ABSTRACT
During the last quarter century, economic trends were favorably affected by fi ve major changes: the end of the Cold War, the collapse of communism and spread of democratic institutions, the introduction of market reforms in dirigiste economies, a sharp deceleration in birth rates and a parallel growth of the labor force, the spread of information and communications technologies (ICT), and the biomedical revolution. The last quarter century also witnessed the spread of an economic paradigm that emphasizes domestic liberalization, privatization, and trade and fi nancial liberalization. Its proponents claim that these measures reduce rent-seeking, increase competition, improve export opportunities, and promote the convergence of the income per capita and health status of poor countries towards those of the advanced ones (Dollar, 2001). However, such claims have seldom been validated, and economic and health performance in countries following such an approach has often been disappointing (see Chapter 9, this volume).
