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Pundits, development practitioners, and scholars worry that rising populism and international disengagement in developed countries have negative consequences on foreign aid. However, how populism and foreign aid go together is not well understood. This paper provides the first systematic examination of this relationship. We adopt the popular ideational definition of populism, unpack populism into its core "thin" elements, and examine them within a delegation model of aid policy—a prominent framework in the aid literature. In so doing, we identify specific domestic political processes through which the core components of populism may affect aid spending. We argue that increases in one component of populism—anti-elitism—and in nativist sentiments, an associated concept, in a donor country lead to a reduction in aid spending through a public opinion channel. We supply both micro- and macro-evidence for our arguments by fielding surveys in the United States and United Kingdom as well as by analyzing aid spending by a large number of OECD donors. Our findings show that nativism and anti-elitism, rather than populism per se, influence not only individual attitudes toward aid but also actual aid policy and generate important insights into how to address populist challenges to foreign aid. Beyond these, our study contributes to the broader International Relations literature by demonstrating one useful analytical approach to studying populism, nativism, and foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse innovation, defined as the flow of ideas from low- to high-income settings, is gaining traction in healthcare. With an increasing focus on value, investing in low-cost but effective and innovative solutions can be of mutual benefit to both high- and low-income countries. Reverse innovation has a role in addressing maternal health challenges in high-income countries by harnessing these innovative solutions for vulnerable populations especially in rural and remote regions. In this paper, we present three examples of 'reverse innovation' for maternal health: a low-cost, easy-to-use blood pressure device (CRADLE), a diagnostic algorithm (mini PIERS) and accompanying mobile app (PIERS on the Move), and a novel method for mapping maternal outcomes (MOM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to find out the similarities and differences of the origin and development of social work in the West and in a South Asian developing country: Bangladesh. In this paper, the author points out four aspects – charity and religion, poor and impoverished, social justice and equality, and concern for women – where the development of social work is almost the same in these two opposite regions of the world. The author also shows that the differences depend on how social work is practiced in different countries as well as on the situation of the country, type of government, social policies and existing laws of the country. The paper also provides a clear picture of how social work, which is not professionalized yet in Bangladesh, assists and provides social services for the well-being of the poor people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the absence of domestic standard-setting, it seems that the legislative landscapes of poor countries are subject to the policy direction of key developed countries which seek the highest returns from transnational trade and wish to have their economic interests broadened via the conduit of bilateral trade agreements. Consequently, a classic pattern that has tended to create deep concern among African countries lately is the priority given to the UPOV Convention-style Plant Breeders’ Rights over effective sui generis regimes under the TRIPS Agreement. This paper identifies a regional bilateral trade agreement—the African Growth and Opportunity Act 2000, which is already a failed initiative, as the source of political pressure on African countries to enact Plant Breeders’ Rights legislation as opposed to the reasonable and effective sui generis regimes under the TRIPS Agreement. The author will show that after signing the African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative, African countries have surrendered their territorial sovereignty to the extent that they are now under political pressure to prioritise the commercialisation of agro-biotechnology resources via the UPOV Convention-style Plant Breeders' Rights in line with the commercial interests of the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Striking disparities characterise the population growth of cities in industrialised countries. Some cities suffer from ongoing population decline, whereas other cities have experienced increasing numbers of inhabitants in recent years. Whether labour market conditions or amenities via their impact on migration primarily account for differences in cities’ demographic development is an important issue. This paper investigates the determinants of the migration balance of German cities between 2000 and 2007. The focus is on the mobility of workers because labour migration in particular affects the future prospects of cities. The findings suggest that not only labour market conditions but also amenities have an impact on the net migration rate. Moreover, large cities seem to be, ceteris paribus, more attractive than small cities. This finding possibly points to the importance of amenities such as cultural infrastructure and matching externalities in urban (labour) markets that are linked to city size. Urban policy aimed at enhancing the attractiveness of cities should thus consider both boosting the local economy and improving the quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We examine the relationship between education and social protection policies across OECD countries and thereby contribute to the growing political and academic discussion on how social investment and social protection are interrelated. We focus on how government policy in two policy domains (education, social protection) affects social stratification. The paper is based on a principal methodological innovation, which lies in disaggregating the ways in which policy-makers influence stratification into two distinct dimensions: one is concerned with how much the state intervenes in the provision of education/social protection and how much it leaves to individual, family and market, and the second is concerned with the bias towards equality or stratification found in the state system itself. We find that countries can be grouped into a distinct number of education–social protection typologies, which differ from traditional clusterings and could indicate the need for multi-faceted pan-European education policies that take into account the longstanding differences in stratification as opposed to one-size-fits-all policy initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Privatization entails a number of quite different aspects that overlap only to some extent: (1) responsibility in provision; (2) possibilities of exit from statutory plans; (3) the transfer of the administration and management of schemes from public bodies acting in a unitary non-competitive administrative environment to private sector actors acting in a more fragmented competitive market based environment; (4) the transfer of the risks of retirement from the collective to the individual; and (5) the ‘recommodification’ and ‘financialization’ of retirement risks. The paper develops a compound index of private pension provision based on a number of quantifiable variables (theoretical replacement rates of public plans, assets of funded pension schemes, private pension expenditure and coverage by private pension plans) that tries to tap into these different aspects. It can be used to empirically categorize the extent to which Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries have privatized their pension provision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous quantitative research regarding the long expansionary era of public pension generosity has relied mainly on aggregate expenditure data, which capture many pension policy dimensions. Yet, the overall level of national pension generosity may differ from the generosity of each important dimension. To improve our understanding of public pension reforms that increase generosity levels, this study examines the introduction of automatic indexation clauses between 1945 and 2000. The paper tests predictions of welfare policy development and policy diffusion theories. Using event history methods, we argue that the inflation rate and the incumbency of Christian democratic parties are the main determinants of these policy reforms. Countries with higher inflation rates and more entrenched Christian democratic parties are more likely to link pensions in payment or past wages considered for initial calculation purposes to an economic index. This suggests that political parties differ in their support for each measure that improves pension generosity depending on its expected redistributive impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly interest in the study of education from the perspective of political science has increased rapidly in the last few years. However, the literature focuses on comparing education politics at the country level, neglecting the analysis of micro-level foundations of education policies in terms of individual preferences and their interaction with macro contexts. This paper provides a first step in addressing this research gap, engaging in a multilevel analysis of survey data for a large number of OECD countries. The core research question is how institutional contexts – in this case socio-economic and educational inequalities – shape the micro-level association between the individual income position and support for education spending. The core finding is that these different dimensions of inequality have different implications at the micro level. Higher levels of socio-economic inequality enhance the conflict between the rich and the poor over public investments in education. By contrast, when access to higher levels of education is effectively restricted, the rich are more likely to support public education spending. This is because higher levels of educational stratification ensure that further public investments in education benefit the rich relatively more than the poor, who in turn become less willing to support this kind of public spending. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines how key differences in the very manner in which the environment/welfare nexus is experienced and understood in both the global North and the global South are managed in favour of the former over the latter. We show how in the case of the global North — the more affluent world, such as Britain — environmental issues have been usually construed as post-materialist and/or post-industrialist. We argue that predominantly Northern-based post-materialists see environmental welfare (largely through the rhetoric of sustainable development and ecological modernization) as either something separate from humans (for the welfare of the ‘rest of nature’) or for the welfare of unborn, future generations. We use the concept of the ‘post-political’ to interpret how the global North dominates debates on the environment and how it can be quite dismissive, and even negligent, of welfare issues in the global South. In the case of the majority world, green welfare policy agendas are littered with the consequences of environmental devastation incurred through centuries of Northern oppression and resource exploitation. In the global South green welfare goals concentrate on the alleviation of those more basic needs of survival — provision of shelter, water availability, air quality, food sovereignty, and energy security — for those humans actually living on the planet; rather than those who may at some time in the future. In short, issues of environmental debt are writ large, rather than those of an imagined environmental future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Surveillance of infectious diseases is recognized as the cornerstone of public health decision-making and practice. The aim of the evaluation of communicable diseases surveillance systems (CDSS) is ensuring that communicable diseases are monitored efficiently and effectively. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the experiences of both developed and developing countries in the evaluation of CDSS in order to learn lessons from these experiences to improve systems everywhere. Methods: A literature review of studies published in English in PubMed and databases of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Center of Diseases Control (CDC) from 1981 to 2007 was undertaken assessing CDSS. The studies were divided into those from developed and developing countries. Results: A total of 32 studies were included, 20 from developed and twelve from developing countries. Both developed and developing countries faced difficulties in CDSS. Studies from the developed countries have been analysed based on the quality of the system alone. In developing countries, most of the studies have been on the integrated diseases surveillance (IDSR) and have been performed shortly after the adoption of the IDSR. Thus it might be too early to make a fair evaluation. Some of the systems over-centralized, while some lacked private health sector involvement in the system. Further, some of the systems were affected by conflicts and civil wars which are common problems in developing countries. Conclusions: None of the countries had ideal CDSS. The strategy of integrated diseases surveillance seems to be functioning well especially in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software industry development is acknowledged as an important engine of economic growth for many less developed countries. The role of national policy has been identified by various researchers as a catalyst to software industry and software exports development. Software development is a service that is both labour and knowledge-intensive, and thus an important aspect of related policy is concerned with the provision of appropriately educated and trained human resources in sufficient quantity. This paper provides an analysis of the human resources issues facing policy makers in less developed countries engaged in software exports policy formulation. The complexities are highlighted through the case study of Costa Rica, where there is an ongoing national strategic planning effort to increase software exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we make sense of the great Western malaise? This article argues that it results from a sharp decline in the capacities of Western governments to accomplish basic socioeconomic goals. These failures (objective and perceived) are undermining the legitimacy of Western states and fuelling political disarray. For two hundred years, the modernisation of industrial society went together with the building of capable and legitimate states. Today, it is difficult to see what progressive 'projects' remain that reinforces the state's primacy and legitimacy. The paper examines three basic state responses to declining capacity and legitimacy: 'shedding', 'shifting', and 'shouldering'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical section of this paper describes three mechanisms through which science in non-Western countries is institutionalized to follow the forms that are prevalent in the major industrial nations. The empirical section, which is based on a sample of 73 less developed countries (LDCs) and underdeveloped countries (UDCs) demonstrates that the findings are inconsistent with predictions made by theories of economic development and modernization. These theories predict a positive relationship between the degree of institutionalization and economic performance, but, for LDCs we find no such relationship; for the UDCs, it is even negative. Thus we conclude that institutional isomorphism and conformity to external rational myths are loosely coupled with internal economic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past century, Japanese society has undergone a radical change in its temporal experience, moving from one following the rhythms of nature to one of mathematical precision, namely, the western time system. Why did Japan westernize its time? This paper argues that it was for the sake of industrialization, where time was equated with profit. The accelerating sense of time reflected Japan's desperate efforts to catch up with the western level of industry in the shortest possible time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]