Group Of Low-income Countries Research Articles

Liver Transplantation: A Right or a Privilege? Sustainable Liver Transplant Financing With an Innovative Model for the Developing World

Living donor liver transplant in addition to its lifesaving therapy is a cost-effective alternate to long-term disease management in patients with chronic liver disease. Financial constraint is the biggest hurdle faced by patients in developing countries in availing the liver transplantation. So, we conducted this study to report a government-funded financial support system for liver transplant services. A total of 198 patients who underwent living donor liver transplant with at least 90 days follow-up were included in the study. According to proxy means test score, 52.2% patients were from low and middle socioeconomic groups and 64.6% of patients underwent liver transplantation through government support. Out of 198 patients who underwent liver transplantation 29.6% had monthly income below 25,000 Pakistani rupees ($114). In recipients, 90-day mortality was 7.1% and morbidity was 67.1%. Donor morbidity was 23.2% without any mortality. This financial model can serve as a valuable source for middle and low income group countries to overcome the financial challenge and make liver transplant an accessible, affordable, and economically viable option.

Impact of natural resource rents and economic growth on environmental degradation in the context of COP-26: Evidence from low-income, middle-income, and high-income Asian countries

This study investigates the influence of natural resource rents and economic growth on environmental degradation by using the three classifications of the Asian countries based on per capita income. A panel data from 1990 to 2018 is analyzed to determine the cointegration relationship through Mean Group (MG) regression. The calculations indicate that there is a strong positive correlation between natural resource rents and carbon emissions, particularly in the group of low-income countries. The results indicate a positive correlation between economic growth and carbon emissions for the middle and low-income groups while there is a negative relationship found in the group of high-income countries. The study suggests that to achieve the targets of COP-26, joint efforts of high, middle, and low-income countries are required on urgent basis to reduce carbon emissions. The group of high-income countries is required to improve the resource rents policies such as the search for alternative renewable sources, plantation of trees on a large scale, judicious way of energy preservation, and use of biofuels at the household level. The group of middle and low-income countries needs to adopt environment-friendly economic growth along with the aforementioned policies to preserve natural resources.

Electricity access and green financing in the African region

PurposeThis study aims to provide empirical evidence on two research questions: firstly, whether green finance is positively related to electricity access, and, secondly, if the domestic economic environment moderates the relationship between green finance and electricity access? This paper pays particular attention to the regional disparities in Africa.Design/methodology/approachWhile pursuing the study objectives, the authors apply a variety of statistical approaches and tools to assess the robustness of the findings. The authors use panel dataset for analysing data. In order to empirically examine the relationship between green finance and electricity access in the African region, the paper employs static and dynamic panel estimation methods, Poisson method and adopts two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) approach for dealing with issues relating to endogeneity. The authors also use alternate proxy for the electricity access, which is drawn from the regulatory indicators for sustainable energy (RISE) scores.FindingsThe authors find that despite the fact that green funding appears to support job creation, household incomes aren't high enough to drive rising demand for electricity. The study underscores the role and responsibilities of external funding agencies to ensure that funds at the receiving end are effectively routed to encourage access to clean and sustainable energy, which is good to the economic and domestic environment. Further, due to the relatively modest size of some funds, the cost to administer those funds is larger than the funds themselves. This causes inefficiencies, which may temporarily provide jobs but not lasting growth. This means there is no regular need for energy, therefore larger investors have no reason to enter the market. This discourages investors from public-private partnerships or private investments and prevents future investment.Research limitations/implicationsThe provide insights into the private-public partnerships and whether the challenges to electricity access are being turned into investment opportunities. The effects of the power Africa project initiatives are revealing, with, sanitation being an impediment to the development of electricity infrastructure, specifically in low-income group countries.Practical implicationsThe study confirms the view that trivial amounts of green financing (US-Aid or grants) impose a burden on the absorptive capacity of the recipient government and increases the transaction costs and is likely to be an impediment (Kimura et al., 2012) to initiating projects that enhance electricity access.Social implicationsThe results indicate that although green financing seems to be supporting employment opportunities, income levels are insufficient to create demand for electricity usage. It, therefore, becomes imperative that sanitation (SDG 6) is fully addressed in order to ensure that SDG 7 is attained.Originality/valueThe authors provide insights around the private public partnerships and whether the challenges to electricity access are being turned into investment opportunities. The effects of the power Africa project initiatives are revealing, with, sanitation being an impediment to the development of electricity infrastructure, specifically in low-income group countries.

A Comparative Study of the Impact of Governance Sub-Indicators on Health Expenditures in Rich and Poor Countries

Introduction: Introduction: Health is one of the main indicators of development in any country, and investing in this sector has a direct impact on the welfare of society and economic growth. The lack and insufficiency in providing health services is considered as a sign of government weakness. Therefore, it is very important to examine the performance of governments in the health sector. Method: The present research has investigated the effect of governance sub-indicators on health costs for two groups of low-income and high-income countries. To conduct this research, a balanced mixed data model was used. The total health cost was used as a dependent variable and the governance sub-indicators including six sub-indicators were used as independent variables and the human development index was used as a control variable. We used Eviews10 software to perform calculations. Findings: The findings of the research in the group of low-income countries confirmed the effect of the following governance indicators on health costs. In addition, all the coefficients of the variables in the high-income group were significant at the 90% confidence level, which means that the better the governance index, the higher the health costs appear to be. The model used in the research also had a suitable fitness. Discussion: Arguing based on the results of the research, it is recommended to the governance system of low-income countries that have weak governance to reduce political instability and reduce restrictive laws. In addition, removing trade barriers and creating a competitive environment in these countries is a key and inevitable issue.

How Mobiles Affect International Trade, FDI and Economic Growth: Comparative Analysis of Income Level

ABSTRACT Mobile is a key sector promoting international trade, FDI and economic growth in the modern era. The objective of this paper is to examine the dynamic nexus between Mobile, trade, FDI and economic growth by employing a panel vector error correction model. Empirical results suggest that Mobile has more positively contributed to international trade in the low income country group than other groups, and it has a more positive impact on FDI inflow in the higher-income country group than other groups, it has a more powerful impact on economic growth in the middle-income country group than other groups.

Crop Yield Prediction Using Deep Neural Networks

Abstract: Agriculture is undergoing a metamorphosis due to several environmantal and scoal factors. Due to challenges such as global warming, intermittent rainfall patterns and eroding nutrient values of soil, crop yileds have become more upredictable in the last decade. This has resulted in famines, armer suicides and deaths due to hunger. Thus, one of the key objectives of the world health organization is to provide food security globally and also help the agriculture community as a whole whith special emhpasis on low income group countries. This has made crop yield forecasting extremely important. As the crop yield depends on several factors which are highly uncorrelated in nature, hence machine learing based appraoches have been employed for the purpose. In this paper a deep neural network approach has been proposed along with the discrete wavelet transfrom to forecast crop yields. The wavelet transform has been used as a filtering techniques to remove local disturbances from the data, and deep neural networks have been used for pattern recognition and forecasting. The evaluation of the proposed system has been evaluated in terms of the mean absolute percentage error, accuracy and regression. It has been found that the proposed work outperforms existing baseline techniques in terms of the accuracy of forecasting.

Free Papers Compiled

Background:The overall prevalence of ID is about 1% with rates in low-income group countries and child/adolescent being on higher side. Most researchers have found that having a child with a disability increases family stress and it has a profound effect on the psychological well-being, finance, social relations, and marital relations.Aim:To assess perceived stress and coping skills in parents of children with developmental delay attending early intervention program(EIP)Inclusion criteria:Parents of children aged between 6m to3yrs with developmental delay attending Early Intervention program.Setting and design:cross sectional study done in 50children with developmental delay attending child psychiatry OPD for a duration of 3m at Niloufer hospital ,HyderabadMaterials and methods:After obtaining Institutional Ethics committee approval and permission from administrative authorities of Niloufer hospital, Parents attending EIP were interviewed after obtaining consent. Details of Socio demographic profile is entered into intake proforma. In order to assess the perceived stress, stress questionnaire is applied which has 30item and to assess coping skills, cope inventory is applied which has 60itemsResults & conclusion:significant stress levels are found in parents of children with developmental delay.Background:Studies have shown that delirium is common in ICU settings, post surgery and in elderly. There are various predisposing risk factors for same. There is evidence of delirium occurring after dialysis.Aim:To assess prevalence and risk factor of delirium in kidney disease patients undergoing dialysis.Methods:A one year prospective observational study of admitted patients of kidney disease (acute and chronic) requiring dialysis, aged 18 years or more. All patients who were already in delirium prior to dialysis were excluded. Confusion assessment method scale (CAM) scale was applied on the included patients and assessed for presence of delirium. For risk factors, sociodemographic data, past history of delirium, number of dialysis and blood investigations were collected. P value for all parameters were calculated using chi-square and fisher’s exact test.Results:We found that prevalence of delirium was 20 % after dialysis. Risk factors identified were past history of delirium, >3 dialysis, abnormal urea, creatinine, hb, WBC levels (significant p-value).

Export diversification in low-income countries and small states: Do country size and income level matter?

Export structure is less diversified in low-income countries (LICs) and small states that generally face constraints in resources and economic size. This paper presents an empirical analysis on the linkages between export structure and economic growth/volatility in LICs and small states, by using a variant of export concentration indices. The analysis documents that export diversification in products or industries may promote economic growth and reduce economic volatility in these countries. The analysis further demonstrates that the economic benefits of export diversification differ by the country size and income level—larger gains for relatively small and poor countries within a group of LICs and small states. In addition, diversification in export partners or markets tends to be beneficial for economic growth and stability.

Institutional Quality, Governance and Progress towards the SDGs

Whether institutional quality and governance help or hinder progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of UN Agenda 2030 is an important issue to consider. These fundamental social structures are generally under-represented among the SDGs, but institutional quality and governance often have an important role in supporting or constraining efforts to achieve sustainable development. We compare estimates of the changes in net welfare that reflect progress towards the 17 SDGs over 2000–2018 with two institutional quality and governance indicators over the same period. We do this at the world level, for the group of low-income countries and for nine representative developing countries. We utilize the Worldwide Governance Indicators and OECD’s Country Risk Classification as our two institutional quality and governance measures. We find that SDG welfare gains are somewhat correlated with institutional quality and highly correlated with lower country risk. These results suggest that good governance and institutional effectiveness are associated with long-run development and sustainability success. Long-term progress towards the SDGs may hinge on improved institutional quality and reduced country risk.

Mortality Rates of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Caused by the Novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).

BackgroundThe significance of the global prevalence and incidence of coronavirusdisease 2019 (COVID-19) is a measure of its severity. However, without statistical data, one cannot understand the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. This study, based on good data, enables us to know how the disease is spreading, what impact the pandemic has on the lives of people around the world, and whether the countermeasures that countries have been taking are successful for controlling and preventing the disease. Therefore, this study is undertaken to estimate the infection fatality rates (IFRs) and case-fatality rates (CFRs) in various countries and regions of the world.MethodsCOVID-19-related data were collected from various countries belonging to different World Bank categories based on economies (low-income, low-middle income, upper-middle income, and high-income countries) and the World Health Organization's (WHO's) regional classification of countries (the Americas, European, African, South-East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific regions). The data were collected from the WHO’s dedicated website on COVID-19, and statistical methods like mean, standard deviation, p-value, and percentages were used to calculate the IFR and CFR.ResultsMexico (8.94%) reported the highest IFR among all the countries. The low-income countries reported increased IFR (2.46±1.91) as compared to the other groups. The European region (7.3%) and the American region (5.3%) recorded the highest CFRs. The South-East Asian region reported the lowest CFR (1.1%).ConclusionsThe low-income group countries showed higher rates of IFR and lower CFRs. Lower IFRs and increased CFRs were noted among the high-income group countries and the American and European regions respectively. The varied IFRs and CFRs could be attributed to multiple factors that include climatic conditions, living environments, age, sex, comorbidities, among others.

Estimators and Economic Growth Nexus in Financial Deepening: Perspectives from a Small Open Economy

The study covered four (4) selected financial deepening estimators as it affects the economy as a whole. To carry out the study, data were sourced through Statistical Bulletin 2018 and World Bank Development Indicators (2018) from 2003 to 2018. Group of low-income countries have continued to find the need for adequate financial deepening in a bid to enhance their economic growth. Though they are operating a modern type of economy, yet they are mostly mono-economy, relying more on either oil or agricultural products and heavily depending on oil. Hence, Nigeria is a small open economy. In analyzing the data obtained, linear regression analysis was used through SPSS 22.0. The study formulated four (4) hypotheses and the findings showed that the ratio of money supply, credit ratio in private sector, savings ratio and investment have impact significantly on Gross Domestic Product in Nigeria because the p-value t-statistics are 0.0481, 0.027, 0.046 and.000 respectively are all less than 5% significant level. The study, therefore, identified the nexus by concluding that financial deepening has significant impact on Nigeria’s economic growth. This study recommends that government policies should be geared towards increased money supply and well-organized capital market that can improve general economic efficacy.

FDI & economic growth in selected Country groups for (1989-2018)

Theoretically, it is heavily believed that FDI is as a source of development, modernization, income, and employment growth and that FDI boosts the productivity of host countries and promotes economic growth. This paper examines, within a growth theory framework, the role which foreign direct investment (FDI) plays in the growth process in the context of different income group countries characterized by their per capita income. The paper tests (using time series data relating High, Middle- and Low-income countries) the hypothesis adopted is that FDI, enhance economic growth. The estimated indicators show evidence of rejecting Null hypothesis in the case of High- and Middle-income group countries but, vice versa the Null hypothesis is accepted for Low-income group countries.

Socio-economic disparity in global burden of near vision loss: an analysis for 2017 with time trends since 1990.

To investigate the socio-economic disparity in global burden of near vision loss by disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). The DALY numbers of country income groups by World Bank classification and the national age-standardized DALY rates caused by near vision loss were obtained from Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Human development index (HDI) was collected from the Human Development Report. The association between age-standardized DALY rates and HDI was analysed. Additionally, the concentration index (CI) and the relative index of inequality (RII) were employed to assess the trends of socio-economic disparity in the global burden of near vision loss from 1990 to 2017. The global burden of near vision loss increased from 5.3 million DALYs in 1990 to 9.8 million DALYs in 2017, corresponding to an increase of 82.4%. The highest rate of increase for 1990-2017 occurred in low-income country group (97.7%). Age-standardized DALY rates were inversely correlated with HDI (Standardized β=-0.679, P<0.001). Lower HDI countries displayed higher age-standardized DALY rates caused by near vision loss. From 1990 to 2017, CI declined from -0.233 to -0.209, and RII increased from 0.149 to 0.247. The total global burden of near vision loss increased greatly in the past few decades, with low-income countries showing the highest growth. The age-standardized burden was higher in countries with lower socio-economic status. Although a declining trend of socio-economic inequalities was observed, the persistence of disparities still highlights the need to provide more eye care services for developing countries.

Export Diversification in Low-Income Countries and Small States: Do Country Size and Income Level Matter?

Export structure is less diversified in low-income countries (LICs) and especially small states that face resource constraints and small economic size. This paper explores the potential linkages between export structure and economic growth and its volatility in LICs and small states, using a range of indices of export concentration differing in the coverage of industries. The empirical analysis finds that export diversification may promote economic growth and reduce economic volatility in these countries. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that the economic benefits of export diversification differ by country size and income level—there are bigger benefits for relatively larger and poorer countries within the group of LICs and small states.

Novel Interfacial Bulk Heterojunction Technique for Enhanced Response in ZnO Nanogenerator.

In this paper, a direct sustainable approach for the development of a n-ZnO:p-CuO heterojunction (ZCH) through a simple grinding is reported to be an effective technique to enhance the piezoelectric performance of ZCH/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposite-based nanogenerators (ZP-PNGs). We have first optimized the best concentration for ZnO/PDMS nanocomposite for the realization of the piezoelectric nanogenerator. Later, with the same configuration, we implemented a novel, simple, facile, frugal, and inexpensive technique to fabricate ZCH. The heterojunction results in the improved charge transfer characteristics, low capacitance, and charge nullification contributing to the enhanced piezoelectric output. This reflects in the improvement of the peak-to-peak piezoelectric potential of the device from 2.7 to 9 V. The instantaneous max power density was found to be 0.2 mW/m2. The device can work as a force sensor with improved sensitivity of 1.7 V/N compared to 1.05 V/N of the intrinsic device. The device is being systematically studied for load matching and capacitor charging to demonstrate its practicability. Furthermore, we tested our device to harness the biomechanical energy from day-to-day life activities. Finally, the device was used to fabricate sustainable piezoelectric-based smart urinal systems for low-income group countries.

Export Diversification in Low-Income Countries and Small States: Do Country Size and Income Level Matter?

Export structure is less diversified in low-income countries (LICs) and especially small states that face resource constraints and small economic size. This paper explores the potential linkages between export structure and economic growth and its volatility in LICs and small states, using a range of indices of export concentration differing in the coverage of industries. The empirical analysis finds that export diversification may promote economic growth and reduce economic volatility in these countries. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that the economic benefits of export diversification differ by country size and income level—there are bigger benefits for relatively larger and poorer countries within the group of LICs and small states.

Export Diversification in Low-Income Countries and Small States: Do Country Size and Income Level Matter?

Export structure is less diversified in low-income countries (LICs) and especially small states that face resource constraints and small economic size. This paper explores the potential linkages between export structure and economic growth and its volatility in LICs and small states, using a range of indices of export concentration differing in the coverage of industries. The empirical analysis finds that export diversification may promote economic growth and reduce economic volatility in these countries. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that the economic benefits of export diversification differ by country size and income level-there are bigger benefits for relatively larger and poorer countries within the group of LICs and small states.

Comparative evaluation of effect of green tea and green coffee on blood cholesterol level and body weight in albino rats

Background: Overweight and obesity are chronic medical condition responsible for risk factors for many non-communicable diseases. Development of rapid upsurge of these condition in medium and low-income group countries increased the awareness and uses of many types of remedies. Along with other natural herbal products green tea and green coffee have also became popular in communities. Aim of this study was to compare the effect of green tea and green coffee on blood cholesterol and weight in experimental animals.Methods: The experiment of this study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology, MGM Medical college, Jamshedpur after ethical approval. 24 albino rats were selected and divided randomly in four groups A B C D. Group ‘A’ was kept as control group, group ‘B’ was given fat rich diet to produce hypercholesterolemia, group ‘C’ and ‘D’ were given green tea and green coffee respectively along with cholesterol rich diet. Weight and cholesterol level of rats were measured on 1st day, 2nd week and 4th week.Results: There was significant increase in serum cholesterol in non-treated animals as compared to control group but parameter showed significant less rise of cholesterol and weight in treated group by both green tea and green coffee than non-treated group. The comparative effect of green tea and green coffee had not much difference.Conclusions: This study has provided the information that natural products like green tea and green coffee are useful and helpful in preventive therapy of dyslipidemia and obesity.

Impact of refugee population on development: A comparative analysis for the case of host economies

Abstract This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between refugees and development in host economies from a macroeconomic point of view. The results obtained show that this relationship is non-linear. The empirical results demonstrate that refugees have a positive and significant direct effect in high and lower-middle-income countries. A positive and significant indirect effect of refugees through labor force and RD channels is also present in the same groups. In upper-middle-income and low-income countries, the direct effect of refugees is negative and significant. Similarly, the indirect effect of the refugee population on development through labor force channel is also negative and statistically significant. However, the indirect effect of refugees through RD channel is statistically significant only for the low-income country group.

The dynamic links between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, health spending and GDP growth: A case study for 51 countries

This document investigated the causal relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, health spending and GDP growth for 51 countries (divided into three groups of countries: low-income countries; group of countries with lower and upper middle income; group of middle income countries) covering the annual period 1995–2013. Dynamic simultaneous-equations models and generalized method of moments (GMM) are used to investigate this relationship. The main results provide evidence of a causal relationship between the three variables. The empirical results show that there is a bidirectional causality between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita, between health spending and economic growth for the three groups of estimates. The results also indicate that there is a unidirectional causality from CO2 emissions to health spending, except low income group countries. We found that health plays an important role in GDP per capita; it limits its effect on a growing deterioration in the quality of the environment.