Research questions in HPSR vary by the level of analysis (macro, meso, and micro) and intent of the question (normative/evaluative or exploratory/explanatory). * Current heightened attention on HPSR ...contains significant opportunities, but also threats in the form of certain focus areas and questions being privileged over others; "disciplinary capture" of the field by the dominant health research traditions; and premature and inappropriately narrow definitions. * We call for greater attention to fundamental, exploratory, and explanatory types of HPSR; to the significance of the field for societal and national development, necessitating HPSR capacity building in low- and middle-income countries; and for greater literacy and application of a wide spectrum of methodologies. ...in the broader schema of health research, research questions pertaining to health policy and systems have tended to occupy the position of being secondary or subsequent to the primary scientific-technical question.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•We consider the interdependence between ICT infrastructure, financial inclusion, and economic growth.•We use data from 20 Indian states from 1991 to 2018.•We have found endogenous relationships ...between the variables and have determined the direction of causal links.•We suggest policies to elevate economic development to the same level as ICT infrastructure development and financial inclusion.
The roles played by the financial sector and of information and communication technology (ICT) in economic growth are well established in the literature. With increasing development and the convergence between the financial and ICT platforms, digital financial systems emerged which have opened new opportunities to close the wealth gaps between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the developing world. In this paper, we examine the short-run and long-run dynamics between economic growth, financial inclusion initiatives, and ICT infrastructure development in 20 Indian states over the period from 1991 to 2018. Using the Granger-causality technique, we show evidence of strong temporal causality between these variables in the short and long term. Our empirical results demonstrate that careful co-curation of ICT infrastructure development, financial inclusion initiatives, and economic growth strategies is essential for these Indian states to achieve sustainable economic development.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Economic growth in the Eurozone has been lacklustre over the last two decades due to increased global competition from economic players in other regions, economic and financial crisis, and political ...uncertainties within the zone. To increase the global competitiveness of the region, the European Union launched the Europe 2020 Strategy to raise the level of entrepreneurship and innovation, which are purported to be key drivers of economic growth. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate whether this assertion is true. Thus, the paper investigates the Granger causal relationships among entrepreneurship development, innovation, and economic growth for a sample of the Eurozone countries for the period 2001–2016. Using a vector error-correction model, the study finds that in the long run, both entrepreneurship and innovation stimulate economic growth. In the short run, strong causal links exist but are not always uniform. The results reveal that Eurozone countries should indeed base their growth strategies on policies that promote innovation and policies that create incentives for entrepreneurship.
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Over the past 30 years, the economies in Europe have undergone major transformations that have been powered by diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT), intensification of ...innovation, and reforms in the financial sector to support innovative endeavors. The primary objective of this study was to examine the causal relationships among ICT diffusion, innovation diffusion, venture capital investment, and economic growth for 25 countries in Europe for the period from 1989 to 2016. Using a vector error‐correction model, the study examines the underlying short‐run and long‐run relationships for the above variables. The empirical analysis shows that in the long run, venture capital investment, ICT diffusion, and innovation diffusion have significant impacts on economic growth in Europe. However, in the short run, the direction of the causality varies depending on the specific measures of ICT diffusion and innovation diffusion that are utilized. Results from this study provide valuable insights into the types of policies that will contribute to sustainable economic growth in Europe.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Rigorous investigation involves the following 19-21: * an active process of questioning and checking in inquiry--asking how and why things happened and not only what happened, checking answers to ...questions to identify further issues that need to be followed up to deepen understanding of the experience; * a constant process of conceptualising and reconceptualising--using ideas and theory to develop an initial understanding of the problem or situation of focus to guide data collection, but using the data collected to challenge those ideas and assumptions and when necessary, to revise your ideas in response to the evidence; * crafted, interpretative judgements--based on enough evidence, particularly about context, to justify the conclusions drawn, as well as deliberate consideration of contradictory evidence (negative case analysis) and review of initial interpretations by respondents (member checking); * researcher reflexivity--being explicit about how your own assumptions may influence your interpretation, and testing them in analysis. ...although currently rarely conducted in HPSR, mixed-method research in which qualitative and quantitative analyses are undertaken sequentially, with one stage of work deliberately feeding into the next 22, offer important opportunities for the triangulation across methods and knowledge paradigms that can broaden and deepen investigation of health policy and systems issues 23.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Pathways to high and low performance Mabuchi, Shunsuke; Sesan, Temilade; Bennett, Sara C
Health policy and planning,
01/2018, Volume:
33, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The determinants of primary health facility performance in developing countries have not been well studied. One of the most under-researched areas is health facility management. This study ...investigated health facilities under the pilot performance-based financing (PBF) scheme in Nigeria, and aimed to understand which factors differentiated primary health care centres (PHCCs) which had performed well, vs those which had not, with a focus on health facility management practices. We used a multiple case study where we compared two high-performing PHCCs and two lowperforming PHCCs for each of the two PBF target states. Two teams of two trained local researchers spent 1 week at each PHCC and collected semi-structured interview, observation and documentary data. Data from interviews were transcribed, translated and coded using a framework approach. The data for each PHCC were synthesized to understand dynamic interactions of different elements in each case. We then compared the characteristics of high and low performers. The areas in which critical differences between high and low-performers emerged were: community engagement and support; and performance and staff management. We also found that (i) contextual and health system factors particularly staffing, access and competition with other providers; (ii) health centre management including community engagement, performance management and staff management; and (iii) community leader support interacted and drove performance improvement among the PHCCs. Among them, we found that good health centre management can overcome some contextual and health system barriers and enhance community leader support. This study findings suggest a strong need to select capable and motivated health centre managers, provide long-term coaching in managerial skills, and motivate them to improve their practices. The study also highlights the need to position engagement with community leaders as a key management practice and a central element of interventions to improve PHCC performance.
发展中国家初级保健机构绩效的决定因素尚未得到充分研 究。最缺乏研究的领域之一是卫生机构管理。本研究调查尼 日利亚按绩效筹资 （PBF） 试点项目中的卫生机构, 旨在了解 哪些因素区分绩效好的初级保健中心 （PHCCs） 和绩效较差 的中心, 重点关注卫生机构管理。我们采用多个案研究, 在两 个PBF目标州中的每个州比较两个高绩效PHCC和两个低绩效 PHCC。两组经培训的当地研究人员, 每组两人, 在每个PHCC 各用一周时间收集半结构式访谈、观察和文献资料。转录、 翻译并采用框架法编码访谈数据。整合各个PHCC的数据来理 解不同部分之间的动态互动。我们随后比较了高绩效中心和 低绩效中心的特征。高绩效和低绩效中心存在关键差异的部 分是：社区参与和支持；绩效和员工管理。我们还发现 （1） 环境和卫生体系因素, 尤其是人员配置、可及性和与其他卫生 服务提供者的竞争； （2） 卫生中心管理, 包括社区参与、绩 效管理和员工管理；以及 （3） 社区领导支持这三方面因素与 PHCC 绩效相互作用并促进PHCC 绩效改善。在上述三方面 因素中, 良好的卫生中心管理可克服环境和卫生体系的障碍, 加大社区领导的支持。本研究发现提示, 需要选择有能力、有 动力的卫生中心管理者, 提供长期管理技能指导, 并激励他们 改善管理工作。本研究还强调, 需要将与社区领导接触作为关 键的管理工作和改善PHCC绩效的核心要素。
Los determinantes del desempeño de las instalaciones de salud primaria en los países en desarrollo no han sido bien estudiados. Una de las áreas menos investigadas es la administración de las instalaciones de salud. Este estudio investigó las instalaciones de salud bajo el esquema piloto de financiación basado en el desempeño (FBD) en Nigeria, y tuvo como objetivo comprender quéfactores diferenciaban a los centros de atención primaria de salud (CAPSs) que habían tenido un buen desempeño, frente a los que no, con un enfoque en las prácticas de manejo de la instalación de salud. Usamos un estudio de casos múltiples donde comparamos dos CAPSs de alto rendimiento y dos CAPSs de bajo rendimiento para cada uno de los dos estados objetivo de la FBD. Dos equipos de dos investigadores locales capacitados pasaron 1 semana en cada CAPS y recogieron datos de entrevistas semiestructuradas, observación y documentos. Los datos de las entrevistas se transcribieron, tradujeron y codificaron usando un enfoque de marco. Los datos para cada CAPS se sintetizaron para comprender las interacciones dinámicas de diferentes elementos en cada caso. Comparamos entonces las características de los centros de alto y bajo rendimiento. Las áreas en las cuales surgieron diferencias críticas entre los centros de alto y bajo rendimiento fueron: participación y apoyo de la comunidad; y desempeño y administración del personal. También encontramos que (i) los factores contextuales y del sistema de salud particularmente el personal, el acceso y la competencia con otros actores; (ii) el manejo del centro incluyendo la participación de la comunidad, el manejo del desempeño y la gestión del personal; y (iii) el apoyo de los líderes comunitarios, interactuaron e impulsaron la mejora del desempeño entre los CAPSs. Entre ellos, encontramos que la buena gestión de los centros de salud puede superar algunas barreras contextuales y del sistema de salud y mejorar el apoyo de los líderes comunitarios. Los hallazgos de este estudio sugieren una fuerte necesidad de seleccionar gerentes de centros de salud capaces y motivados, de proporcionar entrenamiento a largo plazo en habilidades gerenciales y de motivarlos a mejorar sus prácticas. El estudio también destaca la necesidad de posicionar el compromiso con los líderes de la comunidad como una práctica de gestión clave y un elemento central de las intervenciones para mejorar el desempeño de los CAPSs.
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The energy and financial sectors have undergone rapid transformations over the last five decades and these changes have had a major impact on economic growth rates across the globe. In this paper, ...using a panel vector error-correction model, we study the interactions between energy consumption patterns, financial sector development, and economic growth in 35 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) countries over 1961–2015. We focus on the direction of Granger causality between the variables. Our empirical results show that both energy consumption patterns and financial sector development are significant long-term drivers of economic growth in the FATF countries. Thus, the sophistication of the financial sector and resources to develop the energy sector will contribute to enhancing the economic prosperity of the FATF countries in the long run.
Display omitted Note 1: FIN is financial sector development; PEG is per capita economic growth, and ENG is energy consumption.Note 2: FIN is used for BAS, STM, or BOM.Note 3: BAS is banking sector development, STM is stock market development, and BOM is bond market development. Each of these types of development is in turn defined in five ways (see the text).Note 4: ENG is used for ENG1, ENG2, ENG3, ENG4, ENG5, ENG6, ENG7, ENG8, and ENG9.Note 5: ENG1 is coal energy consumption, ENG2 oil energy consumption, ENG3 is gas energy consumption, ENG4 electricity energy consumption, ENG5 total non-renewal energy consumption, ENG6 is biomass energy consumption, ENG7 is non-biomass energy consumption, ENG8 is total renewable energy consumption, and ENG9 is total energy consumption.Note 6: The null hypotheses for the relationships between the three variables are:H1A0: Financial sector development does not Granger-cause economic growth.H1B0: Economic growth does not Granger-cause financial sector development.H2A0: Energy consumption does not Granger-cause economic growth.H2B0: Economic growth does not Granger-cause energy consumption.H3A0: Financial sector development does not Granger-cause energy consumption.H3B0: Energy consumption does not Granger-cause financial sector development.
•We examine links among energy consumption, financial development and economic growth.•We study a panel of 35 FATF countries over 1961–2015.•Results are derived using a panel vector error-correction model.•Energy consumption and financial development are drivers of growth in the long run.•Short run causality results are mostly non-uniform.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
There has been a significant transformation in the diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT), development of the venture capital industry, and economic growth in European countries ...over the past three decades. Using vector error-correction modelling, we examine the possible interrelations between venture capital investment, ICT infrastructure, and economic growth, based on annual data from 25 European countries between 1989 and 2016. Specifically, we examine the direction of Granger causality between these variables. We find that the variables are cointegrated. Our empirical results also illustrate that both economic growth and the development of ICT infrastructure impact all stages of venture capital investment (early, late, and overall VC investment) in the long run. The study also shows that economic growth and late-stage venture capital investment impact internet usage; and internet usage and late-stage venture capital impact economic growth in the long run. The results also reveal strong inter-linkages between the variables in the short run. Overall, empirical results suggest that policy-makers should give special attention to an integrated policy approach for the co-development of the ICT infrastructure, venture capital, and economic growth in Europe.
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•We assess the causal relationship between venture capital investment, ICT infrastructure, and economic growth.•The empirical investigation follows 25 European countries between 1989 and 2016.•We use a panel vector autoregressive model for detecting the direction of causality between the variables.•The study reveals the existence of both unidirectional and bidirectional causality between the variables.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The availability of medical specialists has accelerated in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), driven by factors including epidemiological and demographic shifts, doctors’ preferences for ...postgraduate training, income growth and medical tourism. Yet, despite some policy efforts to increase access to specialists in rural health facilities and improve referral systems, many policy questions are still underaddressed or unaddressed in LMIC health sectors, including in the context of universal health coverage. Engaging with issues of specialisation may appear to be of secondary importance, compared with arguably more pressing concerns regarding primary care and the social determinants of health. However, we believe this to be a false choice. Policy at the intersection of essential health services and medical specialties is central to issues of access and equity, and failure to formulate policy in this regard may have adverse ramifications for the entire system. In this article, we describe three critical policy questions on medical specialties and health systems with the aim of provoking further analysis, discussion and policy formulation: (1) What types, and how many specialists to train? (2) How to link specialists’ production and deployment to health systems strengthening and population health? (3) How to develop and strengthen institutions to steer specialisation policy? We posit that further analysis, discussion and policy formulation addressing these questions presents an important opportunity to explicitly determine and strengthen the linkages between specialists, health systems and health equity.
This study investigates the Granger causal relationships between innovation, economic growth, information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, government consumption expenditure, gross ...capital formation, foreign direct investment, and trade openness. Using panel data from 32 high-income OECD countries from 1970 to 2016 and panel cointegration techniques, results show that these variables are cointegrated. The Granger causality tests further confirm that, taking other variables into account, there is bi-directional causality between innovation and economic growth in the long run. Moreover, both economic growth and innovation are generally impacted in the long run by the other variables that we consider. The short-run causality results reveal a diverse pattern of short-run adjustment dynamics among the variables including the possibility of feedback among some of them. Important policy implications for sustainable economic growth and higher innovation suggest elevating government consumption expenditure, increasing capital formation, further opening of countries' economies to trade, as well as improving ICT infrastructure.
Note 1: PAR is the number of patents - residents; PAN is the number of patents - non-residents; PAT is the total number of patents - both residents and non-residents, RDE is the research and development expenditure; RRD is researchers in research and development activities; PEG is the per capita economic growth; ICT is information communication technology, and MED denotes other macroeconomic variables. The variables are defined more precisely in Table 1.
Note 2: MED is comprised of four variables: government consumption expenditure, gross capital formation, foreign direct investment, and trade openness. The variables are defined more precisely in Table 1.
Note 3:H1A, B: Patent - residents Granger cause economic growth and vice versa.H2A, B: Patent - residents Granger cause macroeconomic variables & ICT infrastructure and vice versa.H3A, B: Patent - non-residents Granger cause economic growth and vice versa.H4A, B: Patent - non-residents Granger cause macroeconomic variables & ICT infrastructure and vice versa.H5A, B: Total patents Granger cause economic growth and vice versa.H6A, B: Total patents Granger cause macroeconomic variables & ICT infrastructure and vice versa.H7A, B: Research and development expenditure Granger causes economic growth and vice versa.H8A,B: Research and development expenditure Granger causes macroeconomic variables & ICT infrastructure and vice versa.H9A, B: Researchers in research and development activities Granger cause economic growth and vice versa.H10A, B: Researchers in research and development activities Granger cause macroeconomic variables & ICT infrastructure and vice versa.H11A, B: Macroeconomic variables & ICT infrastructure Granger cause economic growth and vice versa. Display omitted
•We use a number of proxy variables to measure innovation.•We examine the nexus between innovation, growth, and other variables.•We utilize data from 32 high-income OECD countries between 1970 and 2016.•There is evidence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables.•We also uncover a number of causal relationships among the variables.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
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