Research Article

Multilevel and Spatially Heterogeneous Factors Influencing Poor Households’ Income in a Frontier Minority Area in Northeast China

Table 1

Descriptions of variables applied in the analysis.

VariablesDefinition (s)

Level 1
 SexHousehold head’s sex (male/female)
 AgeHousehold head’s age (years).
 EthnicityHousehold head’s ethnicity (Han/Others)
 EducationHousehold head’s education level (illiterate/primary school/middle school/high school/others)
 DiseaseDisease status of household head (none/chronic disease/serious disease)
 DisabilityDisability status of household head (none/disabled)
 Labor capacityLabor capacity of household head (no ability/normal ability)
 Household sizeNumber of members.
 Dependency ratioTotal number of members below 16 years and above 60 years as a percentage of the total number of household members.
 Education burdenNumber of students in school (none/one or more students)
 Social welfareState of household social welfare (No/dibao [receive basic living allowance] or wubao (receive the “five guarantees” supporting, including food, clothing, healthcare, shelter and funeral services])
 Off-farm workLocation of off-farm work (none/town of residence/outside town of residence)
Level 2
 Arable landLandholding size per capita (mu ˜ 0.067 ha)
 Village sizeTotal population of the village
 Hollowing rateThe proportion of nonpermanent residents within the total population of the village
 Number of poorThe total number of the poor
 Poverty incidenceThe proportion of the poor within the total population
 Economic levelAnnual per capita net income of poor households (yuan)
 Minority ratioThe proportion of the total number of the poor belonging to minority groups
 Distance to county roadDistance of a village to the nearest county road (km)
 Distance to township roadDistance of a village to the nearest township road (km)
 Distance to riverDistance of a village to the nearest river (km)
 Distance to townDistance of a village to the center of the nearest town (km)
 Distance to county centerTime taken to reach to the center of Wangqing from a village by car (minutes, speed = 3 0 km/60 minutes)
 Average altitudeAverage elevation of a village (m)
 Topographic reliefElevation range from the lowest point in a village to the highest (m)
 Average slopeAverage slope of a village (°)
 Average rainfallAverage annual rainfall in a village (mm)
 Average temperatureAverage annual temperature in a village (°C)