The relationship between economic development and social welfare: A new adjusted GDP measure of welfare

Existing literature focuses on the issue of preparation of social welfare measurements on the basis of an unadjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This paper extends this method to incorporate cost-benefit analysis of economic growth in a growing economy in calculating the adjusted GDP, termed as the cost-benefit (CB)-adjusted GDP. This approach is empirically applied to Thailand. There are stark differences between GDP per capita and CB adjusted GDP per capita rates for this period.This paper concludes that GDP can be used as an indicator of social welfare if the GDP estimates are undertaken within a cost-benefit analysis framework.

Pakistan’s twin interrelated challenges : economic development and security

The 2010 devastating floods in Pakistan have starkly reminded the world of the two critical, interrelated challenges confronting Pakistan: economic development and security. And whilst the Pakistan government's capacity to deal with these two issues before the flood was already shaky at best, its position now is even more precarious given the enormity of the task of rebuilding the infrastructure that has been destroyed in this latest natural disaster. Nuclear-armed Pakistan is a large and strategically important country, critically located on one of the world's most important geopolitical crossroads. It is a pivotal player in a region—covering the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia—which has much potential, but which also has unresolved conflicts and various degrees of instability. Accordingly, because Pakistan is so important to the stability of the region and the world at large, it is vital that it be able to address successfully these twin challenges.

Rural women and local economic development in south-west Victoria

In the 1990s, the appearance of women in leadership roles in local economic development organisations in small south-west Victorian towns heralded a change in gender relations in rural Australia. This paper contributes to an understanding of this process by investigating the actions and motives of women in leadership roles in small rural towns in south-west Victoria. The paper begins by establishing a framework of analysis based upon a notion of ‘paradigms in progress’. The argument is that in an increasingly interconnected world broader economic, social and political concerns encroach upon local cultures. In this process, older social paradigms or popularly accepted models for how the world works are either transformed, discarded or replaced on different levels. The different levels to which this paper refers are the macromodels of patriarchy, the mesomodels of economic development and the micromodels of leadership. It is the way that these levels intersect and how they are being changed that informs the explanation of women and leadership in south-west Victoria. The paper applies this framework to an analysis of interviews with 15 women in small towns in south-west Victoria. The paper concludes that women in the south-west have been able both to feminise the politics of local economic development as well as reposition the feminine in local social discourses.

Inequality, education and growth in Malaysia

This thesis explores some of the associations between income inequality, education and economic growth. In addition, the thesis also explores the effects of democracy and regime duration on growth. The analysis is conducted at three levels: for Malaysia as a nation using time series data, for a panel of Malaysian states and for a panel of Southeast Asian countries. The main empirical tools applied are metaregression analysis and panel data econometrics. Specifically, the thesis explores the following associations: (i) the effect of education on inequality; (ii) the effect of economic development and economic growth on inequality; (iii) the effect of education on growth; (iv) the effect of inequality on growth; (v) the effect of democracy on growth; and (vi) the effect of regime duration on growth.

Developing an approach to assess the influence of integrating disaster risk reduction practices into infrastructure reconstruction on socio-economic development

Purpose: Disasters provide physical, social, economic, political and environmental development windows of opportunity particularly through housing and infrastructure reconstruction. The reconstruction process should not be neglected due to the opportunistic nature of facilitating innovation in development. In this respect, post-disaster "infrastructure" reconstruction plays a critical role in development discourse and is often essential to sustain recovery after major disasters. However, reconstruction following a natural disaster is a complicated problem involving social, economic, cultural, environmental, psychological, and technological aspects. There are significant development benefits of well-developed "Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Strategies" and, for many reasons, the concept of DRR can be more easily promoted following a disaster. In this respect, a research study was conducted to investigate the effects of integrating DRR strategies into infrastructure reconstruction on enhancing the socio-economic development process from a qualitative stance. The purpose of this paper is to document part of this research study; it proposes an approach that can be used to assess the influence of the application of the DRR concept into infrastructure reconstruction on socio-economic development. Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology included a critical literature review. Findings: This paper suggests that the best way to assess the influence of integrating DRR strategies practices into infrastructure reconstruction on socio-economic development is to assess the level of impact that DRR strategies has on overcoming various factors that form vulnerabilities. Having assessed this, the next step is to assess the influence of overcoming the factors that form vulnerabilities on achieving performance targets of socio-economic development. Originality/value: This paper primarily presents a framework for the concept of socio-economic development and a modelled classification of DRR practices.

Labour and economic development: emerging issues in developing Asia

Contents:
Child labour and economic development : emerging issues in developing Asia /​ Gamini Herath and Kishor Sharma
Child labour in developing countries : review of theoretical and : empirical issues /​ Gamini Herath
Cumulative causation as explanation and policy base for child labour /​ G. Bamberry
Child labour : an integrated approach /​ Manohar Pawar
Trade, growth and child labour practices in South Asia /​ Kishor Sharma
An overview of child labour laws, prevention strategies and assessment of their effectiveness in Bangladesh /​ Jesmul Hasan
An overview of child labour in India /​ Subhashini Subbaraman and Harald von Witzke
Child labour in India : a critical evaluation of four issues /​ Anna Pinto
Prevention of child labour in Nepal : an overview of strategy and effectiveness
Chiranjibi nepal
Prevention of child labour in Pakistan : analysis of strategy and effectiveness /​ Shafqat Munir and Hassan Mangi
Issues relating to prevention of child labour in Sri Lanka /​ Nisha Arunatilake and Roshani de Silva.

Development aid and growth in transition countries

Empirical studies normally analyze diverse and heterogeneous groups of countries, producing very mixed evidence on the effectiveness of development aid in promoting growth. We focus on whether aid promotes economic growth in transitional economies. We find that aid, on average, has had a positive impact on growth for this specific group of countries. This result is robust to samples, estimators, and the use of alternate instruments to address endogeneity. Aid effectiveness is not conditional on good policy and there is little evidence of non-linear growth effects arising from aid.

Publication bias in the economic freedom and economic growth literature

The impact of institutions on economic performance has attracted significant attention from researchers, as well as from policy reformers. A rapidly growing area in this literature is the impact of economic freedom on economic growth. The aim of this paper was to explore publication bias in this literature by means of traditional funnel plots, meta‐significance testing, as well as by bootstrapping these meta‐significance tests. When all the available estimates are combined and averaged, there seems to be evidence of a genuine and positive economic freedom – economic growth effect. However, it is also shown that the economic freedom – economic growth literature is tainted strongly with publication bias. The existence of publication bias makes it difficult to identify the magnitude of the genuine effect of economic freedom on economic growth. The paper explores the differences between aggregate and disaggregate measures of economic freedom and shows that selection effects are stronger when aggregate measures are used.

Economic freedom and economic growth: Does specification make a difference?

In this paper we apply meta-analytic techniques to the literature on the impact of economic freedom on economic growth and find an overall positive direct association between economic freedom and economic growth. A positive indirect effect of economic freedom on economic growth through the stimulation of physical capital is also identified. However, the literature is affected by specification bias with respect to controls for physical capital. The omission of physical capital results in larger estimates of the economic freedom–economic growth association. Further, the use of panel data leads to smaller estimates of the impact of economic freedom on economic growth. The meta-analysis is confirmed by primary cross-sectional and panel data analysis of 82 countries for the period 1970–1999.

Development and application of model of resource utilization, costs, and outcomes for stroke (MORUCOS): an Australian economic model for stroke.

Objectives: To outline the development, structure, data assumptions, and application of an Australian economic model for stroke (Model of Resource Utilization, Costs, and Outcomes for Stroke [MORUCOS]). Methods: The model has a linked spreadsheet format with four modules to describe the disease burden and treatment pathways, estimate prevalence-based and incidence-based costs, and derive life expectancy and quality of life consequences. The model uses patient-level, community-based, stroke cohort data and macro-level simulations. An interventions module allows options for change to be consistently evaluated by modifying aspects of the other modules. To date, model validation has included sensitivity testing, face validity, and peer review. Further validation of technical and predictive accuracy is needed. The generic pathway model was assessed by comparison with a stroke subtypes (ischemic, hemorrhagic, or undetermined) approach and used to determine the relative cost-effectiveness of four interventions. Results: The generic pathway model produced lower costs compared with a subtypes version (total average first-year costs/case AUD$15,117 versus AUD$17,786, respectively). Optimal evidence-based uptake of anticoagulation therapy for primary and secondary stroke prevention and intravenous thrombolytic therapy within 3 hours of stroke were more cost-effective than current practice (base year, 1997). Conclusions: MORUCOS is transparent and flexible in describing Australian stroke care and can effectively be used to systematically evaluate a range of different interventions. Adjusting results to account for stroke subtypes, as they influence cost estimates, could enhance the generic model.

Fighting the digital divide with microfinance : building social capital and socio-economic development

Unlike other technology, lCT has the tremendous capacity to eliminate various social and economic barriers impeding the poor, helping them discover their potential. Wider access and use of lCT can improve social networks and increase civic engagement, thereby improving social fabric and developing social capital. Thus, scholars now have realized lCT plays a primary role in the formation and maintenance of social network. This paper identifies microfinance programs as an agent with unparalleled capacity to facilitate access to lCT and thus the formation of social capital and socio-economic development of the poor. In this paper, we also discuss the role of MFls in developing social capital in
South Asia and present an analytical model of how the intervention of microfinance can facilitate access to lCT by the poor with the result of an improved both socio-economic situation and social capital.

Roles of MFI support of ICTs to aid socio-economic development

Today there is a consensus on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development and ICTs are widely recognized as vital tools to promote various social goals. These collections of technologies ICTs have also enabled and smoothed an avenue for monumental tran formation in the process of socio-economic development in developing countries. In this paper, we discuss two major areas in the development arena associated with socio-economic development in South Asia, namely, the role of Microfinance in expansion of ICT in the region and its effects on development and poverty alleviatiori. We put forward the argument that through the intervention of microfinance, ICT can both directly and indirectly impact on growth and the way in which the adoption of ICT can be distributed to the poor.

Tourism and economic development in a cash-in-advance economy

This paper examines the impact of tourism on welfare in a cash-in-advance economy. As a result of the expansion in tourism, the price of the non-traded good increases. This gives rise to a terms-of-trade improvement. However, the cash-in-advance constraint causes a distortion in consumption. For tourism demand, where the gain from the terms-of-trade improvement dominates (does not dominate) the loss from the consumption distortion, tourism is welfare-improving (welfare-reducing). A similar condition for welfare improvement (deterioration) holds for a model of capital inflow and endogenised tourism.