A hot issue in development economics is how much to rely on user charges and private organizations to provide such social services as health and education. Most analysts arguing on either side of the issue assume that any policy decisions involve a tradeoff between equity and efficiency. The...

The authors analyze the Washington Consensus, which at its original formulation reflected views not only from Washington, but also from Latin America. Tracing the life of the Consensus from a Latin American perspective in terms of evolving economic development paradigms, they document the...

Using UNESCO data for research and development (R&D) expenditures and personnel, the authors document international differences in R&D activities and assess the determinants of these differences and the link between R&D and economic growth. For a group of OECD countries, R&D activity and...

The author makes four main points in this paper: (1) social development, in addition to improving human welfare directly, is an excellent investment. The hard-nosed economic fact is that it contributes to economic growth. Even a narrow interest in growth for growth's sake dictates putting your...

The authors review the implications for social policy in developing countries of two major justifications for fertility reduction: the externality argument and the income redistribution argument. First they set out the arguments. In terms of how policy affects the poor, they show that the...

The author addresses two questions: First, how much could feasible reductions in projected rates of population growth in the developing countries help reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Second, how much would it cost to ensure such reductions in population growth, compared with other options for...

This survey of the state of research on relations between health and economic development discusses first research on how development affects health and then research on how health affects development. Central assumptions include: (A) Health is produced by households, along with a number of...

The authors present a case for user charges and some privatization of health care in developing countries. They demonstrate that - consistent with public choice theory - government actions in the health sector are neither equitable nor efficient in developing countries. In general, they increase...