Urbanization in Developing Countries

This book examines progress and challenges with regards to public health in developing countries. This volume will be of interest to researchers, health ministry policy makers, public health professionals and non-governmental organizations whose work entails collaborations with public health systems of developing nations and regions.

The world is currently experiencing changes in climate and environment that often lead to natural disasters. Nearly three million people worldwide may have been killed in the past 20 years by natural disasters. In total, 90% of the natural disasters and 95% of all disaster-related deaths occur in the developing countries. Recently such problems have accelerated due to LULC change, biodiversity degradation, increased tourism, urbanization and climate change.

During the last decade, the food and nutrition situation in developing countries has changed dramatically. For better or worse, urbanization and globalization have altered the diet and nutrition in both rural and urban areas.

This book constructs a measure of education inequality using time-series cross-national data and utilizes real-world examples based on author interviews. It provides insights into how classic trade theory might be applied more broadly to generate expectations not only about income distribution, but also about investment in human capital. The project explores the ways in which global trends toward urbanization and democratization might be expected to impact education inequality. The author addresses contemporary issues in politics, such as growing income inequality, the backlash against globalization and free trade, and concerns that democratic institutions are elite-dominated and unresponsive to the needs of common citizens.