Showing papers on "Developing country published in 2006"
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: This first edition provides information on disease control interventions for the most common diseases and injuries in developing countries to help them define essential health service packages and offers preventive and case management guidelines critical to improving the quality of care.
Abstract: This first edition provides information on disease control interventions for the most common diseases and injuries in developing countries to help them define essential health service packages. Life expectancy in developing countries increased from forty to sixty-three years between 1950 and 1990 with a concommitant rise in the incidence of noncommunicable diseases of adults and the elderly. It is still necessary to deal with under nutrition and communicable childhood diseases. Also, new epidemic diseases like AIDS are emerging, and the health of the poor during economic crisis is a growing concern. These health developments intensify the need for better information on the effectiveness and cost of health interventions. The information is intended for health practitioners at every level. Individual chapters offer preventive and case management guidelines critical to improving the quality of care. The need for health sector reform is global. Both developed and developing countries, and centrally planned and market oriented health systems share basic dissatisfaction with the present organization and financing of health care delivery and a conviction that there are better ways to obtain results with the available resources. This book attempts to assist health sector reformers to review existing services and adapt them to provide the most cost effective interventions available.
2,381 citations
TL;DR: In half the larger low-income and lower-middle income countries (mainly in Africa), contraceptive practice remains low and fertility, population growth, and unmet need for family planning are high, and greater investment in family planning in these countries compelling.
1,095 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the characteristics of leading state economic structures in 35 developing countries in the period of 1970-1990 as well as the growth rates in these countries and found that these Weber indicators considerably increase the likelihood of economic development even though we control the GDP per capita and the amount of human capital.
Abstract: Since Weber’s classical works, that were published more than a hundred years ago, sociologist still pay a lot of attention to the investigation of role of bureaucratic authorities in the development of economic growth. Basing on new original data we analyzed the characteristics of leading state economic structures in 35 developing countries in the period of 1970-1990 as well as the growth rates in these countries. We suggest the Weberianness scale which has a simple way of estimating of the meritocratic hiring of the employees and predictable long-term waged career growth. We find out that these Weber indicators considerably increase the likelihood of economic development even though we control the GDP per capita and the amount of human capital. Our results prove that Weberianness should be included in the models of economic development as one of the main factors. Moreover the politicians should more focus on establishing qualitative bureaucratic structures while sociologists should pay more attention to the studies of state bureaucracies differences.
1,006 citations
TL;DR: The authors empirically analyzes economic and noneconomic determinants of individual attitudes toward immigrants, within and across countries, and finds that the correlation between pro-immigration attitudes and individual skill should be related to the skill composition of natives relative to immigrants in the destination country.
Abstract: This paper empirically analyzes economic and noneconomic determinants of individual attitudes toward immigrants, within and across countries. The two survey data sets used, covering a wide range of developed and developing countries, make it possible to test for interactive effects between individual characteristics and country-level attributes. In particular, theory predicts that the correlation between pro-immigration attitudes and individual skill should be related to the skill composition of natives relative to immigrants in the destination country. Skilled individuals should favor immigration in countries where natives are more skilled than immigrants and oppose it otherwise. Results based on direct and indirect measures of the relative skill composition are consistent with these predictions. Noneconomic variables also are correlated with immigration attitudes, but they don't alter significantly the labor-market results.
924 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relation between elections and fiscal policy and found evidence of political budget cycles: on average, government fiscal deficit increases by almost 1% of GDP in election years.
801 citations
TL;DR: A critical review of studies carried out in low- and middle-income countries focusing on the economic consequences for households of illness and health care use highlights that health care financing strategies that place considerable emphasis on out-of-pocket payments can impoverish households.
739 citations
01 Apr 2006
TL;DR: In 2000, the United Nations millennium summit called on all countries to work toward a quantified, time-bound set of development targets, which became the millennium development goals (MDG), and the idea of working toward specific goals has evolved into a general strategy of managing for development results as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The developing world has made remarkable progress. The number of people living in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day has fallen by about 400 million in the last 25 years. Many more children, particularly girls, are completing primary school. Illiteracy rates have fallen by half in 30 years. And life expectancy is nearly 15 years longer, on average, than it was 40 years ago. The demand for statistics to measure progress and demonstrate the effectiveness of development programs has stimulated growing interest in the production and dissemination of statistics. And not just in the traditional domains of debt, demographics, and national accounts, but in new areas such as biodiversity, information, communications, technology, and measures of government and business performance. In response World Development Indicators (WDI) has continued to grow and change. In 1999 members of the statistical community, recognizing that the production of sound statistics for measuring progress is a global responsibility, established the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the twenty-first century (PARIS21) to strengthen statistical capacity at all levels. In 2000 the United Nations millennium summit called on all countries to work toward a quantified, time-bound set of development targets, which became the millennium development goals (MDG). In the five years since the millennium summit, the idea of working toward specific goals has evolved into a general strategy of managing for development results. Countries are reporting on progress toward the MDG and monitoring their own results using a variety of economic and social indicators. Bilateral and multilateral development agencies are incorporating results into their own management planning and evaluation systems and using new indicators to set targets for harmonizing their joint work programs. All of these efforts depend on statistics.
696 citations
TL;DR: These estimates are probably underestimates, but represent a rigorous attempt to measure the numbers of babies dying during the last trimester of pregnancy and are the first step towards making stillbirths count in public-health action.
514 citations
TL;DR: Although many scientific, programmatic, and financial challenges face the global use of rotavirus vaccines, these vaccines-and new candidates in the pipeline-hold promise to make an immediate and measurable effect to improve child health and survival from this common burden affecting all children.
489 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors determine how time delays affect international trade using newly collected World Bank data on the days it takes to move standard cargo from the factory gate to the ship in 126 countries.
Abstract: The authors determine how time delays affect international trade using newly collected World Bank data on the days it takes to move standard cargo from the factory gate to the ship in 126 countries. They estimate a modified gravity equation, controlling for endogeneity and remoteness. On average, each additional day that a product is delayed prior to being shipped reduces trade by at least 1 percent. Put differently, each day is equivalent to a country distancing itself from its trade partners by 70 kilometers on average. Delays have an even greater impact on developing country exports and exports of time-sensitive goods, such as perishable agricultural products. In particular, a day's delay reduces a country's relative exports of time-sensitive to time-insensitive agricultural goods by 6 percent.
459 citations
TL;DR: This paper provided a unified conceptual framework for organizing the literature on the benefits and costs of financial globalization for developing countries, but along many disparate channels and with a variety of apparently conflicting results.
Abstract: The literature on the benefits and costs of financial globalization for developing countries has exploded in recent years, but along many disparate channels and with a variety of apparently conflicting results. For instance, there is still little robust evidence of the growth benefits of broad capital account liberalization, but a number of recent papers in the finance literature report that equity market liberalizations do significantly boost growth. Similarly, evidence based on microeconomic (firm- or industry-level) data shows some benefits of financial integration and the distortionary effects of capital controls, while the macroeconomic evidence remains inconclusive. We attempt to provide a unified conceptual framework for organizing this vast and growing literature. This framework allows us to provide a fresh synthetic perspective on the macroeconomic effects of financial globalization, in terms of both growth and volatility. Overall, our critical reading of the recent empirical literature is that it lends some qualified support to the view that developing countries can benefit from financial globalization, but with many nuances. On the other hand, there is little systematic evidence to support widely cited claims that financial globalization by itself leads to deeper and more costly developing country growth crises.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarized the recent trends in the epidemiology and survival of cancers in the developing and developed world, and explored potential causes and policy responses to the disproportionate and growing cancer burden in less developed countries.
TL;DR: The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis and improvements in security and increased humanitarian assistance are urgently needed.
TL;DR: The authors used detailed data on all insurance networks within a village in Tanzania and found evidence consistent with at least partial insurance of non-food consumption via networks, while full risk-sharing occurs within these networks.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that assuming reasonable spreads between the yield on reserve assets and the cost of foreign borrowing, the income loss to these countries amounts to close to 1% of GDP, which does not seem too steep a price as an insurance premium against financial crises.
Abstract: There has been a very rapid rise since the early 1990s in foreign reserves held by developing countries. These reserves have climbed to almost 30% of developing countries' GDP and 8 months of imports. Assuming reasonable spreads between the yield on reserve assets and the cost of foreign borrowing, the income loss to these countries amounts to close to 1% of GDP. Conditional on existing levels of short-term foreign borrowing, this does not seem too steep a price as an insurance premium against financial crises. But why developing countries have not tried harder to reduce short-term foreign liabilities in order to achieve the same level of liquidity (thereby paying a smaller cost in terms of reserve accumulation) remains an important puzzle.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the role that climate change has played in the pattern of urbanization in sub-Saharan African countries compared to the rest of the developing world and find that this link has become stronger since decolonization, which is likely due to the often simultaneous lifting of legislation prohibiting the free internal movement of native Africans.
Posted Content•
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors determined how time delays affect international trade, using newly-collected World Bank data on the days it takes to move standard cargo from the factory gate to the ship in 126 countries.
Abstract: We determine how time delays affect international trade, using newly-collected World Bank data on the days it takes to move standard cargo from the factory gate to the ship in 126 countries. We estimate a modified gravity equation, controlling for endogeneity and remoteness. On average, each additional day that a product is delayed prior to being shipped reduces trade by at least 1 percent. Put differently, each day is equivalent to a country distancing itself from its trade partners by 70 km on average. Delays have an even greater impact on developing country exports and exports of time-sensitive goods, such as perishable agricultural products. In particular, a day's delay reduces a country's relative exports of time-sensitive to time-insensitive agricultural goods by 6 percent.
Posted Content•
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the impact of education and other policies on the quantity and quality of education obtained by children in developing countries, including provision of basic inputs and change in the way that schools are organized.
Abstract: About 80% of the world's children live in developing countries. Their well-being as adults depends heavily on the education they receive. School enrollment rates have increased dramatically in developing counties since 1960, but many children still leave school at a young age and often learn little while in school. This chapter reviews recent research on the impact of education and other policies on the quantity and quality of education obtained by children in developing countries. The policies considered include not only provision of basic inputs but also policies that change the way that schools are organized. While much has been learned about how to raise enrollment rates, less is known about how to increase learning. Randomized studies offer the most promise for understanding the impact of policies on learning.
TL;DR: Behavior change programs, particularly involving extensive promotion of “zero grazing” (faithfulness and partner reduction), contributed to the early declines in casual/multiple sexual partnerships and HIV incidence and, along with other factors including condom use, to the subsequent sharp decline in HIV prevalence.
Abstract: There has been considerable interest in understanding what may have led to Uganda's dramatic decline in HIV prevalence, one of the world's earliest and most compelling AIDS prevention successes. Survey and other data suggest that a decline in multi-partner sexual behavior is the behavioral change most likely associated with HIV decline. It appears that behavior change programs, particularly involving extensive promotion of “zero grazing” (faithfulness and partner reduction), largely developed by the Ugandan government and local NGOs including faith-based, women’s, people-living-with-AIDS and other community-based groups, contributed to the early declines in casual/multiple sexual partnerships and HIV incidence and, along with other factors including condom use, to the subsequent sharp decline in HIV prevalence. Yet the debate over “what happened in Uganda” continues, often involving divisive abstinence-versus-condoms rhetoric, which appears more related to the culture wars in the USA than to African social reality.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how, when and to what extent HR practices affect performance at the employee level in Eritrea and found that the Eritrean economic and political environment within which HR practices operate has not conducive in maximizing the impact of HR practices on performance.
Abstract: In this article, the authors examine how, when and to what extent HR practices affect performance at the employee level. As performance is a multi-faceted and complicated concept, HRM outcomes were used as mediating factors between HR practices and employee performance. The data were collected among civil servants in Eritrea, Africa's youngest and poorest country. Although the results generally are in line with previous studies using Western data, their implications in this particular country may be different. Therefore, the challenges and prospects of HR practices in Eritrean civil service organizations are critically analysed and discussed. In the authors' opinion, that the Eritrean economic and political environment within which HR practices operate has not been conducive in maximizing the impact of HR practices on performance. These findings highlight the situation of most developing countries.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors estimated the rate and numbers of hospital admissions resulting from unsafe abortions in developing countries to help quantify the problem and highlight the need for improved access to post-abortion care.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the factors that could explain the adoption of international accounting standards by developing countries, including economic growth, education level, the degree of external economic openness, cultural membership in a group of countries, and the existence of a capital market.
TL;DR: Differences between developed/developing countries is summarized and key factors for a successful e-government implementation are identified and an implementation framework is proposed.
Abstract: Given the fact that more and more governments invest heavily in e-government design and implementation, e-government has become an evolving and important research area in the IS field. Most, if not all, currently published e-government strategies are based on successful experiences from developed countries, which may not be directly applicable to developing countries. Based on a literature review, this study summarizes differences between developed/developing countries. It identifies key factors for a successful e-government implementation and proposes an implementation framework. As a demonstration, we follow the guidance of the proposed framework in conducting a case study to analyze the implementation strategies of e-government in developed and developing countries.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the link between the presence of migrants in the United States and U.S. FDI in the migrants' countries of origin, taking into account the potential endogeneity concerns.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore and analyse the factors influencing the relative success and failure of new public management (NPM) initiatives in the developing world, with particular reference to Singapore and Bangladesh.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyse the factors influencing the relative success and failure of new public management (NPM) initiatives in the developing world, with particular reference to Singapore and Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approach – Secondary materials have been extensively used, interpreted and reinterpreted to substantiate the arguments. The analysis has been confined to two countries. However, the experiences of NPM initiatives of other countries have also been analysed to strengthen the arguments.Findings – There are some critical factors such as the advanced level of economic development, the existence of a formal market economy, the rule of law, the advanced level of administrative infrastructure and state efficiency for the success of NPM‐oriented reforms. To a large extent, Singapore fulfills these conditions. Bangladesh is lagging behind these conditions, and has achieved very little in NPM initiatives. The findings also indicate that there is still a greater...
TL;DR: Social inequalities in the two Latin American countries display a pattern emerging in other research on developing countries: namely that those in the higher educated groups are more likely to consume alcohol in a risky manner.
Abstract: AIMS: We investigated the presence of social inequalities of alcohol use and misuse using educational attainment as an indicator of socio-economic status in 15 countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Israel, Brazil, and Mexico. METHODS: Study surveys were independently conducted and the data centrally analysed. Most samples were national. Survey modes and sample sizes varied. The age range was restricted to between 25 and 59 years of age. Socio-economic status was measured by educational level. Multiple logistic regressions were employed to calculate age-adjusted odds ratios for men and women in each country by educational level for current drinking status, heavy drinking (>/=20 g ethanol per day for women, >/=30 g a day for men), heavy episodic (binge) drinking, and alcohol-related problems (using AUDIT). RESULTS: Men and women demonstrated similar patterns in inequalities with regard to current drinking status within a country. In Germany, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Austria higher educated women were most likely to drink heavily, while among men the lower educated were more at risk in most countries. For heavy episodic drinking, almost no significant differences were evident among women, but for men a social gradient was observable with lower educated being more at risk in several countries. Among five countries with data from the AUDIT, men of lower education in Finland, Czech Republic, and Hungary had higher risks to report problems. Nordic countries shared a common pattern in social inequalities as did two Latin American countries, while a mixed picture was observed for middle European countries. Social inequalities in the two Latin American countries display a pattern emerging in other research on developing countries: namely that those in the higher educated groups are more likely to consume alcohol in a risky manner. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns in the distribution of social inequalities are not universal. Social inequalities in alcohol use differ by gender according to alcohol measure used and differ also across groups of countries. These variations should be taken into account when formulating international and cross-cultural alcohol policies. Language: en
TL;DR: The lack of reliable data on perinatal mortality in Brazil, due to poor registration of births and deaths—particularly stillbirths— justified the launch of the study, which led to FCB's PhD thesis.
Abstract: Pelotas is a city in the extreme south of Brazil, near the border of Uruguay, with 214 000 urban inhabitants in 1982. At the time, we were assistant professors, each working in one of the two medical schools in the city, and both undergoing post-graduate training at the University of London. We were inspired by the findings of the British perinatal study, and one of us (FCB) decided to do a similar study for his doctoral thesis. The lack of reliable data on perinatal mortality in Brazil, due to poor registration of births and deaths—particularly stillbirths— justified the launch of the study. Funding from the International Development Research Center (Canada) was obtained for the perinatal survey, which led to FCB’s PhD thesis. 1,2
TL;DR: Wide disparities exist in the quality, availability, and delivery of infertility services between the developed and developing nations of the world.
TL;DR: In this paper, the determinants of innovative inputs and outputs and their impacts on manufacturing firms' productivity in developing countries were analyzed using panel data from innovation surveys in Argentina with information for 1992-2001 and showed that large firms have a higher probability of engaging in innovation activities and of becoming innovators.
Posted Content•
TL;DR: Workers' remittances to developing countries have become the second largest type of flows after foreign direct investment as mentioned in this paper, and they contribute to increasing the aggregate level of deposits and credit intermediated by the local banking sector.
Abstract: Workers' remittances to developing countries have become the second largest type of flows after foreign direct investment. The authors use data on workers' remittance flows to 99 developing countries from 1975-2003 to study the impact of remittances on financial sector development. In particular, they examine whether remittances contribute to increasing the aggregate level of deposits and credit intermediated by the local banking sector. This is an important question considering the extensive literature that has documented the growth-enhancing and poverty-reducing effects of financial development. The findings provide strong support for the notion that remittances promote financial development in developing countries.