Using a simple framework, this paper discusses the underlying reason of the variation of threshold level in developed countries, from the least generous 20 percent to around 60 percent of median wage, with an average of 35 percent. The generosity of minimum guarantee social assistance programs...

Unlike the poor in many developing countries, those in Central and Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union, are highly connected to network utilities. During the early 1990s, it became clear that without subsidies, many households would have difficulty paying their utility bills. Governments...

Although average incomes in China have risen dramatically since the 1980s, concerns are increasing that the rural elderly have not benefited from growth to the same extent as younger people and the urban elderly. Concerns about welfare of the rural elderly combine spatial and demographic issues....