Higher Education: Does Public Expenditure Increase Enrollment?

This paper evaluates the effects of public education expenditure on student enrollment in tertiary education. We use a cross-section of 132 countries to demonstrate that public expenditure on primary and secondary education positively affects tertiary enrollment rates, while the generosity of tertiary education subsidies themselves do not appear to have any signifcant impact on tertiary enrollment. The results presented are robust to various specifcations, and raise serious concerns regarding the within country allocation of public resources on education, which seems to be biased towards higher education, especially for less developed countries.Higher (Tertiary) Education; Enrollment

Immigrants’ Attitudes towards Redistribution: Implications for the Welfare State

Using data from the World Value Survey we examine first and second generation immigrants’ attitudes towards income inequality and redistribution. We find that first generation immigrants are on average less favorable to redistribution compared to non-immigrants. This effect is particularly pronounced in the Nordic welfare states, while in residual welfare states immigrants have stronger preferences for more government involvement, but not necessarily towards more redistribution. We find only marginal differences for second generation immigrants, suggesting a rather rapid adaptation of local norms and political preferences.Immigration; redistribution; welfare state; attitudes

The effect of water and sanitation on child health: evidence from the demographic and health surveys 1986-2007

Background Despite continued national and international efforts, access to improved water and sanitation remains limited in many developing countries. The health consequences of lacking access to water and sanitation are severe, and particularly important for child development. Methods To investigate the associations between child health and access to water and sanitation, we merged all available Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) with complete birth histories and water and sanitation information. The merged data set of 171 surveys includes information on 1.1 million children under the age of 5 years in 70 low- and middle-income countries over the period 1986-2007. We used logistic models to estimate the effect of water and sanitation access on infant and child mortality, diarrhoea and stunting. Results Access to improved sanitation was associated with lower mortality (OR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.68-0.86), a lower risk of child diarorhea (OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.85-0.90) and a lower risk of mild or severe stunting (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.71-0.75). Access to improved water was associated with a lower risk of diarrhoea (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.88-0.94) and a lower risk of mild or severe stunting (OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.89-0.94), but did not show any association with non-infant child mortality (OR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.88-1.04). Conclusions Although our point estimates indicate somewhat smaller protective effects than some of the estimates reported in the existing literature, the results presented in this article strongly underline the large health consequences of lacking access to water and sanitation for children aged <5 years in low- and middle-income countrie

Urbanization and the Wealth of Nations

The proportion of a country's population living in urban areas is highly correlated with its level of income. Urban areas offer economies of scale and richer market structures, and there is strong evidence that workers in urban areas are individually more productive, and earn more, than rural workers. However, rapid urbanization is also associated with crowding, environmental degradation, and other impediments to productivity. Overall, we find no evidence that the level of urbanization affects the rate of economic growth. Our findings weaken the rationale for either encouraging or discouraging urbanization as part of a strategy for economic growth.urbanization, economic growth, development.

Evaluating the Effects of Large Scale Health Interventions in Developing Countries: The Zambian Malaria Initiative

Since 2003, Zambia has been engaged in a large-scale, centrally coordinated national anti- Malaria campaign which has become a model in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper aims at quantifying the individual and macro level benefits of this campaign, which involved mass distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets, intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women, indoor residual spraying, rapid diagnostic tests, and artemisinin-based combination therapy. We discuss the timing and regional coverage of the program, and critically review the available health and program rollout data. To estimate the health benefits associated with the program rollout, we use both population based morbidity measures from the Demographic and Health Surveys and health facility based mortality data as reported in the national Health Management Information System. While we find rather robust correlations between the rollout of bed nets and subsequent improvements in our health measures, the link between regional spraying and individual level health appears rather weak in the data.

Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of preventive zinc supplementation

Background: Even though the WHO currently recommends zinc for diarrhea management, no consensus has been reached with respect to routine distribution of zinc for preventive reasons. We reviewed the health impact of preventive zinc interventions, and evaluated the relative cost effectiveness of currently feasible interventions. Methods: Using the latest relative risk estimates reported in the literature, we parameterized a health impact model, and calculated the expected benefits of zinc supplementation in a representative low-income country. We then computed the cost and cost-effectiveness for three delivery mechanisms: the direct distribution of zinc supplements, the distribution of micronutrient biscuits including zinc, and the distribution of zinc through water filtration systems. Results: Combining all health outcomes and impact estimates, we find that systematic zinc supplementation among children of ages one to five would avert 1.423 DALYs per 100 households and year in least developed countries. The estimated cost per DALY is US$606 for pill supplementation, US$ 1211 for micronutrient biscuits, and US$ 879 per DALY saved for water filtration systems. Conclusions: Preventive zinc supplementation to children of ages 1–5 appears to be a highly cost-effective intervention in typical developing country settings. More research will be needed to determine the most effective mechanism to deliver zinc to this target population

Does Age Structure Forecast Economic Growth?

High ratios of working age to dependent population can yield a increases the rate of economic growth. We estimate the parameters model with a cross section of countries over the period 1960 to 1980 inclusion of age structure improves the model’s forecasts for the period that including age structure improves the forecast, although there instability between periods with an unexplained growth slowdown the model to generate growth forecasts for the period 2000–2020.Economic Growth, demography, forecast, evaluation, error decomposition

Realizing the Demographic Dividend: Is Africa any different?

The demographic transition creates a window of opportunity during which economies may benefit from a temporary increase in the working age share of the population. While many economies have already enjoyed these benefits, they remain a promising opportunity for much of Sub-Saharan Africa. We show in this paper that Sub-Saharan Africa adheres to the same principles as the rest of the world with respect to the determinants of economic growth, including particularly the effects of demographic change. Assuming a policy and institutional context that is conducive to economic growth, most Sub-Saharan countries have the potential to reap a sizable demographic dividend.growth, Africa, Demographic Dividend, demography, sub-saharan.

Does Age Structure Forecast Economic Growth?

Increases in the proportion of the working age population can yield a "demographic dividend" that enhances the rate of economic growth. We estimate the parameters of an economic growth model with a cross section of countries over the period 1960 to 1980 and investigate whether the inclusion of age structure improves the model's forecasts for the period 1980 to 2000. We find that including age structure improves the forecast, although there is evidence of parameter instability between periods with an unexplained growth slowdown in the second period. We use the model to generate growth forecasts for the period 2000 to 2020.

Demographic Change, Institutional Settings, and Labor Supply

This paper analyzes cross-country panel data to examine the effect of key institutional features of social security systems on male labor supply. Our findings indicate that the labor supply of older males covaries negatively with replacement rates and system coverage, with the replacement rate effects being stronger for pay-as-you-go systems than for fully funded systems. The results also reveal a surprisingly small and often negative response of the labor supply of older males to improvements in life expectancy.Global health, labor, Aging, Economics, Demography.