Search

This article examines the effectiveness of women's policy agencies (WPAs), with a focus on the leadership of subnational women's institutes in the Mexican states. We contribute to the existing research with a new original dataset on WPAs in an important third-wave democracy in Latin America. Our focus on leadership quality provides a useful method for measuring one central component of institutional effectiveness across a large number of cases. We consider high-quality leaders to be those with longer tenure in office and higher levels of education, more professional experience, and closer connections to the feminist movement. Using a dataset of 226 directors, we find evidence that party ideology, electoral competition, and the institutional design of the agency influence the quality of leadership. Moreover, states with stronger women's movements have higher-quality leadership in their WPAs. These findings support a central premise of the state feminism literature – that WPAs are most effective when allied with strong women's movements and left-wing governments – and also point to the importance of electoral democracy in promoting institutional effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States over the past 40 years national issues and allegiances have increasingly displaced state and local concerns and identities in shaping the preferences of voters and the internal processes of political parties. This study finds that such nationalization has also manifested itself in health-related behaviour, specifically in the takeup of Covid-19 vaccines. Despite the heterogeneities of US states, counties, and towns, the share of the vote that Trump received in the 2020 US presidential election is found at each level to be a strong and robust predictor of a lower June 2022 Covid-19 vaccination initiation rate, even after adjusting for sociodemographic composition, spatial effects, and diverse provisioning- and takeup-related factors. At each of the three subnational levels, the Trump 2020 vote share was also correlated more closely than the Trump 2016 vote share or the Romney 2012 vote share with the June 2022 Covid-19 vaccination initiation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deforestation has been at the heart of the transformation of the Amazon. Global concerns over deforestation and its impact on climate change have resulted in the adoption of a number of initiatives in the framework of zero deforestation. However, undifferentiated application of the concepts of zero net, gross, and illegal deforestation has revealed a lack of understanding of their scope and of challenges to their implementation. Zero legal and illegal deforestation is, in particular, a controversial subject from the point of view of regulation and sovereignty but an essential aspect from the perspective of public policy design. In Colombia, zero deforestation commitments make no mention of legal deforestation. Papers that analyze deforestation and official data sources fail to incorporate the legal dimension in their analysis. This article addresses this gap by identifying areas where deforestation is legal and where it is illegal in one deforestation hotspot of the Colombian Amazon, the administrative department of Guaviare. Our results show that deforestation has increased since 2013, mainly occurs in illegal zones, and that Guaviare department, 85% of which is covered by forest, has very little legal deforestation potential. Our findings reveal that assessing the legality and illegality of deforestation is more complex than often assumed and must become a priority, especially in forested countries where regulation on forest and land management is shared between different level of governments and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the relationship between regional inequality and political discontent in Europe? This special issue addresses this question by studying the influence of the subnational context. Specifically, it examines the impact of unequal social conditions and economic growth on political discontent with national and international politics, as expressed in political behaviour, public opinion and policy preferences. This introduction outlines a research agenda that establishes the context of the special issue. It explains the key concepts of interest, summarises significant empirical trends, outlines explanatory models and discusses methodological challenges. In addition to establishing the research agenda that serves as the analytical framework, this introduction also presents the core findings of the special issue and discusses broader implications for future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A population's current growth rate is determined jointly by changes in fertility, mortality, and migration. This overall growth rate is also the average of age-specific growth rates, which can be decomposed into the result of historical changes in fertility, mortality, and migration. However, doing so requires more than 100 years of historical data, meaning that such analyses are possible only in a select few populations. In this research note, we propose an adapted version of the variable-r model to measure contributions to the population growth rate for countries with shorter demographic series. In addition, we extend this model to explore the contribution of subnational changes to the national population growth rate. Our results demonstrate that the age-specific growth rates obtained from short historical series, say 25 years, closely match those of the longer series. These abbreviated age-specific growth rates closely resemble the growth rate at birth of their respective cohorts, which is the major determinant of population growth, except at older ages where mortality becomes the main explanatory element. Exploring subnational populations, we find considerable heterogeneity in the age profile of the components of growth and find that the most populous regions tend to have an outsized impact on national-level growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Policy Analysis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fertility is a life course process that is strongly shaped by geographic and sociodemographic subgroup contexts. In the United States, scholars face a choice: they can situate fertility in a life course perspective using panel data, which is typically representative only at the national level; or they can attend to subnational contexts using rate schedules, which do not include information on life course statuses. The method and data source we introduce here, Census-Held Linked Administrative Records for Fertility Estimation (CLAR-FE), permits both. It derives fertility histories and rate schedules from U.S. Census Bureau–held data for the nation and by state, racial and ethnic subgroups, and the important life course status of parity. We generate three types of rates for 2000–2020 at the national and state levels by race and ethnicity: age-specific rates and both unconditional and conditional parity- and age-specific rates. Where possible, we compare these rates with those produced by the National Center for Health Statistics. Our new rate schedules illuminate state and racial and ethnic differences in transitions to parenthood, providing evidence of the important subgroup heterogeneity that characterizes the United States. CLAR-FE covers nearly the entire U.S. population and is available to researchers on approved projects through the Census Bureau's Federal Statistical Research Data Centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections undeniably continue to have substantial morbidity and mortality in younger children; however, limited data are available on the disease burden of older children and adults and on ETEC epidemiology by geographical location at the subnational level. Facility-based surveillance over the years was established to identify patients with ETEC diarrhea in two geographically distinct areas in rural Bangladesh, Chhatak in the north and Mathbaria in the southern coastal area. ETEC was highly prevalent in both areas, while the proportions, toxin types and colonization factors varied by location, season and age groups. Children < 5 years old and adults between 20 and 60 years old were at the highest risk of ETEC diarrhea which required urgent care. This study underscores the importance of capturing subnational and seasonal variations in ETEC epidemiology. ETEC vaccine developers and public health stakeholders may need to target adults between 20 and 60 years of age in addition to young children as new vaccines currently under development become licensed and introduction begins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Niger is afflicted with high rates of poverty, high fertility rates, frequent environmental crises, and climate change. Recurrent droughts and floods have led to chronic food insecurity linked to poor maternal and neonatal nutrition outcomes in vulnerable regions. We analyzed maternal and neonatal nutrition trends and subnational variability between 2000 and 2021 with a focus on the implementation of policies and programs surrounding two acute climate shocks in 2005 and 2010. We used four sources of data: (a) national household surveys for maternal and newborn nutritional indicators allowing computation of trends and differences at national and regional levels; (b) document review of food security reports; (c) 30 key informant interviews and; (d) one focus group discussion. Many food security policies and nutrition programs were enacted from 2000 to 2020. Gains in maternal and neonatal nutrition indicators were more significant in targeted vulnerable regions of Maradi, Zinder, Tahoua and Tillabéri, from 2006 to 2021. However, poor access to financial resources for policy execution and suboptimal implementation of plans have hindered progress. In response to the chronic climate crisis over the last 20 years, the Nigerien government and program implementers have demonstrated their commitment to reducing food insecurity and enhancing resilience to climate shocks by adopting a deliberate multisectoral effort. However, there is more that can be achieved with a continued focus on vulnerable regions to build resilience, targeting high risk populations, and investing in infrastructure to improve health systems, food systems, agriculture systems, education systems, and social protection. Key messages: Niger is ranked as the most vulnerable country in the world for exposure and sensitivity to the negative effects of disasters and climate change. Acute environmental shocks in 2005 and 2010 elevated government and development partner responses to the 'food security crises'.Multisectoral policy and program investments in vulnerable regions played a meaningful role in improving food security and subsequently maternal and neonatal nutrition but progress is slow or stagnant.The Nigerien government, program implementers, and donors should prioritize investments in infrastructure and shock resilience to improve health systems, food systems, agriculture systems, education systems, and social protection, particularly in high risk populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency initiatives are frequently proposed to enhance citizen participation in natural resource management and ensure that resource revenue spending meets its economic and social goals. Many transparency initiatives, however, have failed in achieving their goals. This article develops an analytical framework emphasizing information disclosure, citizen action, and state response in making transparency initiatives effective in promoting change. We portray these three dimensions in the transparency cube to illustrate their simultaneous roles and the different aspects of these dimensions. The article applies the framework to analyse a subnational revenue transparency initiative designed and implemented by the oil-rich Bojonegoro District of Indonesia. We find that the initiative's strengths were its requirements to disclose information related to the petroleum sector and its establishment of avenues for engagement. The information, however, did not address the public's needs and preferred ways of receiving information and engaging with their leader. Consequently, citizens did not actively seek to express their concerns about oil revenue management. The article concludes that transparency initiatives need to include context-specific measures to disclose relevant and actionable information and promote active citizenry and consider local political dynamics to sustain government responsiveness as part of its design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In 2015 Mexico set a goal to halve its adolescent fertility rate and eliminate childbearing among girls 14 years and younger, but the ambitious goal is severely off track. National estimates show stagnation, and while implementation is targeted at the municipal level, little is known about adolescent fertility in Mexican municipalities. OBJECTIVE: This study estimates trends in subnational parity-specific fertility from 1990 to 2020 at all adolescent ages in 2,469 Mexican municipalities. Importantly, the estimates include the fertility of younger adolescents, and parity progression ratios offer a more accurate picture of the true risk of repeat adolescent childbearing. METHODS: This study uses pooled census data and multilevel logistic regression models to estimate age- and parity-specific municipal population proportions. Modeled estimates are used to calculate second birth parity progression ratios. RESULTS: The analysis reveals that municipal trends see considerable diversity and change. The results unmask 30 years of flux and a surprising pattern of convergence in first births alongside little concordance for second births. CONTRIBUTION: Not only have the estimates not been seen before, but they (1) highlight priorities that might otherwise be overlooked by the national strategy and (2) emphasize the value of tracking first and second adolescent births separately. Ultimately, the findings have relevance far beyond Mexico. They confirm the importance of examining subnational pat-terns for understanding adolescent childbearing and question the adequacy of ASFR15-19 as the default measure given that repeat births to adolescent mothers as well as births to girls before age 15 remain widespread across the globe.

A large literature suggests that the presence of refugees is associated with greater risk of conflict. We argue that the positive effects of hosting refugees on local conditions have been overlooked. Using global data from 1990 to 2018 on locations of refugee communities and civil conflict at the subnational level, we find no evidence that hosting refugees increases the likelihood of new conflict, prolongs existing conflict, or raises the number of violent events or casualties. Furthermore, we explore conditions where provinces are likely to experience substantively large decreases in conflict risk due to increased development. Analysis examining nighttime lights as a measure of development, coupled with expert interviews, support our claim. To address the possibility of selection bias, we use placebo tests and matching. Our research challenges assertions that refugees are security risks. Instead, we show that in many cases, hosting refugees can encourage local development and even conflict reduction.

Copyright of Revista Venezolana de Gerencia (RVG) is the property of Revista de Filosofia-Universidad del Zulia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyzes the Uruguayan decentralization process since the creation of the third tier of government, the Municipal Authorities, in 2010. The main objective is to understand the intergovernmental relations that have arisen as a result. It is argued that, given the scarce planning of formal intergovernmental relations between the different levels of government, the implementation of results-based management instruments has increased the management capacity and transparency in the use of resources by municipalities given them wider autonomy. To prove this, we conducted a survey to Mayors in office from 2010 to 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections undeniably continue to have substantial morbidity and mortality in younger children; however, limited data are available on the disease burden of older children and adults and on ETEC epidemiology by geographical location at the subnational level. Facility-based surveillance over the years was established to identify patients with ETEC diarrhea in two geographically distinct areas in rural Bangladesh, Chhatak in the north and Mathbaria in the southern coastal area. ETEC was highly prevalent in both areas, while the proportions, toxin types and colonization factors varied by location, season and age groups. Children < 5 years old and adults between 20 and 60 years old were at the highest risk of ETEC diarrhea which required urgent care. This study underscores the importance of capturing subnational and seasonal variations in ETEC epidemiology. ETEC vaccine developers and public health stakeholders may need to target adults between 20 and 60 years of age in addition to young children as new vaccines currently under development become licensed and introduction begins.

This article sheds light on the cognitive dimension of subnational migration policymaking, showing how policymakers' subjective understandings of migration dynamics can decisively shape the responses of subnational political systems to migration. It also reveals that these responses, in turn, can play a decisive role in the emergence of policymakers' understandings of migration dynamics, suggesting that policymaking processes can themselves produce meaning, constructing migration as a social and political problem. The paper illustrates these conceptual points by investigating the 'heuristic case' of three Italian regions that produced very different responses to the 'refugee crisis', drawing from 71 interviews with subnational policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing how democracy varies within countries is paramount to the subnational turn in comparative politics. Despite recent contributions, we still lack a comparable measure of democracy for provinces inside countries. To overcome this limitation, I present the Index of Subnational Electoral Democracy (ISED), a measure that tracks the electoral dimension of democracy across the provinces of nine Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, and India for a period of roughly 40 years, making it the largest dataset on subnational regime outcomes to date. I then use the ISED to assess the democratic trajectories of Argentinian, Brazilian, Mexican, and Indian states, revealing that: 1) Indian provinces have been, on average, more democratic than their Latin American counterparts. 2) The relative position of provincial regimes within these countries has been remarkably stable over time. 3) Most subnational units in the Americas have had "low intensity" regimes. 4) Subnational regime hybridity has been the norm rather than the exception, and that 5) for the Latin American cases under consideration, democracy and development are positively connected at the local level. I conclude by outlining the ISED's research applications and reflecting on the implications of these five conclusions for future research on subnational democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Evidence exists on the potential impact of national level minimum unit price (MUP) policies for alcohol. This study investigated the potential effectiveness of implementing MUP at regional and local levels compared with national implementation. Design: Evidence synthesis and computer modelling using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model (Local Authority version 4.0; SAPMLA). Setting: Results are produced for 23 Upper Tier Local Authorities (UTLAs) in North West England, 12 UTLAs in North East England, 15 UTLAs in Yorkshire and Humber, the nine English Government Office regions and England as a whole. Cases Health Survey for England (HSE) data 2011–13 (n = 24 685). Measurements Alcohol consumption, consumer spending, retailers' revenues, hospitalizations, National Health Service costs, crimes and alcohol‐attributable deaths and health inequalities. Findings: Implementing a local £0.50 MUP for alcohol in northern English regions is estimated to result in larger percentage reductions in harms than the national average. The reductions for England, North West, North East and Yorkshire and Humber regions, respectively, in annual alcohol‐attributable deaths are 1024 (−10.4%), 205 (−11.4%), 121 (−17.4%) and 159 (−16.9%); for hospitalizations are 29 943 (−4.6%), 5956 (−5.5%), 3255 (−7.9%) and 4610 (−6.9%); and for crimes are 54 229 (−2.4%), 8528 (−2.5%), 4380 (−3.5%) and 8220 (−3.2%). Results vary among local authorities; for example, annual alcohol‐attributable deaths estimated to change by between −8.0 and −24.8% throughout the 50 UTLAs examined. Conclusions: A minimum unit price local policy for alcohol is likely to be more effective in those regions, such as the three northern regions of England, which have higher levels of alcohol consumption and higher rates of alcohol harm than for the national average. In such regions, the minimum unit price policy would achieve larger reductions in alcohol consumption, alcohol‐attributable mortality, hospitalization rates, NHS costs, crime rates and health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Democracy's proponents argue that decentralisation improves service delivery, expands local accountability, and engages citizens in public life. However, the combination of democratisation and decentralisation sometimes sustains subnational authoritarianism, resulting in differential redistribution of power that limit citizens' ability to pursue and secure public goods. In this article we ask: To what extent do authoritarian enclaves affect well-being? Few studies have systematically examined how basic democratic failures affect human development outcomes at subnational levels. We address this gap by investigating the effects of local "democratic dead spots" in Brazil. This approach yields the first large-scale quantitative analysis of the consequences of subnational authoritarianism for human development. Our unique dataset covers Brazil's 5,570 municipalities from 2006 to 2018 and lets us estimate the effects of local elections on human development over time and across space, while controlling for common explanations for human development (e.g. local governance, wealth, social policy, and partisanship). We find that local democratic dead spots are associated with systemically low levels of human development performance. Following uncompetitive elections, health outcomes are systemically lower over five years: an entire mayoral term and one year beyond in comparison to other, very similar municipalities. Education outcomes are also systemically lower, but the effect does not extend beyond one mayoral term. The cumulative results suggest that uncompetitive elections undermine human development, at the very least in the short to medium term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Datasets on subnational election results in Europe frequently do not match with regional statistics available for cross-national research, mainly because territorial statistical units change over time and do not map onto the national electoral districts. This hinders consistent comparative research across time. This research note introduces EU-NED, a new dataset on subnational election data that covers national and European parliamentary elections for European countries over the past 30 years. EU-NED's major contribution is that it provides election results on disaggregated levels of the statistical territorial units used by Eurostat with an unprecedented consistency and temporospatial scope. Moreover, EU-NED is integrated with the Party Facts platform, allowing for a seamless integration of party-level data. Using EU-NED, we present first descriptive evidence on the European electoral geography and suggest avenues of how EU-NED can facilitate future comparative political science research in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Despite the civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system in Nepal operating for several decades, it has not been used to produce routine mortality statistics. Instead, mortality statistics rely on irregular surveys and censuses that primarily focus on child mortality. To fill this knowledge gap, this study estimates levels and subnational differentials in mortality across all ages in Nepal, primarily using CRVS data adjusted for incompleteness. Methods We analyzed death registration data (offline or paper-based) and CRVS survey reported death data, estimating the true crude death rate (CDR) and number of deaths by sex and year for each province and ecological belt. The estimated true number of deaths for 2017 was used with an extension of the empirical completeness method to estimate the adult mortality (45q15) and life expectancy at birth by sex and subnational level. Plausibility of subnational mortality estimates was assessed against poverty head count rates. Results Adult mortality in Nepal for 2017 is estimated to be 159 per 1000 for males and 116 for females, while life expectancy was estimated as 69.7 years for males and 73.9 years for females. Subnationally, male adult mortality ranges from 129 per 1000 in Madhesh to 224 in Karnali and female adult mortality from 89 per 1000 in Province 1 to 159 in Sudurpashchim. Similarly, male life expectancy is between 64.9 years in Karnali and 71.8 years in Madhesh and female male life expectancy between 69.6 years in Sudurpashchim and 77.0 years in Province 1. Mountain ecological belt and Sudurpashchim and Karnali provinces have high mortality and high poverty levels, whereas Terai and Hill ecological belts and Province 1, Madhesh, and Bagmati and Gandaki provinces have low mortality and poverty levels. Conclusions This is the first use of CRVS system data in Nepal to estimate national and subnational mortality levels and differentials. The national results are plausible when compared with Global Burden of Disease and United Nations World Population Prospects estimates. Understanding of the reasons for inequalities in mortality in Nepal should focus on improving cause of death data and further strengthening CRVS data.

The academic literature on women's political participation has focused on access and its conditions and, political trajectory in legislative branches at the national level, whereas studies focused on sub-national levels have been more scarce have. This article contributes to the study of the personal and social attributes, the political-party membership and the previous public trajectory in terms of gender of the people who held the highest provincial executive positions in Argentina. The quantitative methodological strategy implemented --not only descriptive but also inferential-- has helped to demonstrate associations and relationships between variables with statistical significance. The main findings indicate that there are no significant differences in terms of age but in the number of children and educational level. Regarding previous political trajectories, it is observed that women have mainly held seats in the legislative branches and men have occupied seats in the executive branches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-pandemic rise in consumer prices across the world has renewed interest in inflation dynamics after decades of global disinflation. This paper provides a spatial investigation of inflation synchronicity at the city level in Lithuania using disaggregated monthly data during the period 2000–2021. The empirical analysis provides strong evidence that (i) the co-movement of city-level inflation rates—estimated using the instantaneous quasi-correlation approach—is significantly weaker than the extent of synchronization suggested by the simple correlation analysis; (ii) there is substantial heterogeneity in the instantaneous quasi-correlation of inflation subcomponents between city pairs; and (iii) there are significant changes in the degree of city-level synchronization over time, reflecting important economic developments in history such as the global financial crisis, the adoption of euro, and the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major shocks in mortality trends in many countries. Yet few studies have evaluated the heterogeneity of the mortality shocks at the sub-national level, rigorously accounting for the different sources of uncertainty. Methods Using death registration data from Belgium, we first assess change in the heterogeneity of districts’ standardized mortality ratios in 2020, when compared to previous years. We then measure the shock effect of the pandemic using district-level values of life expectancy, comparing districts’ observed and projected life expectancy, accounting for all sources of uncertainty (stemming from life-table construction at district level and from projection methods at country and district levels). Bayesian modelling makes it easy to combine the different sources of uncertainty in the assessment of the shock. This is of particular interest at a finer geographical scale characterized by high stochastic variation in annual death counts. Results The heterogeneity in the impact of the pandemic on all-cause mortality across districts is substantial: while some districts barely show any impact, the Bruxelles-Capitale and Mons districts experienced a decrease in life expectancy at birth of 2.24 (95% CI:1.33–3.05) and 2.10 (95% CI:0.86–3.30) years, respectively. The year 2020 was associated with an increase in the heterogeneity of mortality levels at a subnational scale in comparison to past years, measured in terms of both standardized mortality ratios and life expectancies at birth. Decisions on uncertainty thresholds have a large bearing on the interpretation of the results. Conclusion Developing sub-national mortality estimates taking careful account of uncertainty is key to identifying which areas have been disproportionately affected.

Background: Pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) experience the highest levels of maternal mortality and stillbirths due to predominantly avoidable causes. Antenatal care (ANC) can prevent, detect, alleviate, or manage these causes. While eight ANC contacts are now recommended, coverage of the previous minimum of four visits (ANC4+) remains low and inequitable in SSA. Methods: We modelled ANC4+ coverage and likelihood of attaining district-level target coverage of 70% across three equity stratifiers (household wealth, maternal education, and travel time to the nearest health facility) based on data from malaria indicator surveys in Kenya (2020), Uganda (2018/19) and Tanzania (2017). Geostatistical models were fitted to predict ANC4+ coverage and compute exceedance probability for target coverage. The number of pregnant women without ANC4+ were computed. Prediction was at 3 km spatial resolution and aggregated at national and district -level for sub-national planning. Results: About six in ten women reported ANC4+ visits, meaning that approximately 3 million women in the three countries had 20,000 women having

Background: Despite the civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system in Nepal operating for several decades, it has not been used to produce routine mortality statistics. Instead, mortality statistics rely on irregular surveys and censuses that primarily focus on child mortality. To fill this knowledge gap, this study estimates levels and subnational differentials in mortality across all ages in Nepal, primarily using CRVS data adjusted for incompleteness.Methods: We analyzed death registration data (offline or paper-based) and CRVS survey reported death data, estimating the true crude death rate (CDR) and number of deaths by sex and year for each province and ecological belt. The estimated true number of deaths for 2017 was used with an extension of the empirical completeness method to estimate the adult mortality (45q15) and life expectancy at birth by sex and subnational level. Plausibility of subnational mortality estimates was assessed against poverty head count rates.Results: Adult mortality in Nepal for 2017 is estimated to be 159 per 1000 for males and 116 for females, while life expectancy was estimated as 69.7 years for males and 73.9 years for females. Subnationally, male adult mortality ranges from 129 per 1000 in Madhesh to 224 in Karnali and female adult mortality from 89 per 1000 in Province 1 to 159 in Sudurpashchim. Similarly, male life expectancy is between 64.9 years in Karnali and 71.8 years in Madhesh and female male life expectancy between 69.6 years in Sudurpashchim and 77.0 years in Province 1. Mountain ecological belt and Sudurpashchim and Karnali provinces have high mortality and high poverty levels, whereas Terai and Hill ecological belts and Province 1, Madhesh, and Bagmati and Gandaki provinces have low mortality and poverty levels.Conclusions: This is the first use of CRVS system data in Nepal to estimate national and subnational mortality levels and differentials. The national results are plausible when compared with Global Burden of Disease and United Nations World Population Prospects estimates. Understanding of the reasons for inequalities in mortality in Nepal should focus on improving cause of death data and further strengthening CRVS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Uruguaya de Ciencia Política is the property of Instituto de Ciencia Politica (Universidad de la Republica de Uruguay) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Study on political elites in sub-national politics in post-1998 Indonesia did not pay much attention to identify the shifting or continuation of structural change in the post-New Order authoritarianism. From a case study in East Java, this article shows the change and continuation of political elite structure. Democratization does not necessarily produce significant changes that shift the position and privilege of the old political elites. Their organizational power might have declined, but their control over patron-client relationship remains strong. This is also finds that the political changes were, institutionally, not strong enough to cause the significant damage to the patron-client relationship developed during the New Order era. The democratization pressure has only caused the partial diversification of elites’ political affiliation while the inter-intra elite power relations model has not changed much. This explanation provides a new contribution to the understandings on the dynamics and changes in the structure of political elites in sub-national politics in the era of democratization in Indonesia.

Abstract Background Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of tobacco fiscal policy, but distributional effects have been less examined, especially at the subnational level. The objective of this study is to analyse the distributional effects of a one-peso tobacco tax increase (roughly equivalent to tripling the current excise tax) on health, poverty, and financial outcomes at the subnational level in Mexico. Methods We employ an extended cost-effectiveness analysis that estimates life-years gained, smoking attributable deaths averted, treatment costs averted, number of persons avoiding poverty and catastrophic health expenditures, and additional tax revenues by income group across five regions. Results With the one-peso tax increase (or 44% price increase), about 1.5 million smokers would quit smoking across the five regions, resulting in nearly 630 thousand premature deaths averted and 12.6 million life years gained. The bottom income quintile would gain three times more life years gains than the top quintile (ratio 3:1), and the largest gain for the most deprived would occur in the South (ratio 19:1), the region with the highest poverty incidence. Costs averted and additional tax revenues would reach 44.6 and 16.2 billion pesos, respectively. Moreover, 251 thousand individuals would avoid falling into poverty, including 53.2 in the lowest income quintile, and 563.9 thousand would avoid catastrophic health expenditures. Overall, the bottom income group would obtain 26% of the life years gained and 24% of the cost averted, while only paying 3% of the additional tax revenue. Conclusions The most significant gains from a substantial cigarette price increase would be for the poorest 20%, especially in the South, the most impoverished region of Mexico. Therefore, tobacco taxes are an opportunity for governments to advance in equity and towards the achievement of sustainable development goals on non-communicable diseases.

Objectives: The study investigated the relationship between electricity access and infant mortality at the subnational level in Ghana, controlling for correlates such as birth interval, children living with both parents, women’s education, and income distribution. Methods: The study employed a pooled cross-section regression approach using data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) for 10 administrative regions from 1993 to 2014. The GDHS is a detailed data set that provides comprehensive information on households and their socio-economic and demographic characteristics in Ghana. Results: The results show that in regions with low incidence of infant mortality, a 10% improvement in electricity access reduces infant death by 11.8 per 1,000 live births, whereas in high mortality regions, improvement in electricity access has no impact on infant death. Birth interval reduces the risk of infant death in low mortality regions but not in high mortality regions. Children living with both parents have a high probability of survivorship in high mortality regions. Women’s median years of education lowers the likelihood of infant death in high mortality regions but increases the likelihood in low mortality regions. Wealth distribution is inconsequential for infant death in low mortality regions, but in high mortality regions, both the wealthiest and the poorest experienced significant decline in infant death. Conclusions: The findings underscore the fruitfulness of investigating the effects of electricity access and other correlates on infant mortality at the subnational level. The study recommends that the provision of reliable access to electricity is needed to improve infant mortality rates. However, policies that seek to improve access to reliable electricity should be implemented together with health infrastructure development policies, especially in the regions with high infant mortality rates, for electricity access to have the desired effect.

Accurate estimates of subnational populations are important for policy formulation and monitoring population health indicators. For example, estimates of the number of women of reproductive age are important to understand the population at risk of maternal mortality and unmet need for contraception. However, in many low-income countries, data on population counts and components of population change are limited, and so subnational levels and trends are unclear. We present a Bayesian constrained cohort component model for the estimation and projection of subnational populations. The model builds on a cohort component projection framework, incorporates census data and estimates from the United Nation’s World Population Prospects, and uses characteristic mortality schedules to obtain estimates of population counts and the components of population change, including internal migration. The data required as inputs to the model are minimal and available across a wide range of countries, including most low-income countries. The model is applied to estimate and project populations by county in Kenya for 1979–2019 and is validated against the 2019 Kenyan census. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organisation's International Health Regulations were amended in May 2024, with a number of implications for countries to amend their legal and institutional frameworks. This perspective highlights two key areas of focus in the amendments-the importance of multisectoral coordination and subnational work - and explores their links to health security challenges and to concrete country experiences. National legal and institutional frameworks constitute a key enabling mechanism for effective public health systems capable of preventing, detecting, and responding promptly to public health events and emergencies, and the recent IHR amendments provide a new impetus for WHO Member States to make these changes., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The reduction of inequalities in its regional dimension is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in the 2030 Agenda, proposed by the United Nations (UN). By itself, this goal entails the challenge of monitoring local disparities from a metric that may allow the assessment of regional development, with parameters compatible with those used to follow the trajectory of the countries. The present research is part of this perspective, seeking highlighting what has been the performance of the State of Paraná in terms of promoting the well-being of its population. The evaluation was performed using an international database that provides a historical series of the Human Development Index (HDI) for national subunits of 186 countries, for the period 1990/2019. In addition to verifying and qualifying the advances observed in the State during this period, an estimate of the future evolution of the Paraná HDI for the period 2020/2035 is presented, based on an econometric model that includes four indicators (three sub-indices and the HDI). This estimate allowed the identification of the trend trajectory of the HDI in the State, which was analysed and assessed considering the trajectories observed in some selected countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data for low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) are used to investigate the effect of the demographic transition on economic growth at sub-national level. We introduce a detailed classification of demographic window phases, determine how these phases are distributed among and within LMICs, and analyze the relationship between the demographic window of opportunity (DWO) and economic growth for 1921 urban and rural areas of sub-national regions within 91 LMICs. Many areas in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have entered the window, but most of Sub-Saharan Africa is still in the traditional or pre-window phase. Our analyses reveal higher growth rates in areas passing through the DWO. Positive growth effects are particularly strong in rural and more educated regions and in countries with lower levels of corruption. Policy measures aimed at effectively using the DW for achieving growth should combine investments in education and rural development with better governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring of water and sanitation services has for a long time been project driven in the developing world. The need for data to inform subnational planning and delivery of quality services has led to the adoption of decentralised integrated monitoring. However, little is known about the strengths and weaknesses of this approach in the monitoring of water and sanitation services. A case study design in which document reviews were combined with 22 key informant interviews held between March and July 2019 in the Upper West Region of Ghana were used to investigate the research problem. Findings show that integration enhanced the processes for validating and using monitoring data and ensuring downward accountability. However, logistical and financial support and inadequate critical reflection is a major challenge under the integration. The paper calls for special attention to be paid to funding and logistics for monitoring water and sanitation services. HIGHLIGHTS Monitoring is critical to quality and sustainable water and sanitation services at subnational level.; Integrating monitoring of water and sanitation services into decentralised monitoring affects the quality of their monitoring.; Validation of water and sanitation data is enhanced under integrated decentralised monitoring.; Capacity development for monitoring of water and sanitation is prerequisite under integrated decentralised monitoring.; Water and sanitation services are unique and require special attention under integrated decentralised monitoring.;

Since 2020, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) expanded its global food security metrics, adding Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (CoAHD). In 2022, they introduced a global Healthy Diet Basket (HDB) standard to estimate countries' CoAHD. This study adopts the HDB method along with prices derived from expenditure modules of 2018-19 household surveys from Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal to compute subnational indicators. Findings reveal HDB's efficacy in capturing local consumption patterns when combined with household-level unit prices, making it valuable in the absence of national food-based dietary guidelines. Findings also show that CoAHD indicators derived from national defined basket should be interpreted as lower boundaries, advocating for subnational baskets to guide policies aimed at improving access to healthy diets. • FAO Healthy Diet Basket (HDB) can capture local consumption patterns in subnational analysis. • Household unit values can effectively identify least-cost items of heathy diet baskets. • Share of income that can credibly be reserved for food should vary by subnational unit of analysis. • Unit values and hence diet costs greatly vary among households and between regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two decades ago, Peter Nannestad and Martin Paldam (2009) published a paper in which, having analyzed 282 elections held between 1948 and 1997 in 19 developed democracies, they claimed that all incumbent parties on average incur a "cost of ruling" of approximately 2.25% points per term. They called this cost a "robust fact," "an unusually stable constant" that operates across countries, institutions, and time. I evaluate how well N&P's empirical assertions hold up in a much larger set of elections held in a set of well-established democracies similar to the one they studied, as well as in other, more recent electoral democracies outside the OECD region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reliable and timely mortality data from a civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system are of crucial importance for generating evidence for policy and monitoring the progress towards national and global development goals. In Nepal, however, the death registration system is not used to produce mortality statistics, because it does not providing data on age at death and only reporting deaths by year of registration. This study assesses the completeness of death registration in Nepal - both the existing offline system and the newer online system - as well as the completeness of death reporting from a CRVS Survey, and assesses differences by year, sex, ecological belt, and province.Methods: The empirical completeness method is used to estimate completeness at all ages from the offline (paper-based) registration system (2013-17), the online registration system (2017-19) and the CRVS Survey (2014-15).Results: Completeness of the offline death registration system was 69% in 2017, not increasing since 2013 and being higher for males (73%) than females (65%). Completeness of online registration was only 32% in 2019, but almost double the 2017 figure. Completeness of death reporting in the CRVS Survey was 75% in 2015. The largest subnational differentials in completeness exist for the offline registration system, ranging from 90% in Gandaki to just 39% in Karnali.Conclusions: Improvement in the utility of the Nepalese death registration system for mortality statistics is dependent on continued roll-out of the online death registration system (which reports age at death and deaths by year of occurrence) throughout the country, focusing on areas with low registration, building a strong coordination mechanism among CRVS stakeholders and implementing public awareness programs about death registration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Maternal health affects the lives of many women and children globally every year and it is one of the high priority programs of the Government of Nepal (GoN). Different evidence articulate that the equity gap in accessing and using maternal health services at national level is decreasing over 2001–2016. This study aimed to assess whether the equity gap in using maternal health services is also decreasing at subnational level over this period given the geography of Nepal has already been identified as one of the predictors of accessibility and utilization of maternal health services. Methods The study used wealth index scores for each household and calculated the concentration curves and indexes in their relative formulation, with no corrections. Concentration curve was used to identify whether socioeconomic inequality in maternity services exists and whether it was more pronounced at one point in time than another or in one province than another. The changes between 2001 and 2016 were also disaggregated across the provinces. Test of significance of changes in Concentration Index was performed by calculating pooled standard errors. We used R software for statistical analysis. Results The study observed a progressive and statistically significant decrease in concentration index for at least four antenatal care (ANC) visit and institutional delivery at national level over 2001–2016. The changes were not statistically significant for Cesarean Section delivery. Regarding inequality in four-ANC all provinces except Karnali showed significant decreases at least between 2011 and 2016. Similarly, all provinces, except Karnali, showed a statistically significant decrease in concentration index for institutional delivery between 2011 and 2016. Conclusion Despite appreciable progress at national level, the study found that the progress in reducing equity gap in use of maternal health services is not uniform across seven provinces. Tailored investment to address barriers in utilization of maternal health services across provinces is urgent to make further progress in achieving equitable distribution in use of maternal health services. There is an opportunity now that the country is federalized, and provincial governments can make a need-based improvement by addressing specific barriers.

Background: Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of tobacco fiscal policy, but distributional effects have been less examined, especially at the subnational level. The objective of this study is to analyse the distributional effects of a one-peso tobacco tax increase (roughly equivalent to tripling the current excise tax) on health, poverty, and financial outcomes at the subnational level in Mexico. Methods: We employ an extended cost-effectiveness analysis that estimates life-years gained, smoking attributable deaths averted, treatment costs averted, number of persons avoiding poverty and catastrophic health expenditures, and additional tax revenues by income group across five regions. Results: With the one-peso tax increase (or 44% price increase), about 1.5 million smokers would quit smoking across the five regions, resulting in nearly 630 thousand premature deaths averted and 12.6 million life years gained. The bottom income quintile would gain three times more life years gains than the top quintile (ratio 3:1), and the largest gain for the most deprived would occur in the South (ratio 19:1), the region with the highest poverty incidence. Costs averted and additional tax revenues would reach 44.6 and 16.2 billion pesos, respectively. Moreover, 251 thousand individuals would avoid falling into poverty, including 53.2 in the lowest income quintile, and 563.9 thousand would avoid catastrophic health expenditures. Overall, the bottom income group would obtain 26% of the life years gained and 24% of the cost averted, while only paying 3% of the additional tax revenue. Conclusions: The most significant gains from a substantial cigarette price increase would be for the poorest 20%, especially in the South, the most impoverished region of Mexico. Therefore, tobacco taxes are an opportunity for governments to advance in equity and towards the achievement of sustainable development goals on non-communicable diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent events have made it increasingly apparent that researchers and practitioners should rethink how the subsidiary of the multinational corporation (MNC) develops geographically. This paper seeks to understand the reasons why the MNC subsidiary may reach beyond its locality. It is theorized that factors representing the scope of an activity, the industry value chain and the host-location advantages influence the likelihood of the subsidiary's international versus national reach. The empirical examination of activities pursued by non-U.S. MNC subsidiaries operating in the U.S. indicate that innovation drives subsidiaries to look beyond the national boundaries of their host-locations and confirms the importance of local advantages for subsidiary development. The study offers new insights regarding the MNC's geographic footprint and informs executives who are orchestrating activities across international and subnational locations. The study also contributes to the understanding of aspects that subnational governments should consider when creating strategies to retain foreign direct investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Latin American Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Latin American Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Latin American Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)