TITLE:
Cross-Country Analysis of the Nexuses between Food, Energy, and Water Consumption on Urban-Rural Income Gap in South-Eastern Asian Countries Using Pooled Ordinary Least Squares Regression Analysis
AUTHORS:
Khambai Khamjalas
KEYWORDS:
Energy, Food, Income Gap, Poverty Rate, South-Eastern Asia, Water
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.12 No.3,
March
18,
2024
ABSTRACT: The urban-rural income gap is a major socio-economic
issue affecting people’s development
and well-being worldwide. The urban-rural income gap accounts for a
significant share of the economy-wide inequality in many Asian countries due to
its large population. Food, energy, and water (FEW) are essential resources for socio-economic development. Generally,
the income gap reflects the unequal distribution of resources,
opportunities, and development outcomes in urban and rural areas. The current
study examines the impact of FEW nexuses on urban and rural income gaps in
Asian Countries. A convenient sample of panel data over 20 years from 2000 to
2019 from three Asian countries: China from Eastern Asia, Indonesia from
South-Eastern Asia, and India from Southern Asia, was analyzed using pooled
ordinary least squares regression analysis. The results showed a significant rural-urban
disparity in poverty gaps, 1.23 times less in urban areas than rural areas, but
not poverty rates. Among the FEW, the results indicated that electricity supply
had a significant positive effect on poverty rates (β = 0.543, p ) and poverty gap (β = 0.712, p ). The rural-urban disparity is shaped by FEW
resource endowments, physical spatial use,
and economic activity disparity. Urban households have more
opportunities to use electricity for productive purposes, such as industry, trade, and education, which generate
higher incomes. Contrarily, rural households mainly use electricity for
domestic and agricultural purposes, which is associated with lower incomes.
Paradoxically, FEW supply has not achieved its tentative outcomes of reducing
income inequality. The results suggest that enhancing the accessibility of
energy consumption in rural areas is not a precursor for reducing the incidence
of poverty but economic use. Thus, national poverty alleviation policies should
focus on structural adjustment programs that
help rural households optimize the energy supply by engaging in income
generation activities.