rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
Determinants of expatriate
            workers' remittances in North Africa and Europe
The authors review the theoretical
            literature on the determinants of international
            workers' remittances and then posit an empirical model
            that accounts for demographic, portfolio, and macroeconomic
            factors that - together with special incentive policies -
            determine official remittances.  They estimated the model
            using data from five major labor-exporting countries of
            North Africa and Europe:  Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia,
            Turkey, and the former Yugoslavia.  The econometric results
            strongly corroborate the model's predictions and reveal
            interesting policy implications.  In planning for the future
            growth of remittances, labor-exporting countries should
            explicitly take into consideration the history of migration,
            since an aging labor force abroad will be less inclined to
            remit.  Labor-exporting countries should also account for
            the economic prospects of the major labor-receiving
            countries and for the geographical distribution of their
            migrant labor.  The authors' results show that
            remittances are significantly affected by economic policies
            in the home (labor-exporting) countries.  Special incentive
            schemes cannot substitute for a stable, credible
            macroeconomic policy.
Education, externalities, fertility,
            and economic growth
The benefits of education are usually
            assessed by analyzing rates of return.  Social rates of
            return reflect the fact that education may be provided free
            or at a subsidized price and that a part of any
            individual's income accrues to the state through
            taxation.  But they typically do not include private
            benefits that are not directly connected with the
            individual's gross earnings; nor do they include the
            external effects of education on economic growth.  Some
            benefits are generally omitted from calculations of social
            returns to education, but the estimates produced - ranging
            from 13 percent to 26 percent - are implausibly high.  There
            are several reasons for this.  Studies may not reflect the
            fact that family background influences both the likelihood
            of participating in education and a person's future
            earning power even without education.  Failure to take
            account of the effects of quality of education may also lead
            to upward bias.  An alternative approach is to make
            cross-country comparisons using macroeconomic data.  A
            number of such studies are discussed.  In assessing whether
            education has any external effect on economic growth,
            assumptions must be made about education's direct
            effect on earning power.  Based on a conservative figure of
            a 5 to 8 percent increase in earnings for every year of
            education, there is some evidence to support the presence of
            a small externality, but the evidence cannot be said to be
            overwhelming. There is, however, much clearer evidence of a
            link between education and fertility rates.  The effect is
            observed in both macroeconomic data and household studies,
            but is stronger in macroeconomic data for reasons that are
            not clear.  This effect constitutes an externality that - at
            a time of widespread (but not universal) concern about
            population growth - is of great importance.  The author
            develops a simulation model from work by Barro and Becker.
            The model links fertility decisions with consumption/saving
            decision. In this model, parents derive utility from their
            children's welfare; as a consequence, children are a
            form of saving.  The model is extended to reflect education
            as an endogenous decision and then further to look at the
            effects of an external effect of education on economic
            growth.  Simulations demonstrate that the rate of return on
            education relative to that on physical capital is a major
            influence on fertility, suggesting that the model sheds some
            light on education's external effect on fertility.
Lessons of trade liberalization in
            Latin America for economies in transition
After four decades as prime examples of
            inward-looking trade policies and import-substituting
            industrialization, several Latin American countries
            undertook comprehensive trade liberalization and
            macroeconomic adjustment in the 1980s. The authors contend
            that the experiences in those countries are relevant for the
            economies in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in
            transition from socialism to market economies. In all of
            these Latin American countries, the move toward an outward
            orientation occurred: when the economy was facing a large
            negative external shock because of falling terms of trade
            and rising debt payments; after several decades of
            protectionism; and under severe macroeconomic imbalances.
            The authors study the reform package of trade
            liberalization, stabilization, and supporting policies in
            Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay. They
            conclude that for the economies in transition: Rationalizing
            the foreign trade regime is crucial for the success of
            stabilization measures. Rapid, far-reaching reform is
            possible in sectors that were subject to prolonged periods
            of heavy protection. Sustained growth requires a
            comprehensive reform package, with supporting policies for
            labor, capital, and domestic product markets. Liberalization
            of the financial sector requires investigating the links
            between commercial banks and private sector firms. If trade
            liberalization is to succeed in the long run, it is
            important to study the evolution of the real exchange rate
            and measures to stabilize it. In the final section of the
            paper, the authors study the recent impetus toward trade
            liberalization through regional arrangements in Latin
            America. The issue is relevant to countries in Eastern
            Europe and the former Soviet Union because they belonged to
            the CMEA, a regional trading arrangement, and because such
            arrangements are evolving anew among countries in the former
            Soviet Union.
Family planning success in two
            cities in Zaire
Both projects described here, Matadi and
            Kananga, helped health providers in those two cities offer
            clinical family planning services. But their approaches
            differed markedly. The family education program in Matadi
            concentrated on pioneering community-based distribution of
            contraceptives, with carefully supervised distributors. The
            Kanaga Project emphasized clinical supervision and pleasing
            the clients; introduced social marketing with loose
            supervision of retailers; and provided an information team
            skilled in face-to-face group meetings, plus a weekly radio
            program. Four factors common to both projects seemed to
            contribute to their success: The single-minded dedication of
            staff members to making family planning work. An
            uninterrupted supply of affordable contraceptive methods
            available through outlets at many locations. Enough
            organizational autonomy to be able to respond to problems as
            they arose. Such autonomy made project personnel identify
            more with project goals and feel responsible for achieving
            project objectives. Regular and supportive supervision of
            those responsible for service delivery. Both projects
            emphasized regular contact with clinic personnel - Matadi
            also included distributors. These contacts bolstered morale
            by showing that the project administration was closely
            following service providers' activities and by
            transmitting to providers the staff's enthusiam for
            project activities. Supervisory visits included
            administrative functions such as collecting service
            statistics and controlling inventory, but these activities
            were handled in a friendly, nonthreatening manner that
            encouraged service providers to perform their tasks well.
            The fourth factor is adequate funding. Both projects had
            special funding that allowed them to experiment with
            approaches for increasing contraceptive prevalence. That
            funding may partly explain their organizational autonomy and
            may have contributed to the sense of purpose and esprit de
            corps that developed among project staff. Larger-scale
            programs in Zaire have operated with significant financial
            constraints, so it would be unfair to compare them with
            these more successful projects. Special funding does not
            guarantee project success but may make it far more likely,
            conclude the authors.
Family planning success stories in
            Bangladesh and India
The Matlab Project in Bangladesh and the
            Kundam Project in India have demonstrated that a significant
            rise in contraceptive prevalence can occur in socioeconomic
            environments that are generally conducive to high fertility
            and mortality. The author describes the inputs and outputs
            of these two projects and tries to identify the factors
            underlying their success. Both projects are experimental in
            the sense that in each an intervention area is provided with
            special inputs that are not provided to a contiguous control
            area. The special inputs were different for the two
            projects. In the intervention area in Matlab, the project
            took responsibility for providing family planning and some
            rudimentary maternal and child health services that were
            considerably different from those provided in the national
            program. In Kundam, the project did not take responsibility
            for providing services in the intervention area, but rather
            tried to mobilize the community through various clubs and
            committees to take the most advantage of the
            government's family planning and other development
            programs. The success of the Matlab Project can be
            attributed to various aspects of the organizational system
            developed for delivering consumer-friendly services. The
            success of the Kundam Project can be attributed to various
            aspects of the system developed for community members'
            active participation in the program. The projects are not
            fully replicable because of inadequate human and financial
            resources, but the lessons learned from them should be
            useful in improving national programs. The Kundam Project is
            more realistic in the sense that it focuses on activities
            that supplement local activities of the national program
            rather than substitute for them (as in the Matlab Project).
            Thus the Kundam Project is more likely to be replicable than
            the Matlab Project.
A reappraisal of how oral
            rehydration therapy affected mortality in Egypt
Oral rehydration therapy is the key
            low-cost child survival intervention used to deal with
            diarrheal illness in developing countries. The existence of
            a low-cost, highly efficacious technological fix (oral
            rehydration salts) for the life-threatening dehydration that
            accompanies diarrhea provided a strong rationale for making
            oral rehydration therapy a cornerstone of diarrheal disease
            control programs. The Egyptian oral rehydration therapy
            program has been quoted as having the most spectacular
            success in reducing infant and child mortality. But there is
            a need to differentiate between the efficacy of oral
            rehydration therapy in clinical settings and in community
            use. The National Control of Diarrheal Diseases Project
            (NCDDP) was launched in Egypt in 1983. A pilot program was
            followed by national promotion starting in February 1984. As
            early as 1985, opinions were being expressed about the
            favorable impact of NCDDP activities on child mortality.
            There is no doubt that the NCDDP greatly increased both
            awareness of the dangers of dehydration consequent upon
            diarrhea in children and knowledge of oral rehydration
            therapy. But survey data on the use of oral rehydration
            therapy during diarrheal episodes show such use to be far
            from universal (with use in fewer than 50 percent of
            episodes). Futher, ethnographic studies show appropriate
            use, in terms of timing and quantity, to be the exception
            rather than the rule. The maximum theoretical effect of the
            NCDDP on child mortality would be to eliminate all deaths
            from diarrhea, a reduction of about 50 percent. The maximum
            effect that could realistically be expected is a reduction
            of less than 20 percent. Analysis of a time series of infant
            mortality from vital registration data indicates an abrupt,
            statistically-significant change in level in 1985 amounting
            to a once-off decline of about 15 percent. In the absence of
            other changes taking place at about the right time that
            might explain this drop, it is concluded that the NCDDP
            probably was responsible. Thus, although many of the claims
            made for the impact of the NCDDP on child mortality in Egypt
            appear to have been greatly exaggerated, it does seem
            likely, in the absence of alternative explanations, that the
            program significantly reduced infant mortality in the mid-1980s.
Preparing multiyear railway
            investment plans : a market-oriented approach
With the emergence of a powerful
            trucking industry and the deregulation of transport, most of
            the once-powerful developing country railways are facing a
            struggle for survival.  Traditional traffic is shifting to
            trucking and pipelines, governments are increasingly
            reluctant to write blank checks to cover deficits, and the
            falling morale of railroaders is harming productivity and
            reliability.  Railway managements know they must introduce
            institutional and organizational changes that make railways
            market-oriented.  Governments must support legislation that
            creates an enabling environment that supports the
            railway's autonomy and allows it to compete.  Young
            planners and not-so-young railroaders struggling with
            multiyear investment plans tend to concentrate only on
            investing in infrastructure and acquiring equipment (bricks
            and mortar).  They tend to ignore or underestimate essential
            institutional reform, without which the revival of the
            railways cannot be sustained.  The author's practical
            and detailed paper will help railway planners prepare
            profit-oriented multiyear investment plans.  He describes
            the steps of a plan, and within each step, lists basic
            issues and questions relevant to that step.  He highlights
            the importance of marketing and sales in the modern railway,
            and shows how to screen proposed projects and package them
            into meaningful corridors, where the level of service can
            benefit substantially from the proposed investment.
            Long-term objectives for modernizing a railway, according to
            the author, would include achieving complete autonomy from
            the government, supporting ongoing economic rehabilitation
            programs, maximizing profits, signing contract plans for
            government-imposed services, and developing railway real
            estate. Medium-term objectives would include increasing the
            railway's commercial orientation, continuing the
            rehabilitation of plant and equipment, searching for and
            developing new markets, lobbying for approval of an enabling
            plan, and achieving an acceptable tonnage/staff ratio.
            Short-term objectives would include supporting an ongoing
            economic rehabilitation program; maximizing profits;
            removing bottlenecks when an investment is not necessary to
            do so; starting the rehabilitation of plant and equipment;
            preparing a plan for developing an enabling environment;
            strengthening marketing and sales, accounting, and railway
            costing; and starting a manpower development and retraining program.
Global estimates and projections of
            mortality by cause, 1970-2015
The authors report estimates and
            projections of deaths by cause for major world regions,
            based on data from country reports to the World Health
            Organization and regression models. They report mortality
            rates for seven major causes: infectious and parasitic
            diseases, neoplasms, circulatory system diseases,
            complications of pregnancy, certain perinatal conditions,
            injury and poisoning, and other causes. Some more specific
            causes are reported on. They give estimates for six age
            groups by sex for four years (1970, 1985, 2000, and 2015)
            and six country groups: industrial market economies,
            industrial nonmarket economies, Latin America and the
            Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North
            Africa, and Asia and the Pacific. Among their findings: The
            population over 45 in developing countries is projected to
            more than double between 1985 and 2015, rising from 17 to 24
            percent of the population. Causes of death, which are
            closely related to age at death, must change accordingly.
            Infant mortality in developing countries is projected to
            fall from 78 per thousand in 1985 to 43 per thousand in 2015
            and life expectancy at birth in developing countries is
            projected to rise by five years. The leading causes of death
            for the world as a whole for both 1970 and 1985 were
            infectious and parasitic diseases and circulatory system
            diseases - with the first more important in developing
            countries, and the second more important in developed
            countries. Certain perinatal conditions were also more
            important for developing countries, but accounted for only a
            fourth or a fifth as many deaths in 1985. Neoplasms were
            more important in developed than in developing countries.
            Deaths from infectious diseases are expected to decline as a
            percentage of deaths; proportionate deaths from diseases of
            the circulatory system are expected to rise. The greatest
            number of deaths will continue to be in Asia, where almost
            half of all deaths in the world take place. This proportion
            is not projected to change. Better data on causes of death
            are essential. The World Health Organization is working with
            countries to strengthen their cause-of-death information
            systems as an essential support for health monitoring.
An approach to the economic analysis
            of water supply projects
Development economists are increasingly
            concerned about the correct approach to economic analysis of
            projects. By looking for a compromise between theory (which
            identifies ideals) and practice (which deals within the
            bounds of time and resource constraints), Lovei focuses on
            potential guidelines for economic appraisals of water supply
            projects. He summarizes theory and the current World Bank
            guidelines on the economic analysis of water supply
            projects; reviews the method of economic analysis applied in
            21 recently approved Bank projects; and describes a
            simplified method that was tested in practice and found to
            improve substantially the quality of economic analysis in
            the sector. This new method relies on standardized and
            rigorous use of information that is routinely available
            during the preparation of water supply projects.
Rent-sharing in the multi-fibre
            arrangement : evidence from U.S. - Hong Kong trade in apparel
The Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA)
            restricts the access of developing country exporters to
            developed country markets. It is usually assumed that the
            exporting countries receive all of the economic rents that
            result from these import restrictions - making it unclear
            whether the developing countries gain or lose as a result of
            the MFA. Recent theoretical work on trade policy under
            imperfect competition casts doubt on whether exporting
            countries receive all of the quota rents arising from
            voluntary export restraints such as those applied by the
            MFA. Drawing on this theoretical literature, Erzan, Krishna,
            and Tan (1991) tested and rejected the hypothesis that MFA
            quota rents on exports from Hong Kong to the United States
            accrued in full to the Hong Kong exporters. The results in
            this paper build on that hypothesis-testing analysis and
            assess its implications for the returns to Hong Kong
            producers. Their results suggest that rent sharing is an
            extremely important feature of the market for apparel
            exports from Hong Kong. U.S. importers were estimated to
            receive rents that were about 62 percent of the landed price
            of the imports. The authors conclude that the total
            potential rents arising from the MFA were split unevenly
            between the U.S. and Hong Kong - with the U.S. share ranging
            from 47 percent for skirts to 94 percent for playsuits. If
            the results of this study are corroborated for other
            developing countries, the implications of the MFA for
            developing countries are considerably worse than has
            typically been assumed.