ABSTRACT House Bill 487 (2025) will establish a Homeless Bill of Rights in Maryland that affirms the rights of unhoused individuals to participate in life-sustaining activities in public places. In this paper, I analyze various political, economic, and social contexts that can contribute to or separate support and opposition for the bill. HB 487 is a critical example of how policies can move from criminalizing people for being homeless to dignifying them by providing basic services. The tension between individual rights and the need for public safety, and individual freedom and an equitable allocation of scarce resources, is all present within this policy.

ABSTRACT This study investigates Black Women Entrepreneurs in Georgia utilizing Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to access capital, analyzing 2,173 loan applications from 2021–2023. Employing Afrocentric Perspective and Ecological Systems Theory, it identifies factors impacting funded loans, including business age, location, referral source, and loan amount requested. Binary logistic regression reveals significant correlations, emphasizing ecosystem support for this demographic. Findings underscore CDFIs’ role in addressing systemic inequities and advancing economic opportunities for underserved populations.

ABSTRACT The article explores the Consensual Approach to measuring multidimensional poverty from a peripheral-decolonial perspective. It emphasizes the parallels between this methodology, originating in the British context, and the ideas of Brazilian thinker Paulo Freire. Through bibliographical research, it incorporates insights from Latin American decolonial thought by W. Mignolo, A. Quijano, and E. Dussel, focusing on Freire’s ideas. The article first presents the Consensual Approach’s application in peripheral countries and then discusses its alignment with Freire’s philosophy, aiming to foster dialogue and promote social transformation beyond European modernity.

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the connections between having access to private health insurance or Medicare and several dimensions of social stratification for Mexican immigrant heads of households in Cook County, Illinois, which includes the City of Chicago. The stratification dimensions considered are poverty, gender, age, educational achievement, English proficiency, type of employment, immigration status, urban origin, and time in the U.S. The most salient determinants of having private health insurance or Medicare are being married, immigration status and time in the U.S.

ABSTRACT Social exclusion and individuals’ self-sufficiency have been on the public agenda in Sweden recently. One reason is the large influx of immigrants to Sweden in 2016. This paper aims to measure self-sufficiency over time, across the life cycle, depending on geographical origin, and time spent in Sweden to provide information about how self-sufficiency has developed over time and across the life cycle. To address the potential problem of lack of self-sufficiency knowledge about its extent and predominance in certain groups is essential. Detailed register data on the entire population in Sweden are used to study the ability to support oneself. Results show that the self-sufficiency rate has improved since 2016, the year Sweden received many immigrants. However, among those who are not self-sufficient, the dependence on the public has increased. There are signs that the welfare state’s redistributive role over the life cycle has decreased over time, both in younger and older ages. Furthermore, the self-sufficiency rate is lower for individuals born outside of Sweden but increases the longer they have resided in Sweden.

ABSTRACT This systematic review and meta-synthesis assesses the effectiveness of Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) and Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs) in Sub-Saharan Africa. Analyzing 27 studies (2014–2024) using PRISMA guidelines, the research examines impacts on financial stability, education, and health. CCTs generally outperform UCTs in achieving specific education and health targets by incentivizing behaviors, while UCTs offer greater flexibility, improving mental health and economic resilience in fragile settings. The findings stress the context-dependent nature of cash transfer programs and the need for tailored, integrated approaches. Policy recommendations emphasize designing programs based on local conditions and desired outcomes.

ABSTRACT Over the years, microfinance programs have been the major strategy of many developing countries to improve people’s welfare and reduce poverty. Yet several studies on the welfare impacts of microfinance result in contradictory conclusions. While some studies support the mainstream view that microfinance improves the welfare of the unbankable poor, others criticize its limited effect on business development and weak impact measurement methods. This study analyzes 409 articles to bridge the empirical gaps between mainstream and critical views of microfinance impacts on society through synthesizing major themes in existing research and their interconnections and provides recommendations for future research. Using bibliometric and systematic literature review (SLR) approaches, this study found five clusters of empirical research on microfinance impacts, including entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation; self-help groups and women empowerment; financial inclusion; household income; and community welfare. The study also suggests that microfinance programs have positive impacts on welfare across countries. However, future research needs to more deeply focus on the impact of microfinance programs on agricultural finance, specifically financial efficiency, and social efficiency.

ABSTRACT The UK’s new social security benefit, Universal Credit, is driving up food insecurity. Particularly problematic is the five-week wait for the first payment. Meanwhile, low wages and insecure contracts mean many food sector workers rely on Universal Credit. This qualitative study explores the effects of the five-week wait on food security among these workers. The findings show this is forcing them to depend on family, friends and foodbanks, inducing shame and isolation, and negatively impacting their physical and mental health. Meanwhile, working in the food sector offers little or no protection from these effects and, in some cases, exacerbates them.

ABSTRACT Consumption practices represent a central mode of social integration. Yet, due to the lack of material resources poor households cannot meet the expectations of dominant consumer culture, thus facing limited choices and feelings of shame. Based on a qualitative long-term study of the welfare production of 40 poor Swiss households, this article sheds light on consumption patterns and experiences in different distribution systems, namely the primary market, the charity system, and redistribution systems for used goods. It shows that feelings of shame and processes of exclusion differ between distribution systems according to institutional features conducive to the (in)visibility of poverty.

ABSTRACT Based on cross-sectional survey data collected from rural households (n = 446), this study analyzes the impact of community-based tourism (CBT) on sustainable livelihood assets of rural households and poverty. The propensity score matching (PSM) finding revealed that CBT has improved the overall livelihood asset value of participants by 30.4%. The FGT poverty analysis result also showed that multidimensional/asset poverty greatly varies by participation and is found to be high among CBT nonparticipants. Thus, rural poverty reduction through enhancing livelihood assets demands further emphasis by policymakers and tourism development stakeholders at all levels for the sustainability of both household livelihoods and tourism development.