Showing papers on "Developing country published in 2017"
TL;DR: In this article, a survey and content analysis of 76 empirical research articles was conducted to understand the factors driving corporate social responsibility disclosure in both developed and developing countries. And they found that firm characteristics such as company size, industry sector, profitability, and corporate governance mechanisms predominantly appear to drive the CSR reporting agenda.
Abstract: Based on a survey and content analysis of 76 empirical research articles, this article reviews the factors driving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure in both developed and developing countries. We find that firm characteristics such as company size, industry sector, profitability, and corporate governance mechanisms predominantly appear to drive the CSR reporting agenda. Furthermore, political, social, and cultural factors influence the CSR disclosure agenda. We find crucial differences between the determinants of CSR disclosure in developed and developing countries. In developed countries, the concerns of specific stakeholders, for example, regulators, shareholders, creditors, investors, environmentalists and the media are considered very important in disclosing CSR information. In developing countries, CSR reporting is more heavily influenced by the external forces/powerful stakeholders such as international buyers, foreign investors, international media and international regulatory bodies (e.g. the World Bank). Furthermore, in contrast to developed countries, firms in developing countries perceive relatively little pressure from the public with regards to CSR disclosure. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
532 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present comparative global evidence on the transformation of economic growth to poverty reduction in developing countries, with emphasis on the role of income inequality, and find that on average income growth has been the major driving force behind both the declines and increases in poverty.
337 citations
TL;DR: All countries will need to strengthen investments in health systems to expand service provision in order to reach SDG 3 health targets, but even the poorest can reach some level of universality.
314 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the major factors that may hinder or enable the adoption of e-learning systems by university students in developing (Qatar) as well as developed (USA) countries.
Abstract: This study examines the major factors that may hinder or enable the adoption of e-learning systems by university students in developing (Qatar) as well as developed (USA) countries. To this end, we used extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) with Trust as an external variable. By means of an online survey, data were collected from 833 university students from a university in Qatar and another from USA. Structural equation modelling was employed as the main method of analysis in this study. The results show that performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, habit and trust are significant predictors of behavioural intention (BI) in both samples. However, contrary to our expectation, the relationship between price value and BI is insignificant. Our results also show that effort expectancy and social influence lead to an increase in students’ adoption of e-learning systems in developing countries but not in developed countries. Moreover, facilitating conditions increase e-learning adoption in developed countries which is not the case in developing countries. Overall, the proposed model achieves an acceptable fit and explains its variance for 68% of the Qatari sample and 63% of the USA sample. These results and their implications to both theory and practice are described.
257 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored whether the low levels of industrialization in developing countries are attributable to long-term changes in opportunities available to the sector around the globe, and found that the manufacturing sector's value added and employment contribution to world GDP and employment, respectively, have not changed significantly since 1970.
229 citations
TL;DR: Health spending remains disparate, with low-income and lower-middle-income countries increasing spending in absolute terms the least, and relying heavily on OOP spending and development assistance.
214 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a taxonomy of research published over the past three decades in international business, strategic management, finance, and economics is presented, with syntheses in seven strands: macroeconomic and financial markets environment, institutional and regulatory environment, political environment and corruption, tax and the taxation environment, accounting standards and valuation guidelines, cultural environment, and geographical environment.
190 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a new quality of growth index for developing countries, which encompasses both the intrinsic nature and social dimensions of growth, and is computed for over 90 countries for the period 1990-2011.
Abstract: This paper proposes a new quality of growth index for developing countries. The index encompasses both the intrinsic nature and social dimensions of growth, and is computed for over 90 countries for the period 1990–2011. The approach is premised on the fact that not all growth is created equal in terms of social outcomes, and that it does matter how one reaches from one level of income to another for various theoretical and empirical reasons. The paper finds that the quality of growth has been improving in the vast majority of developing countries over the past two decades, although the rate of convergence is relatively slow. At the same time, there are considerable cross-country variations across income levels and regions. Finally, empirical investigations point to the fact that main factors of the quality of growth are political stability, public pro-poor spending, macroeconomic stability, financial development, institutional quality and external factors such as FDI.
183 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the extent to which cultural diversity affects economic growth and whether this relation depends on the level of development of a country and find that overall both indices have a distinct positive impact on real GDP per capita and that the effect of diversity seems to be more consistent in developing countries.
174 citations
TL;DR: The identification of indicators of presentation at diagnosis will improve the reporting of methodologies used in developing countries and will allow us to evaluate improvements in public health related to breast cancer.
166 citations
TL;DR: Investments in health and education will not only transform the lives of adolescents in resource-poor settings, but will also generate high economic and social returns, which are robust to substantial variation in assumptions.
University of Washington1, Harvard University2, University of California, San Francisco3, Virginia Tech4, Lund University5, Jimma University6, University of Sydney7, University of Mazandaran8, Tehran University of Medical Sciences9, University of the Philippines Manila10, Mekelle University11, University of Belgrade12, Haramaya University13, Wageningen University and Research Centre14, University of London15, Debre markos University16, Ohio State University17, Diego Portales University18, University of Ottawa19, Örebro University20, University of Peradeniya21, Universidade Federal de Sergipe22, Bielefeld University23, Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom24, Addis Ababa University25, West Virginia University26, Hamdan bin Mohammed e-University27, Canterbury Christ Church University28, Curtin University29, University of Tartu30, University of Kragujevac31, University of Aberdeen32, Heidelberg University33, Seoul National University34, Ball State University35, Southern University College36, State University of New York System37, Mansoura University38, Aswan University39, Imperial College London40, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais41, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai42, University of Pittsburgh43, University of Porto44, Erasmus University Rotterdam45, Yonsei University46, Auckland University of Technology47, Brandeis University48, Alberto Hurtado University49, University of Bologna50, Nanjing University51, Kyoto University52, Jackson State University53, Wuhan University54
TL;DR: Health spending is associated with economic development but past trends and relationships suggest that spending will remain variable, and low in some low-resource settings, although for the poorest countries external support might remain essential.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors exploit a dynamic simultaneous-equation panel data approach to investigate the relationship between economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and trade for information of 72 countries since 1990 until 2012.
Abstract: This article exploits a dynamic simultaneous-equation panel data approach to research the bond across economic growth, renewable sort of energy, and trade for information of 72 countries since 1990 until 2012. We likewise analyze this relationship by separating all countries into three groups as per the level of development: whole, developing, high-income developing, upper middle-income developing, lower middle-income developing, lower-income developing, developed, major developed, and others developed countries. The outcomes demonstrate a feedback linkage between income and renewable energy consumption, between trade and renewable energy consumption and between trade and income. This implies that the three variables considered are interdependent.
TL;DR: The authors showed that higher wages increase human capital investment in early life (in utero to age 2) but decrease human capital from age 5 to 16, and that children switch out of school into productive work when rainfall is higher.
Abstract: Higher wages are generally thought to increase human capital production, particularly in the developing world. We introduce a simple model of human capital production in which investments and time allocation differ by age. Using data on test scores and schooling from rural India, we show that higher wages increase human capital investment in early life (in utero to age 2) but decrease human capital from age 5 to 16. Children switch out of school into productive work when rainfall is higher. The opportunity cost of schooling, even for fairly young children, is an important factor in determining overall human capital investment.
TL;DR: Impacts of parental education on child nutrition for 56 countries are larger for mothers and larger for secondary education than primary, and larger in countries with high stunting and more educational quality.
TL;DR: The availability and affordability of blood pressure-lowering medicines, and the association with use of these medicines and blood pressure control in countries at varying levels of economic development, are assessed.
Abstract: Summary Background Hypertension is considered the most important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but its control is poor worldwide. We aimed to assess the availability and affordability of blood pressure-lowering medicines, and the association with use of these medicines and blood pressure control in countries at varying levels of economic development. Methods We analysed the availability, costs, and affordability of blood pressure-lowering medicines with data recorded from 626 communities in 20 countries participating in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study. Medicines were considered available if they were present in the local pharmacy when surveyed, and affordable if their combined cost was less than 20% of the households' capacity to pay. We related information about availability and affordability to use of these medicines and blood pressure control with multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models, and compared results for high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income countries. Data for India are presented separately because it has a large generic pharmaceutical industry and a higher availability of medicines than other countries at the same economic level. Findings The availability of two or more classes of blood pressure-lowering drugs was lower in low-income and middle-income countries (except for India) than in high-income countries. The proportion of communities with four drug classes available was 94% in high-income countries (108 of 115 communities), 76% in India (68 of 90), 71% in upper-middle-income countries (90 of 126), 47% in lower-middle-income countries (107 of 227), and 13% in low-income countries (nine of 68). The proportion of households unable to afford two blood pressure-lowering medicines was 31% in low-income countries (1069 of 3479 households), 9% in middle-income countries (5602 of 65 471), and less than 1% in high-income countries (44 of 10 880). Participants with known hypertension in communities that had all four drug classes available were more likely to use at least one blood pressure-lowering medicine (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2·23, 95% CI 1·59–3·12); p Interpretation A large proportion of communities in low-income and middle-income countries do not have access to more than one blood pressure-lowering medicine and, when available, they are often not affordable. These factors are associated with poor blood pressure control. Ensuring access to affordable blood pressure-lowering medicines is essential for control of hypertension in low-income and middle-income countries. Funding Population Health Research Institute, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategy for Patient Oriented Research through the Ontario SPOR Support Unit, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, pharmaceutical companies (with major contributions from AstraZeneca [Canada], Sanofi Aventis [France and Canada], Boehringer Ingelheim [Germany amd Canada], Servier, and GlaxoSmithKline), Novartis and King Pharma, and national or local organisations in participating countries.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of corporate environmental performance on corporate financial performance during a global financial crisis, depending on the economic development level of the country where a firm is located.
Abstract: The relationship between corporate environmental performance and corporate financial performance has been extensively studied in developed countries, and has received less attention in developing countries. For this reason, the main objective of this paper is to examine the effect of corporate environmental performance on corporate financial performance during a global financial crisis, depending on the economic development level of the country where a firm is located. To this end, we obtain data for a sample of 2982 large firms from 2008 to 2015. We apply Petersen’s approach to these data, adjusting the standard errors for clustering by both firm and year. The results obtained show that the adoption of environmental practices significantly and positively affects the corporate financial performance in developed and developing countries. However, this effect is stronger for firms located in developing countries than those located in developed countries.
TL;DR: The authors conducted the first fine-grained analysis of night lights and wealth in developing countries, using large-scale, geo-referenced data from the Demographic and Health Surveys.
Abstract: Nighttime illumination can serve as a proxy for economic variables in particular in developing countries, where data are often not available or of poor quality. Existing research has demonstrated this for coarse levels of analytical resolution, such as countries, administrative units or large grid cells. In this article, we conduct the first fine-grained analysis of night lights and wealth in developing countries. The use of large-scale, geo-referenced data from the Demographic and Health Surveys allows us to cover 39 less developed, mostly non-democratic countries with a total sample of more than 34,000 observations at the level of villages or neighborhoods. We show that light emissions are highly accurate predictors of economic wealth estimates even with simple statistical models, both when predicting new locations in a known country and when generating predictions for previously unobserved countries.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that existing constraints on take-up can partially be overcome using revised contract designs, advanced technology for better measurement, improved marketing, and better policy support, and suggest that improved index insurance be combined with stress tolerant seed varieties and new risk-oriented savings and credit products that build on the complementarities between what can be offered by index insurance and these other instruments to cope with shocks and manage risk.
Abstract: With uninsured risk representing a major hurdle to investment, productivity growth, and poverty reduction in developing country smallholder agriculture, index-based agricultural insurance has offered the promise of overcoming the hurdles of traditional indemnity-based insurance for this context. In spite of extensive experimentation, take-up has been disappointingly low without large and sustained subsidies. We show that existing constraints on take-up can partially be overcome using revised contract designs, advanced technology for better measurement, improved marketing, and better policy support. However, because index insurance is likely to remain expensive in that context, we suggest that improved index insurance be combined with stress tolerant seed varieties and new risk-oriented savings and credit products that build on the complementarities between what can be offered by index insurance and these other instruments to cope with shocks and manage risk.
TL;DR: The first to conduct a case study on the public health system of Pakistan showing that mHealth can offer tremendous opportunities for a developing country with a severe scarcity of health infrastructure and resources is conducted.
Abstract: The mHealth trend, which uses mobile devices and associated technology for health interventions, offers unprecedented opportunity to transform the health services available to people across the globe In particular, the mHealth transformation can be most disruptive in the developing countries, which is often characterized by a dysfunctional public health system Despite this opportunity, the growth of mHealth in developing countries is rather slow and no existing studies have conducted an in-depth search to identify the reasons We present a comprehensive report about the factors hindering the growth of mHealth in developing countries Most importantly, we outline future strategies for making mHealth even more effective We are also the first to conduct a case study on the public health system of Pakistan showing that mHealth can offer tremendous opportunities for a developing country with a severe scarcity of health infrastructure and resources The findings of this paper will guide the development of policies and strategies for the sustainable adoption of mHealth not only in Pakistan but also for any developing country in general
TL;DR: A brief overview of current electricity generation status and energy scenarios in Bangladesh has been presented in this article, where the energy pricing issues are also touched and new policies have been drafted to cope with the challenges in the energy sector.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the index of financial inclusion and the World Bank Global Findex database to identify those factors significantly associated with financial inclusion, and found that an individual's income, education, and use of communications equipment are important factors that explain the level of financial exclusion.
Abstract: Using the index of financial inclusion and the World Bank Global Findex database, this study measures the level of financial inclusion across countries. The results reveal a geographical spatial aggregation distribution in which developed European and North American countries enjoy higher levels of financial inclusion than the less developed countries of Africa and most of Asia. Accordingly, our spatial analysis proves our hypothesis and reveals dependence and aggregation effects among countries. Then, we employ spatial econometric research to identify those factors significantly associated with financial inclusion. The results show that an individual’s income, education and use of communications equipment are important factors that explain the level of financial inclusion, while financial depth and banking health status are the main determinants. Building an inclusive financial system is an important means for most countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
TL;DR: Key governance strategies identified to address challenges included strengthening capacity of managers at sub-national levels to develop and implement integrated plans; strengthening key aspects of the essential health system building blocks to promote responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness.
Abstract: Poor governance has been identified as a barrier to effective integration of mental health care in low- and middle-income countries. Governance includes providing the necessary policy and legislative framework to promote and protect the mental health of a population, as well as health system design and quality assurance to ensure optimal policy implementation. The aim of this study was to identify key governance challenges, needs and potential strategies that could facilitate adequate integration of mental health into primary health care settings in low- and middle-income countries. Key informant qualitative interviews were held with 141 participants across six countries participating in the Emerging mental health systems in low- and middle-income countries (Emerald) research program: Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. Data were transcribed (and where necessary, translated into English) and analysed thematically using framework analysis, first at the country level, then synthesized at a cross-country level. While all the countries fared well with respect to strategic vision in the form of the development of national mental health policies, key governance strategies identified to address challenges included: strengthening capacity of managers at sub-national levels to develop and implement integrated plans; strengthening key aspects of the essential health system building blocks to promote responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness; developing workable mechanisms for inter-sectoral collaboration, as well as community and service user engagement; and developing innovative approaches to improving mental health literacy and stigma reduction. Inadequate financing emerged as the biggest challenge for good governance. In addition to the need for overall good governance of a health care system, this study identifies a number of specific strategies to improve governance for integrated mental health care in low- and middle-income countries.
Book•
10 May 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a unifying framework for thinking about economic growth as a combination of two challenges: structural change and structural change challenge, which is focused on moving resources from traditional low-productivity activities into modern, more productive industries.
Abstract: The volume consists of an overview and seven country studies, written by leading scholars from both developed and developing countries. The overview lays out a unifying framework for thinking about economic growth as a combination of two challenges. The “structural change challenge” is focused on moving resources from traditional low-productivity activities into modern, more productive industries. The “fundamentals challenge” faced by policy makers in the developing world is about how best to develop broad capabilities such as human capital and infrastructure. While the two are inextricably linked, they are conceptually different, and making this distinction is one of the contributions of this book. The overview also includes a description of the common methodology used in the country studies, a discussion of data and measurement issues, and a synthesis of the findings.
TL;DR: This article reviewed policies and operational projects from a diverse set of case study countries including South Korea, China, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom using a four-step analysis methodology that focuses on each country's (1) food waste background, (2) food-waste-to-biogas policy environment, (3) status quo of food waste to biogas projects and (4) future policy/project-level challenges.
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to review policies around the world that promote the conversion of food waste to biogas We review policies and operational projects from a diverse set of case study countries including South Korea, China, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom Using a four-step analysis methodology that focuses on each country's (1) food waste background, (2) food-waste-to-biogas policy environment, (3) status quo of food waste-to-biogas projects and (4) future policy/project-level challenges, we provide a comprehensive cross-country review of food waste-to-biogas policy developments We find that, while each surveyed country has unique strengths and weaknesses in their policy structure, Asian and European countries also do face similar bottlenecks in the food waste-to-biogas sector Some specific findings include: (1) highly centralized policies in Asian case countries such as China and South Korea have led to the rapid build-up of a food waste-to-biogas sector; (2) European case countries such as France and the United Kingdom have succeeded in implementing policies that incentivize the production of multiple outputs within treatment facilities; (3) South Korea is a good example of how countries can implement smart waste management systems to decrease the volume of FW generated at the source; (4) South Korea, Germany and France have successfully built many co-digestion projects treating FW together with other waste sources, indicating that project operators in countries have understood the multiple benefits of co-digestion The geographic breadth of the case studies, and the best practices and challenges identified for each country, should prove highly useful for policy-makers in developing countries who are seeking to enhance food waste management via anaerobic treatment methods
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the influx of international students to China in recent years and the corresponding internationalization strategies in the higher education sector and assess international students' learning and socio-cultural experiences in Chinese universities.
TL;DR: This study fills the gap by focusing on the citizens’ view in describing ICT-driven socio-economic development in a developing country by presenting a model of the impact dimensions of socio- economic development.
TL;DR: The outlined interventions provide a pathway for countries attempting to convert the UN Sustainable Development Goal commitments into tangible action and could be a starting place for low-income and middle-income countries developing universal health coverage packages.
TL;DR: It is shown that in developing nations inequality is certainly not harmful but probably beneficial, increasing well-being by about 8 points out of 100, which may well be Kuznets's inverted "U": in the earliest stages of development some are able to move out of the (poorly paying) subsistence economy into the (better paying) modern economy; their higher pay increases theirWell-being while simultaneously increasing inequality.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the nonlinear relationship between financial development under the presence of institutional investors (assets in insurance companies, mutual funds, and pension funds, as a percentage of GDP) and economic growth.