• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.365-371
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• 2018

This article addresses three key issues. First, the commonalities, differences, strengths, and limitations of existing occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation of low- and middle-income countries were determined. Second, required revisions were identified and discussed to strengthen the laws in accordance with the best international practice. Finally, proposals for additional OSH laws and interventions were suggested. A literature search of OSH laws of 10 selected low- and middle-income countries was carried out. The laws were subjected to uniform review criteria. Although the agricultural sector employs more than 70% of the population, most of the reviewed countries lack OSH legislation on the sector. Existing OSH laws are gender insensitive, fragmented among various government departments, insufficient, outdated, and nondeterrent to perpetrators and lack incentives for compliance. Conclusively, the legal frameworks require reformation and harmonization for the collective benefit to employees, employers, and regulatory authorities. New OSH legislation for the agricultural sector is required.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.7
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• pp.251-260
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• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of total factor productivity (TFP), institutional quality, and interactive variable between them on economic growth in 13 low-middle income countries in Asia for the period 2000-2018. The paper uses the difference Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to explore the dataset provided by the World Bank. The empirical results show that TFP and the interactive variable positively impact on the economic growth, while the institutional determinants have a negative influence. The negative effect is explained by the weak institutions in these low-middle income countries. The findings of the study suggest two points. First, the government should continue to improve TFP, which is associated with the application of technical advances, technological innovations, improvement of management methods, and skilled workers. Second, far more important, is that the authorities should pay special attention to implement institutional reform and strengthen the governance in the future. The successful experiences from Japan, Korea and Singapore will help other governments in Asian low-middle income countries to build developmental state. Probably, the developmental state actively interfere in the market to promote and realize the development goals. By doing so, these economies might overcome the so-called "middle-income trap".

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.23-45
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• 2018

Logistic costs refer to trade costs, but it could influence FDI as well as global trade. Multinational corporations choose the geographic organization to produce their products. Therefore, it involves many countries to produce one product. International trade between countries more frequently involves the trade of raw materials, components, and unfinished goods. This implies that countries with better logistic performance are attractive for investment because of low transaction costs. Using the logistic performance index provided from the World Bank, this paper investigates the impacts of logistic performance on FDI inflow to developing countries. Results show that infrastructure and timeliness have a positive effects on FDI inflow to low income countries. In the case of middle income countries, timeliness has a negative effect on FDI inflow. This discrepancy between the low- and middle- income countries comes from the different motivation. FDI for low income countries primarily attempts to minimize labor costs. However, FDI for middle-income countries seems to be motivated to reduce labor costs and expand sales markets. FDI inflow in low-income countries serves as part of the offshoring or global outsourcing of multinational corporation.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.1-19
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• 2016

This paper analyzed what determines affected FDI inflow of developing countries by using panel data from 65 lower-middle income and low income countries(Asia, Africa and Latin America). Empirical results showed that economic growth has a more positive impact on a middle income country than a lower one, and has a better impact on the Asian continent than others. Trade has similar effect on lower and middle income countries, respectively. ODA, however, has a negative effect on both sides, regardless of the continent. Industrial value added rate and labor force have a positive effect on FDI in low and middle income countries. Infrastructure was found to be a significant impact on FDI inflows in lower-middle income countries than in low income countries. There is no geographically significant difference except Africa.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.69-93
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• 2015

Developing countries including poor countries cannot accumulate enough domestic saving and government budget for their industrialization. They need to finance the capital for development from abroad sources; foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA). The developing countries can improve their business climate for more ODA. This paper examines whether ODA improve the business climate of developing countries. In this paper, the business climate are measured by the starting business scores and the scores of credit and protecting investor in Doing Business project of World Bank. According to the empirical result, ODA has significant effect on the starting business scores for low and lower middle income countries, but insignificant effect for upper middle countries. In the case of the scores of credit and protecting investor, ODA has significant effect only for lower middle income countries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1385-1389
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• 2015

The aim of this study was to investigate the sun protection use behaviour among university students from 25 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. Using anonymous questionnaires, data were collected from 18,687 undergraduate university students aged 18-30 years (mean age 20.8, SD=2.8) from 26 universities in 25 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Overall, 57.2% of university students reported liking to sunbathe and of those only 48.1% used sun protection when sunbathing. In multivariate logistic regression, younger age, being female, coming from a wealthy or quite well off economic family background, living in an upper middle or high income country, lighter skin tone, and other health behaviours were found to be associated with sun protection use behaviour. Low sun protection use calls for health promotion programmes to prevent unprotected sun exposure.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4221-4227
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• 2012

Cancer of the uterine cervix is a worldwide menace taking innumerable womens' lives. The literature is vast and a large number of studies have been conducted in this field. Analyses have shown significant differences exist in terms of screening and HPV testing facilities among high income and low to middle income countries. In addition, acute lack of awareness and knowledge among the concerned population is particularly noted in rural areas of the low income countries. A detailed review of Indian case studies revealed that early age of marriage and childbirth, multiparity, poor personal hygiene and low socio-economic status among others are the principal risk factors for this disease. This review concludes that a two pronged strategy involving strong government and NGO action is necessary to minimize the occurrence of cervical cancer especially in low and medium income countries.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.178-186
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• 2024

While in high-income countries the development of digital technology began in the 1970s, in low- and middle-income countries it began in the 1990s and even after 2005, due to the political regime that constrained economic development and innovation. At the same time, there are no studies of the relationship between technological development and structural changes through innovation in low- and middle-income countries. The article aims to quantify the relationship of the introduction of digital technologies on innovation, structural transformation of low- and middle-income economies. The industrial-agrarian economy of Uzbekistan with an authoritarian regime is in a state of transition to a market economy, while in Ukraine, there are active processes of Europeanization and integration into the EU. Ukraine's economy is commodity-based (the export of raw materials of industries and the agricultural sector in developed countries predominates) and industrial-agrarian. Digital technologies and the service sector are little developed in Uzbekistan. On the other hand, Ukraine has a more developed ICT sector. Uzbekistan is gradually undergoing an innovative and structural transformation of the economy: the productivity of the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors is growing, but the ICT sector is virtually undeveloped. In comparison, in Ukraine, there are no significant structural transformations due to a significant drop in productivity of the industrial sector, with stable growth of productivity of the agricultural sector due to technology and a slight increase in productivity of the service sector. It is revealed that Ukraine and Uzbekistan have undergone structural transformations of the economy in favor of the service sector, while the agricultural and industrial sectors produce less and less. If Uzbekistan remains the industrial-agrarian country with an aggregate share of the added value of these sectors 59% in 2019, Ukraine transits to the post-industrial type of economy where the added value of the service sector in GDP grows (55% compared to agrarian and industrial sectors at 42%).

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.51-67
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• 2017

This study analyzes the relationship between globalization and income inequality. The empirical model is developed based on Kuznets' hypothesis of the inverse U curve. The effects of factor abundancy and globalization which is characterized by trade and FDI on income inequality are analyzed. 127 member countries of WTO are classified into 4 groups according to GNI. The period of analysis is 21 years from 1995 to 2015. Results show that 3 groups of countries excluding one group that is high income countries supports Kuznets' hypothesis which is the inverse U curve. Secondly, expansion of trade decreases income inequality of middle income countries but increases high and low income countries. Thirdly, FDI increases income inequality of middle and low income countries. Finally, the increase in capital abundancy lowers income inequality because the capital accumulation increases the productivity of labor.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.71-83
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• 2020

Purpose: Because the energy consumption, economic growth and logistics development are still the heated topics which have attracted many scholars' interests. Therefore, this paper attempts to analyze the effect of logistics development on the economic growth, explore the effect of the economic growth on energy consumption and to discuss the effect of the logistics development on energy intensity. Research design, data and methodology: Using the panel data over the period 2000-2017 of 156 countries and employing the country & year fixed effect model, system generalized method moments and random effect model, the empirical analyses of this propositions are performed. Results: The empirical findings present that the logistics development is positively related to the economic growth. The energy consumption in the t-1 period and economic growth are positively related to the current energy consumption. The logistics development is negatively related to the energy intensity. Meanwhile, the empirical findings also indicate that there is a great difference about these effects among the four sub-samples (low income 18 countries, low middle income 49 countries, upper middle income 44 countries, high income 49 countries). Conclusions: Based on the evidences in this paper provided, we can find that these variables can affect each other.