scholarly journals Westerners Underestimate Global Inequality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignazio Ziano ◽  
Ivuoma Ngozi Onyeador
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Car Ownership ◽  
Global Inequality ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Total N ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Military Threat ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Target Country

Most global inequality is between-countries, but inequality perceptions have mostly been investigated within-country. Five studies (total N = 2149, four preregistered) show that Westerners (U.S. American, British, and French participants) believe that developing and middle-income countries’ GDP per capita is much closer to developed countries’ than it actually is, and that people in developing and middle-income countries have higher rates of car ownership, larger houses, and eat out more frequently than they actually do, meaning that Westerners underestimate global inequality. This misperception is underpinned by a convergence illusion: the belief that since the 1990s, poorer countries have closed the economic gap with richer countries to a larger extent than they have. Further, overestimating GDP per capita is negatively correlated with support for aid to the target country and positively correlated with a country’s perceived military threat. We discuss implications for inequality perception and for global economic justice.

scholarly journals An International Analysis of Dialysis Services Reimbursement

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjan van der Tol ◽  
Norbert Lameire ◽  
Rachael L. Morton ◽  
Wim Van Biesen ◽  
Raymond Vanholder
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Peritoneal Dialysis ◽  
Replacement Therapy ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Kidney Replacement Therapy ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Background and objectivesThe prevalence of patients with ESKD who receive extracorporeal kidney replacement therapy is rising worldwide. We compared government reimbursement for hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis worldwide, assessed the effect on the government health care budget, and discussed strategies to reduce the cost of kidney replacement therapy.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsCross-sectional global survey of nephrologists in 90 countries to assess reimbursement for dialysis, number of patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and measures to prevent development or progression of CKD, conducted online July to December of 2016.ResultsOf the 90 survey respondents, governments from 81 countries (90%) provided reimbursement for maintenance dialysis. The prevalence of patients per million population being treated with long-term dialysis in low- and middle-income countries increased linearly with Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDP per capita), but was substantially lower in these countries compared with high-income countries where we did not observe an higher prevalence with higher GDP per capita. The absolute expenditure for dialysis by national governments showed a positive association with GDP per capita, but the percent of total health care budget spent on dialysis showed a negative association. The percentage of patients on peritoneal dialysis was low, even in countries where peritoneal dialysis is better reimbursed than hemodialysis. The so-called peritoneal dialysis–first policy without financial incentive seems to be effective in increasing the utilization of peritoneal dialysis. Few countries actively provide CKD prevention.ConclusionsIn low- and middle-income countries, reimbursement of dialysis is insufficient to treat all patients with ESKD and has a disproportionately high effect on public health expenditure. Current reimbursement policies favor conventional in-center hemodialysis.

scholarly journals Research and Development as a Moderating Variable for Sustainable Economic Performance: The Asian, European, and Kuwaiti Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7525
Author(s):  
Ahmad Salman ◽  
Ali Al-Hemoud ◽  
Saja A. Fakhraldeen ◽  
Maha Al-Nashmi ◽  
Suad M. AlFadhli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
The State ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The State Of Kuwait

The research and development (R&D) expenditure in Kuwait is insufficient to lead to innovation and a knowledge economy. Investment in R&D has been shown to sustain elevated economic performance. The objective of this study is to explore the association between three competing dimensions of R&D indicators that lead to sustainable economic performance within any given country, namely, R&D expenditure, the number of researchers, and the number of patent rights, using time-series data collected over a 20-year period (1996–2016) by the World Bank Group. R&D indicators were compared between high- and middle-income countries including models from Asian (South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia) and European (Finland and Ireland) countries as well as the State of Kuwait. Moreover, a case study describing R&D investments in Kuwait is presented. Overall, the results reveal higher R&D spending, number of researchers, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for the Asian and European models. Current R&D expenditure in Kuwait is estimated at 0.08% of GDP (2016), which is significantly lower than the mean of the middle-income countries (1.58%). Furthermore, the number of researchers (per million) in Kuwait (386) is less than half of the mean number of researchers in middle-income countries (775) (2015). Low R&D investments in the State of Kuwait has gradually led to a decreased GDP per capita. Regression analysis shows that GDP per capita can be predicted solely based on the number of researchers (beta = 0.780, R2 = 0.608). The number of researchers is the most crucial variable to predict GDP per capita, and the R&D expenditure is a good indicator of the number of researchers. These findings offer invaluable insight into the sustainable development goals (SDG 9). To our knowledge, this paper presents the first application of the effect of R&D on sustainable economic performance with reference to the SDG target 9.5 “Research & Development”. Thus, in order to enhance scientific research (both academic, professional, and industrial), countries need to increase the number of researchers, and these actions are necessary to introduce sustainable growth to GDP.

scholarly journals The Middle-Income Trap and Premature Deindustrialization in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 237-260
Author(s):  
Antonio Andreoni ◽  
Fiona Tregenna
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Total Employment ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Catching Up ◽  
Econometric Evidence ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
International Comparative

South Africa has been experiencing premature deindustrialization and poor growth over an extended period of time. Premature deindustrialization is among the key factors locking many middle-income countries in a trap of stagnant growth and thwarting their catching-up with advanced economies. Premature deindustrialization shrinks middle-income countries’ opportunities for technological development, and also their capacity to add value in global value chains (GVCs), which reduces their scope for the sustained increases in productivity required for catching up. This chapter analyses key structural factors contributing to a ‘middle-income technology trap’. Throughout the chapter, reference is made to the divergent experiences of three middle-income comparator countries to South Africa: Brazil, China, and Malaysia. Building on this framework, the chapter presents new econometric evidence of premature deindustrialization in South Africa through an international comparative lens. By studying the relationship between countries’ GDP per capita and their shares of manufacturing in total employment, the chapter identifies the level of GDP per capita and share of manufacturing in total employment associated with the ‘turning point’ at which the share of manufacturing levels off and begins to decline. The chapter groups countries into four categories based on their (de)industrialization dynamics, and identifies possible premature deindustrializers, among which South Africa is found. South Africa’s lack of structural transformation helps to explain its failure to escape the middle-income technology trap.

scholarly journals Nanomedicine for the poor: a lost cause or an idea whose time has yet to come?

Nanomedicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vuk Uskoković
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Lost Cause ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Scientific Innovation ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
To Come

The most effective COVID-19 vaccines, to date, utilize nanotechnology to deliver immunostimulatory mRNA. However, their high cost equates to low affordability. Total nano-vaccine purchases per capita and their proportion within the total vaccine lots have increased directly with the GDP per capita of countries. While three out of four COVID-19 vaccines procured by wealthy countries by the end of 2020 were nano-vaccines, this amounted to only one in ten for middle-income countries and nil for the low-income countries. Meanwhile, economic gains of saving lives with nano-vaccines in USA translate to large costs in middle-/low-income countries. It is discussed how nanomedicine can contribute to shrinking this gap between rich and poor instead of becoming an exquisite technology for the privileged. Two basic routes are outlined: (1) the use of qualitative contextual analyses to endorse R&D that positively affects the sociocultural climate; (2) challenging the commercial, competitive realities wherein scientific innovation of the day operates.

scholarly journals Emisi Karbon dan Produk Domestik Bruto: Investigasi Hipotesis Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) pada Negara Berpendapatan Menengah di Kawasan ASEAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-246
Author(s):  
Muhamad Ameer Noor ◽  
Putu Mahardika Adi Saputra
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Kuznets Curve ◽  
Carbon Emission ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Kuznets Curve ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Per Capita

Policymakers in the world are concerned with carbon emission due to the risk of global warming. Many studies on Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) consider carbon emission as a proxy of environmental degradation. This study aimed to investigate the existence of EKC and identify variations of relationships between carbon emissions and GDP per capita in ASEAN middle-income countries. The study was conducted on Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Malaysia based on 1971-2014 time series data using a simultaneous model (2SLS) for each country. The main variables studied were GDP per capita, square of GDP per capita, and carbon emission supported by other variables as the controlling variables. Validation on EKC existence was determined by GDP and GDP squared influence on carbon emission, while variations of relationship between GDP and carbon emission were based on the result of simultaneous regressions. The results showed that the existence of the EKC could not be validated in all countries because energy and transportation policies in each country failed to reduce the emission. On the other hand, carbon emission had a positive unidirectional influence on GDP in all countries. The effect of carbon emission coefficient to GDP showed that Thailand ranked the highest in CO2 efficiency, followed by Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia. This study recommended that carbon emission reduction policies in the four countries should focus more to easier access to environmentally friendly technology from developed countries for ensuring trade-offs between the economy and environment.

scholarly journals Linking world bank development indicators and outcomes of congenital heart surgery in low-income and middle-income countries: retrospective analysis of quality improvement data

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e028307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Rahman ◽  
Bistra Zheleva ◽  
K M Cherian ◽  
Jan T Christenson ◽  
Kaitlin E Doherty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Mortality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Congenital Heart ◽  
Heart Surgery ◽  
Congenital Heart Surgery ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Standardised Mortality Ratios ◽  
Per Capita

ObjectiveMany low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) struggle to provide the health services investment required for life-saving congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery. We explored associations between risk-adjusted CHD surgical mortality from 17 LMICs and global development indices to identify patterns that might inform investment strategies.DesignRetrospective analysis: country-specific standardised mortality ratios were graphed against global development indices reflective of wealth and healthcare investment. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated.Setting and participantsThe International Quality Improvement Collaborative (IQIC) keeps a volunteer registry of outcomes of CHD surgery programmes in low-resource settings. Inclusion in the IQIC is voluntary enrolment by hospital sites. Patients in the registry underwent congenital heart surgery. Sites that actively participated in IQIC in 2013, 2014 or 2015 and passed a 10% data audit were asked for permission to share data for this study. 31 sites in 17 countries are included.Outcome measuresIn-hospital mortality: standardised mortality ratios were calculated. Risk adjustment for in-hospital mortality uses the Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery method, a model including surgical risk category, age group, prematurity, presence of a major non-cardiac structural anomaly and multiple congenital heart procedures during admission.ResultsThe IQIC registry includes 24 917 congenital heart surgeries performed in children<18 years of age. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 5.0%. Country-level congenital heart surgery standardised mortality ratios were negatively correlated with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (r=−0.34, p=0.18), and health expenditure per capita (r=−0.23, p=0.37) and positively correlated with under-five mortality (r=0.60, p=0.01) and undernourishment (r=0.39, p=0.17). Countries with lower development had wider variation in mortality. GDP per capita is a driver of the association between some other measures and mortality.ConclusionsResults display a moderate relationship among wealth, healthcare investment and malnutrition, with significant variation, including superior results in many countries with low GDP per capita. These findings provide context and optimism for investment in CHD procedures in low-resource settings.

scholarly journals Distribution of under-5 deaths in the neonatal, postneonatal, and childhood periods: a multicountry analysis in 64 low- and middle-income countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhihui Li ◽  
Omar Karlsson ◽  
Rockli Kim ◽  
S. V. Subramanian
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Relative Distribution ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background As under-5 mortality rates declined all over the world, the relative distribution of under-5 deaths during different periods of life changed. To provide information for policymakers to plan for multi-layer health strategies targeting child health, it is essential to quantify the distribution of under-5 deaths by age groups. Methods Using 245 Demographic and Health Surveys from 64 low- and middle-income countries conducted between 1986 and 2018, we compiled a database of 2,437,718 children under-5 years old with 173,493 deaths. We examined the share of deaths that occurred in the neonatal (< 1 month), postneonatal (1 month to 1 year old), and childhood (1 to 5 years old) periods to the total number of under-5 deaths at both aggregate- and country-level. We estimated the annual change in share of deaths to track the changes over time. We also assessed the association between share of deaths and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Results Neonatal deaths accounted for 53.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 52.7, 53.4) of the total under-5 deaths. The neonatal share of deaths was lower in low-income countries at 44.0% (43.5, 44.5), and higher in lower-middle-income and upper-middle income countries at 57.2% (56.8, 57.6) and 54.7% (53.8, 55.5) respectively. There was substantial heterogeneity in share of deaths across countries; for example, the share of neonatal to total under-5 deaths ranged from 20.9% (14.1, 27.6) in Eswatini to 82.8% (73.0, 92.6) in Dominican Republic. The shares of deaths in all three periods were significantly associated with GDP per capita, but in different directions—as GDP per capita increased by 10%, the neonatal share of deaths would significantly increase by 0.78 percentage points [PPs] (0.43, 1.13), and the postneonatal and childhood shares of deaths would significantly decrease by 0.29 PPs (0.04, 0.54) and 0.49 PPs (0.24, 0.74) respectively. Conclusions Along with the countries’ economic development, an increasing proportion of under-5 deaths occurs in the neonatal period, suggesting a need for multi-layer health strategies with potentially heavier investment in newborn health.

On the structure of the present-day convergence

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 139-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Korotayev ◽  
Julia Zinkina
Keyword(s):  
Global Convergence ◽  
Low Income ◽  
High Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Unconditional Convergence ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Per Capita

Purpose – A substantial number of researchers have investigated the global economic dynamics of this time to disprove unconditional convergence and refute its very idea, stating the phenomenon of conditional convergence instead. However, most respective papers limit their investigation period with the early or mid-2000s. In the authors’ opinion, some of the global trends which revealed themselves particularly clearly in the second half of the 2000s call for a revision of the convergence issue. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Several methodologies for measuring the global convergence/divergence trends exist in the economic literature. This paper seeks to contribute to the existing literature on unconditional β-convergence of the per capita incomes at the global level. Findings – In the recent years, the gap between high-income and middle-income countries is decreasing especially rapidly. The gap between high-income and low-income countries, meanwhile, is decreasing at a much slower pace. At the same time, the gap between middle-income and low-income countries is actually widening. Indeed, in the early 1980s GDP per capita in the low-income countries was on average three times lower than in the middle-income countries, and this gap was totally overshadowed by the more than ten-time abyss between the middle-income and the high-income countries. Now, however, the GDP per capita in low-income countries lags behind the middle-income ones by more than five times, which is largely the same as the gap (rapidly contracting in the recent years) between the high-income and the middle-income countries. This clearly suggests that the configuration of the world system has experienced a very significant transformation in the recent 30 years. Research limitations/implications – The research concentrates upon the dynamics of the gap in per capita income between the high-income, the middle-income, and the low-income countries. Originality/value – This paper's originality/value lies in drawing attention to the specific changes in the structure of global convergence/divergence patterns and their implications for the low-income countries.

scholarly journals The Nexus between Education and Economic Growth: Analyzing Empirically a Case of Middle-Income Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-60
Author(s):  
Lamia Jamel ◽  
Monia Ben Ltaifa ◽  
Ahmed K Elnagar ◽  
Abdelkader Derbali ◽  
Ali Lamouchi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the nexus between education accumulation and economic growth for a sample of middle-income countries through panel data regressions. The sample consists of 28 middle-income countries from various continents: North Africa and the Middle East (6 countries), sub-Saharan Africa (7 countries), Latin America and the Caribbean (8 countries), East Asia and the Pacific (3 countries), and Europe and Central Asia (4 countries). Education is measured by quantitative (average years of labour force study) and qualitative indicators (student scores on international assessments of educational achievements). To test the impact of education accumulation on GDP per capita growth, a static panel is used during the period of study from 1970 to 2014. A dynamic panel is also being developed to estimate the effect of the education stock on the growth rate of GDP per capita. The results confirm the positive and significant impact of the education quantity and quality on economic growth, both in level and variation. The stock of education and its increase are positively affecting the growth. Moreover, this paper’s original findings suggest that the quality of education is more significant than its quantity.

scholarly journals Infrastruktur Dan Kebijakan Fiskal Di Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 225
Author(s):  
Yanuar .
Keyword(s):  
Asian Development Bank ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Development Bank ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
Descriptive Method

This article aims at analyzing (1) the condition of Indonesia infrastructure compared to ASEAN countries: Philippines, Vietnam, And Thailand which have the same GDP per capita as Indonesia thas is Lower middle income countries, (2)the financial sources(expenditures and revenues) which are used to develop and to improve quality of infrastructure from GDP an APBN (National Revenues and Expenditures Budget). Data used in the study wewe derives from a veriety of sourch: Finance Departement of RI, Word Bank, Asian Development Bank, and others. The data were analyzed by using descriptive method. The result revealed that the Indonesia infrastructures are left behind compared to treee ASEAN countries (Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand). To improve the quality of Indonesia infrastrucktures, two ways should be done:a)reducing(or taking off) the subsidiary of duel oil for private cars, b)increasing tax ratio because it is lowe than the tax ration in the three ASEAN countries)

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