scholarly journals Potato Importance for Development Focusing on Prices

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Olli Salmensuu
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Potato Price ◽  
General Welfare ◽  
Advanced Economies ◽  
Inferior Good ◽  
Developed World

This paper studies potato prices and consumption in the progress of economic development. Potato status tends to evolve from a luxury to a normal and, lastly, to an inferior good. In the developed world, where the potato thrived and became a food for the poor, prices of the inferior potato attract little interest due to general welfare, which further complicates discerning economic effects by computation. Contrarily, in many developing countries, due to supply constraints the potato is a relative expensive, non-staple, normal good, with little social significance. Whereas it is a common misconception that tastes in developing countries differ from advanced economies, low incomes, together with relatively high potato prices, present a real and obvious hindrance to wider potato use among the poor in the underdeveloped world. Local regressions on FAO data reveal empirical advantages favoring potato price system research in developing countries, more likely yielding predictable, statistically significant, unbiased results. Correct policies could increase potato importance in developing countries and stimulate sustainable and pro-poor growth where consumers receive affordable potatoes, while also producer incentives for greater productivity improve. Furthermore, potato-led research presents widening potential into also understanding general social structures of underdevelopment as similar factors explain both cross-border incomes and potato prices.

Deconstructing the ‘Digital Divide’ In Africa

2012 ◽  
pp. 222-236
Author(s):  
Stephen Mutula
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
World Summit ◽  
Cable Tv ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Developed World

The debate about whether the digital divide between Africa and the developed world is narrowing or widening has intensified over the last five years. Some believe that access to technology is positively correlated to economic development and wealth creation, however, since the dawn of the last century, the gap between the rich and the poor within and between developed and developing countries has continued to grow. The protagonists in this debate do not seem to appreciate the notion that the digital divide is not about a single technology, and is driven by a complex set of factors that exist beyond wires. This paper attempts to deconstruct the concept of the digital divide beyond access to PCs, telephones, Internet, cable TV, etc… The authors argue that the phenomenon as currently conceived is misleading and flawed, and so are the indices for its measurement. Suggestions that a new model for mapping the phenomenon is made in order to bridge the divide between developed and developing countries. In deconstructing the digital divide, the authors use the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on Information Society and the indices used to measure e-readiness, information society, digital opportunity, and e-government.

Deconstructing the ‘Digital Divide’ In Africa

2012 ◽  
pp. 1343-1357
Author(s):  
Stephen Mutula
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
World Summit ◽  
Cable Tv ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Developed World

The debate about whether the digital divide between Africa and the developed world is narrowing or widening has intensified over the last five years. Some believe that access to technology is positively correlated to economic development and wealth creation, however, since the dawn of the last century, the gap between the rich and the poor within and between developed and developing countries has continued to grow. The protagonists in this debate do not seem to appreciate the notion that the digital divide is not about a single technology, and is driven by a complex set of factors that exist beyond wires. This paper attempts to deconstruct the concept of the digital divide beyond access to PCs, telephones, Internet, cable TV, etc… The authors argue that the phenomenon as currently conceived is misleading and flawed, and so are the indices for its measurement. Suggestions that a new model for mapping the phenomenon is made in order to bridge the divide between developed and developing countries. In deconstructing the digital divide, the authors use the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on Information Society and the indices used to measure e-readiness, information society, digital opportunity, and e-government.

Extent of adoption of improved practices of gram production technology by gram growers in tribal district of Pratapgarh, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. S. Badhala ◽  
Yogesh Kanojia
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Production Technology ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Front Line ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Protein Rich ◽  
Developed World

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pratapgarh has conducted 88 front line demonstrations on gram in 35.2 ha. area under real farming situations in 2012 in the farmer’s fields of six adopted villages (Avleshwar, Basad, Dalmu, Dhamotar, Manohargarh and Kherot) of Pratapgarh (Raj). All the 6 villages where FLDs were conducted by KVKs were included in the study. The total sample size was 176 consisting of 88 beneficiary and 88 non-beneficiary farmer’s. Gram is called Chickpea or Gram (Cicer aritinum L.) in South Asia and Garbanzo bean in most of the developed world. Gram is a major pulse crop in India; Gram is widely appreciated as health food. It is a protein-rich supplement to cereal-based diets, especially to the poor in developing countries, where people are vegetarians or cannot afford animal protein. There was significant difference in the extent of adoption of gram production technology between beneficiary and non-beneficiary farmers.

The effects of debt restructurings on income inequality in the developing world

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406612110014
Author(s):  
Glen Biglaiser ◽  
Ronald J. McGauvran
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

Developing countries, saddled with debts, often prefer investors absorb losses through debt restructurings. By not making full repayments, debtor governments could increase social spending, serving poorer constituents, and, in turn, lowering income inequality. Alternatively, debtor governments could reduce taxes and cut government spending, bolstering the assets of the rich at the expense of the poor. Using panel data for 71 developing countries from 1986 to 2016, we assess the effects of debt restructurings on societal income distribution. Specifically, we study the impact of debt restructurings on social spending, tax reform, and income inequality. We find that countries receiving debt restructurings tend to use their newly acquired economic flexibility to reduce taxes and lower social spending, worsening income inequality. The results are also robust to different model specifications. Our study contributes to the globalization and the poor debate, suggesting the economic harm caused to the less well-off following debt restructurings.

scholarly journals Key soil parameters affecting the survival of Panax notoginseng under continuous cropping

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wumei Xu ◽  
Fengyun Wu ◽  
Haoji Wang ◽  
Linyan Zhao ◽  
Xue Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Ph ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Panax Notoginseng ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
Available N ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Replant Problem

AbstractNegative plant-soil feedbacks lead to the poor growth of Panax notoginseng (Sanqi), a well-known herb in Asia and has been used worldwide, under continuous cropping. However, the key soil parameters causing the replant problem are still unclear. Here we conducted a field experiment after 5-year continuous cropping. Sanqi seedlings were cultivated in 7 plots (1.5 m × 2 m), which were randomly assigned along a survival gradient. In total, 13 important soil parameters were measured to understand their relationship with Sanqi’s survival. Pearson correlation analysis showed that 6 soil parameters, including phosphatase, urease, cellulase, bacteria/fungi ratio, available N, and pH, were all correlated with Sanqi’s survival rate (P < 0.05). Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that they explained 61% of the variances based on the first component, with soil pH being closely correlated with other parameters affecting Sanqi’s survival. The optimum pH for Sanqi growth is about 6.5, but the mean soil pH in the study area is 5.27 (4.86–5.68), therefore it is possible to ameliorate the poor growth of Sanqi by increasing soil pH. This study may also help to reduce the replant problem of other crops under continuous cropping since it is widespread in agricultural production.

scholarly journals First Environmental Investigation of Toxigenic Clostridium difficile at a Large Hospital in Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S406-S406
Author(s):  
M Jahangir Alam ◽  
Khurshida Begum ◽  
Tasnuva Rashid ◽  
Irtiza Hasan ◽  
Jacob McPherson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Clostridium Difficile ◽  
Enrichment Culture ◽  
Large Hospital ◽  
Environmental Investigation ◽  
Fluorescent Pcr ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Pcr Ribotyping ◽  
Developed World ◽  
Culture Positive

Abstract Background Toxigenic Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalized patients in the developed world and an emerging pathogen in developing countries due to increased use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Although likely ubiquitous worldwide, the prevalence of toxigenic C. difficile spores in the hospital environs of developing countries is poorly understood. The objectives of the study are to isolate and characterize C. difficile from the hospital environs of a large hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods As part of our environmental surveillance effort, we collected 330 shoe-bottom swab samples from hospital employees, patients, and visitors inside of a large hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Samples were analyzed for C. difficile using anaerobic enrichment culture and molecular methods. Suspected colonies from cycloserine cefoxitin fructose agar (CCFA) plates were identified by PCR (tcdA, tcdB, cdtA, cdtB and tpi genes) and strain typed using fluorescent PCR ribotyping, and MLVA methods. Results A total 149 of 333 (44.7%) shoe-bottom swab samples were culture positive for C. difficile of which 19.8% samples were toxigenic (tcdA and tcdB) C. difficile. A total of 11 distinct ribotypes were identified from 58 toxigenic C. difficile isolates tested. Predominant ribotypes were F053-163 (24.1%), F017 (20.7%), F106 (19.0%), F014-020 (17.2%). Other ribotypes were R001, F005, F010, F018, F054, F216, and FP407. No R027 and R078 C. difficile isolated. A broad MLVA diversity has been seen among the tested strains. Conclusion We identified a high prevalence of toxigenic C. difficile with diverse ribotypes from hospital environmental shoe-bottom swabs in Bangladesh. This is the first hospital environmental report of C. difficile from Bangladesh. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

scholarly journals INAPPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY What Is in It for the Rich?

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA FERNANDES ◽  
KRISHNA B. KUMAR
Keyword(s):  
Green Revolution ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Welfare Effects ◽  
Luxury Good ◽  
Rich Region ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poor Region ◽  
Inferior Good ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Local Use

In this paper, we investigate incentives, other than altruism, that developed countries have for improving developing country technologies. We propose a simple model of international trade between two regions, in which individuals have preferences over an inferior good and a luxury good. The poor region has a comparative advantage in the production of the inferior good. Even when costly adaptation of the technology to the poor region's characteristics is required—making the technology inappropriate for local use—there are parameter configurations for which the rich region has an incentive to incur this cost. It benefits from a terms-of-trade improvement and from greater specialization in the luxury good. Indeed, there are cases where the rich region would prefer to improve the poor region's technology for producing the inferior good rather than its own. We apply our model to the Green Revolution and provide a quantitative assessment of its welfare effects.

“Documents, Please”

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Hunter ◽  
Robert Brill
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Birth Certificate ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Birth Registration ◽  
Developing Regions ◽  
Life Chances ◽  
The Poor ◽  
State Infrastructure

A birth certificate is essential to exercising citizenship, yet vast numbers of poor people in developing countries have no official record of their existence. Few academic studies analyze the conditions under which governments come to document and certify births routinely, and those that do leave much to be explained, including why nontotalitarian governments at low to middle levels of economic development come to prioritize birth registration. This article draws attention to the impetus that welfare-building initiatives give to identity documentation. The empirical focus is on contemporary Latin America, where extensions in institutionalized social protection since the 1990s have increased the demand for and supply of birth registration, raising the life chances of the poor and building state infrastructure in the process. The authors' argument promises to have broader applicability as welfare states form in other developing regions.

scholarly journals The Role of NGOs in Building CSR Discourse around Human Rights in Developing Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Eun Noh
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Global Networks ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Development Ngos

As a response to increasing influences of transnational corporations (TNCs) over the lives of the poor, development NGOs have tried to promote their responsibility in cooperative ways: partnership in development projects and voluntary regulations. Notwithstanding some degree of success, these cooperative ways have failed to bring fundamental changes to TNCs. This article outlines the limitations of the mainstream corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the potential of grassroots social movements to make TNCs accountable. People in developing countries have been neglected in the CSR agenda; however, they have power to change corporations as labourers, consumers and citizens. Drawing on case studies, this article suggests that NGOs should support grassroots people in building global networks, constructing collective values and creating the information flow in order to overcome the current shortcomings of community-driven social movements. For these new roles as advocates and facilitators for grassroots movements, NGOs need to transform themselves by pursuing core values.  

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