Showing papers on "Developing country published in 2009"

The building blocks of economic complexity

Abstract: For Adam Smith, wealth was related to the division of labor As people and firms specialize in different activities, economic efficiency increases, suggesting that development is associated with an increase in the number of individual activities and with the complexity that emerges from the interactions between them Here we develop a view of economic growth and development that gives a central role to the complexity of a country's economy by interpreting trade data as a bipartite network in which countries are connected to the products they export, and show that it is possible to quantify the complexity of a country's economy by characterizing the structure of this network Furthermore, we show that the measures of complexity we derive are correlated with a country's level of income, and that deviations from this relationship are predictive of future growth This suggests that countries tend to converge to the level of income dictated by the complexity of their productive structures, indicating that development efforts should focus on generating the conditions that would allow complexity to emerge to generate sustained growth and prosperity

The United Nations Children's Fund

Abstract: The United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, was originally created to provide relief for children in countries devastated by the destruction of World War II. After 1950, UNICEF turned to focus on general programs for the improvement of children's welfare worldwide, and in 1965, it was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for its humanitarian efforts. The organization concentrates on areas in which relatively small expenditures can have a significant impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged children in developing countries, such as the prevention and treatment of disease, child healthcare, malnutrition, illiteracy, and other welfare services.

Differences in prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension between developing and developed countries.

Abstract: Objective To systematically review quantitative differences in the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension between developed and developing countries over the past 6 years. Methods We searched Medline [prevalence AND awareness AND treatment AND control AND (hypertension OR high blood pressure)] for population-based surveys. Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were compared between men and women, and between developing and developed countries, adjusting for age. The proportions of awareness, treatment and control were defined relative to the total number of hypertensive patients. Results We identified 248 articles, of which 204 did not fulfill inclusion criteria. The remaining articles reported data from 35 countries. Among men, the mean prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were 32.2, 40.6, 29.2 and 9.8%, respectively, in developing countries and 40.8, 49.2, 29.1 and 10.8%, respectively, in developed countries. Among women, the mean prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were 30.5, 52.7, 40.5, and 16.2%, respectively, in developing countries and 33.0, 61.7, 40.6 and 17.3%, respectively, in developed countries. After adjusting for age, the prevalence of hypertension among men was lower in developing than in developed countries (difference, S6.5%; 95% confidence interval, S11.3 to S1.8%). Conclusion There were no significant differences in mean prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension between developed and developing countries, except for a higher prevalence among men in developed countries. The prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in developing countries are coming closer to those in developed countries.

How does economic empowerment affect women's risk of intimate partner violence in low and middle income countries? A systematic review of published evidence

Abstract: Objectives To identify whether individual and household economic empowerment is associated with lower intimate partner violence in low and middle income country settings. Methods Systematic PubMed and internet searches. Results Published data from 41 sites were reviewed. Household assets and women's higher education were generally protective. Evidence about women's involvement in income generation and experience of past year violence was mixed, with five finding a protective association and six documenting a risk association. Conclusion At an individual and household level, economic development and poverty reduction may have protective impacts on IPV. Context specific factors influence whether financial autonomy is protective or associated with increased risk. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 6 October 2008. Errors were subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected [17 April 2009].

Agroecology, Small Farms, and Food Sovereignty

Abstract: Global forces are challenging the ability of developing countries to feed themselves. A number of countries have organized their economies around a competitive export-oriented agricultural sector, based mainly on monocultures. It may be argued that agricultural exports of crops such as soybeans from Brazil make significant contributions to the national economies by bringing in hard currency that can be used to purchase other goods from abroad. However, this type of industrial agriculture also brings a variety of economic, environmental, and social problems, including negative impacts on public health, ecosystem integrity, food quality, and in many cases disruption of traditional rural livelihoods, while accelerating indebtedness among thousands of farmers.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places

Abstract: In "Wars, Guns and Votes", award-winning author Paul Collier investigates the violence and poverty in the countries at the bottom of the world economy that are home to a billion people A highly-regarded economist and expert on developing countries, Collier argues that the spread of elections and peace settlements in the world's most volatile countries may lead eventually to a brave new democratic world In the meantime, though, nasty and protracted civil wars, military coups, and failing economies will plague the bottom billion - unless national sovereignty is curtailed and economic disciplines introducedThrough innovative research and astute analysis, Collier provides an eye-opening assessment of the ethnic divisions and insecurity in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America, and Asia where the democratic process so often fails There have been many policy failures by the United States, the UK and other developed countries since the end of the Cold War, especially the reliance on pre-emptive military intervention, but Collier insists that these problems can and will be rectified He persuasively outlines what must be done to bring long-term peace and stability

Industrial Policy and Development, The Political Economy of Capabilities Accumulation

Abstract: PREFACE 1 The Political Economy of Capabilities Accumulation: The Past and Future of Policies for Industrial Development GENERAL INTRODUCTION 2 Institutions and Policies Shaping Industrial Development: An Introductory Note 3 Technological Learning, Policy Regimes and Growth: The Long Term Patterns and Some Specificities of a 'Globalized' Economy INDUSTRIAL POLICIES IN AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 4 Emulation v Comparative Advantage: Competing and Complementary Principles in the History of Economic Policy 5 Industrial Policies in Developing Countries: History and Perspectives 6 Industrial Tariffs, International Trade And Development 7 The (Slow) Return of Industrial Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean NATIONAL AND REGIONAL EXPERIENCES 8 Flying Geese and Waddling Ducks: the Different Capabilities of East Asia and Latin America to 'Demand-Adapt' and 'Supply-Upgrade' their Export Productive Capacity 9 Microeconomic Evolution in High Uncertainty Contexts: The Manufacturing Sector in Argentina 10 The Impact of Public Policies in Brazil Along the Path from Semi-Stagnation to Growth in a Sino-Centric Market 11 The Past, Present and Future of Industrial Policy in India: Adapting to the Changing Domestic and International Environment 12 Growth and Development in China and India: The Role of Industrial and Innovation Policy in Rapid Catch-up 13 The Political Economy of Industrial Policy in Asia and Latin America 14 The Roles of Research at Universities and Public Labs in Economic Catch-up 15 Nationality of Firm Ownership in Developing Countries: Who Should Crowd Out Whom in Imperfect Markets? 16 A Question of Trust: Historical Lessons for Current Development 17 Competition Policy and Industrial Development 18 Latecomer Entrepreneurship: a Policy Perspective 19 Intellectual Property and Industrial Development: A Critical Assessment CONCLUSION 20 The Future of Industrial Policies in the New Millennium: Toward a Knowledge-centered Development Agenda

The Empirics of China's Outward Direct Investment

Abstract: We investigate the empirical determinants of China’s outward direct investment (ODI). It is found that China’s investments in developed and developing countries are driven by different sets of factors. Subject to the differences between developed and developing countries, there is evidence that a) both market seeking and resources seeking motives drive China’s ODI, b) the Chinese exports to developing countries induce China’s ODI, c) China’s international reserves promote its ODI, and d) the Chinese capital tends to agglomerate among developed economies but diversify among developing economies. Similar results are obtained using alternative ODI data. We do not find substantial evidence that China invests in African and oil-producing countries mainly for their natural resources.

The effects of global health initiatives on country health systems: a review of the evidence from HIV/AIDS control

Abstract: This paper reviews country-level evidence about the impact of global health initiatives (GHIs), which have had profound effects on recipient country health systems in middle and low income countries. We have selected three initiatives that account for an estimated two-thirds of external funding earmarked for HIV/AIDS control in resource-poor countries: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the World Bank Multi-country AIDS Program (MAP) and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This paper draws on 31 original country-specific and cross-country articles and reports, based on country-level fieldwork conducted between 2002 and 2007. Positive effects have included a rapid scale-up in HIV/AIDS service delivery, greater stakeholder participation, and channelling of funds to non-governmental stakeholders, mainly NGOs and faith-based bodies. Negative effects include distortion of recipient countries' national policies, notably through distracting governments from coordinated efforts to strengthen health systems and re-verticalization of planning, management and monitoring and evaluation systems. Sub-national and district studies are needed to assess the degree to which GHIs are learning to align with and build the capacities of countries to respond to HIV/AIDS; whether marginalized populations access and benefit from GHI-funded programmes; and about the cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the HIV and AIDS programmes funded by the GHIs. Three multi-country sets of evaluations, which will be reporting in 2009, will answer some of these questions.

Injuries: the neglected burden in developing countries

Abstract: Injuries are a neglected epidemic in developing countries,1,2 causing more than five million deaths each year, roughly equal to the number of deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The seminal Global burden of disease and risk factors study estimated that injuries accounted for more than 15% of all ill-health in the world in 1990 and forecast this to increase to 20% by 2020. More recent calculations have corroborated this alarming trend.2 There are no definitive data on the number of people who survive with some form of permanent disability for every injury-related death, but estimates run between 10 and 50 times more.1 More than 90% of injury deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where preventive efforts are often nonexistent, and health-care systems are least prepared to meet the challenge. As such, injuries clearly contribute to the vicious cycle of poverty and the economic and social costs have an impact on individuals, communities and societies. The socioeconomic impact of injury-related disability is magnified in low-income countries, where there are often poorly developed trauma care and rehabilitation systems and little or no social welfare infrastructure. Of all categories of injury, road traffic crashes have appropriately received the greatest attention. Economic development in low-income countries is accompanied by an increase in the number of vehicles, with the associated rise in traffic-related crashes, injuries and deaths. The estimated annual cost of road traffic injuries is more than US$ 500 billion, which far exceeds the total global expenditures in developmental assistance. For every death from a road traffic crash, there are many more hospitalizations, emergency department visits and injuries, often leading to permanent disability. Despite the weight of evidence, the importance of preventing and treating injuries in low- and middle-income countries has yet to be embraced by the global public health community. Research is grossly underfunded and insufficient resources have been allocated for strengthening the delivery of medical services.3 Better treatment of injuries will help achieve three of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, namely the reduction of child mortality, improving maternal health and promoting gender equality with respect to access to health-care services. While data on burden, epidemiology, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of many diseases and interventions in developing countries are available and fairly reliable, particularly for infectious diseases or nutrition, such information is sorely lacking for injuries and their management. Perhaps this explains why other problems may be perceived as more urgent, making trauma advocacy that much more difficult. There are many dimensions to injuries: human (victim, caregiver, etc.), environment (infrastructure, legislation, etc.) and “vector” (motor vehicles for road traffic injuries, arms for violence, open fires for burns, etc.). Even in a world where approximately 3–4% of all health expenditures go towards research and development, injuries are under-represented considering their relative contribution to the overall burden of disease. Bishai et al. have calculated that the per capita yearly expenditures on road safety are just US$ 0.07 in Pakistan and US$ 0.09 in Uganda.4 Even when adjusted for the difference in per capita gross domestic product of high-income countries, the investment disparity remains significant and reflects the low priority given to traffic safety in low-income countries.4 The Ad Hoc Committee on Health Research (WHO) has been advocating for an increase in injury-related research funding since 1996, and the second edition of the Disease control priorities in developing countries has identified research and development for injuries as a “best buy”.1 A recent review could identify only three economic evaluation studies on injury-related interventions in developing countries.5 The World Bank’s Disease Control Priorities Project estimates that building speed bumps could cost US$ 2–5 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted, which compares favourably to the costs per DALY averted from supplementation with, for example, vitamin A and zinc, with or without measles vaccination (US$ 25 and US$ 19, respectively).1 Other safety interventions, such as seatbelt and helmet use, sidewalks and roundabouts, have been used successfully in selected low-income countries. In addition, data on evidence-based interventions for road traffic injuries, particularly for non-fatal outcomes, are mostly from developed countries and not always transferable to developing countries’ environments, where vulnerable populations are different (driver/passenger versus pedestrian/cyclist). While recognizing that strategies aimed at prevention must be developed and supported, we consider that there is an urgent need to strengthen the delivery of treatment to the injured. It is only recently that surgery itself has been recognized, contrary to expectations, as a cost-effective public health intervention. A recent study from Cambodia showed a cost-effectiveness of US$ 78 per DALY averted by surgical treatment of injuries in a trauma hospital.6 Providing safe and timely medical care, including access to essential surgical services, can only be achieved by addressing weaknesses within the health care system. This requires a greater investment in infrastructure, physical resources and supplies, and trained health workers, relative to other competing health priorities such as immunization or HIV surveillance. [Editor’s note: Read more on this subject next month in the Bulletin’s special theme issue on child injuries and violence.] ■

The Global Financial Crisis: Explaining Cross-Country Differences in the Output Impact

Abstract: We provide one of the first attempts at explaining the differences in the crisis impact across developing countries and emerging markets. Using cross-country regressions to explain the factors driving growth forecast revisions after the eruption of the global crisis, we find that a small set of variables explain a large share of the variation in growth revisions. Countries with more leveraged domestic financial systems and more rapid credit growth tended to suffer larger downward revisions to their growth outlooks. For emerging markets, this financial channel trumps the trade channel. For a broader set of developing countries, however, the trade channel seems to have mattered, with countries exporting more advanced manufacturing goods more affected than those exporting food. Exchange-rate flexibility clearly helped in buffering the impact of the shock. There is also some -weaker-evidence that countries with a stronger fiscal position prior to the crisis were hit less severely. We find little evidence for the importance of other policy variables.

Many Children Left Behind? Textbooks and Test Scores in Kenya

Abstract: A randomized evaluation in rural Kenya finds, contrary to the previous literature, that providing textbooks did not raise average test scores. Textbooks did increase the scores of the best students (those with high pretest scores) but had little effect on other students. Textbooks are written in English, most students' third language, and many students could not use them effectively. More generally, the curriculum in Kenya, and in many other developing countries, tends to be oriented toward academically strong students, leaving many students behind in societies that combine a centralized educational system; the heterogeneity in student preparation associated with rapid educational expansion; and disproportionate elite power.

What We Mean by Social Determinants of Health

Abstract: This article analyzes the changes in health conditions and quality of life in the populations of developed and developing countries over the past 30 years, resulting from neoliberal policies developed by many governments and promoted by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, and other international agencies It challenges interpretations by the analysts of “globalization,” including the common assumption that states are disappearing The author shows that what has been happening is not a reduction of state interventions but a change in the nature and character of those interventions, resulting from major changes in class (and race and gender) power relations in each country, with establishment of an alliance between the dominant classes of developed and developing countries—a class alliance responsible for the promotion of its ideology, neoliberalism This is the cause of the enormous health inequalities in the world today The article concludes with a critical analysis of

Public action and the quality of life in developing countries

Abstract: An attempt is made to identify the developing countries that have performed better than others in terms of the indicators of the so called "quality of life" relating this progress to the nature of these economies and to the public policies followed in these countries. A table presents data on life expectation at birth and adult literacy rates for 100 countries that had a gross national product per head of less than $3000 in 1977. The data have some comparability and it is reasonable to use them for a rough international comparison of performance. 38 countries have shown distinction in 1 or both of the fields. There are 10 communist countries in the total list of 100 and 9 of them show some distinction. 8 of the 9 do this despite not having literacy figures reported. The entry is longevity which is arguably a more basic indicator of success than poverty. Many of the communist countries are wealthier than the mean or median developing country. Although the indices are relative ones the richer countries have typically done better on the whole. The longevity performance of the communist countries is typically superior. This applies to the poorer group also. Some of the high growth early capitalist countries also have very good performance in terms of the chosen indicators (e.g. Taiwan South Korea Hong Kong and Singapore). Taiwan and Hong Kong have the best overall performance record in terms of the 2 criteria for those 61 countries for which both sets of data are available. The countries that appear to have done relatively worse in terms of the indicators are those in the "middle" i.e. neither communist nor successfully capitalist. There are some exceptions. Tanzania appears to have been relatively successful in terms of the removal of illiteracy and Sri Lanka has been successful in raising life expectancy. In examining the excellent performance of the Republic of Korea and Taiwan the lesson to be learned from their experience is the great importance of employment expansion in poverty removal. The experiences of Sri Lanka and Tanzania are recounted to illustrate the positive role of state action. Like Sri Lankas program of social welfare Tanzanias literacy program shows how much can be achieved by a determined effort sensibly directed toward specific goals. Poverty removal and related features including longevity enhancement is ultimately dependent on a wide distribution of effective entitlements. This for any given level of per capita income--would tend to be reflected in the low level of inequality in the distribution of income.

Rents, Rent-Seeking and Economic Development: Theory and Evidence in Asia

Abstract: The concepts of rents and rent-seeking are central to any discussion of the processes of economic development. Yet conventional models of rent-seeking are unable to explain how it can drive decades of rapid growth in some countries, and at other times be associated with spectacular economic crises. This book argues that the rent-seeking framework has to be radically extended by incorporating insights developed by political scientists, institutional economists and political economists if it is to explain the anomalous role played by rent-seeking in Asian countries. It includes detailed analysis of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Indian sub-continent, Indonesia and South Korea. This new critical and multidisciplinary approach has important policy implications for the debates over institutional reform in developing countries. It brings together leading international scholars in economics and political science, and will be of great interest to readers in the social sciences and Asian studies in general.

An aging world: 2008.

Abstract: One purpose of this report then is to look at past current and projected numbers proportions and growth rates of older populations. Older populations also have increased because of worldwide improvements in health services educational status and economic development. The characteristics of older people are likely to be increasingly heterogeneous within nations. A second purpose of An Aging World: 2008 is to summarize socioeconomic statistics for both developed and developing nations. Comparable data are included for as many as 52 nations when the categories are reasonably consistent. In 2008 these 52 nations (Appendix Table B-1) contained 77 percent of the world’s total population. (Excerpt)

International Finance and Growth in Developing Countries: What Have We Learned?

Abstract: Despite an abundance of cross-section, panel, and event studies, there is strikingly little convincing documentation of direct positive impacts of financial opening on the economic welfare levels or growth rates of developing countries. The econometric difficulties are similar to those that bedevil the literature on trade openness and growth, though if anything, they are more severe in the context of finance. There is also little systematic evidence that financial opening raises welfare indirectly by promoting collateral reforms of economic institutions or policies. At the same time, opening the financial account does appear to raise the frequency and severity of economic crises. Nonetheless, developing countries have moved over time in the direction of further financial openness. A plausible explanation is that financial development is a concomitant of economic growth, and a growing financial sector in an economy open to trade cannot long be insulated from cross-border financial flows. This survey discusses the policy framework in which financial globalization is most likely to prove beneficial. The reforms developing countries need to institute to make their economies safe for international asset trade are the same ones they need so as to curtail the power of entrenched economic interests and liberate the economy's productive potential.

Is informal normal? : towards more and better jobs in developing countries

Abstract: Shoe shine workers in Cairo, street vendors in Calcutta, badly-paid public officials driving their taxis at night in the streets of Moscow: this is informal employment - jobs or activities in the production and marketing of legal goods and services that are not regulated or protected by the state. Over half the non-agricultural jobs in developing and emerging economies come into this category. In some regions, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, for example, as many as 80 per cent of jobs are informal; in a few countries, it is even higher. The informal sector deprives states of revenues and workers of social protection. It also, however, frequently constitutes the most dynamic part of the economy and creates massive employment. Informal employment is ubiquitous and growing. The financial crisis that began in 2009 has made the management of informal employment even more challenging. Responding to this emerging challenge is critical, not only for the well-being of millions of workers but also for social development. This publication provides evidence for policy makers on how to deal with this issue of crucial importance for developing and developed countries alike.

Empirics of china's outward direct investment

Abstract: . We investigate the empirical determinants of China's outward direct investment (ODI). It is found that China's investments in developed and developing countries are driven by different sets of factors. Subject to the differences between developed and developing countries, there is evidence that: (i) both market-seeking and resource-seeking motives drive China's ODI; (ii) Chinese exports to developing countries induce China's ODI; (iii) China's international reserves promote its ODI; and (iv) Chinese capital tends to agglomerate among developed economies but diversify among developing economies. Similar results are obtained using alternative ODI data. We do not find substantial evidence that China invests in African and oil-producing countries mainly for their natural resources.