Forging Structures, Systems and Policies that Work in Communities: Stories and Lessons from Building Healthy Communities

In this case study series, we explore successes, opportunities, challenges and transitions experienced "in place" as communities endeavor to create and sustain healthy communities for children and families

Road development, economic growth, and poverty reduction in China

"Since 1978, China has adopted a series of economic reforms leading to rapid economic growth and poverty reduction. National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at about 9 percent per annum from 1978 to 2002, while per capita income increased by 8 percent per annum. The post-reform period was also characterized by an unprecedented decline in poverty. However, income inequality has worsened between coastal and interior provinces as well as between rural and urban areas. A number of factors contributed to this widening disparity in regional development in China, including differences in natural resources endowments, and infrastructure and human capital development... The objective of this study is to assess the impact of public infrastructure on growth and poverty reduction in China, paying a particular attention to the contribution of roads. ...The most significant finding of this study is that low quality (mostly rural) roads have benefit/cost ratios for national GDP that are about four times larger than the benefit/cost ratios for high quality roads. Even in terms of urban GDP, the benefit/cost ratios for low quality roads are much greater than those for high quality roads." from Authors' AbstractHuman capital ,

Road development, economic growth, and poverty reduction in China:

"Since 1985, the Chinese government has given high priority to building roads, particularly high-quality roads that connect industrial centers. This report evaluates the contribution roads have made to poverty reduction and economic growth in China over the last two decades. It disaggregates road infrastructure into different classes to account for differences in their quality, and then estimates the impact of road investments on overall economic growth, agricultural growth, urban growth, urban poverty reduction, and rural poverty reduction. The report makes the case for a greater focus on low-quality and rural roads in future infrastructure investment strategies in China. It does so by showing how investing in low-quality and rural roads will generate larger marginal returns, raise more people out of poverty per yuan invested, and reduce regional development disparity more sharply than investing in high-quality roads. The study's findings will have considerable implications for China's infrastructure policy." Authors' AbstractHuman capital,

R&D INVESTMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN U.S. AND CANADIAN FOOD MANUFACTURING

Productivity growth in the Canadian processed food industry has lagged behind that in the United States because of a relatively low rate of R&D investment. Although U.S. firms generally have a technological advantage over Canadian firms, marginal rates of return to R&D are higher in Canada.Agribusiness, Productivity Analysis,

Rural and urban dynamics and poverty: Evidence from China and India

"Like many developing countries, China and India followed development strategies biased in favor of the urban sector over the last several decades. These development schemes have led to overall efficiency losses due to misallocation of resources among rural and urban sectors. It also led to large income gaps between rural and urban areas. The urban bias was greater in China than in India. Indeed, official data show that both the income gap and the difference in poverty rates between rural and urban areas are much larger in China than in India. Both countries have corrected the rural-urban divide to some extent as part of reform processes. But the bias still exists. Other studies also support the idea presented here that correcting this imbalance will not only contribute to higher rural growth, but also secure future urban growth (Fan and Chan-Kang 2005). More important, correcting the urban bias will lead to larger reductions in poverty as well as more balanced growth across sectors and regions. Correcting a government's bias towards investment in urban areas is one of the most important policies to pursue." from Authors' AbstractRural-urban linkages ,Poverty ,

Attitudes Toward Sexuality and Sexual Behaviors of Asian-American Adolescents: Implications for Risk of HIV Infection

Until 1990, Asian Americans represented an ethnic minority group that was perceived to be at lower risk than African Americans or Hispanics/Latinos for HIV infection, the presumed causal agent for AIDS. Reasons cited for this perception include behavioral differences in intravenous drug use, sexual behavioral habits, and underidentification of AIDS cases. However, in urban areas such as San Francisco, Toronto, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle, where Asians have immigrated and settled in large numbers, cases of HIV infection and AIDS have begun to increase dramatically, perhaps reflecting the rise in the number of AIDS cases in Asia. In 1994 the World Health Organization estimated the number of adult HIV infections in East, Southeast, and South Asia at 3 million, compared to 1 million in North America

Applications of surface electromyography in the assessment of hyperfunctional dysphonia

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2007.Also available in print.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

National and international agricultural research and rural poverty: the case of rice research in India and China

The study attempts to measure the total benefits from rice varietal improvement research in China and India using variety adoption and performance data over the last two decades. It then uses genetic or pedigree information to partition the total benefits between these two countries and IRRI. Finally, the study uses reported elasticity of poverty reduction with respect to agricultural output growth to assess the effects of national and international research on poverty reduction in rural India and China. The results indicate that rice varietal improvement research has contributed tremendously to increase in rice production, accounting for 14-23 percent of total production value over the last two decades in both countries. Rice research has also helped reduce large numbers of rural poor. IRRI played a crucial role in these successes. In 1999, for every $1 million invested at IRRI, more than 800 and 15,000 rural poor were lifted above the poverty line in China and India, respectively. These poverty-reduction effects were even larger in the earlier years." Authors' AbstractRice Asia., Rice Research., Rice Varieties., Rice Yields., Poverty alleviation., genetically modified organisms,

ORGANIZING THE ECONOMICS ACADEMY: THE EVOLUTION OF PROFESSIONAL ECONOMICS ASSOCIATIONS, 1777-2000

Scholarly societies in economics (and many other professions) are clubs that provide members with a range of club goods, many of which have broader and economically significant spillover consequences for society at large. Yet surprisingly little is known about the historical evolution or current composition of these associations. This analysis of the development of professional economics societies worldwide provides perspectives on the evolution of the economics research industry they serve. Although the origins of current economic associations can be traced at least as far back as 1777, almost all of the growth in professional economics associations has been concentrated in the past 125 years and especially between 1945 and 2000. At the beginning of the 20th century almost all economic associations were general economics societies. The fractionalization of the profession, leading to a proliferation of associations with sub-disciplinary focus began in 1920 and accelerated after 1960. By 2000, almost two thirds of all economic associations served sub-disciplines ranging from law and economics through fisheries economics to public choice and game theory. There are comparatively few economic associations in the poorest parts of the world that are often most in need of the public goods economists can provide.Professional associations, club goods, economic societies, knowledge, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,