Showing papers on "Developing country published in 1999"

Where has all the education gone

Abstract: Cross-national data show no association between increases in human capital attributable to the rising educational attainment of the labor force and the rate of growth of output per worker. This implies that the association of educational capital growth with conventional measures of total factor production is large, strongly statistically significant, and negative. These are 'on average' results, derived from imposing a constant coefficient. However, the development impact of education varied widely across countries and has fallen short of expectations for three possible reasons. First, the institutional/governance environment could have been sufficiently perverse that the accumulation of educational capital lowered economic growth. Second, marginal returns to education could have fallen rapidly as the supply of educated labor expanded while demand remained stagnant. Third, educational quality could have been so low that years of schooling created no human capital. The extent and mix of these three phenomena vary from country to country in explaining the actual economic impact of education, or the lack thereof.

The New Global Economy and Developing Countries: Making Openness Work

Abstract: Policy makers in the developing world are grappling with new dilemmas created by openness to trade and capital flows What role, if any, remains for the state in promoting industrialization? Does openness worsen inequality, and if so, what can be done about it? What is the best way to handle turbulence from the world economy, especially the fickleness of international capital flows? In The New Global Economy and Developing Countries Dani Rodrik argues that successful integration into the world economy requires a complementary set of policies and institutions at home Policy makers must reinforce their external strategy of liberalization with an internal strategy that gives the state substantial responsibility in building physical and human capital and mediating social conflicts

Informal Sector in Developed and less Developed Countries: A Literature Survey

Abstract: The main goal of this study is two-fold: (1) to provide a general overview of thecontributions to the literature on the informal sector, with a special focus on the PublicChoice approach; and (2) to compare these contributions across two institutionallydifferent types of countries: developed and less developed (developing and transition)countries. The paper focuses on the criteria used to define the informal sector, therelationship between the formal and informal economy, tax evasion, and PublicChoice analysis. It is stressed throughout this paper that the distinction between thetwo types of countries is of key importance.

Capital Structure in Developing Countries

Abstract: This study uses a new date set to assess whether capital structure theory is portable across countries with different institutional framework. We analyze capital structure choices of firms in 10 developing countries, and provide evidence that these decisions are affected by the same variables as in developed countries.

Rates and implications of caesarean sections in Latin America: ecological study.

Abstract: Objectives: To estimate the incidences of caesarean sections in Latin American countries and correlate these with socioeconomic, demographic, and healthcare variables. Design: Descriptive and ecological study. Setting: 19 Latin American countries. Main outcome measures: National estimates of caesarean section rates in each country. Results: Seven countries had caesarean section rates below 15%. The remaining 12 countries had rates above 15% (range 16.8% to 40.0%). These 12 countries account for 81% of the deliveries in the region. A positive and significant correlation was observed between the gross national product per capita and rate of caesarean section (rs=0.746), and higher rates were observed in private hospitals than in public ones. Taking 15% as a medically justified accepted rate, over 850 000 unnecessary caesarean sections are performed each year in the region. Conclusions: The reported figures represent an unnecessary increased risk for young women and their babies. From the economic perspective, this is a burden to health systems that work with limited budgets. Key messages 12 of the 19 Latin American countries studied had caesarean section rates above 15%, ranging from 16.8% to 40% These12 countries account for 81% of the deliveries in the region Better socioeconomic conditions were associated with higher caesarean section rates Over 850 000 unnecessary caesarean sections are performed each year in Latin America Reduction of caesarean section rates will need concerted action from public health authorities, medical associations, medical schools, health professionals, the general population, and the media

Some new evidence on determinants of foreign direct investment in developing countries

Abstract: The authors of this paper expand on earlier studies of the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) by empirically analyzing various factors - including political risk, business conditions, and macroeconomic variables - that influence direct investment flows to developing countries. They try to fill a gap in the literature by examining qualitative factors. Using a pooled model of developing countries, they test three groups of hypotheses on what influences direct investment. Tests of the first hypothesis indicate that a qualitative index of political risk is a significant determinant of FDI flows for countries that have historically attracted high FDI flows. For countries that have not attracted such flows, sociopolitical instability has a negative impact on investment flows. Tests of the second hypothesis show that a general qualitative index of business operation conditions is an important determinant of FDI in countries that receive high flows. This country group also shows a positive relationship between taxes on international transactions and FDI flows. Results from tests of the third hypothesis reveal that exports generally, especially manufacturing exports, are significant determinant of FDI flows for countries in which FDI is high. Finally, export orientation is the strongest variable for explaining why a country attracts FDI. This finding is in line with the secular trend toward increasing complementarity between trade and FDI.

Implementation of Uruguay Round Commitments: The Development Challenge

Abstract: At the Uruguay Round, developing countries took on obligations not only to reduce trade barriers but also to undertake significant reforms of regulations and trade procedures. The Round did not, however, take into account the cost of implementing these reforms - a full year's development budget for many of the least developed countries - nor did it ask whether the money might be more productive in other development uses. At the Uruguay Round, developing countries took on unprecedented obligations not only to reduce trade barriers but to implement significant reforms both of trade procedures (including import licensing procedures and customs valuation) and of many areas of regulation that establish the basic business environment in the domestic economy (including intellectual property law and technical, sanitary, and phytosanitary standards. This will cost substantial amounts of money. World Bank project experience in areas covered by the agreements suggests that an entire year's development budget is at stake in many of the least developed countries. Institutions in these areas are weak in developing countries, and would benefit from strengthening and reform. But Finger and Schuler's analysis indicates that the obligations reflect little awareness of development problems and little appreciation for the capacities of the least developed countries to carry out the functions that these reforms of regulations and trade procedures address. The content of these obligations can be characterized as the advanced countries saying to the others, Do it my way! Moreover, these developing countries had limited capacity to participate in the Uruguay Round negotiations, so the process has generated no sense of ownership of the reforms to which membership in the World Trade Organization obligates them. From their perspective, the implementation exercise has been imposed imperially, with little concern for what it will cost, how it will be carried out, or whether it will support their development efforts. This paper - a product of Trade, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to support effective developing country participation in the WTO system. This research was supported by the global and regional trust fund component of the World Bank/Netherlands Partnership Program.

Rural non-farm income in developing countries

Abstract: The traditional image of farm households in developing countries has been that they focus almost exclusively on farming and undertake little rural non-farm (RNF) activity. This image persists and is widespread even today. Policy debate still tends to equate farm income with rural incomes, and rural/urban relations with farm/non-farm relations. Industry Ministries have thus focused on urban industry and Ministries of Agriculture on farming, and there has been a tendency even among agriculturists and those interested in rural development to neglect the RNF sector.

How Extensive Is the Brain Drain

Abstract: Perhaps the oldest question in economics is why some countries are rich while others are poor. Economic theory has emphasized that differences in the educational levels of the population are an important part of the answer and that improved schooling opportunities should raise incomes in developing countries. Yet, while there is little doubt that highly educated workers in many developing countries are scarce, it is also true that many scientists, engineers, physicians, and other professionals from developing countries work in Canada, the United States, and Western Europe. This phenomenon, often referred to as the "brain drain," was noticed as early as the 1960s and has been a contentious issue in the North-South debate ever since. One important implication of the brain drain is that investment in education in a developing country may not lead to faster economic growth if a large number of its highly educated people leave the country. Also, efforts to reduce specific skill shortages through improved educational opportunities may be largely futile unless measures are taken to offset existing incentives for highly educated people to emigrate.

Developing Difference: Social Organization and the Rise of the Auto Industries of South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, and Argentina

Abstract: Theories of economic development as diverse as modernization, dependency, world-system, and market reform take a "critical factor" view. Proponents of each theory argue that countries fail to develop because of an obstacle to economic growth. We argue instead that neither a critical factor nor a single path leads to economic development; viable paths vary. Economic growth depends on linking a country's historically developed patterns of social organization to the opportunities of global markets. We formulate a sociological theory of cross-national comparative advantage including not only economic factor endowments but also institutionalized patterns of authority and organization. Such patterns legitimize certain actors and certain relationships among those actors, which facilitate development success in some activities but not in others. We illustrate this approach to understanding development outcomes with a comparative analysis of the difficult rise of the automobile assembly and components industries in South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, and Argentina.

A bibliometric analysis of international scientific cooperation of the European Union (1985–1995)

Abstract: Scientific cooperation of the EU countries with other developed regions, with Economies in Transition and with Developing Countries is analysed as it is reflected in the bibliometric indicators of internationally co-authored publications. The citation attractivity of these publications shows that international scientific collaboration is particularly advantageous for less advanced countries, but also highly industrialised countries benefit from it.

Child mortality and public spending on health: How much does money matter?

Abstract: The authors use cross-national data to examine the impact on child (under 5) and infant mortality of both nonhealth (economic, cultural, and educational) factors and public spending on health They come up with two striking findings: 1) Roughly 95 percent of cross-national variation in mortality can be explained by a country's per capita income, the distribution of income, the extent of women's education, the level of ethnic fragmentation, and the predominant religion 2) Public spending on health has relatively little impact, with a coefficient that is numerically small and statistically insignificant at conventional levels Independent variations in public spending explain less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the observed differences in mortality across countries The estimates imply that for a developing country at average income levels, actual public spending per child death averted is $50,000 to $100,000 This contrasts markedly with a typical range of estimates for the cost-effectiveness of medical interventions to avert the main causes of child mortality of $10 to $4,000 They outline three possible explanations for this divergence between the actual and apparent potential of public spending: the allocation of public spending, the net impact of additional public supply, and public sector efficacy

The New Era of Mexican Migration to the United States

Abstract: The decade of the 1970s ended a long period of economic growth based on a development model applied widely in the years after World War II. The fundamental aim of this model was to create and sustain internal markets that could serve as springboards for broader economic growth. In industrial nations, governments employed regulation, spending, and monetary policies to generate consumer demand capable of supporting mass production and sustained growth. In developing nations, officials undertook large-scale spending and investment to generate income and eliminate bottlenecks in production; at the same time they erected barriers to the entry of foreign goods and services, thus creating internal demand that national producersboth public and private-could satisfy to initiate and sustain industrialization. The promotion of economic development through these strategies instigated new migratory movements. In the developing world, much of the geographic mobility was internal, with high rates of rural-to-urban migration and rapid urbanization. In developed countries, domestic labor reserves were quickly exhausted, and foreign workers were imported to enable rapid economic growth without inflation. In Western Europe, for example, immigrant workers were initially recruited from culturally similar but less advantaged countries in the south, such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece, but by the 1960s these sources were tapped out and migrants from culturally dissimilar and much poorer nations in North Africa and the Middle East were recruited in their stead. By the early 1970s, a series of guest-worker agreements and bilateral treaties had brought hundreds of thousands of Turkish workers into Germany and large numbers of Algerians, Moroccans, and Tunisians into France.' In the United States, foreign workers were imported under the aegis of the 1942 Bracero Accord, which over the next twenty-two years arranged for the recruitment

Can anyone hear us? Voices from 47 countries.

Abstract: This study is part of a global research effort entitled Consultations with the Poor designed to inform the World Development Report 2000/1 on Poverty and Development The research involved poor people in twenty-three countries around the world The effort also included two comprehensive reviews of Participatory Poverty Assessments completed in recent years by the World Bank and other agencies Deepa Narayan Principal Social Development Specialist in the World Banks Poverty Group initiated and led the research effort The global Consultations with the Poor is unique in two respects It is the first large scale comparative research effort using participatory methods to focus on the voices of the poor It is also the first time that the World Development Report is drawing on participatory research in a systematic fashion Much has been learned in this process about how to conduct Participatory Poverty Assessments on a major scale across countries so that they have policy relevance Findings from the country studies are already being used at the national level and the methodology developed by the study team is already being adopted by many others (authors)

Implementation of Ururguay Round commitments : the development challenge

Abstract: At the Uruguay Round, developing countries took on unprecedented obligations not only to reduce trade barriers, but to implement significant reforms both of trade procedures, e.g., import licensing procedures, customs valuation and of many areas of regulation that establish the basic business environment in the domestic economy, e.g., technical, sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS), intellectual property law. Implementing such reforms are investment decisions in that implementation will require purchase of equipment, training of people, establishment of systems of checks and balances, etc. This will cost money and the amounts of money involved are substantial. Based on World Bank project experience in the areas covered by the agreements, an entire year's development budget is at stake in many of the least developed countries. Least developed country institutions in these areas are weak, and would benefit from strengthening and reform. However, the authors'analysis indicates that the World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations reflect little awareness of development problems and little appreciation of the capacities of the least developed countries to carry out the functions that SPS, customs valuation, intellectual property, etc. regulations address. The content of these obligations can be characterized as the advanced countries saying to the others,"Do it my way!"The authors touch at the beginning on another important point. Because of their limited capacity to participate in the Uruguay Round negotiations, the WTO process has generated no sense of"ownership"of the reforms to which WTO membership obligates them. From their perspective, the implementation exercise has been imposed in an imperial way, with little concern for what it will cost, how it will be done, or if it will support their development efforts.

How do researchers influence decision-makers? Case studies of Mexican policies.

Abstract: Though the problems translating or applying research in policy-making are legion, solutions are rare. As developing countries increase their capacities to develop effective local solutions to their health problems, they confront the research/policy dilemma. Yet few descriptive studies of research-policy links can be found from developing countries, and the relevance of European and North American models and data is questionable. We report the results of a descriptive study from Mexico of the relationship between health research and policy in four vertical programmes (AIDS, cholera, family planning, immunization). We interviewed 67 researchers and policy-makers from different institutions and levels of responsibility. We analyzed interviewee responses looking for factors that promoted or impeded exchanges between researchers and policy-makers. These were, in turn, divided into emphases on content, actors, process, and context. Many of the promoting factors resembled findings from studies in industrialized countries. Some important differences across the four programmes, which also distinguish them from industrialized country programmes, included extent of reliance on formal communication channels, role of the mass media in building social consensus or creating discord, levels of social consensus, role of foreign donors, and extent of support for biomedical versus social research. We recommend various ways to increase the impact of research on health policy-making in Mexico. Some of the largest challenges include the fact that researchers are but one of many interest groups, and research but one input among many equally legitimate elements to be considered by policy-makers. Another important challenge in Mexico is the relatively small role played by the public in policy-making. Further democratic changes in Mexico may be the most important incentive to increase the use of research in policy-making.

V‐Goods and the Role of the Urban Informal Sector in Development

Abstract: This paper analyzes the role of the urban informal sector in a developing country in relation to the performance of agriculture and other rural activities on the one hand and that of urban formal sector activities on the other. It decomposes the sectors into traditional and modernizing components traceable to production and consumption linkages with the rest of the economy as well as the character of government interventions over time. The paper contrasts success cases a la Taiwan in which the overall size of the urban informal sector remains modest the modernizing sub-sector grows in relative importance and the end of overall labor surplus is reached rather early with non-success cases a la the Philippines in which rapid rural-urban migration enhances the overall size of the urban informal sector the traditional sub-sector grows relatively and the end of the labor surplus condition is substantially delayed. (authors)

A temporal model of institutional interventions for information technology adoption in less-developed countries

Abstract: This empirical study of Internet adoption in four Latin American countries delineates a gradual but progressive course of institutional actions and suggests a temporal ordering of the actions--including knowledge building, subsidy, knowledge deployment, innovation directive, and standard setting. The temporal model reveals how each country sustained the momentum of its evolving strategy, grew in competence to forge technological solutions, and gained access to the Internet. The four countries' original goals changed, but through experience they perceived new opportunities and established evolving Internet strategies that form the bases of new technological services provided at the national level.

Linkages between government spending, growth, and poverty in rural India

Abstract: "This research report on India addresses an important policy issue faced by policy-makers in many developing countries: how to allocate public funds more efficiently in order to achieve both growth and poverty-reduction goals in rural areas. This research is particularly important at a time when many developing countries are undergoing substantial budget cuts as part of macroeconomic reforms and adjustment. The econometric model employed in this research includes a broad range of government expenditure items. It traces their effects on productivity growth and poverty alleviation and ranks them, exploring the potential trade-offs and complementarities of the two goals. Of the various investments weighed, the report finds that investments in rural roads and agricultural research and development have the greatest impact, while government spending specifically targeted to poverty reduction such as rural development and employment pro rams have only modest effects. In the light of these results, many developing countries may want to take a second look at their policies for poverty reduction and growth." (Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen)

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Child Malnutrition in the Developing World

Abstract: Despite the development community's shift in emphasis toward the poor, malnutrition, like other dimensions of poor health, is concentrated among the worst off. Yet targets are still defined in terms of population averages. Consider, then, this information about malnutrition rates among different economic groups in 20 developing countries. Among the conclusions Wagstaff and Watanabe reach about malnutrition rates among different economic groups: · Inequalities in malnutrition almost always disfavor the poor. · It's not just that the poor have higher rates of malnutrition. The rate of malnutrition declines continuously with rising living standards. · The tendency of poorer children to have higher rates of stunting and underweight is not due to chance or sampling variability. Inequalities in stunting and underweight, as measured by the concentration index, are statistically significant in almost all countries. · Inequalities in underweight tend to be larger than inequalities in stunting, which tend to be larger than inequalities in wasting. · In most cases, whatever the malnutrition indicator, differences in inequality between countries are not statistically significant. · Even if attention is restricted to the cross-country differences in inequality that are statistically significant, interesting conclusions emerge. Egypt and Vietnam have the most equal distributions of malnutrition, and Nicaragua, Peru, and, to a lesser extent, Morocco have highly unequal distributions. · Some countries (such as Egypt and Romania) do well in terms of both the average (the prevalence of malnutrition) and the distribution (equality). Others do badly on both counts. Peru, for example, has a higher average level of stunting than Egypt and higher poor-nonpoor inequality. But many countries do well on one count and badly on the other. Brazil, for example, has a far lower (less than 20 percent) stunting rate overall than Bangladesh (more than 50 percent) but has four times as much inequality (as measured by the concentration index). · Use of an achievement index that captures both the average level and the inequality of malnutrition leads to some interesting rank reversals in the country league table. With stunting, for example, focusing on the achievement index moves Egypt (a low-inequality country) from sixth position to fourth, higher than Brazil and Russia (two countries with high inequality). This paper - a product of Poverty and Human Resources, Development Research Group, and the Health, Nutrition, and Population Team, Human Development Network - is part of a larger effort in the Bank to investigate the links between health and poverty. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Inequalities of Child Health: Comparing the LSMS and DHS (RPO 683-47). The authors may be contacted at awagstaff@worldbank.org or nwatanabe@worldbank.org.

Causality tests of budget and current account deficits: cross-country comparisons

Abstract: This study attempts to determine the causal relationship between budget and current account deficits as well as the direction of such causality. A selected sample of some developed and developing countries with annual time series data is used and cointegration techniques are applied to bring evidence regarding this important issue. Our results do not support any long-run relationship between the two deficits for developed countries while the data for developing countries do not reject such a relationship. However, our results suggest a causal relationship between the two deficits for most of the sample countries.

Attitudes of Developing Counties Towards “Country-of-Origin” Products in an Era of Multiple Brands

Abstract: Outside Nigeria, very little is known about the attitudes of Nigerian consumers towards Nigeria-made-products. This study investigated the influence of country-of-origin on attitudes towards products made in three technologically more advanced (TMA) countries and three technologically less advanced (TLA) countries. Three generic product forms, namely products-in-general∗ cars/spare parts and electronics were compared on six product-related attributes for the six countries. The results showed that products from the TMA countries were viewed more positively by nationals of developing countries, than those from the TLA countries. The respondents rated all products from developed countries more favorably than homemade products, suggesting reverse ethnocen-trism. In addition to the influence of the image of the country-of-origin and actual experience with the product, attitudes towards foreign production may have benefited from the sheer idea of foreignness being superior to domestic products or servi...