Selected Development Indicators Research Articles

The impact of national savings on economic development: a focused study on the ten poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of national savings on economic development, as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), Inequality-adjusted HDI (iHDI), and Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), in ten of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study employs a sequential Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) analysis to address potential endogeneity issues and account for the dynamic nature of the relationships, covering the period from 2009 to 2019. The findings reveal a complex relationship between national savings and the selected development indicators. While national savings exhibit positive impacts on HDI and iHDI, the results are not consistently statistically significant across all the sequential models. However, the analysis suggests that national savings have a positive influence on reducing multidimensional poverty, as measured by MPI, particularly when effectively channeled into productive investments. The study also highlights the significant positive impact of government expenditure and foreign direct investment (FDI) on human development, underscoring the importance of strategic public investments and foreign capital. The results suggest that while national savings are crucial, their effective utilization is essential for enhancing human development indices. Strategic investments in public goods and foreign capital are also important. The mixed effects of inflation and official development assistance (ODA) emphasize the need for stable economic policies and effective utilization of foreign aid. The modest positive impact of institutional quality suggests that improvements in governance and institutional frameworks can contribute to human development. The findings underscore the need for policies promoting financial inclusion, efficient public expenditure, foreign direct investment, and stable macroeconomic conditions to leverage national savings for economic development. The study’s findings provide valuable insights for policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the need for comprehensive strategies that leverage national savings, public expenditure, and foreign investment to drive sustainable economic development and poverty reduction.

UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF URBAN HEAT ISLAND AS A FUNCTION OF DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS

This study is the first-ever attempt to relate the tools of development control like Floor Space Index (FSI/FAR), ground area covered by building footprints (BFs), and proportions/configurations of open areas, with their impact on the surface urban heat island (SUHI) which modulates the air temperatures. In the case of the Indian megacity Mumbai, statistical analysis of the land surface temperatures (LST) and its correlation with the selected development indicators, reveals that for an FSI increase of 1.0 to 1.8 the SUHI is found to be–2.5 °C less and when BFs reduced from 90% to 42% SUHI was also reduced by –2.5 °C. Highrise development with a large plot size is desirable whereas low-rise development with FSI 1.0 on small plot sizes exhibits the highest SUHI. Open spaces without vegetation do not reduce SUHI. The correlation of development regulations with SUHI intensity will help urban planners to make more informed decisions.

MONITORING PERKEMBANGAN ANAK USIA DINI DENGAN METODE PERCEPTRON PADA DI TK KASIH BUNDA BATANGHARI

Monitoring the development of early childhood is very important, especially for children aged 4-6 years, because at that time it was a golden age that required more attention in order to stimulate child development to the maximum. This research is expected to be able to help educators to determine the development that occurs in students. The method used in this research is the perceptron method. The perceptron method is a simple Artificial Neural Network (ANN) method that uses a training algorithm to classify linearly, while the input data that becomes the criteria for this research are Moral Religious Values (MRV), Physical Motoric (PM), Cognitive, Social Emotional, Language, and Art. While the output of the data that has been processed is in the form of selected development indicators, this indicator is divided into three, namely Very Good Development [1 1], Evolves According to Expectations [1 0], and Begins to Develop [0 1]. After analyzing the monitoring of early childhood development by applying the perceptron method and the processing it using the Matlab R2009a application, the research concluded that the perceptron method was proven to be able to determine the target output and the actual appropriate ouput reached 68%.

On the impact of provincial development policies in South Africa

ABSTRACT Although South Africa is one of the biggest economies in Africa, poverty and income inequality persist and a vast number of households lack access to water and sanitation services. Provincial governments have implemented the Provincial Development and Growth Strategy to improve standards. We evaluate its effects on selected development indicators. Using a generalisation of the Difference-in-Differences method, we study the effects on four development indicators: food security, economic well-being, and water and sanitation security. We use secondary data from the General Household Survey, collected between 2002 and 2017 and conclude that (i) the policies improve development indicators; (ii) the effects are heterogeneous across racial and geographic distributions of households. Long-term economic stimulators, such as employment opportunities and education for vulnerable communities, are needed to improve household welfare across the provinces. Programmes emanating from these development policies should be ongoing and continuously adapted to fulfil the specific needs of the local groups.

Transposed Second-Generation Environmental Kuznets Curve, Changing Climate Patterns, and Selected Development Indicators

This paper examined the impact of changing climate patterns (represented by square and cubic CO2 emissions) on selected development drivers (proxy by gross domestic product [GDP] per capita [GDPC] and official development assistance [ODA]). Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) provided the theoretical backdrop of this study, referred to as the core second-generation EKC (SGEKC) hypothesis. SGEKC was modified to obtain the transposed SGEKC. The transposed SGEKC was conceptualized based on the one-way criticism of the EKC. An unbalanced PMG (ARDL) method was utilized to investigate the impact of the changing climate patterns on GDPPC–(to capture EKC hypothesis) and ODA–(to capture pollution haven hypothesis) in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). This study, therefore, leveraged data from world development indicators between 1970 and 2019. The result showed that the one-way impact of CO2 emissions on GDPC has a long-run N-shaped. The outcome of the GDPC model (in the transposed SGEKC hypothesis) is consistent with the core SGEKC hypothesis. On the other hand, the impact of CO2 emissions on the ODA showed an inverted N-shaped in the long run. The inverted N-shaped relationship does not support pollution-haven hypothesis in the long-run. The results, therefore, imply that the changing climate patterns have a more disruptive impact on income per capita and less on ODA. In the short-run, the result showed the existence of an inverted-N and N-shapes for GDPC (SGEKC does not hold) and ODA (presence of pollution haven) respectively. In conclusion, changing climate patterns present a long-run threat to the economy of WAMZ which in turn could disrupt economic agents’ interactions, de-optimize economic aggregates and economic equilibrium, as well as negatively affect the attainment of a long-run regional development objectives. This study recommends that WAMZ’s government(s) should fast-track the implementation of robust carbon pricing mechanism and abatement policy that would enable climate mitigation policy, improve the regions nationally determined contributions (NDCs) targets, and insulate the economies from policy uncertainty associated with climate change.

An exploration of the connection between tree cover and selected development indicators in Kenya's devolved units

This study analyzes cross sectional data on the association between tree cover and selected socio-economic development indicators in Kenya's devolved units for the purpose of generating new knowledge needed for enhancing the implementation of tree cover expansion initiatives. Results substantiate that tree cover supports many productive sectors of Kenya's economy. As such, there is a moderately positive correlation between county tree cover and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and HDI (Human Development Index) (r= 0.38, p= .005, one tail). These results imply the need for careful planning and understanding that county GDP per capita and HDI are the most critical socio-economic factors affecting tree cover expansion in devolved units. As such, this paper recommends various actions in order to improve tree cover in the devolved units.

Estimate of global human papillomavirus vaccination coverage: analysis of country-level indicators

BackgroundMortality rates from cervical cancer demonstrate deep inequality in health between richer and poorer populations. Over 310 000 women died of this preventable disease in 2018, mostly in low-income and...

МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ ОПТИМАЛЬНИХ РІВНІВ КОНКУРЕНТОСПРОМОЖНОСТІ СІЛЬСЬКОГОСПОДАРСЬКИХ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ В УМОВАХ СТАЛОГО РОЗВИТКУ

The article seeks to explore major challenges in the agricultural sector development in Ukraine. Using multifactor statistical analysis of the key drivers of agribusiness operation and performance, based on a matrix of 25 selected agribusiness development indicators for enterprises specialized in crop raising and 16 selected development indicators for livestock enterprises, similar developmental trends across Ukrainian regions have been revealed. According to the results of the analysis, certain taxonomic groups (clusters) were identified that allowed to display similar regional conditions within each group along with specifying regions with crop and livestock farming within one cluster, represented by Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne regions. For further research, agribusinesses were selected out of the above regions and their competitive positions were analyzed. A fuzzy-set method was used to identify the impact of sustainable development, in particular the level of economic, social and environmental sustainability of regions on the competitive position of agribusinesses. The input parameters are represented by economic, environmental and social sustainability indices, each of them is assigned specific characteristics and classified. In addition, using variance analysis, key reference indicators were calculated and the boundaries were set. The output data are determined by the level of agribusiness competitiveness in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Rivne regions (selected by the results of cluster analysis). According to the calculations results, linguistic evaluation was performed, based on variance analysis of terms. Modeling of the surface of the forecast values was carried out which revealed that the above the average level of agribusiness competitiveness is accompanied by a high level of economic sustainability, average level of environmental sustainability and the below average social stability level.

An Estimate of Global Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Coverage: Analysis of Country-Level Indicators Reported to WHO-UNICEF

Background: Mortality rates from cervical cancer are evidence of health inequality. Over 310,000 women died of this preventable disease in 2018, mostly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where screening and treatment are beyond the capacity of health systems. Immunization against human papillomavirus (HPV) offers a primary prevention strategy, but rates of vaccination uptake are unclear. Understanding coverage levels and factors affecting uptake can inform immunization strategies. Methods: Using data from the Global Cancer Observatory and WHO/Unicef, incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer and HPV vaccination coverage are described for countries, categorized by income group. Characteristics of LMICs achieving high coverage are explored using selected development indicators from World Bank sources. Global immunization coverage is calculated and its effect on cervical cancer mortality estimated. Findings: Incidence and mortality for cervical cancer correlate with poverty. Whilst all WHO member states report high infant measles vaccination rates, fewer than half report on HPV vaccination. Even amongst high income countries, coverage varies widely. In upper-middle income countries there is a trend for higher coverage with increased health spending per capita. Four LMICs report good coverage levels, all associated with external funding. Global HPV immunization coverage for 2018 is estimated at 12·2%. Of the global cohort of 61 million 15 year-old girls in 2018, 7,000 are likely to die from cervical cancer, almost all in LMICs. Interpretation: Countries in all income groups must devise strategies to achieve and maintain higher levels of HPV immunization. For all but the richest, affordability remains a barrier. Funding Statement: No external funding. Declaration of Interests: None to declare.

Factors of Divergence between Peripheral and Central Subregions: The Case of Mazovia Province, Poland

AbstractThe focus of this article is the study of centre–periphery intraregional development disparities using Poland's largest and most diversified Mazovia Province (Mazowieckie Voivodeship) as an example. The economic downfall of the Radom subregion, in comparison with the booming Warsaw agglomeration, clearly illustrates the polarisation of this province. A research question was if the location of the Radom subregion in Mazovia Province is a significant factor of its relative regression. In order to answer this question, selected development indicators of Mazovian subregions have been compared with their counterparts from surrounding provinces. Research results have shown that a subregion's location in a big and diversified province is a significant factor of intraregional centre-periphery development discrepancies.

Online booking for travel and accommodation influenced by economic and digital development level: Position of the Western Balkan countries within Europe

Abstract The expansion of the Internet has radically changed the way in which citizens travel, book and organise travel arrangements. Since innovation and new information technologies have become crucial determinants to encourage competitiveness in the tourism sector in Europe, this article investigates how selected development indicators influence the Percentage of individuals that use Internet for travel and accommodation services. Eurostat data for 34 European, European Union (EU-28) and selected EU candidates, countries for 2017 were analysed. It has been presented that (1) Gross Domestic Product per capita in Purchasing Power Standards; (2) Percentage of population aged 15 to 64, by tertiary education; as well as (3) Percentage of individuals aged 16 to 74, who have basic or above basic overall digital skills, all correlate positively and strongly with the main variable under study. The conducted regression analysis has shown that variable digital skills has the greatest impact on the main variable under the study. The K-mean clustering of countries resulted with four clusters. The Western Balkan countries can be found in a cluster which has in average the lowest values of all four variables in compare to the averages of other three clusters.

Green Growth Intervention on Employment Generation in India

This article highlights the possible impacts of green growth strategies and interventions on skilled and unskilled employment generation in India. Additionally, it indicates how income generation from selected green growth-related potential interventions can have a ripple effect on selected development indicators, like literacy rates, infant mortality rates, poverty. Job creation might translate to an economic gain for households of different income class across rural and urban India both in the short and long-term. This economic gain can thereafter reduce the level of inter-household and intra-household inter-temporal inequality levels with complementary and effective wealth distribution policies. In the long run, this reduction in the inequality level can create a positive impact on the social sustainability.

Relationship between Development Indicators and Contribution to the Science: Experiences from Iran

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between selected development indicators and provincial level contribution to the global knowledge. The research has focused on Iranian papers published in Thompson Reuters in 2012. Data was collected running an advanced search limiting the results to the papers published with their address belong to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Nearly, 28,000 scientific papers were analyzed. The separate analysis on the provincial affiliation of the authors was made. Contribution of each province was analyzed against selected developmental indicators such as human development indicator (HDI), family size, healthcare centers, population, universities and students. Findings showed that there is significant relationship between science infrastructure and developmental indicators and also their contribution to the knowledge. But amongst them relationship between family size and science production was negative. Based on findings it is concluded that scientific progress has its grassroots in developmental programs and in turn, developmental achievements will flourish the science in societies.

Recent Impacts of Selected Development Indicators on Unemployment Rate: Focusing the SEE Countries

The article investigates the relationship between unemployment rate and development indicators: (1) the GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Parities (PPP in current international $) ; and (2) the Internet penetration rate, defined as the percentage of Internet users per 100 people. For 34 countries in 2013, only two simple linear regression models based on natural logarithms of data and the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimator appeared to be useful. The simple linear regression Model 1 shows a negative correlation between the main variable under study ln(Y_UemRate) and the regressor ln(X_GDPpc), explaining nearly half of the total variation. The simple linear regression Model 2 shows a negative correlation between ln(Y_UemRate) and ln(X_IntUse), explaining 27 % of the total sum of squares. Regarding clustering of 34 countries based on three variables, the Ward linkage and squared Euclidean distances gave an interesting four-cluster solution. The South-East European (SEE), and especially to the Western Balkan’s countries (WBC) are focused. These countries, spread in three clusters, are not homogeneous. Bosnia and Herzegovina and R. Macedonia are with Spain and Greece, all having difficult economic situation. Albania, Montenegro and Serbia are with Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, all being the SEEC. Croatia is with more developed Italy, Cyprus and Poland, and with less developed Portugal. Central European Slovenia, joined more developed countries of that area, but the most developed European countries comprised a cluster of their own.

Determining Growth Saturation Point for Sustainable Development

As economic growth may reach a point where further socio-economic development is not sustainable due to continual environmental degradation having negative development impact, the paper proposes a methodology for determining global central tendency for the saturation point of economic growth in its impact on sustainable development. The theoretical framework adopts a modified classical growth model, where economic growth is considered a means towards development, just as capital stock constitutes a means towards economic growth. In such a model, the impact of economic growth on sustainable development exhibits diminishing “marginal social productivity”, until development reaches a stationary state, where the impact of growth reaches its climax and any further growth will bring a decline on the level of development. Economic growth is measured by per capita income while selected development indicators measure development. The factors responsible for the diminishing “marginal social productivity” of economic growth are population growth and depreciation rates of capital stock and physical environment. For empirical investigation, econometric studies explored the dependence of various development indicators on per capita income (US$ PPP) for 99 countries, with a-priori expectation that the development indicators will progress with economic growth at a decreasing rate and reach saturation point. The results revealed that the saturation point or ultimate level of sustainable development is attained at per capita income of $36,400 500 (PPP), a level exceeded by 13 percent of the countries. Results also showed that environmental degradation is both a causal factor and consequence of contemporary growth.

Suvremena promjena gospodarskih nejednakosti u NUTS 3 regijama Slovenije

Prestrukturiranje gospodarstva i prijelaz na tržišno gospodarstvo imali su različit utjecaj na gospodarski položaj regija. Utjecaj promijenjenih gospodarskih i društveno-političkih okolnosti u pojedinim regijama ovisio je o brojnim čimbenicima: gospodarskoj strukturi regija, njihovoj sposobnosti da se preorijentiraju na strana tržišta, razvojnim potencijalima, razvojnim strategijama te strateškim odlukama. Razvojni problemi su posebice izraženi u područjima koja obilježavaju strukturno nazadovanje i gospodarske slabosti vezane uz ruralnu orijentaciju, u demografski ugroženim područjima, te u područjima s niskim prihodima po stanovniku i visokim stopama nezaposlenosti. Periferan položaj slabije razvijenih područja uzrokovao je demografsko pražnjenje ruralnih područja i koncentraciju stanovništva u urbanim centrima. Nepovoljna demografska slika, iseljavanje mladog stanovništva, nepovoljan obrazovni sastav stanovništva, nedostatak stručnih kadrova, te nedostatak strateških odluka rezultirali su sve većim zaostajanjem slabije razvijenih regija za razvijenim regijama. Rezultati empirijskih analiza podjele NUTS 3 regija u Sloveniji u grupe, uzimajući u obzir odabrane razvojne pokazatelje, pokazali su da gospodarski razvoj nije bio u skladu sa suvremenim poimanjem ujednačenoga regionalnog razvoja ni u skladu s principom integriteta primjene regionalne politike na čitavom državnom teritoriju. Postojeće regionalne razvojne nejednakosti potvrđuju tezu da tržišni mehanizam sam po sebi ne može smanjiti gospodarske nejednakosti i nadomjestiti potrebu za učinkovitim provođenjem regionalne politike.

Selected indicators of uneven regional development of Serbia

Expressive territorial unevenness represents the main characteristic of the regional development of Serbia. Spatial differentiation of socio-demographic and economic-functional development is visible at a number of levels development axis - undeveloped region, developed centre and insufficiently developed outskirts, Belgrade and other regions, etc. By positioning the Districts (as meso-regional entities) according to the values of selected development indicators, this paper points to their role in the existing regional reality of Serbia.

Ending Africa's Poverty Trap

Ending Africa's Poverty Trap Jeffrey D. Sachs, John W. McArthur, Guido Schmidt-Traub, Margaret Kruk, Chandrika Bahadur, Michael Faye, and Gordon McCord Africa's development crisis is unique. Not only is Africa the poorest region in the world, but it was also the only major developing region with negative growth in income per capita during 1980-2000 (table 1). Some African countries grew during the 1990s, but for the most part this growth recovered ground lost during the 1980s. Moreover, Africa's health conditions are by far the worst on the planet. The AIDS pandemic is wreaking havoc, as is the resurgence of malaria due to rising drug resistance and the lack of effective public health systems. Africa's population continues to soar, adding ecological stresses to the economic strains. Policy-based development lending to Africa over the past twenty years, known as structural adjustment lending, did not solve the problem. A heavy debt burden is evidenced by the 155 Paris Club restructurings of African countries' debt between 1980 and 2001, much more than for any other region. In general, Africa remains mired in poverty and debt. This paper focuses on the tropical sub-Saharan African countries with populations of at least 2 million people in 2001. We leave out North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia,), southernmost Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland), and a number of very small economies (Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, São Tomé and Principe, and Seychelles). Both nontropical ends of Africa are much richer [End Page 117] than tropical Africa. They grow temperate crops, escape the worst of malaria, enjoy (in the south) vast deposits per capita of gold and diamonds, and (in the north) benefit from proximity to EU markets. The smallest economies present idiosyncrasies that would distract more than inform the analysis. Click for larger view View full resolution Table 1. Selected Development Indicators for Major Developing Regionsa The thirty-three sub-Saharan African countries on which we focus (and which are listed in table 2) had a combined population of 617 million in 2001, with a population-weighted average annual income of $271 per person, or a mere 74 cents a day. Every country on the list is a low-income country according to World Bank country classifications, and twenty-six are among the forty-nine Least Developed Countries in the world by the United Nations classification. Of the four countries with income per capita of $500 or more, three (Angola, Cameroon, and Congo) are oil exporters, and only Côte d'Ivoire, which is currently in a vertiginous political and economic collapse, is a non-oil exporter. Every country on the list has a life expectancy at birth below sixty years, and in all but Ghana, Madagascar, and Sudan life expectancy at birth is below fifty-five years. Child mortality rates (deaths before the age of five per 1,000 live births) are above 100 in every country. The standard diagnosis is that Africa is suffering from a governance crisis. With highly visible examples of profoundly poor governance, for [End Page 118] Click for larger view View full resolution Table 2. Governance Ratings and Household Consumption in Tropical Sub-Saharan Africa [End Page 119] example in Zimbabwe, and widespread war and violence, as in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan, the impression of a continent-wide governance crisis is understandable. Yet it is wrong. Many parts of Africa are well governed even though stuck in poverty. Governance is a problem, but Africa's development challenges run much deeper. Using our thirty-three-country sample, table 2 reports some common governance indicators that make this point. The first column presents a ranking of African governance compiled by Steven Radelet,1 who regresses a set of widely used World Bank governance indicators due to Daniel Kaufmann, Aart Kraay, and Massimo Mastruzzi on GDP per capita,2 and ranks countries according to the residuals from that regression, thereby standardizing the measurement of governance by level of income. This procedure recognizes that poorer countries have systematically poorer governance measures than richer countries, since good governance...