Do health investments improve agricultural productivity?

Determining the causality between health measures and both income and labor productivity remains an ongoing challenge for economists. This review paper aims to answer the question: Does improved population health lead to higher rates of agricultural growth? In attempting to answer this question, we survey the empirical literature at micro and macro levels concerning the link between health investments and agricultural productivity. The evidence from some micro-level studies suggests that inexpensive health interventions can have a very large impact on labor productivity. The macro-level evidence at the country and global level, however, is mixed at best and in some cases suggests that health care interventions have no impact on income, much less on agricultural productivity. At both micro and macro levels, the literature does not provide a clear-cut answer to the question under investigation. Overall, the review reveals a great deal of heterogeneity in terms of estimation methods, definition and measurement of health variables, choice of economic outcomes, single-equation versus multiple-equation approach, and static versus dynamic approach. The actual magnitude of estimated elasticities is difficult to assess in part due to estimation bias caused by the endogeneity of health outcomes. We also found significant gaps in the literature; for example, very little attention is given to demand for health inputs by rural populations and farmers.Agriculture, Growth, health, Investment, Nutrition, productivity,

Abundance and American democracy: a test of dire predictions

The American political system was severely tested in the 1970s and it is not yet obvious that the system's response to those tests was adequate. Some scholars have argued that the confusion we witnessed in energy, environmental and economic policies was symptomatic of even worse situations to come. Their consensus is that our style of democratic politics is incapable of dealing with the problems we increasingly face. Consequently, they predict that democracy's days are numbered. Furthermore, many Americans sense that the "joy ride" may be over, and that our economy may be hard pressed to maintain standards, much less continue its historic growth. One poll showed a 34 percent increase, since 1977, in respondents who believe, "The United States is in deep and serious trouble," and a well known economist, employing the terminology of game theory, has suggested that ours has become a "Zero-Sum society.

Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril

Analyzes the causes of fiscal stress in nine states facing issues similar to California's: high foreclosure rates, increasing joblessness, loss of state revenues, large budget gaps, legal obstacles to balanced budgets, and poor money management practices