Economics of Households in Pacific Island Countries: A Case Study of Vanuatu and Tuvalu

doi:10.4236/tel.2013.35A3001

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Theoretical Economics Letters, 2013, 3, 1-8

http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/tel.2013.35A3001 Published Online October 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/tel)

Economics of Households in Pacific Island Countries:

A Case Study of Vanuatu and Tuvalu

Ranjila Devi Singh, Sarah L. Hemstock

Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Received July 29, 2013; revised August 29, 2013; accepted September 10, 2013

Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is

properly cited.

ABSTRACT

The source of livelihood varies amongst the Pacific Island Countries and also within a country; between urban and rural

areas. Most Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and their households rely on subsistence activities and agriculture for their

livelihood. This research was based on surveys conducted in Piliura and Tassiriki villages in Vanuatu and Vaiaku, Se-

nala and Tumaseu villages in Tuvalu, which involved developing a methodology for household surveys to elucidate

issues linked to liveliho od. The analysis revealed th at the major sour ce of household inco me in Vanuatu stud y sites was

from the sale of products, while in Funafuti (Tuvalu) households earned the majority of their income from

wages/salaries. However, in Tumaseu village (Tuvalu) the households generated their source of income from both

wages and sale of products. In all the study sites, food was the major household expense. This study was aimed at al-

lowing researcher s and decision makers a better understanding of th e economic realities for households in PICs.

Keywords: PICs; Households; Livelihood

1. Introduction

Much existing literature indicates that the people of the

Pacific Island Countries (PICs) rely on subsistence ac-

tivities and agriculture for their livelihood, with remit-

tances contributing significantly to income. This study

aims to give researchers and decision makers a better

understanding of the economic realities of household

income and expenditure in PICs.

2. Study Sites

Five sites took part in the study, two in Vanuatu and

three in Tuvalu. These two Pacific Island Countries were

selected as they varied geographically, economically and

socially, so it should provide a broad basis on which to

gain in depth knowledge on household economics.

2.1. Vanuatu

Vanuatu has 80 islands with the total land area 12,190

km2 and lies between 13 - 21 degrees south and 166 -

171 degrees east [1]. Of the 80 islands in Vanuatu, 65 are

inhabited and its exclusive economic zone is 700,000

km2 [2]. Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu located on the

Efate Island and the largest island in Vanuatu is Espiritu

Santo [3]. The main islands are linked by air and the re-

mote ones by boat. The pop ulation of Vanu atu is 234,023

and 76 percen t of the population live in rural areas [2,4].

The majority (98.7 percent) of the population is of

ni-vanuatu ethnicity and the reminder 1.3 percent are of

part ni-vanuatu, other Melanesian, Polynesian, Microne-

sian, European and Chinese [3]. The major economic

activities in Vanuatu are agriculture, forestry and fishing

and tourism sector is also increasing [1,5]. Copra, kava,

cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, fruits and vegetables, beef and

fish are the main agricultural products [1,6]. Food and

fish freezing, wood processing and meat canning are the

industries present in Vanuatu [6]. The two communities

from Vanuatu are Piliura and Tassiriki village. Piliura

village is in Pele Island which is located seven kilometres

off the north coast of Vanuatu’s main island, Efate. Pele

Island falls under the Shefa province and has four vil-

lages namely Laonamoa, Piliura, Worearu and Worasifiu

with 62 households and 330 people [4]. There are 22

households and 136 people living in Piliura village. The

locals depend on subsistence activities such as fishing,

agriculture, eco-tourism and selling handicrafts. The

children from Piliura v illage attend primary school on the

island. For further education, the students have to travel

to Port Vila. Rainwater is the main source of drinking

R. D. SINGH, S. L. HEMSTOCK

water which is collected in village tanks, household tanks

and plastic buckets and containers. Tassiriki village is

located in Moso Island which is close to Efate Island. It

also belongs to Shefa province. The island is covered

with extensive areas of mangroves. There are two vil-

lages on Moso Island namely Tassiriki (Sunae) and

Sounai. Tassiriki village has 35 househo lds and 297 peo-

ple reside in the village. The locals earn their living by

farming activities, selling charcoal, selling fish, handi-

crafts and some tourism activities. Charcoal and vegeta-

bles are sold at the Port Vila market. The village has a

primary school but for further education the students

travel to Port Vila. The mode of transport from Moso

Island to Efate Island is by boat. Drinking water is col-

lected in concrete tanks which are often shared between

few households and some have their own water tanks.

Plastic buckets and containers also supplement collection

of rainwater. Groundwater is used for bathing and wash-

ing.

2.2. Tuvalu

The island of Tuvalu lies in the Western South Pacific,

its coordinates are 176 - 180 degrees east and 5 -

11degerees south [1]. The total land area is 26 km2 with

five true atolls and four raised limestone reef islands [7];

[1]. Tuvalu’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends to

900,000 km2 and has great fish stocks [8]. The main is-

land of Tuvalu is Funafuti and the capital is Fongafale

[9]. The population of Tuvalu was estimated to be 11,206

in 2011 [10]. English, Tuvaluan and Kiribati are the three

main languages [9]. All the islands have primary school

but for secondary school the students travel to Vaitupu

Island. For further education the students travel to other

Pacific island countries or to Funafuti which has a Uni-

versity of the South Pacific Campus, commercial school

– Maleta Kapane Halo Computer and Typing School and

Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute [11 ]. The economy of

Tuvalu heavily relies on imported food and fuel [9]. Sub-

sistence agriculture and fisheries are major activities for

the Tuvaluans; tourism, EEZ fishing licence fees and

remittances from Tuvaluans employed abroad, mainly as

seafarers, is also a source of income [9]. The three com-

munities from Tuvalu were Vaiaku and Senala village

from Funafuti Island and Tumaseu village from Vaitupu

Island. Vaiaku village has 72 households and th e popula-

tion of Vaiaku village is 485 [11]. There are 142 house-

holds in Senala village and the village has a population

of 909 [11]. People migrate from outer islands to Funa-

futi for further education, better medical facilities and

employment opportunities [11]. Motorbikes, cars, trucks

and bicycles are the main modes of transportation on the

islands [11]. The main sources of in come in Funafuti are

employment, remittances and subs istence fishing, cutting

toddy, handicrafts, farming and livestock (pig and chi-

cken) rearing [11]. Agriculture in Funafuti is limited as

there are high numbers of houses and lack of land, the

land available is used for Pulaka (Cyrtosperma chamis-

sonis) cultivation and home gardening is common [11].

Tumaseu village has 53 households and a total popula-

tion of 217 people [12]. The only public secondary

school run by government is Motufoua Secondary School

which is located on the island of Vaitupu and is a board-

ing school where students from other islands come to

complete secondary school [12]. The main health facility

on the island that is the clin ic which is located in Saniu ta

village and accessible to all eight villages and Motufoua

health clinic which is close to Motufoua Secondary

School is for school students and the teachers only.

However, there are no doctors in Vaitupu hence serious

cases need to be referred to Funafuti [12]. Vaitupu peo-

ple are mostly self-employed such as operating canteens

and small shops, fishing, gambling (known as bingo),

and a few owning night clubs, motorbike hiring, loan

scheme business and barber shop [12]. The sources of

cash income are from land leases, remittances and pen-

sion, while, subsistence living is from feeding pigs, agri-

cultural activities and toddy cutting [12]. Women in

Vaitupu play a major role, they have formed organization

known as “Fafine Vaitupu Aoao” which means women

from the age of 18 - 69 years [12]. They are involved in

subsistence activities such as handicraft making and

selling (fans, mats, local brooms, coconut oil), feeding

livestock and farming, some are also employed and

self-employed [12] .

3. Methodology

This study was a non-experimental design involving

household surveys. A survey was undertaken to gain

in-depth knowledge on economic characteristic of the

households. The respondents were questioned on their

education level, annual household income, main source

of household income and who managed the household

income. Major household expenses were also reveled by

the survey. The household survey was given to the

household with the explanation of the questions and the

purpose of the survey in local language. It was ensured

that an equal number of surveys were given to males and

females of the community to eliminate gender bias. Ta-

ble 1 illustrates the number of surveys obtained from

each site and the number completed by male and female

respondents.

The household surveys were translated in both Bis-

lama and Tuvaluan languages. A total of 137 household

surveys were carried out for this research. For the Vanu-

atu sites that is Piliura and Tassirik i villages a total of 38

household surveys were completed in July 2012. In Pili-

ura village a total of 18 household surveys were carried

out. The number of households present in Piliura village

R. D. SINGH, S. L. HEMSTOCK

Table 1. The number of surveys obtained from each site and the percentage completed by male and female respondents.

Study Site Number of Surveys Obtained Number Male Number Female

Vanuatu Sites (Piliura and Tassiriki) 38 21 17

Tuvalu Sites (Vaia k u , Senala and Tumaseu) 99 45 54

is 22 household’s as a result only 18 household surveys

were obtained. In Tassiriki village 20 household surveys

were done and the total number of household present in

Tassiriki village was 35 households. For the Tuvalu

study sites: Vaiaku, Senala and Tumaseu villages a total

of 99 household surveys were obtained. The household

surveys from Vaiaku, Senala and Tumaseu were 36, 42

and 21 respectively. The research in Tuvalu was com-

pleted in November 2012.

55.3 percent were male and 44.7 percent were female.

The survey participant’s year of birth ranged from 1938

to 1993 so participant ages ranged from 19 to 74 years.

The number of adults in the households ranged from

two to 12 people, with an average of four adults per

household. While the number of children per household

ranged from one to eight children, the average was two

children per household. The interviewee’s period of

residence in their respective villages ranged from four

years to 67 years, the average being 23 years. Figure 1

shows the education level of the respondents in Vanuatu

study sites.

Analysis of the household survey was done in Statisti-

cal Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 16.0).

It has a set of software tools that allows for data entry,

data management, statistical analysis and presentation.

Once all close ended questions were coded, inputted and

analysed, frequency distributions and means were gener-

ated and comparisons of means were prepared to identify

statistical relationships between the variables such as

source of income and major household expense.

The levels of education for the samples surveyed in

Piliura and Tassiriki villages show that majority of the

respondents, 56.8 percent, have attained education till

primary school. While 37.8 percent of the respondents

went to secondary school and 5.4 percent have not re-

ceived any schooling. Pele and Moso Island have a pri-

mary school, children from Piliura and Tassiriki travel by

boat to Port Villa to attend higher schools. Once children

have completed primary school the majorities leave edu-

cation to help with income generating activities such as

farming and fishing. Some of the locals have not at-

tended schools this can be due to transportation and fi-

nancial difficulties faced by those living in remote vil-

lages such as Piliura and Tassiriki.

An inferential analysis-analysis of variance using a

non-parametric hypothesis test (Mann-Whitney test) was

conducted to test if there was any significant difference

among the two locations (Piliura and Tassiriki village)

for the variables surveyed. The null hypo thesis was set to

be that statistically there is no significant difference be-

tween Piliura and Tassiriki village. While the alternative

hypothesis was set to be that statistically there is signifi-

cant difference between the two locations. From the p

value of Mann-Whitney test it can be fou nd ou t if th ere is

any statistically significant difference or no. If the p

[Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)] value is less than 0.05 the null

hypothesis will be rejected and alternative hypothesis

will be accepted and vice versa at five percent significant

level. Similar, hypothesis test was done for the two is-

lands in Tuvalu: Funafuti Island (Vaiaku and Senala vil-

lage) and Vaitupu Island (Tumaseu village).

Of the participants 14.8 percent had less than US$ 221

(20000 Vatu) as their annual household income, 11.1

percent between US$ 232 to US$ 442 (21,000 Vatu to

40,000 Vatu), 11.1 p ercent between US$ 453 to US$ 664

(41,000 Vatu to 60,000 Vatu) and 62 .9 percent had above

US$ 675 (61,000 Vatu). The average household income

was US$11,781 (106,0351 Vatu). Figure 2 highlights the

main source of household income for Piliura village.

Therefore, the data for Piliura an d Tassiriki village are

analysed together as statistically no significant differ-

ences existed between the two locations except for main

source of household income. Similarly, the data for

Funafuti Island (Vaiaku and Senala village) and Vaitupu

Island (Tumaseu village) are analysed together since

there was no statistically significant difference between

the two locations except for annual household income

and source of income.

The main source of household income in Piliura vil-

lage was generated through sales of products (62.4 per-

4. Findings

4.1. Vanuatu Figure 1. Educational levels of respondents from Piliura

and Tassiriki villages, Vanuatu in year 2012 (n = 38).

Of the 38 survey respondents in Piliura and Tassiriki,

R. D. SINGH, S. L. HEMSTOCK

cent). Pele Island is a tourist site; Piliura locals sell

handicrafts and sea shells to the tourists on the island.

Handicrafts such as fans are weaved out of coconut and

pandanus leaves, and necklaces made from coconut

shells. Women were engaged in handicraft making and

selling. People of Piliura village grow crops and vegeta-

bles and engage in fishing, these products are sold in Port

Vila market to earn a living. Of the survey respondents

25 percent earned a living from wages and salary. The

locals were employed as tour guides to the tourists and

some of the locals travelled to Port Villa for employment.

While 12.5 percent generated income from own business

such as such as boat services and guest house rents to

tourists and researchers. Figure 3 shows the main source

of household income for Tassiriki village.

The majority of households (94.4 percent) generate

income from sales of products such as fish, crops, fire-

wood and charcoal Firewood and charcoal were the ma-

jor products sold by Tassiriki locals. One bag of charcoal

is sold for US$11 (1000 Vatu). However, there are ex-

penses involved in charcoal production and marketing

such as buying of charcoal bags, transportation cost to

market and market table fee. The household income for

the households surveyed is managed by males, females,

bo th ma le s an d f ema les an d fa mi lie s. Figure 4 highlights

the management of household income.

Males manage the household income for the majority

of the households surveyed (64.5 percent). Therefore in

Piliura and Tassiriki villages there is gender division in

household income management. Decision making for use

25%

12.5%62.4%

Wag es/salary

Ownbusiness

Saleofproducts

Figure 2. Main source of household income for Piliura,

Vanuatu in year 2012 (n = 18).

Figure 3. Main source of household income for Tassiriki,

Vanuatu in year 2012 (n = 20).

of household income in rural areas is mostly done by

males this strongly agrees with [13]. Only in 19.4 percent

of the households surveyed the household income is

managed by females, in 12.9 percent by both males and

females, and in 3.2 percent by the whole family. Food

and education were found to be the major household ex-

pense for Piliura and Tassiriki locals. Figure 5 below

displays major household expenses.

Food was the major household expense (62.2 percent),

followed by education (29.7 percent), health care (5.4

percent) and transp ort (2.7 percent).

4.2. Tuvalu

Of the 99 survey respondents in Tuvalu, 45.5 percent

were males and 54.5 percent were females. The survey

participant’s year of birth ranged from 1938 to 1993 so

participants ages ranged from 19 to 74 years. The num-

ber of adults in the households surveyed ranged from two

to 18 people with an average of six adults. While the

number of children per household ranged from none to

ten with an average of three children. The interviewee’s

period of residence in their respective villages ranged

from one year to 74 years, the average being 24 years.

Figure 6 below shows the level of education for the sur-

vey participants.

Majority of the respondents (52.2 percent) have com-

pleted their education till secondary school in Motufoua

Secondary School which is a public school operated by

government (located on Vaitupu Island) and Fetuvalu

Figure 4. Management of household income in Piliura and

Tassiriki villages, Vanuatu in year 2012 (n = 38).

Figure 5. Major household expenses in Piliura and Tassiriki

villages, Vanuatu in year 2012 (n = 38).

R. D. SINGH, S. L. HEMSTOCK 5

Secondary School operated by Kalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu

(See [11]). The students from other islands travel to Vai-

tupu Island to complete their second ary schoo l educatio n.

Primary school has been completed by 32.6 percent of

the population. Only 1.1 percent of the surveyed popula-

tion did not attain any formal education. Primary school

education is offered for free in Tuvalu. Amongst the sur-

veyed 13 percent have attained education till diploma

level and 1.1 percent has attained a master’s degree. Ter-

tiary education in Tuvalu is offered by Maleta Kapane

Halo Computer and Typing School, University of the

South Pacific Tuvalu Campus and Tuvalu Maritime

Training Institute (See [11]). Students from Tuvalu also

travel to other Pacific Island Countries to attain further

education especially Fiji Islands. Figure 7 shows the

annual household income for Vaiaku and Senala v illages,

Funafuti Island.

In Vaiaku and Senala villages, 21.6 percent of the re-

spondents had less than US$1025 (AUD$ 1000) as their

annual household income, 28.4 percent had annual

household income between US$ 1026 to US$ 5127

(AUD$ 1001 to AUD$ 5000), 23.8 percent had between

Figure 6. Educational levels of respondents from Vaiaku,

Senala and Tumaseu villages, Tuvalu in year 2012 (n = 99).

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

Percentage (%)

Annual h ousehold in come

Figure 7. Annual household income for Vaiaku and Senala

village, Funafuti Island, Tuvalu in year 2012 (n = 78).

US$ 5128 to US$ 10255 (AUD$ 5001 to AUD$ 10,000),

21.8 percent had between US$ 10,256 to US$ 20,510

(AUD$ 10,001 to AUD$ 20,000) and the remaining

seven percent had their annual household income above

US$ 20,510 (AUD$ 20,001). The highest annual house-

hold income amongst the respondents was US$ 30,765

(AUD$ 30,000), lowest income was US$ 300 (AUD$

293) and the average household income for the respon-

dents was US$ 7533 (AUD$ 7,357). Figure 8 highlights

the main source of household income of Vaiaku and Se-

nala villages, Funafuti Island.

Figure 9 shows the annual household income for Tu-

maseu village, Vaitupu Island.

In Tumaseu village, Vaitupu Island, 50 percent of the

survey responden ts had less than U S$1025 (AUD$ 1 000)

as their annual household income. While 37.5 percent

had annual household income between US$ 1026 to US$

5127 (AUD$ 1001 to AUD$ 5000) and 12.5 percent had

between US$ 10,256 to US$ 20,510 (AUD$ 10,001 to

AUD$ 20,000). The highest annual household income

amongst the resp ondents was US$ 2 0,500 (AU D$ 20,0 00)

lowest income was US$512 (AUD $500) and th e av era ge

household income for the respondents was US$ 4589

2.7%

78.1%

2.7%

9.6% 5.5% 1.4%

No i ncome

Wages/Salary

Own business

Sal e of products

Land lease

Remitt an ces

Figure 8. Main source of household income of Vaiaku and

Senala villages Funafuti Island in year 2012 (n = 78).

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

lessthan

US$1025

US$1026to

US$5127

US$10256to

US$20510

Pe rcentage(% )

Annualhou seholldincome

Figure 9. Annual household income for Tumaseu village,

Vaitupu Island, Tuvalu in year 2012 (n = 21).

R. D. SINGH, S. L. HEMSTOCK

(AUD$ 4,477). Figure 10 displays the main source of

household income of Tumaseu village Vaitupu Island.

Of the households su rveyed 50 percent earned a living

from employment. The locals were employed as seafear-

ers, plant and machine operators, teachers, nurses, sales

person, caretakers, agriculture officers, fisheries observ-

ers and other administrative positions in Island Kaupule

and Government (see [12]). Whereas 33.3 percent earned

a living from sale of products such as fish, coconut and

handicrafts, 11.1 percent generated income from land

lease and 5.6 percent earned living from own business

such as shops (groceries shop, motor bike hire and repair,

handicrafts, carpentry and commercial fishing business.

Figure 11 displays the management of household in-

come.

In 44.7 percent of the households surveyed the house-

hold income was managed by females, in 29.4 percent by

males and in 12.9 percent by both males and females.

Females dominated the management of household in-

come in Tuvalu. In 8.2 percent of the households the

whole family managed the household income. While in

2.4 percent of the households only elders managed the

household income, in 1.2 percent of the households’

children managed the household income and again in 1.2

percent of households cousins were responsible for

management of household income. According to [11], in

Vaiaku 56 households are headed by males and 17

households by females and in Senala 101 households are

headed by male and 41 households by females [12] in-

50%

5.6%

33.3%

11.1% Wages/salary

Ow nbusiness

Salesofproducts

Landlease

Figure 10. Source of income for Tumaseu village, Vaitupu

Island Tuvalu in year 2012 (n = 21).

1.2%1.2%2.4%8.2%

44.7%

29.4%

12.9%

Child ren

Cousin

Elders

Family

Fema le

Male

BothMaleandFemale

Figure 11. Management of household income in Vaiaku,

Senala and Tumaseu villages, Tuvalu in year 2012 (n = 99).

dicate that in Tumaseu village 43 households are headed

by males and 10 households by females. Even though

most of the households were headed by males in majority

of the households’ females managed the household in-

come. Figure 12 below displays major household ex-

penses.

The major household expense in Vaiaku, Senala and

Tumaseu village was food as shown by 88.6 percent of

the survey respondents, followed by energy (5.7 percent),

education (2.3 percent), healthcare (2.3 percent) and wa-

ter (1.1 percent). In Tuvalu most of the food items are

imported from other countries and are expensive hence

buying food items contributes to most of the household

expenses. The households have to pay for electricity and

purchase fuel for cooking. Primary school education is

free in Tuvalu; however, for further education money is

required. For Vaiaku and Senala villages the children

have to travel to Vaitupu Island for secondary school

education which has travel expenses, boarding costs,

school fees and book costs. In times of drought some

households have to purchase water.

5. Discussion

From the results it can be noted the respondents from

Tuvalu study sites have attained more education than

those from Vanuatu study sites. The level of education in

Tuvalu sites was from no school to master’s level while

at Vanuatu sites it was from no school to secondary

schools (see Sections 4.1 and 4. 2).

The average household income for Vanuatu sites was

US$ 11,781 (1060351 Vatu). For the Funafuti study sites

the average household income for the respondents was

US$ 7533 (AUD$ 7357) and for Tumaseu village the

average household income for the respondents was US$

4589 (AUD$ 4477) . The sources of household in come in

Vanuatu study sites was mainly from sales of products,

followed by own business and wages salary (only in Pil-

iura village) (see Section 4.1). While the major source of

household income in Tuvalu sites was from wages/salary.

In Funafuti, sales of products were the major source of

household income for 9.6 percent of the household

88.6%

1.1%

5.7%

2.3% 2.3%Food

Water

Energy

Healthcare

E duca tion

Figure 12. Major household expense s in Vaiaku, Senala and

umaseu villages, Tuvalu in year 2012 (n = 99). T

R. D. SINGH, S. L. HEMSTOCK

Table 2. Chi-square p values for the variables tested.

Variable tested Pearson Chi-square p value-VanuatuPearson Chi-square p value-Tuvalu

Source of income and househ o l d e xpenses 0.332 0.000

Education level and source of income 0.405 0.583

Education level and management of household income 0.596 0.980

surveyed while in Tumaseu village 33.3 percent of the

households earned a living from sales of products. Other

sources of income were from own business, remittances

and land lease.

The management of household income in Vanuatu

sites was largely by males while at Tuvalu study sites

mainly females managed the household income. The

major household expenses in Vanuatu study sites were

food (62.2 percent), education, health and transport. In

Tuvalu, food (88.6 percent) was also the major house-

hold expense followed by energy, health, education and

water. As discussed in Section 4.2 in Tuvalu, most of the

food items are imported from other countries and are

expensive hence buying food ite ms contribute to most of

the household expenses.

Moreover, a Pearson Chi-square test for independence

was conducted to find out if there is any statistically sig-

nificant association between some of the categorical

variables of the research. The null hypothesis was set to

be that statistically there is no significant association

between the two variables. While the alternative hy-

pothesis was set to be that statistically there is sign ificant

association between the two variables. From the p value

of Pearson Chi-square test it can be found out if there is

any statistically significant association or no. If the p

[Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)] value is less than 0.05 the null

hypothesis will be rejected and alternative hypothesis

will be accepted and vice versa at five percent significant

level. Table 2 shows the variables tested and the chi-

square p values.

The Pearson Chi-square p value of, “source of in-

come” and “household expenses”; “education level” and

“source of income”; “education level” and “management

of household income”; “management of household in-

come” in Vanuatu were more than 0.05 and so there was

not sufficient evid ence to reject the nu ll hypo thesis hence

it was accepted. Therefore, statistically there is no sig-

nifi- cant association between the variables tested above.

While for Tuvalu the variables “source of income” and

“major household expenses” the Pearson Chi-square

value was 0.000 which is less than 0.05, therefore there is

sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis and ac-

cept the alternative hypotheses. That is statistically there

is significant association between the two variables. For

those who have no income, food is the major household

expense, for those who earn a living from wages and

salary most show major household expense as food,

some for energy as they have money to pay for electricity

so use electricity and some for healthcare. For those with

own business some showed food as major household

expense, some for health care and some education. For

the households that earn a living from sales of products

major expenses are food and education only. The house-

holds whose main source of income was from land lease,

food is the major household expenses and for few it is

energy. For the families who generated their income

from remittance water was major household expense.

The main association between the two variables was that

food remained the major household expense regardless of

source of income.

On the other hand, the Pearson Chi-square p value of

variables: “education level” and “source of income”;

“education level” and “management of household in-

come” in Tuvalu was more than 0.05 hence there was not

sufficient evidence to reject null hypothesis hence it was

accepted. Therefore, statistically there is no significant

association between the variables tested above.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion it can be noted that source of income dif-

fers between rural and urban areas in PICs. For instance,

the rural areas of Vanuatu, Piliura and Tassiriki village

generate their source of living from sales of products.

While in Funafuti (Tuvalu) which has urb a n facilities, the

major source of living is from wages/salary. Tumaseu

village (Vaitupu Island) has some urban facilities as

noted in Section 2, hence the villagers generate income

from sales of products and wages/salary. Major house-

hold expenses keep food items for all the study sites. In

Tuvalu, most of the food items are imported hence they

are very expensive to obtain. In Vanuatu study sites, the

household income is mainly managed by males. For Tu-

valu study sites, females manage the household income

mainly however a significant number of males also

manage the household income.

7. Acknowledgements

A sincere acknowledgement is extended to Dr. Karen

McNamara, Prof Elisabeth Holland, and Dr. Helene Jacot

Des Combes—Pacific Centre of Environment and Sus-

tainable Development, University of the South Pacific,

USP European Union Global Climate Change Alliance

Project (USP-EUGCCA) for funding this research; USP-

R. D. SINGH, S. L. HEMSTOCK

EU GCCA in Country Coordinators: Mr. William Aru-

dovo (Vanuatu) and Mrs. Teuleala Manuella Morris

(Tuvalu); Mrs. Kale Tuengeri Kaitu (Research Assistant

in Tuvalu); Dr. Roy Smith (Nottingham Trent U nive rsit y)

and communities in Vanuatu (Tassiriki village and Pili-

ura village) and Tuvalu (Vaiaku village, Senala village

and Tumaseu village).

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