. The result of our study shows that respondents perceive the fact that there exists child poverty in Stockholm, but the definitions vary. Many times all of our informants see the same problems around child poverty. They tell us that there are various problem areas and highlight the problems they have seen themselves. All of our informants tell us about the alienation that occurs, further they explain the other areas of concern about child poverty. They also told us that more organizations need to work with pressure and advocacy to influence today's politicians and make an awareness of child poverty in Sweden.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’approfondir l’analyse des conditions d’émergence et d’incidence de la corruption dans le monde. Nous y soulignons une dimension importante mais jusque-La peu documentée des activités de corruption, à savoir, leur contribution aux stratégies informelles d’adaptation et de gestion du risque mises en place par les agents économiques pour se protéger contre l’instabilité de leur revenu. Le premier chapitre propose un état des lieux de la recherche sur les définitions, les mesures, les typologies et les déterminants de la corruption. Dans le deuxième chapitre, les méthodes usuelles de calcul de l’instabilité macroéconomique sont expliquées, sont appliquées aux données sur les recettes d'exportation d’un échantillon de pays développes et en développement, et sont comparées entre elles. Le troisième chapitre présente et analyse une base de données rétrospectives sur l’Indice de Vulnérabilité Économique, reflétant le risque pour un pays de voir son développement entravé par des chocs naturels et des chocs d’exportations, que nous avons calculé pour un échantillon de 128 pays en développement et couvrant la période 1975- 2008. Dans le quatrième chapitre, nous analysons les effets de l’instabilité des exportations sur la corruption dans les pays développés et en développement. Ces effets sont décomposés en un effet ex post, résultant de l’expérience des agents économiques de l’instabilité des exportations, et un effet ex ante, résultant de leur perception de cette dernière. Nous testons empiriquement ces effets sur les perceptions de la corruption et sur les pots-De-Vin payés par les entreprises. Nous mettons en évidence des effets robustes, significatifs et non linéaires, dont le signe dépend de la fréquence et de la taille des chocs d’exportations. Nos résultats suggèrent également que la contrainte de liquidité est un canal transmission clé de ces effets: lorsque la contrainte de liquidité est forte l’instabilité des exportations aggrave l’incidence à la corruption, alors qu’elle la réduit lorsque cette contrainte se relâche. Ainsi, en l’absence d’État et de marches financiers capables d’atténuer les effets de l’instabilité sur les performances économiques et le bien-Être, il est probable que les agents économiques aient recours à la corruption pour se protéger contre les fluctuations économiques. / This thesis is an attempt to improve the understanding of the causes of corruption emergence and incidence around the world. It highlights an undocumented feature of corrupt transactions, that is, their contribution to informal risk-Coping and risk-Management mechanisms used by economic agents to protect against income fluctuations. We propose in a first introductory chapter a general state of art of researches on corruption definitions, measurements, typologies and determinants. In chapter two, we explain, apply and compare standard methods of computing instability indicators, using export revenue data from sample of developed and developing countries. In chapter three, we build a retrospective Economic Vulnerability Index – i.e. an index reflecting the risk for a country of seeing its development hampered by natural and trade shocks – for a sample of 128 developing countries over 1975-2008. In chapter 4, we analyse the effect of export instability on corruption in developed and developing countries. This effect is decomposed into an ex post effect, resulting from agents’ experience of export instability, and an ex ante effect, resulting from their perception of export instability. We test empirically these effects using data on corruption perceptions and on firms’ bribe payments. We find robust, significant and nonlinear ex post and ex ante effects of instability on corruption, and stress that their direction strongly depends on the frequency and size of export fluctuations. We show that the liquidity constraint is a key channel for these effects: when the liquidity constraint hardens, instability is found to foster corruption; while when it softens, instability is found to reduce it. Thus, corrupt strategies may act as a substitute for financial market imperfections and a low state capacity for mitigating the consequences of economic fluctuations on welfare.