Trade, environmental degradation, and population health in low-income countries

AbstractOil is a metonym for terms in books and articles in diverse disciplines in African studies. Some portray oil as a causal agent that thrusts formerly low-income countries into the highly competitive neoliberal global economy. Others present it according to the oil curse/blessing binary. As a curse, petroleum causes dysfunctional and costly behavior. But increased revenues from oil just as certainly result in concrete improvements demonstrating a resource blessing. Heilbrunn uses case materials to explore environmental degradation, oil theft, community-company relations, post-conflict reconstruction, local content in contracts, and corruption. These key concepts form a basis for the keyword/concept essay on oil in Africa.

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Introduction: Resilience and sustainability

Environment and Development Economics ◽

10.1017/s1355770x98210126 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 221-262 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Charles Perrings

Keyword(s):

Environmental Degradation ◽

Low Income ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Poverty Traps ◽

Economic Systems ◽

Social Scientists ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Ecological Concept ◽

Ecological Economic ◽

Lock In

One of the most interesting and potentially useful outcomes of recent collaboration between natural and social scientists concerned with the sustainability of jointly determined ecological-economic systems is the application of the ecological concept of resilience. In its broadest sense, resilience is a measure of the ability of a system to withstand stresses and shocks – its ability to persist in an uncertain world. For many policy-makers, however, the concern that desirable states or processes may not be ‘sustainable’ is balanced by the concern that individuals and societies may get ‘locked-in’ to undesirable states or processes. Many low-income countries, for example, are thought to have been caught in poverty traps, and poverty traps have since been seen as a major cause of environmental degradation (Dasgupta, 1993). Other examples of ‘lock-in’ include our dependence on hydrocarbon-based technologies, or the institutional and cultural rigidities that stand in the way of change (Hanna, Folke, and Mäler, 1996). Such states or processes are too persistent.

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Impact of ICT on Environment

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1020622/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Samaneh Mahdavi ◽

Sakineh Sojoodi

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Environmental Degradation ◽

Low Income ◽

Generalized Method Of Moments ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Particulate Emissions ◽

Improve Energy Efficiency ◽

Ict Development ◽

The Impact

Abstract The impact of information and communications technologies (ICT) on the environment is a complex highly-debated subject. Indeed, ICT can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment. While ICT tools and devices can be used to improve energy efficiency, which results in reduced CO2 emissions and environmental degradation, the manufacturing and use of ICT devices can become a major source of emission. Also, many ICT devices contain non-renewable and non-recyclable components that can cause significant environmental damage. Therefore, one may question that whether ICT improves environmental quality in countries with different income levels? To answer this question, this study investigated the environmental impacts of ICT in three groups of high, middle, and low-income countries from 2005 to 2019 using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The ICT Development Index (IDI) was used as the measure of ICT development. Empirical results showed that the use of ICT led to reduced total CO2 emissions, CO2 emissions from solid fuel consumption, CO2 emissions damage, particulate emissions damage, and energy consumption in the studied countries. Therefore, ICT was found to have a generally negative (favorable) impact on environmental degradation in these countries. Considering this effect of ICT on environmental degradation and pollution, governments are recommended to pursue their energy consumption and emission objectives by promoting the use of ICT in the environmental sector and the implementation of green ICT projects.

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Toward Linking Clinical and Population Health Interventions in Low-Income Countries

American Journal of Public Health ◽

10.2105/ajph.2018.304894 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 109 (2) ◽

pp. 184-185

Author(s):

Daniel M. Fox ◽

Sandro Galea

Keyword(s):

Population Health ◽

Low Income ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Low Income Countries

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Energy Consumption, Environmental Degradation and Growth: A Panel Data Analysis

ASM Science Journal ◽

10.32802/asmscj.2020.sm26(1.8) ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Sayed Kushairi Sayed Nordin ◽

Siok Kun Sek

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Environmental Degradation ◽

Low Income ◽

Cointegration Test ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Long Run ◽

Short Run ◽

The Relationship

Energy is essential as an input to develop economic, although it could bring negative effect on environmental quality. The relationship between energy consumption, environmental degradation and economic growth have been widely studied, but there is no consistency in the relationship. The objectives of this study are to determine the short-run relationship (one-way or bidirectional) and to reveal the long-run relationship for each pair of variables. The second-generation panel unit root and cointegration test were used in the analysis. Breusch-Pagan LM test suggests that there is a cross-sectional dependency for all the models and integrated of order one, I (1). Cointegration test indicates that economic growth has long-relationship with carbon dioxide and energy consumption in high-income countries. In low-income countries, carbon dioxide has a long-run relationship with energy consumption and economic growth. In the short run, we have evidence of a bidirectional relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in high-income countries but a one-way relationship in low-income countries. Overall, it can be concluded that the three variables are related. This study develops a deeper awareness and understanding of the relationship between the variables in distinct levels of economies. Keywords: energy consumption; CO2, economic growth

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Re-envisioning global agricultural trade: time for a paradigm shift to ensure food security and population health in low-income countries

Global Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/1757975914531029 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 60-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Catherine M. Pirkle ◽

Hélène Poliquin ◽

Drissa Sia ◽

Kouassi Joseph Kouakou ◽

Tani Sagna

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Population Health ◽

Low Income ◽

Paradigm Shift ◽

Agricultural Trade ◽

Low Income Countries

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Neo-liberal economic practices and population health: a cross-national analysis, 1980–2004

Health Economics Policy and Law ◽

10.1017/s1744133109990181 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 171-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Melissa Tracy ◽

Margaret E. Kruk ◽

Christine Harper ◽

Sandro Galea

Keyword(s):

Property Rights ◽

Population Health ◽

Low Income ◽

Political Institutions ◽

National Level ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Size Of Government ◽

Under Five ◽

Economic Practices ◽

National Analysis

AbstractAlthough there has been substantial debate and research concerning the economic impact of neo-liberal practices, there is a paucity of research about the potential relation between neo-liberal economic practices and population health. We assessed the extent to which neo-liberal policies and practices are associated with population health at the national level. We collected data on 119 countries between 1980 and 2004. We measured neo-liberalism using the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) Index, which gives an overall score as well as a score for each of five different aspects of neo-liberal economic practices: (1) size of government, (2) legal structure and security of property rights, (3) access to sound money, (4) freedom to exchange with foreigners and (5) regulation of credit, labor and business. Our measure of population health was under-five mortality. We controlled for potential mediators (income distribution, social capital and openness of political institutions) and confounders (female literacy, total population, rural population, fertility, gross domestic product per capita and time period). In longitudinal multivariable analyses, we found that the EFW index did not have an effect on child mortality but that two of its components: improved security of property rights and access to sound money were associated with lower under-five mortality (p = 0.017 and p = 0.024, respectively). When stratifying the countries by level of income, less regulation of credit, labor and business was associated with lower under-five mortality in high-income countries (p = 0.001). None of the EFW components were significantly associated with under-five mortality in low-income countries. This analysis suggests that the concept of ‘neo-liberalism’ is not a monolithic entity in its relation to health and that some ‘neo-liberal’ policies are consistent with improved population health. Further work is needed to corroborate or refute these findings.

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