Summary This paper explores the two-way relationship between economic growth (EG) and human development (HD). We develop panel data strategies to estimate the strength of these relationships and find that HD plays an essential role in determining growth trajectories (our measure of sustained...

The historical transition growth experiences of East Asia and Latin America are outlined, with emphasis on the contrast in development strategies and resource flows at the end of their respective primary import substitution sub-phases. The relationship between differences in initial conditions...

Human development, reflected in the status of people's levels of health and education, affects future growth and, in turn, is affected by decentralization. Unlike earlier exclusive emphasis on budgetary issues, this study focuses on the impact of fiscal decentralization on the level of human...

Recent literature has contrasted Human Development, described as the ultimate goal of the development process, with economic growth, described as an imperfect proxy for more general welfare, or as a means toward enhanced human development. This debate has broadened the definitions and goals of...

The paper explores the conditions making for success in Human Development (HD) in developing countries. For this purpose it defines success in HD in a materialistic and reductionist way as being measured by progress in improving life expectancy and reducing infant mortality rates. Drawing on...

The well-known Human Development Index (HDI) encompasses only three rather basic aspects of human welfare. This paper aims to go beyond this, by identifying 11 categories of human development. We next propose plausible candidates as indicators of these categories. We then estimate correlations...

The paper adopts a more expansive definition of Human Development than that encompassed by the Human Development Index and explores alternative patterns of country behavior in terms of this broader definition. We categorize countries according to their behavior on basic human development, and...

This paper reviews the new debt-relief initiative for Highly-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) designed to reduce the debt burden of potentially 36 poor countries. It finds that the HIPC initiative is not likely to make a major contribution to the problems of the world’s poor. It offers...