Basic needs gap in developing economies : measurements and determinants

Abstract

In the study, basic needs gap indexes (BNGIs) are computed and then used to measure the performances of twenty-one selected developing countries: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Columbia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand for the period from 1990 to 2002. Then the BNGIs are used to find the significant determinants that influence them from nineteen selected variables: per capita GNP, per capita GNP growth, debt servicing, proportion of Muslim population, net general government expenditure, trade, share of income of the poorest 20%, combined expenditure on education and health, proportion of urban population, ratio of income of the richest 20% to the poorest 20%, household consumption, military expenditure, population growth, rate of inflation, population below the poverty level, food consumption, expenditure on clothing and footwear, total adult illiteracy and land under crops. Three types of tests are applied: comparing BNGI group averages, a country-wise analysis and finally the multivariate regression tests on ten variables namely, growth, debt servicing, trade, military expenditure, share of income of the poorest 20%, ratio of income of the richest 20% to the poorest 20%, inflation, adult illiteracy, population growth and land under crops. The problem of basic needs fulfilment existed in all countries across the board, countries with stronger economies recording the highest levels of BNGI. Strong relationships were recorded in most of the variables except for per capita GNP, growth, education and health, clothing and footwear, Muslim population and trade. However, at very low levels of growth or when the growth was negative, positive relationships with the BNGI were observed. On education and health, and trade they were always identified with high income countries where even the poor in those countries were excluded from their enjoyment. Strangely, debt servicing, military expenditure, population under the poverty level, land under crops and population density behaved different from what was expected of them