This paper examines the generation and management of municipal solid waste (MSW) through the lens of economics. We estimate that the global burden of MSW amounted to 1.3 billion metric tons in 1990, or 0.67 kilograms of waste per person per day. Industrial countries account for a...

This study examines the claim that the AIDS epidemic will slow the pace of economic growth. We do this by examining the association, across fifty-one developing and industrial countries for which we were able to assemble data, between changes in the prevalence of AIDS and the rate of growth of...

This paper explores the emergence of a world economy since 1950 and its implications for the world's labor force. There are five main sets of conclusions. First, the share of the world's labor force located in developing countries increased significantly between 1950 and 1990. Productivity...