The Covid-19 pandemic

Access to relief under social assistance programs by rural households in India

Bibliographic Data

ID21515901
AuthorsJabir Ali (0000-0002-5891-568X, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu), Waseem Khan (0000-0002-8509-5146, Jamia Hamdard)
Year2022
Volume49
Issue12
Pages1697-1712
Publication date2022-09-27
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Social Economics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0306-8293 • E-ISSN: 1758-6712
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/ijse-10-2021-0632
OpenAlexW4283726047
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited29

Purpose This paper aims at analyzing the determinants of access to relief under social assistance programs among rural households during COVID-19 outbreaks in India. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on the data of COVID-19-Related Shocks Survey, which covered 5,200 rural households across 6 states of India namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The access to relief has been assessed as relief-in kind (RIK) as a free special package of wheat, rice, and pulses, supplied through the public distribution system; and direct benefit transfer (DBT) in cash under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The association between demographic profiles of rural households and access to relief has been analyzed using the chi-square test. Further, marginal effects have been estimated to assess the determinants of rural households' access to relief. Findings The results show a significant association between types of relief vis-à-vis demographic profiles of the rural households. A significant difference in access to relief among rural households is also evident across the states. Further, the analysis of the marginal effects indicates that female-headed households belonging to lower social class, depending on non-agricultural occupation with lower income, belonging to below poverty line families and seeking wage employment, are more likely to access relief as food grains; whereas male respondents with lower age, belonging to lower-income quartile with memberships in Self Help Groups are more likely to access the cash benefit transfers. Practical implications The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the food security and livelihood of many across the globe, which necessitated provisioning a package of support to everyone, particularly rural poor households. The World Bank undertook the COVID-19-Related Shocks Survey to provide a quick policy response for managing the risk of COVID-19 outbreak effectively. The results of this study provide timely insights for developing an effective relief strategy for rural households during a crisis. Originality/value There is limited investigation on access to relief by rural households during the COVID-19 outbreaks and factors affecting the access to relief in terms of cash and kind. This study has utilized a reliable data source to analyze the access of relief packages by the rural communities during the coronavirus outbreak. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2021-0632

Agriculture · Cash crop · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Labour economics · Poverty · Quartile · Rural area · Socioeconomics · Wage · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Medicine · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

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