World development indicators 2010
01 Jan 2010-pp 1-470
TL;DR: The 2010 edition of the World Development Indicators as mentioned in this paper focused on progress toward the Millennium Development Goals and the challenges of meeting them on this, the 10th anniversary of the millennium declaration.
Abstract: The 1998 edition of world development indicators initiated a series of annual reports on progress toward the International development goals. In the foreword then, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn recognized that 'by reporting regularly and systematically on progress toward the targets the international community has set for itself, the author will focus attention on the task ahead and make those responsible for advancing the development agenda accountable for results.' The same vision inspired world leaders to commit themselves to the millennium development goals. On this, the 10th anniversary of the millennium declaration, world development indicators 2010 focuses on progress toward the millennium development goals and the challenges of meeting them.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether there is a threshold above which financial development no longer has a positive effect on economic growth, and they used dierent empirical approaches to show that there can indeed be too much finance.
Abstract: This paper examines whether there is a threshold above which …nancial development no longer has a positive eect on economic growth. We use dierent empirical approaches to show that there can indeed be "too much" …nance. In particular, our results suggest that …nance starts having a negative eect on output growth when credit to the private sector reaches 100% of GDP. We show that our results are consistent with the "vanishing eect" of …nancial development and that they are not driven by output volatility, banking crises, low institutional quality, or by dierences in bank regulation and supervision.
1,073 citations
University of Washington1, Harvard University2, University of the West Indies3, Stanford University4, GAVI Alliance5, World Health Organization6, University of California, San Francisco7, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation8, Peking University9, International Monetary Fund10, Columbia University11, Princeton University12, African Development Bank13, United States Agency for International Development14, Public Health Foundation of India15, Results for Development Institute16, University of Oslo17
TL;DR: A recent report by the Lancet Commission revisited the case for investment in health and developed a new investment framework to achieve dramatic health gains by 2035 as discussed by the authors, which is, a reduction in infectious, maternal, and child mortality down to universally low levels.
1,069 citations
18 Sep 2013
TL;DR: The EFW index as discussed by the authors ranks countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom, and places Australia at number 10 in the list of countries with the highest economic freedom.
Abstract: This report uses 42 distinct variables to create an index ranking of countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom, and places Australia at number 10. Executive summary The index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of privately owned property. Forty-two variables are used to construct a summary index and to measure the degree of economic freedom in five broad areas: 1 Size of Government; 2 Legal System and Property Rights; 3 Sound Money; 4 Freedom to Trade Internationally; 5 Regulation. Since our first publication in 1996, numerous studies have used the data published in Economic Freedom of the World to examine the impact of economic freedom on investment, economic growth, income levels, and poverty rates. Virtually without exception, these studies have found that countries with institutions and policies more consistent with economic freedom have higher investment rates, more rapid economic growth, higher income levels, and a more rapid reduction in poverty rates. The EFW index now covers 152 countries and territories. Data are available for approximately 100 nations and territories back to 1980, and many back to 1970.3 This data set makes it possible for scholars to analyze the impact of both cross-country differences in economic freedom and changes in that freedom across a threedecade time frame.
1,010 citations
TL;DR: The level of genetic diversity within a society is found to have a hump-shaped effect on development outcomes in both the pre-colonial and the modern era, reflecting the trade-off between the beneficial and the detrimental effects of diversity on productivity.
Abstract: This research advances and empirically establishes the hypothesis that, in the course of the prehistoric exodus of Homo sapiens out of Africa, variation in migratory distance to various settlements across the globe affected genetic diversity and has had a persistent humpshaped effect on comparative economic development, reflecting the trade-off between the beneficial and the detrimental effects of diversity on productivity. While the low diversity of Native American populations and the high diversity of African populations have been detrimental for the development of these regions, the intermediate levels of diversity associated with European and Asian populations have been conducive for development. (JEL N10, N30, N50, O10, O50, Z10) Prevailing hypotheses of comparative economic development highlight various determinants of the remarkable inequality in income per capita across the globe. The significance of geographical, institutional, and cultural factors, human capital, ethnolinguistic fractionalization, colonialism, and globalization has been at the heart of a debate concerning the genesis of the astounding transformation in the pattern of comparative development over the past few centuries. While early research focused on the proximate forces that contributed to the divergence in living
870 citations
Cites methods from "World development indicators 2010"
...by the 53 ethnic groups in the HGDP-CEPH dataset, and using genetic diversity predicted by migratory distance from East Africa in an extended sample of 145 countries. In the 21-country sample, genetic diversity and migratory distance are aggregated up to the country level by averaging across the set of ethnic groups located within a given country.(21) For the extended sample, however, the distance calculation methodology of Ramachandran et al. (2005) is adopted to first construct migratory distance from East Africa for each country, using Addis Ababa as the origin and the country’s modern capital city as the destination along with the aforementioned waypoints for restricting the migration route to landmasses as much as possible....
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01 Oct 2012
TL;DR: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) as mentioned in this paper brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options.
Abstract: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. It has been peer-reviewed anonymously by an additional 200 international experts. The GEA assesses the major global challenges for sustainable development and their linkages to energy; the technologies and resources available for providing energy services; future energy systems that address the major challenges; and the policies and other measures that are needed to realize transformational change toward sustainable energy futures. The GEA goes beyond existing studies on energy issues by presenting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of energy chalenges, opportunities and strategies, for developing, industrialized and emerging economies. This volume is a invaluable resource for energy specialists and technologists in all sectors (academia, industry and government) as well as policymakers, development economists and practitioners in international organizations and national governments.
812 citations