Suchergebnisse

The performance of an economy is determined by economic, political, legal and institutional frameworks and processes which are in turn affected by governance practice. The economic performance of the Pacific Island Countries over the past decade has been sluggish when compared to other developing countries, and this has been associated with bad governance in the region. This chapter examines the specific issues in Pacific Island Countries that may have an impact on the nature of governance practice and argues that institutional reforms are likely to be resisted strongly by those benefiting from the existing arrangements. The chapter contends that the status quo can only be changed by the involvement of the local stakeholders and by education. However, the international donor community also has a role to play in this regard, by ensuring that aid does not support bad governance. ; peer-reviewed

The growth record in the small Pacific island economies has been very poor and in some cases negative growth was recorded. Fiji, one of the leading economies in the region, is, like other small island states, faced with certain peculiarities and conditions that lead to economic vulnerability. This chapter identifies a number of inherent features of the Fiji economy in this regard, including a high degree of openness and high dependence on a narrow range of products. However, there are a number of factors that may have exacerbated economic vulnerability, including poor governance, lack of an appropriate macroeconomic policy framework and absence of well-defined property rights. This chapter proposes a number of policy measures aimed at enabling Fiji to better cope with its economic vulnerability and to render the economy more resilient. ; peer-reviewed

Small island nations in the South Pacific are facing a serious problem of loss of human capital. The loss of skilled and qualified personnel from the small pool is causing a major setback in terms of providing the technical expertise to forge ahead with reform programs that these economies are undertaking. Fiji's policymakers are increasingly confronting this issue, because the nation has experienced a massive outflow of skilled labor following the political instability in 1987. While there is an outflow of skilled labor, the country is also losing a large amount of financial capital. The extent of the outflow has yet to be measured due to lack of a methodology. This study advances a methodology to measure the loss to the economy arising out of human capital loss in a small island economy.

BACKGROUND: In April 2018, the Government of India launched 'Nikshay Poshan Yojana' (NPY), a cash assistance scheme (500 Indian rupees [~8 USD] per month) intended to provide nutritional support and improve treatment outcomes among tuberculosis (TB) patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare the treatment outcomes of HIV-infected TB patients initiated on first-line anti-TB treatment in five selected districts of Karnataka, India before (April–September 2017) and after (April–September 2018) implementation of NPY. METHODS: This was a cohort study using secondary data routinely collected by the national TB and HIV programmes. RESULTS: A total of 630 patients were initiated on ATT before NPY and 591 patients after NPY implementation. Of the latter, 464 (78.5%, 95% CI: 75.0%–81.8%) received at least one installment of cash incentive. Among those received, the median (inter-quartile range) duration between treatment initiation and receipt of first installment was 74 days (41–165) and only 16% received within the first month of treatment. In 117 (25.2%) patients, the first installment was received after declaration of their treatment outcome. Treatment success (cured and treatment completed) in 'before NPY' cohort was 69.2% (95% CI: 65.6%–72.8%), while it was 65.0% (95% CI: 61.2%–68.8%) in 'after NPY' cohort. On adjusted analysis using modified Poisson regression we did not find a statistically significant association between NPY and unsuccessful treatment outcomes (adjusted relative risk-1.1, 95% CI: 0.9–1.3). CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis and previous evidence from systematic reviews, we did not find an association between NPY and improved treatment outcomes.