Suchergebnisse

The paper deals with the population growth rate and its policy implications for the economy of Bangladesh. The interaction of population and other development variables in this country's planning process are scrutinized. The author believes that increase in population acts as a catalyst to further pauperizaton of rural masses. (DÜI-Sen)

Vietnam's economic performance in 2009 is seen by the Vietnamese government and representatives of the Western donor communities as good, with the effects of the global financial crisis relatively mild. The paper notes a lack of contestation of these mainstream views and locates them within an assessment of major trends in 2009, and medium-term issues. Particular focus is placed upon the policy implications of rural development and the need for a strong rationalisation of the state sector. Remarks upon the political economy of change then permit comments upon interactions between economic performance and gathering social and political concern with the political challenges of transition to so-called 'middle income' status, which in many countries has posed novel and tricky problems of adjustment, often requiring major social and political adjustments that have not always been successful. The paper concludes by suggesting that, as in the past, Vietnam's style of change finds some things easy and others hard, and that this has its reflection in economic policy and performance. Adapted from the source document.

"While much research has focused on the costs of obesity and economic factors that drive obesity growth, little economic research has examined the factors that contribute to obesity -- physical inactivity and poor nutrition. This paper will examine correlates and predictors of physical activity over time with emphasis on economic factors. We use data for adults from the 2000-2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey that includes state and county codes for each individual that allows us to add supplementary data on state beer and cigarette taxes, local transportation costs, availability of gyms and recreational facilities, county unemployment, crime rates, and prices of related goods. We find that income and education has a strong and consistently positive effect on physical activity across specifications. Sin taxes have no effect on the likelihood of any exercise but generally have negative effects on vigorous exercise or moderate and vigorous exercise. Physical activity is more likely when there are more parks per capita in a county. Our results above are robust to the inclusion of weight status and use of flu shots (a measure of an individual's tendency towards prevention)"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site