Microcomputers, Informatics, and Development: Issues in Foreign Assistance

The Mobilisation of domestic resources and their efficient utilisation are two of the most crucial tasks in revitalising the economy of Pakistan. Historically, low saving fotmation and relatively higher targets of investment and economic growth made it imperative to depend on external resources. Despite heavy domestic borrowing from both private and public sectors, there still has remained an unmet resource gap that has necessitated dependence on foreign capital. I In recent years, the sources of foreign assistance have become scarce due to a growing shortage in world saving and growing domestic demand for budget appropriations in the western countries. If economic growth in Pakistan is to be sustained and selfgenerating, investment in physical and human development must be increased and mad more efficient. To meet this challenge, most of the capital will have to come from domestic sources. Hence, the focus of this paper is on harnessing domestic efforts to increase saving formation and to enhance efficiency of capital investments. Traditionally, the government of Pakistan has relied on conventional approaches to increasing domestic saving. First, the government has been encouraging greater saving by the private sector through a package of national saving schemes and by allowing financial institutions to introduce saving incentives. Saving-schemes and saving incentives have not produced satisfying results. Table 1 shows saving and investment in selected South Asian countries. Saving in Pakistan is very low and, indeed, among the lowest even when compared with neighbouring and other developing countries. Explanations of this failure include the low levels of income and high rate of inflation in the country.2 Moreover, the financial institutions have in general remained inefficient.

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U.S. Foreign Assistance: Creating a Toolbox for the Twenty-First Century

10.21236/ada443964 ◽

1999 ◽

Author(s):

Connie L. Stephens

Keyword(s):

Foreign Assistance ◽

First Century ◽

Twenty First Century

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Impact of COVID-19 on FDIs, Remittances and Foreign Aids: A Case Study of Nepal

Millennial Asia ◽

10.1177/0976399620974202 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 097639962097420

Author(s):

Gaurav Bhattarai ◽

Binita Subedi

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Low Income ◽

Global Economy ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Foreign Assistance ◽

Foreign Direct Investments ◽

Middle Income ◽

Low Income Country ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

The global economy has been severely paralysed, owing to the unprecedented crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and different studies have indicated that the crisis is relatively more maleficent to the lower-income and middle-income economies. Methodologically, this study relied on the review and analysis of the grey literature, media reporting and data published by the Asian Development Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations (UN), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) among others. The article begins by describing the impact of the pandemic on low-income and middle-income countries, and it discusses how they have responded to the crisis. While discussions have surfaced regarding whether COVID-19 will reverse the process of globalization, what will be its impact on the low-income country like Nepal? The study also highlights that with foreign direct investments speculated to shrink and foreign assistance and remittance taking a hit, how is Nepal struggling to keep its economy afloat? Analysing the new budget that the government unveiled in 2020, this study concludes with a note that instead of effectively implementing the plans and policies directed by the budget, Nepal is unnecessarily engaged in political mess and is needlessly being dragged into the geopolitical complications.

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Aiding and Abetting: U.S. Foreign Assistance and State Violence by Jessica Trisko Darden. Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press, 2019. 216 pp. Paper, $30.00.

Political Science Quarterly ◽

10.1002/polq.13178 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 136 (2) ◽

pp. 395-397

Author(s):

Shannon P. Carcelli

Keyword(s):

State Violence ◽

Foreign Assistance ◽

Stanford University

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Economic and financial crisis based on Troika’s intervention and potentially avoidable hospitalizations: an ecological study in Portugal

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-021-06475-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cristina Loureiro da Silva ◽

João Victor Rocha ◽

Rui Santana

Keyword(s):

Financial Crisis ◽

Health Management ◽

Hypertensive Heart Disease ◽

Foreign Assistance ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Socioeconomic Variables ◽

Avoidable Hospitalizations ◽

Use Of Resources ◽

Tract Infections ◽

Economic And Financial Crisis

Abstract Background Hospitalisations for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC) cause harm to users and to health systems, as these events are potentially avoidable. In 2009, Portugal was hit by an economic and financial crisis and in 2011 it resorted to foreign assistance (“Memorandum of Understanding” (2011–2014)). The aim of this study was to analyse the association between the Troika intervention and hospitalisations for ACSC. Methods We analysed inpatient data of all public NHS hospitals of mainland Portugal from 2007 to 2016, and identified hospitalisations for ACSC (pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hearth failure, hypertensive heart disease, urinary tract infections, diabetes), according to the AHRQ methodology. Rates of hospitalisations for ACSC, the rate of enrollment in the employment center and average monthly earnings were compared among the pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis periods to see if there were differences. A Spearman’s correlation between socioeconomic variables and hospitalisations was performed. Results Among 8,160,762 admissions, 892,759 (10.94%) were classified as ACSC hospitalizations, for which 40% corresponded to pneumonia. The rates of total hospitalisations and hospitalisations for ACSC increased between 2007 and 2016, with the central and northern regions of the country presenting the highest rates. No correlations between socioeconomic variables and hospitalisation rates were found. Conclusions During the period of economic and financial crisis based on Troika’s intervention, there was an increase in potentially preventable hospitalisations in Portugal, with disparities between the municipalities. The high use of resources from ACSC hospitalisations and the consequences of the measures taken during the crisis are factors that health management must take into account.

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