Public Policy Recommendations Research Articles

Patentometric synthesis of upcoming technologies against tuberculosis: recommendations for public policies

Background: Pharmaceutical technologies depend heavily on patent protection for their development and further access by people. Methods: To give insights about the upcoming technologies (pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical) to fight TB this study prospected the global portfolio on TB patents registered worldwide from 2001-2021. Results: In the last two decades were registered 12,283 anti-TB patent families globally, with a peak by 2015, but almost half are inactive. 70% of the portfolio is focused on TB treatment, the remaining for diagnose or vaccine technologies. Most top-30 countries in TB assets are high-income. Holders are spread mainly in USA (43 %) and China (10%). Half of them are universities and research centers. Conclusion: The market monopoly of TB drugs by the pharmaceutical industry from high-income nations may be sustaining the obsolete portfolio of TB technologies worldwide, what favors TB strain resistance. Public policies have an important role in counterbalance this scenario by promoting research in universities and research centers, especially in mid- to low-income countries. We suggest incentives towards diagnosis and vaccine-related technologies to build a solid and effective portfolio of anti-TB patents.

A latent class analysis of dissociative PTSD subtype among Chinese adolescents following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and related policies have amplified the vulnerability of adolescents to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation symptoms. This study sought to explore the profile patterns and psychopathological characteristics of co-occurring PTSD and dissociation symptoms in Chinese adolescents. MethodsA total of 57,984 junior and senior high school students in Deyang City, China were recruited between July 13 and July 19, 2020. PTSD and dissociation symptoms, risk factors, and functional impairment variables were assessed using the Global Psychotrauma Screen for Teenagers (GPS-T) instrument. Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to examine the phenomenology and risk factors of co-occurring PTSD and dissociation symptoms. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was utilized to investigate differences in COVID-19 pandemic-related exposure and functional impairment across distinct symptom profiles. ResultsA 4-class model was selected as the optimal solution, comprising subgroups of low symptom, predominant PTSD symptom, predominant dissociation symptom, and PTSD-dissociation symptom. Class membership could be significantly predicted by other stressful experiences, social support, childhood maltreatment and psychiatric histories. The PTSD-dissociation symptom class exhibited the most severe COVID-19 pandemic-related exposure and functional impairment among all classes. LimitationsThe cross-sectional design, Chinese cultural background, online survey method and oversimple measurements were the limitations. ConclusionsOur findings extend existing knowledge about the coexisting patterns of PTSD and dissociation symptoms in adolescents, which could assist in identifying high-risk youths. Furthermore, our findings offer recommendations for shaping public health policies and formulating effective clinical interventions for adolescents following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

Mining-energy boom and local institutional capacities - the case of Colombia

Despite the burgeoning discussion about how the mining-energy sector affects local communities, the roles of local institutions remain understudied as one of the key factors to understand the impact of mining booms on local development. Literature has recently emerged analyzing the role institutions play and finds that natural resource booms can be a curse or a blessing. This article seeks to answer the research question: Do oil and coal-producing municipalities have better institutional capacities? Our research analyzes the incidence that two extractive industries – oil and coal – have on local institutional capacities in Colombia. We use two methodological approaches to study this relationship at a municipality level over the period 2011–2019: a panel data model and a cross sectional exploratory-confirmatory spatial data analysis. The panel estimation results show that municipalities with oil and coal activity have a higher fiscal performance index suggesting that producer municipalities have stronger institutional capacities than non-producer municipalities. However, due to the local development dynamics in each sector's territories, the capacities of coal and oil producing municipalities differ. The spatial analysis reveals spillover effects in the production of oil. Public policy recommendations are made based on the findings.

Towards more biodiverse agricultural landscapes: How to make species-rich grassland a desirable and feasible option for dairy farmers

Species-rich grasslands are promoted by public and private actors for reasons of biodiversity, landscape amenity and animal health. There is little understanding of the considerations of farmers when they opt for or against species-rich grasslands. We held a workshop with 20 farmers and conducted in-depth interviews with 15 livestock farmers in Alblasserwaard - Vijfheerenlanden, a peat meadow landscape in the West of the Netherlands. In these discussions we made an inventory of opportunities and barriers that the farmers experience in terms of willingness, ability and support from society. In our analysis we distinguished four farming styles accommodating species-rich grasslands, which differ in the way willingness, ability and support from society are experienced by the farmers. Based on these findings, we make generic and farming style-specific recommendations for public policy and parties in the supply chain for effectively promoting species-rich grasslands among livestock farmers. We propose that a diverse public-private policy mix is essential to reach as many farmers as possible, acknowledging their heterogeneity and addressing their multiple needs.

Sociodemographic drivers and interconnected energy-saving practices: insights from Ecuador's household sector

Purpose The escalating levels of greenhouse gas emissions have become a growing global concern, with household energy consumption emerging as a significant contributor. To develop effective public policies, it is crucial to understand the energy-saving behavior of households. This study delves into the determinants of energy-saving practices in a developing country.Design/methodology/approach The authors chose a multivariate probit model, as it allowed to look after possible correlations among seven energy-saving practices within households.Findings The findings underscore the significant influence of sociodemographic variables, such as gender, civil status, income and education, on energy-saving practices. Furthermore, the authors discovered that households where the head actively volunteers in social organizations are more likely to adopt energy-saving behaviors. Additionally, internet access positively contributes to pro-environmental behavior. This research reveals that certain energy-saving practices are interconnected, acting as complements or substitutes.Research limitations/implications Recommendations for public policy include prioritizing education in rural areas to boost energy-saving practices, improving internet access in nonurban regions and promoting citizen involvement in social organizations to enhance environmental awareness and encourage energy-saving behavior. The authors contribute to literature evidencing that certain energy-saving practices are not independent of each other, they are rather complementary and, in some cases, substitutes.Practical implications Recommendations for public policy include prioritizing education in rural areas to boost energy-saving practices, improving Internet access in nonurban regions and promoting citizen involvement in social organizations to enhance environmental awareness and encourage energy-saving behavior.Originality/value Previous studies have overlooked these interdependencies, highlighting the necessity of a system of equations to yield more efficient estimates by considering correlations between error terms.

Addressing Sustainability in Portuguese Museums and Heritage: The Role of Cultural Policies

The Future Museums Project Group was created under the Portuguese Ministry of Culture with the mission of proposing recommendations for a 10-year public policy for museums, palaces, and monuments, considering sustainability, accessibility, and innovation issues and their relevance in society. Against this background, museums were understood as agents of change with a role to play in achieving a more sustainable future, and culture as a fundamental pillar for democracy and sustainable development. This study discusses the findings of the project, focusing on three features that highlight the approach adopted to sustainability, which included collections management, participation, and mediation. Drawn from empirical research, a series of concrete recommendations, both for policy makers and museums, are discussed. The study concludes by arguing that cultural policies must place sustainability at the core of their strategy in order to function as a framework to drive and implement sustainable development practices in museums and heritage. Furthermore, within the scope of post-pandemic recovery plans, climate emergency, and the energy crisis, it is even more pressing that cultural policies provide support for museums and heritage and ensure that they have the conditions and resources to be able to move forward in a more integrated manner, thus contributing to a sustainable future.

THE EVOLUTION OF RAILWAY TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE IN ROMANIA AFTER 1990

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the physical, economical, and strategic evolution of the Romanian railway infrastructure based on data extracted from EUROSTAT. The timeframe chosen for this study is between years 1990 and 2019, from the fall of the communist regime, through 2007 when Romania became a member of the European Union, until the beginning of the Covid – 19 pandemic. The Romanian railway infrastructure is analysed and compared with those from other European countries. One of the first observations is that the Romanian railway has one of the largest networks in Europe, being placed 2nd in terms of length in year 1990, after Poland. Unfortunately, in contrast to having one of the largest networks, economically it situated at the end of the hierarchy, being one of the most inefficient. Having constant decreasing amounts of transported goods over time, the sector doesn’t have enough cash flow to secure the necessary funds for maintenance and mandatory technological upgrades. The sector is badly managed and cannot sustain itself anymore. The high number of victims each year makes it one of Europe’s most unsafe railway networks and this hinders the level of trust and willingness for collaboration from private entrepreneurs. The private sector should be encouraged to increase the volume of goods transported as well as participate in investments. The Government could even consider a Public Private Partnership strategy to attract a cash infusion into the sector. There is great potential for a positive impact on the country’s economy if the Authorities would implement a strategic investment and development master plan to bring the railway infrastructure to a level of reliability that would attract businesses and stimulate the movement of goods. The geographical location of Romania could accelerate such development since it could be an important logistics hub linking the Black Sea to the Central European market. Empirical results show that the length of railway network is negatively correlated with income and negatively associated with the volume of transported goods in Romania over the period of 2004-2019. It is apparent that for this sector the size of the current network should be sufficient, but quality should be improved, since this is the element that enhances operation safety and operation characteristics such as speed and volumes of goods transported. The paper includes recommendations for public policies regarding the transport infrastructure sector.

Assessing the Professional Knowledge of Long Term Care Stations around the Blocks Personnel from the Perspective of Integrated Care for older People (ICOPE): An Example from Puli Christian Hospital

<p>C級巷弄長照站是長者照護的最前端場域，目前整合照護資源及服務素質不齊，影響長照2.0照護之實踐。本文以世衛組織高齡整合照護指南為基準，檢視埔基巷弄長照站現況與人才培育困境。埔基長照站宜再補強的知能包括：建立高齡整合照護的評估系統及追蹤報告，宜增加老人虐待、老人歧視，以及衛生教育技能課程，宜增強制定完整的照顧計畫，以及強化志工服務量。在行政上應加強：應建立長輩一站式整合服務模式、建立正式通報及轉診之服務系統，以及結合多元輔助產品，用於知能教學或服務品質。政府公共政策建議：宜加強照顧服務員之知能；以區域為基礎，盤點可提供之服務，以達公平性服務；提供跨專業整合及全面的照護計畫；鼓勵由下而上發展政策。</p> <p> </p><p>The Long Term Care (LTC) Stations around the Blocks is the primary prevention front for the elderly in the community. However, the resources and quality of multidisciplinary integrated care vary. According to the implementation framework of ICOPE, the current ability of the LTC station around the blocks to implement procedures outlined by ICOPE and impediments to staff training are examined in this study. Puli LTC Station staff should enhance their knowledge and skills in various areas, including systematic recruitment and case screening, implementing an ICOPE evaluation system with follow-up tracking, providing new training content on elder abuse and discrimination against the elderly, and improving health education for staff to create comprehensive care plans, expand volunteer recruitment, and increase volunteer training and service hours. Public policy recommendations aim to strengthen care abilities and promote regional equity, to provide integrate interdisciplinary care plans and advocate bottom-up policy development for adaptive service models.</p> <p> </p>

Two Philosophical Issues Surrounding the Structure of Public-Policy Recommendations

AbstractOne of the key responsibilities of public institutions in liberal democracies is to formulate recommendations for decision makers. However, public institutions realize that decision makers will often partly ignore their recommendations. This situation of “partial compliance” with recommendations raises a number of philosophical issues for institutions. Based on an analysis of 570 recommendations drawn from 40 Quebec public-sector documents and reports, we identify two issues surrounding the structure of public-policy recommendations.

The press and government, influencers of citizens’ political opinions: A quasi-experiment on Brexit

In a highly interconnected world, it is important to determine how local events happening somewhere can influence the course of action in a different place. The current study approaches Brexit' spillover effect across Europe regarding Euroscepticism and Europeans' attitudes towards the EU. Through a quasi-experimental methodology, we employed the data from the eighth and the ninth edition of the European Social Survey (ESS). After March 29, 2017, when Theresa May triggered the formal mechanism for the Brexit process, in distant UK places, public opinion shifted towards believing the EU unification had gone too far. The political placement (left/right leaning) predicted the shift, while the use of the internet and the self-reported happiness level significantly and positively impacted the support for remaining in the EU. Subjectively experiencing unemployment did not contribute to Euroscepticism, but it was positively correlated with unfavourable opinions about immigration. Conversely, the affection toward Europe increased for politically right-leaning respondents who considered that immigration harms the local state and should be reduced. Self-reported quality of life (health and happiness), greater internet use, and news media consumption lead to more favourable views toward immigration and the idea that immigrants enrich the local state. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed with public policy recommendations.

Do Green Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Smart Urbanization Reduce Environmental Pollution in China?

Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, China faces numerous environmental challenges, including air and water pollution, resource depletion, and climate change. Adopting green ICT and smart urbanization is a critical strategy to address these challenges. At the heart of this study lies the question: Do green ICT adoption and smart urbanization contribute positively to environmental pollution reduction? Therefore, this study intends to scrutinize the influence of green ICT and smart urbanization on environmental pollution in China, focusing on the period from 1996 to 2021. The most up-to-date method of structural modeling, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), was used to estimate the quantitative connection between green ICT, smart urbanization, and environmental pollution. The findings of the structural model show that only the path coefficient between smart urbanization and environmental pollution is significant and negative. Renewable energy consumption directly and negatively influences environmental pollution, whereas smart urbanization directly and positively affects renewable energy consumption and green ICT. Consequently, renewable energy consumption and green ICT negatively influence environmental pollution. Based on the findings, the study proposes targeted public policy recommendations aimed at fostering the development of green ICT and smart urbanization initiatives in China.

Latin American and the Caribbean Code Against Cancer 1st edition: Weight, physical activity, diet, breastfeeding, and cancer

In Latin America and the Caribbean a considerable proportion of the population have excess body weight, do not meet the recommendations of physical activity and healthy diet, and have suboptimal rates of breastfeeding. Excess body weight is associated with at least 15 cancer sites, physical activity protects against three cancers, with some evidence suggesting a protective effect for eight more cancer sites, and sedentary behavior probably increases the risk of five cancer sites. Fiber and wholegrains protect against colorectal cancer, high intake of fruits and vegetables could reduce the risk of aerodigestive cancers; processed and red meat increase the risk of colorectal cancer; and very hot beverages are associated with esophageal cancer. Moreover, sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods are a convincing cause for excess body weight, increasing cancer risk through this pathway, with some emerging evidence suggesting also direct pathways. Breastfeeding protects against breast cancer, and could protect against ovarian cancer. Taking this evidence into account, the Latin America and the Caribbean Code Against Cancer recommends the general public to maintain a healthy body weight, be physically active and limit sedentary behavior, eat a healthy diet (eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and legumes; avoid sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meat; and limit ultra-processed foods, red meat and very hot beverages), and breastfeed. Moreover, the Latin America and the Caribbean Code Against Cancer also includes a set of public policy recommendations for cancer prevention to inform policy makers and civil society about the need of policies to shape healthy environments and create opportunities to facilitate the adoption of the recommendations directed to the public.

The Urgent Need to Implement Point-of-Care RNA Testing for Hepatitis C Virus to Support Elimination.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination is an important global public health goal. However, the United States is not on track to meet the World Health Organization's 2030 targets for HCV elimination. Recently, the White House proposed an HCV elimination plan that includes point-of-care (POC) HCV RNA testing, which is currently in use in many countries but is not approved in the United States. POC HCV RNA testing is crucial for implementing community-based testing and for enabling test-and-treat programs, assessing cure, and monitoring for reinfection. Here, we review the status of POC HCV RNA testing in the United States, discuss factors that are needed for successful implementation, and issue specific public health and policy recommendations that would allow for the use of POC HCV RNA testing to support HCV elimination.

Please help us: Canadian childcare providers’ calls for aid during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 poses serious challenges to the health and safety of childcare providers, and these challenges were particularly acute in early 2022 during the first Omicron wave when vaccines were not available for children. Childcare providers work in environments where the recommended methods to minimize COVID-19 infection were often not possible to implement: children could not wear masks for extended periods and were not able to maintain physical distance. Under these pressures, Canada’s already-fragile childcare sector was strained, caregivers struggled, and existing deficiencies were exacerbated. As part of a larger quality assurance and improvement project examining the impacts of the pandemic on childcare in the Canadian prairie province of Manitoba, this paper reports on qualitative findings to make public health and policy recommendations for the childcare sector. Data were voluntarily provided by a sample of childcare providers between January 6–13, 2022. A thematic analysis of open-text responses was performed, finding: an urgent need for health and safety resources; a need for sustained support and guidelines; and an absence of value and respect. We also identified an emergent theme of gratitude, which was reflected by an overwhelming number of thanks to the project team for listening to the voices of childcare providers. We draw on our qualitative analysis to propose measures to improve public health and safety, funding, and infrastructure, as well as to underscore the importance of systematic data collection and evaluation to protect and support the essential childcare workforce through the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.

Ethical Preparedness for Health Policymaking and Implementation During Public Health Emergencies: The Role of Rapid Ethical Assessment.

Scholars have called for ethical preparedness for public health practice and research to address the challenges of special ethical considerations under time and resource pressure during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose the idea of a rapid ethical assessment (REA) that aims to provide ethical justifications and policy recommendations for a specific public health policy, which is necessary for the ethical legitimacy of health policymaking and implementation. We suggest that an REA task force be established and incorporated into the administrative procedure to perform an REA in the early, middle, and terminal stages of a policy proposed by the health authority and to determine to what extent the tradeoffs between values and priorities required by the policy are ethically acceptable. The REA task force's role is consultative, with the final decisionmaking power and political responsibilities falling on the health authority. The REA task force should adopt 4 substantial ethical principles: utilitarianism, equity, human rights, and solidarity. The REA task force would consist of a multidisciplinary team of experts and a group of representatives from those who would be affected by the proposed policy. The REA task force would operate with a 5-step procedure of (1) convening, (2) investigation, (3) determination, (4) reporting and communication, and (5) decision and reassessment. We use 2 real incidents in Taiwan to demonstrate how the REA task force could work to enhance the ethical acceptance of a policy.

COVID-19 Post Vaccination Data in North America

This article explores the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on public health in Canada and the United States. Using OpenAI's GPT-3 language model, data was extracted from various online sources, including government health agencies, news articles, academic papers, and social media platforms. The data was analyzed using natural language processing techniques to identify common themes and sentiments. Despite the staggering death toll and impact on everyday life, the rollout of vaccines marks a critical milestone in the fight against the virus. However, challenges remain, including skepticism from some members of the public and the emergence of new virus variants. The early data is encouraging, showing a significant reduction in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in vaccinated populations. The article emphasizes the critical role of vaccines in controlling the spread of the virus, alongside other public health measures, to overcome this devastating pandemic. The findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccination has had a significant positive impact on public health in both countries, with a decrease in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, challenges remain, including vaccine hesitancy and the emergence of new variants. The article concludes with recommendations for public health policy, including increasing vaccine access and education, monitoring new variants, and continuing to follow public health guidelines.

A system dynamics model for effective management strategies of High-Speed Railway (HSR) projects involving private sector participation

Policymakers increasingly seek recommendations to maximize ridership and public welfare for High-Speed Railway (HSR) projects implemented through private sector participation. Conventionally, such literature on Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) overlooks the complexity of HSR operations in achieving theoretical policy recommendations. Public policy recommendations based on a comprehensive understanding of HSR operations are rarely found in the literature. The current study develops a System Dynamics (SD) simulation model that formally structures the complex non-linear interactions between HSR stakeholders' management decisions and their impact on passenger ridership. The SD model is calibrated with actual operational data from the Taiwanese HSR. Simulations are implemented to observe how endogenous linkages between pricing, seat availability, maintenance, and service quality impact HSR ridership across lifecycle phases. The results provide a basis for considering important implications for relevant HSR stakeholders by revealing how simplistic strategies for managing HSR projects, not based on a complex system perspective, can lead to suboptimal results for long-term system performance. In particular, the study illustrates a mechanism for efficient HSR management through a balance between Market Saturation and Word-of-Mouth effects, with the need to increase the number of passengers willing to adopt HSR. As HSR operators alone are constrained in affecting many strategies generated by the model, the study also highlights the need for flexible but targeted coordination between public and private HSR stakeholders throughout different lifecycle phases of HSR operations. Such coordination should focus on promotional activities during the early operation stages and implementing pricing and service availability adjustments to respond differently to market penetration and demand expansion phases.

Public policy and strategic business recommendations to accelerate adoption of stationary battery energy storage systems (BESS) in India

PurposeInterest in battery energy storage systems (BESS) is high, and technologies such as Li-ion (and other advanced chemistry) batteries in specific use cases are already economically viable. In this paper, the authors build further on the authors' previously published paper1 to estimate the potential positive impact that accelerated adoption of Li-ion batteries for stationary storage per the authors' identified already economically viable use cases, can have both on India's macro-economy and current account deficit as well as in helping meaningfully accelerate circular economy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) benefits of green economy transition.Design/methodology/approachThe authors identified key challenges for development of BESS ecosystem and applied quantitative and qualitative assessment methodology for rapid adoption of BESS in India. The authors' study was validated through interviews with stakeholders and the authors summarize applicable findings for emerging countries such as India to encourage faster, wider adoption of energy storage.FindingsThe authors' study provides key policy recommendations to achieve a better balance in policy focus—not only for electronic vehicles (EVs) and utility-scale storage, but also for stationary behind-the-meter storage through key policy measures including placing a CESS on diesel generators (DGs), differential tariffs, encouraging advanced battery imports as a way to reduce crude oil imports, green financing and investments in de-carbonized energy breakthrough technologies (e.g. gravity-based energy storage systems). The authors recommend key technology priorities and strategic business rationale for private sector efforts by developing competitive advantages for non-battery hardware and software and expanding into emerging markets, with potential US$15–20+bn enterprise value.Originality/valueWhile the dominant discourse focuses on EVs and utility scale applications of storage, the authors' paper shows the larger near term opportunity for impact is in stationary storage that too in end-user adoption use cases.

Unraveling the Interrelationship of Digitalization, Renewable Energy, and Ecological Footprints within the EKC Framework: Empirical Insights from the United States

The study seeks to better comprehend the ecological footprint of the United States by analyzing the effects of digital financial inclusion (FinTech) as well as renewable and non-renewable energy usage. Data from 2005 Q1 to 2020 Q4 were analyzed using the quantile autoregressive lag (QARDL) method. It also used Granger causality in quantiles to analyze the correlation between variables and draw conclusions about their relative importance. Quantile-wise, the error correction parameter is statistically significant with the predicted negative sign, as shown by the results obtained using the QARDL method. Indications are mounting that the relationship between these variables and the United States’ ecological footprint is returning to its long-term equilibrium. However, in the long/short-run period, across all quantiles, economic growth and consumption of non-renewable energy have a positive impact on the ecological footprint. The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory was also examined, which holds that an inverted U-shaped link exists between economic growth and environmental degradation. The QARDL study’s findings corroborated the presence of an EKC in the US, lending credence to the theory that while economic growth at first promotes environmental deterioration, further progress ultimately promotes environmental improvement. The study additionally checked the results of the QARDL test for robustness using the ARDL approach. Recommendations for public policy are included in the paper for consideration by legislators and policymakers.

The growth-inequality debate revisited by rent-seeking theory: Some empirical evidence

The growth/income inequality nexus is surrounded by theoretical as well as empirical ambiguities. These ambiguities can be lifted by focusing on the nature of inequalities and not their level. Inequalities may be the result of productive profit-seeking activities or unproductive rent-seeking activities. To re-assess empirically the growth/income inequality nexus, we first propose a strategy to approximate the nature of inequalities by an indicator of institutional quality. We propose an indicator of institutions' productivity which describes the prevalence of institutions favourable to the search for profit and institutions fostering the search for rents, and conversely. It is an indirect measure of the predominance of rent-seeking activities over profit-seeking ones, and conversely. Then, using a panel data covering the period 1990–2020 for 114 countries (88 developing countries and 26 developed countries) and relying on the two-way fixed effects technique to test our estimator, we show that countries where institutions' productivity is high, growth is positively related to income inequality. Conversely, growth is negatively related to income inequality in countries where institutions' productivity is low. There is thus a positive relationship between productive inequalities and growth in countries where profit-seeking institutions dominate the institutional setting. By analogy, in countries where rent-seeking institutions are dominant there is a negative relationship between unproductive inequalities and growth. Contrary to previous public policy recommendations, inequalities should not be tackled since they are pro-growth in countries with high levels of institutions’ productivity.