Spatial association network of economic resilience and its influencing factors: evidence from 31 Chinese provinces.

The spatial correlation pattern of economic resilience is an important proposition for China's sustainable economic development. This paper measures the economic resilience of 31 provinces in China from 2012 to 2020, and explores the spatial correlation of economic resilience from the overall, group and individual perspectives and its influencing factors. The results show that first, a tightly ordered hierarchy of economic resilience formed in each province of China after 2016. Among them, Jiangsu, Shandong, Guangdong, Hubei, and Shaanxi are the most important clustering points and radiation centers in the spatial correlation framework of economic resilience. Second, being adjacent to marginal and core provinces will maintain the province's centrality index category to the greatest extent, while being adjacent to sub-core and general provinces leads the province to gain more opportunities for upward transfer. Third, the essence of the interprovincial economic resilience subordination linkage in China is manifested in the aggregation of city clusters or economic circles. The northern economic resilience linkage system with the Bohai Rim as the core contains more provinces but is less stable. Provinces located in the Yangtze River Delta region are the opposite. Fourth, the proximity of geographical location and the difference in human capital level drive the formation of spatial association networks, while the difference in external openness and the difference in physical capital inhibit the formation of networks.

COVID-19 responses restricted abilities and aspirations for mobility and migration: insights from diverse cities in four continents.

Research on the impacts of COVID-19 on mobility has focused primarily on the increased health vulnerabilities of involuntary migrant and displaced populations. But virtually all migration flows have been truncated and altered because of reduced economic and mobility opportunities of migrants. Here we use a well-established framework of migration decision-making, whereby individual decisions combine the aspiration and ability to migrate, to explain how public responses to the COVID-19 pandemic alter migration patterns among urban populations across the world. The principal responses to COVID-19 pandemic that affected migration are: 1) through travel restrictions and border closures, 2) by affecting abilities to move through economic and other means, and 3) by affecting aspirations to move. Using in-depth qualitative data collected in six cities in four continents (Accra, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dhaka, Maputo, and Worcester), we explore how populations with diverse levels of education and occupations were affected in their current and future mobility decisions. We use data from interviews with sample of internal and international migrants and non-migrants during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic outbreak to identify the mechanisms through which the pandemic affected their mobility decisions. The results show common processes across the different geographical contexts: individuals perceived increased risks associated with further migration, which affected their migration aspirations, and had reduced abilities to migrate, all of which affected their migration decision-making processes. The results also reveal stark differences in perceived and experienced migration decision-making across precarious migrant groups compared to high-skilled and formally employed international migrants in all settings. This precarity of place is particularly evident in low-income marginalised populations.

Dimensions of wellbeing and recognitional justice of migrant workers during the COVID-19 lockdown in Kerala, India.

The lockdown of March 2020 in India witnessed one of the largest movements of migrants in the country. The state of Kerala was quick and efficient in responding to the challenges posed by the lockdown on its migrant population and in supporting its 'guest workers'. While many studies have researched the material resources of migrants during the pandemic, such as income and food, few have investigated the subjective measures and emphasised the lived experiences of migrant workers. Drawing on the Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD) approach which examines three dimensions of wellbeing, namely, (a) material, (b) relational and (c) subjective wellbeing, this article focuses on the mental health and wellbeing experiences of migrant workers during the first lockdown in Kerala. By deploying these wellbeing dimensions, the study looks at how migrant workers perceived and experienced the various interventions put in place by state and local governments, as well as voluntary initiatives aimed at supporting them. The study elaborates around migrants' relations of love, care, and trust, and their reasons to remain in Kerala or return home during the lockdown. The study found that a paradigm shift, where 'migrant workers' are becoming 'guest workers', was at the forefront of the captured narratives. The key findings in this way contribute to the understanding of migrants' lived experiences, wellbeing, and perceptions of the different lockdown interventions. We argue that an increased attention to subjective factors helps us understand migrant needs at times of crisis through their lived experiences and thereby enhances policy planning for disaster preparedness.

Well-being of artisanal fishing communities and children's engagement in fisheries amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: a case in Aklan, Philippines.

This study describes and explains the multifaceted effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-economic and psychosocial well-being of the artisanal fishing communities in Central Philippines. The state of child labour and their education amidst the COVID-19 lockdown were also explored. Four hundred artisanal fishing households, with 792 children, from the 10 coastal municipalities in Aklan province were surveyed in May-December 2020 through face-to-face household interviews. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened poverty in these highly vulnerable fishing communities primarily through severe disruptions in their fishing and marine tourism-related livelihoods. The proportion of households living below the Philippine poverty threshold of PHP12,030 (USD232.7) monthly for a family of five members increased from 78% pre-COVID to 91% peri-COVID. This economic impoverishment was more pronounced in larger families with limited income, as in the survey sites, where 41% of the households have more than five family members. Furthermore, 57% of the surveyed households believed that learning difficulty increased by 81% among children due to the blended online education modality. Amidst increased impoverishment, child labour intensified, and children stopped schooling. A significant decline in happiness index peri-COVID was also observed in the study sites indicating extreme socio-economic challenges. Contrary to expectations, however, interpersonal relations in most households improved, underscoring women's stabilising and nurturing role. This latter phenomenon signifies that cooperative and nurturing actor relationships can be generated even in a crisis. Policies that mainstreamed local communities' reproductive health, family planning, and programmes that diversify socio-economic, environmental, and technological assets must be renewed and promoted. The goal is to holistically improve human well-being by increasing or sustaining stocks of these assets to promote resilience and sustainability amidst crisis and complexity.

the disease of expertise

The Disease of Expertise, is a poem composed by poet, playwright, musician and researcherTawona Sitholé. Within the poem,Sitholé challenges the contemporary constructs of modernity, knowledge, and knowledge production in the scope of globalized economies. Utilizing Covid-19 and the corresponding global pandemic as a backdrop into the inquiry of knowledge, and economic development Sitholé incorporates his own lived experience and local knowledge to highlight contemporary issues relating to globalization, structural inequities, and questions of knowledge within the Global South.

In Between Escapade and Peril: The Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Returnees and Their Families

The outbreak of COVID-19 has damaged the world economy, resulting in the termination of thousands of jobs which affects migrants and their families who have both economic and other investments in migration. This article explores the experiences and challenges of Nepali migrant workers who returned from Malaysia and their wives who were left behind when they originally migrated. We discuss the aspirations of returnee workers, their life and experiences in Malaysia during the pandemic and their experiences of tackling the bureaucratic challenges of the return process in Malaysia and Nepal. We find that any problems in migration also affects those family members who are left behind and discuss the experiences of husbands affect migrants' wives, including their understanding of the foreign employment situation of the husbands and their involvement in different decisions related to foreign employment and the return of their husbands. The study follows a qualitative methodology. Phone interviews were conducted with ten returnee migrants from Malaysia and ten as well as three informants who have knowledge and experience of the sector. The article argues that both migrants and their family members face the consequences of any failures and challenges in migration and that policies should encourage joint discussion among governments of source and host countries on coping with the challenges of migration including in the context of a global pandemic.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Wives of Nepali Migrants and Future Foreign Employment Decision-making

With over 55% of households having labour migrants and over 25% of the GDP attributable to migrants' remittance, migration plays an important role in economic development of Nepal but also in overall wellbeing of the Nepali households. While there have been considerable studies on the impact of migration both from social and economic perspectives, little is known about how migrants and their households make decisions to migrate. Moreover, there is limited research on how crisis in destination countries affect migration decision-making among migrants and their left-behind household members. Taking the example of the current COVID-19 crisis, this article discusses the context within which people are taking migration decisions and how the experiences of crisis affects decision-making about pursuing foreign employment for people who have previous migration experience. This article discusses the experience of migrants' wives during the pandemic in relation to their husband's migration, alternative livelihood experience of migrants (returnees, those on a holiday and aspiring migrants) in the home country, impacts of COVID-19 ban on aspiring migrants, and aspiring migrants and their wives' perspectives towards future foreign employment. The article argues that given a high interest amongst the returnees and their spouses to work in Nepal, current employment programmes brought forward by the government should take the opportunity as a way of retaining the human resources in Nepal.

Measuring farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience in the context of poverty alleviation: a case study from Fugong County, China.

In recent years, the sustainable livelihood of farmers has been threatened by various events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly impacted efforts to alleviate poverty. Therefore, it is vitally important to increase farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience to enhance the stability and sustainability of poverty alleviation efforts. In this study, to scientifically measure and analyze farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience, we designed an analytical framework that captures the characteristics of farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience from the three dimensions of buffer capacity, self-organization capacity, and learning capacity. We then constructed an index system of farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience and a cloud-model-based multi-level fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. Finally, the coupling coordination degree and decision tree methods were used to identify the level of development and relationships among the three abovementioned dimensions of farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience. A case study from Fugong County, Yunnan Province, China revealed that the spatial and temporal distributions of farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience were heterogeneous across various regions. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the coordinated development level of farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience is similar to that of its overall level because the three dimensions of buffer capacity, self-organization capacity, and learning capacity interact with each other and develop synergistically, and the lack of any one of these affects the overall development of farmers' sustainable livelihood resilience. In addition, the sustainable livelihood resilience of farmers in various villages is in a state of stable promotion, benign promotion, stagnation, mild recession, severe recession, or chaotic period, indicating a lack of balance in terms of the state of development. However, sustainable livelihood resilience will gradually improve in response to targeted support policies formulated by the national or local governments.

Household behavior and vulnerability to acute malnutrition in Kenya.

Anticipating those most at-risk of being acutely malnourished significantly shapes decisions that pertain to resource allocation and intervention in times of food crises. Yet, the assumption that household behavior in times of crisis is homogeneous-that households share the same capacity to adapt to external shocks-ostensibly prevails. This assumption fails to explain why, in a given geographical context, some households remain more vulnerable to acute malnutrition relative to others, and why a given risk factor may have a differential effect across households? In an effort to explore how variation in household behavior influences vulnerability to malnutrition, we use a unique household dataset that spans 23 Kenyan counties from 2016 to 2020 to seed, calibrate, and validate an evidence-driven computational model. We use the model to conduct a series of counterfactual experiments on the relationship between household adaptive capacity and vulnerability to acute malnutrition. Our findings suggest that households are differently impacted by given risk factors, with the most vulnerable households typically being the least adaptive. These findings further underscore the salience of household adaptive capacity, in particular, that adaption is less effective for economic vis-à-vis climate shocks. By making explicit the link between patterns of household behavior and vulnerability in the short- to medium-term, we underscore the need for famine early warning to better account for variation in household-level behavior.

The benefits of tourism for rural community development.

While the main benefits of rural tourism have been studied extensively, most of these studies have focused on the development of sustainable rural tourism. The role of tourism contributions to rural community development remains unexplored. Little is known about what tourism contribution dimensions are available for policy-makers and how these dimensions affect rural tourism contributions. Without a clear picture and indication of what benefits rural tourism can provide for rural communities, policy-makers might not invest limited resources in such projects. The objectives of this study are threefold. First, we outline a rural tourism contribution model that policy-makers can use to support tourism-based rural community development. Second, we address several methodological limitations that undermine current sustainability model development and recommend feasible methodological solutions. Third, we propose a six-step theoretical procedure as a guideline for constructing a valid contribution model. We find four primary attributes of rural tourism contributions to rural community development; economic, sociocultural, environmental, and leisure and educational, and 32 subattributes. Ultimately, we confirm that economic benefits are the most significant contribution. Our findings have several practical and methodological implications and could be used as policy-making guidelines for rural community development.

Does club convergence matter? Empirical evidence on inequality in the human development index among Indian states.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is recognised as the most commonly used composite index to assess the socio-economic progress of a country. To preserve its pioneering role in development, there has to be a reduction in inequalities and cross-state convergence by adding a sustainable dimension. This paper investigates the convergence hypothesis for the HDI in 36 Indian states and union territories (UTs) from 1990 to 2019. For that purpose, the study used the club convergence technique of Phillips and Sul (2007) and Kernel Density estimates to assess whether states converge towards a single steady-state equilibrium or multiple groups. The paper also considers the relative performance of Indian states and UTs and the comprehension of inter-regional inequality in the HDI by employing the Gini and Theil indices. Using the Phillips and Sul technique, the results reveal that all the states converged into two final clubs (i.e., Club 1 and Club 2). The rate of convergence of HDI is approximately 0.112% for club 1 and 1.135% for club 2. The findings indicate that states with the lowest HDI converge faster than those with higher HDI. The kernel density estimates demonstrate that HDI stratifies, polarises, and becomes unimodal over time, albeit with a common steady state. Further, the Gini and Theil indices suggest a significant decline trend in HDI inequality across the Indian states and UTs from 1990 to 2019. From a policy perspective, the study recommends promoting regional development and reducing inequality, considering the unique convergence paths of the clustering states. The study's findings could provide the government with a new perspective on attaining "horizontal equity" in HDI across Indian states and UTs.

Exploring livelihood issues and challenges of indigenous people of Anamalai, Parambikulam Aliyar Basin during the pandemic

The rain-fed and indigenous agroecosystems face multitudes of challenges. This chapter deals with the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on farming communities of Anamalai, Parambikulam Aliyar Basin in Tamil Nadu. Rapid Rural Appraisal Tool following Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) methodology was used to understand the impact of pandemic-induced lockdowns on cultivation. Socioeconomic details of 300 farmers were gathered from agriculture office, Anamalai. Key questions were prepared in “Tamil” and responses were collected. The survey reveals that 43.9% of farmers' perceived difficulties due to pandemic during the Kharif–Kuruvai period. Labor shortages were felt by 54% of the farmers during the lockdown in 2020. Around 58% of the respondents perceived difficulties during groundnut sowing;89.7% of the farmers had alternative livelihood as coping mechanism. The KAP survey revealed that the indigenous, diversified livelihood options have supported them during the pandemic and revival of it is crucial. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenging austerity under the COVID-19 state

The COVID-19 pandemic represented a short-term shift in US social policy. Under the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the federal government prioritised households by raising the floor for child support and unemployment benefits, and restoring fiscal federalism by providing increased funds to state and local governments. Our 2021 nationwide survey finds local governments with more citizen participation and Black Lives Matter protests plan to prioritise social equity investments, while those with more Trump voters plan to prioritise physical infrastructure with their ARPA funds. COVID-19 led to new policy approaches that expand government investment. While the federal changes for households (expanded unemployment insurance and child tax credits) ended in 2021, the increased aid to state and local governments continues. These have the potential to help reshape citizen expectations and repair federal-state-local relations.

Rethinking sustainability: recalibrating the global SDGs to align with local principles for Buen Vivir

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed as a post-2015 response to growing global climate change and social justice issues, but the little progress made has been thrown off course by the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve environmental and social transformation, we must recalibrate the global approach to include a contextual, bottom-up and wellbeing-oriented alternative to development that embraces holistic visions of wellbeing. This article advocates Buen Vivir as a localized approach to social and environmental wellbeing, but one that can plurally cooperate with other knowledges and frameworks such as the SDGs. It examines how the global SDGs can align with locally implemented principles for Buen Vivir to achieve effective and timely transformative change for communities and nature.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the post-pandemic era.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose substantial challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Exploring systematic SDG strategies is urgently needed to aid recovery from the pandemic and reinvigorate global SDG actions. Based on available data and comprehensive analysis of the literature, this paper highlights ongoing challenges facing the SDGs, identifies the effects of COVID-19 on SDG progress, and proposes a systematic framework for promoting the achievement of SDGs in the post-pandemic era. Progress towards attaining the SDGs was already lagging behind even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inequitable distribution of food-energy-water resources and environmental crises clearly threaten SDG implementation. Evidently, there are gaps between the vision for SDG realization and actual capacity that constrain national efforts. The turbulent geopolitical environment, spatial inequities, and trade-offs limit the effectiveness of SDG implementation. The global public health crisis and socio-economic downturn under COVID-19 have further impeded progress toward attaining the SDGs. Not only has the pandemic delayed SDG advancement in general, but it has also amplified spatial imbalances in achieving progress, undermined connectivity, and accentuated anti-globalization sentiment under lockdowns and geopolitical conflicts. Nevertheless, positive developments in technology and improvement in environmental conditions have also occurred. In reflecting on the overall situation globally, it is recommended that post-pandemic SDG actions adopt a "Classification-Coordination-Collaboration" framework. Classification facilitates both identification of the current development status and the urgency of SDG achievement aligned with national conditions. Coordination promotes domestic/international and inter-departmental synergy for short-term recovery as well as long-term development. Cooperation is key to strengthening economic exchanges, promoting technological innovation, and building a global culture of sustainable development that is essential if the endeavor of achieving the SDGs is to be successful. Systematic actions are urgently needed to get the SDG process back on track.

Furloughing and COVID-19: assessing regulatory reform of the state

This article assesses regulatory reform of the state in the context of the move to furloughing in the UK. It establishes that furloughing was a successful response to the COVID-19 crisis, partly because it challenged the traditional UK crisis response of non-state intervention in the labour market. Furloughing prevented higher unemployment and enabled a swifter recovery. The article also identifies the limits of furloughing (not least its temporary nature) but argues that key lessons from furloughing (including the direct support for job retention) should be used to devise new state policies aimed at promoting a more sustainable and equal economy.

Unpacking South African Institutions of Higher Learning Efforts and Hurdles to Respond to COVID-19: Social Service Professionals' Lenses

Incontrovertibly, COVID-19 has overwhelmed institutions of learning in a big way with various institutions in South Africa endeavoring to surmount the challenges in different ways. This article has reviewed various sources of secondary literature from mainly journals. Findings established that institutions of higher learning need to strengthen their institutional modus operandi of communicating coronavirus messages;to change the staff and students' mindset to strengthen response;advocacy to relay message to staff and students;infrastructural support to mitigate the effects of staff and students;and to avail requisite psychosocial support. The article also established the following hurdles: teaching adjustments and gadget deficits;disruption of school curriculum and academic calendar;and pitfalls of working from home. The article has recognized the need for institutions to enlist the support of social service professionals such as social workers in availing the requisite psychosocial support to both students and the staff.

Anxiety Management among Non-Clinical Society towards C OVI D-19 Pandemic in the Iranian Context

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on our lives. Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful and overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. The purpose of this study was to measure the level of anxiety of nonclinical individuals in the Iranian community towards COVID-19 in Tehran. The present study is a descriptive correlational method with 308 individuals participating in the study through an online recall. A researcher-made coronary anxiety questionnaire with 18 questions was used to collect data. The data were analyzed by using Cronbach's alpha internal consistency and Guttman's lambda 2 method. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using Lisrel-8.8 software was used to evaluate the tool construct validity. To standardize the raw scores, they were converted to standard T scores and percentile rank using Jmetrik-4.1.1 software and were prepared as normative tables. The Guttman's lambda 2 value for the whole questionnaire was obtained as (lambda = 0.922), Cronbach's alpha coefficient for psychological symptoms as (alpha = 0.879), physical symptoms as (alpha = 0.861), and for the whole questionnaire as (alpha = 0.919). The range of scores of the questionnaire factors and total score of COVID-related anxiety severity based on standard T scores was divided into three domains: mild, moderate, and severe. The increase in psychological and physical symptom scores of coronavirus anxiety was significantly associated with physical symptoms, anxiety, depression, and social dysfunction. The fact that anxiety acts as a predisposing and health-threatening variable has confirmed that other researchers should examine its psychometric properties in other populations (especially compared to the clinical population to increase the diagnostic value of this questionnaire) as well as in relation to other psychological, social and medical concepts and variables.

Covid-19 and heterogeneous restrictions: possible consequences for EU cities

Covid-19 has obliged public authorities to enact several restrictions to citizens' everyday life. Some of them were or will be transitory, while others may result in long-term changes in production organisation. The analysis offered in this paper links the restrictions to the level of economic freedom of the EU members. The aim is to understand whether these two aspects were related, and the potential legacy of the restrictions for economies and cities. Likely, only teleworking will survive the pandemic, but it might entail major changes in the organisation of production, especially for jobs located in cities.

'Wildlife for Livestock': COVID-19, Tourism and Community Conservancies in Northern Kenya

The existence of pastoralism as it has been organised for hundreds of years is dependent on constant adaptation to ever-changing situations. Such adaptation includes crop agriculture, wage labour, and community conservancies. In northern Kenya, conservancies are epicentres of wildlife, nature tourism, and commercial ventures. This study incorporates methods and perspectives from history, anthropology, and development studies. The study shows that the shift to community conservancies has exposed pastoral communities to a fluctuating international economic system that has collapsed due to COVID-19 pandemic. The instability caused by the pandemic exposed the vulnerability of community conservancy as a livelihood system.