Kelly F. Austin

Coffee exports as ecological, social, and physical unequal exchange: A cross-national investigation of the java trade

This study employs an unequal exchange perspective to assess if dependency on coffee exports in less-developed nations significantly impacts rates of deforestation, secondary schooling, and malnutrition, capturing specific dimensions of environmental, social, and physical well-being. OLS regression analyses reveal that dependency on coffee exports is positively associated with deforestation, malnutrition, and low participation in secondary level education in coffee-producing nations, net of other relevant factors. The findings thus demonstrate that specialization in coffee cultivation is likely to produce limited developmental benefits in poor nations.

Disease, War, Hunger, and Deprivation: A Cross-National Investigation of the Determinants of Life Expectancy in Less-Developed and Sub-Saharan African Nations

Researchers note a recent trend of increasing inequality in cross-national life expectancy rates, largely due to conditions in the poorest of nations. Threats to life expectancy in less-developed nations include poverty, warfare, intense hunger, and disease, particularly AIDS/HIV. This article utilizes structural equation models for a sample of less-developed nations and a subsample of Sub-Saharan African nations to test interrelationships among predictors. Findings indicate modernization to be the most robust predictor of life expectancy across less-developed nations and HIV to be the strongest determinant of life expectancy in Sub-Saharan African nations. Somewhat surprisingly, warfare and hunger do not have direct impacts on life expectancy among less-developed nations; however, important linkages among warfare, hunger, and disease are evidenced in the Sub-Saharan African sample, along with a notable positive influence of modernization on HIV rates. The findings demonstrate the significance of HIV on cross-national life expectancy scores and illuminate unique dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Gendered vulnerabilities to a neglected disease: A comparative investigation of the effect of women’s legal economic rights and social status on malaria rates

Although seldom noted in scholarly accounts, malaria represents a leading cause of death and underdevelopment in poor nations. Enormous cross-national variation in malaria rates across its endemic zones suggests the importance of large-scale factors in explaining comparative disease trends. While the biological vulnerability of women and children to malaria is often acknowledged, the literature has yet to investigate how gender inequalities contribute to patterns of malaria prevalence. Utilizing structural equation modeling on a sample of 90 less-developed nations and engaging insights from gender stratification perspectives, we consider the influence of both legal economic status and social dimensions of women’s status on malaria rates. We find that women’s legal economic status has an indirect relationship on malaria rates by enhancing women’s social standing and strengthening general health provisions. The results suggest that addressing issues of gender inequality in poor nations is central to tackling this persistent pandemic.

Dependency, Urban Slums, and the Forgotten Plagues: Tuberculosis and Malaria Prevalence in Less Developed Nations

Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria remain leading causes of death in certain areas of the world system and directly contribute to persistent patterns in global inequality. I employ structural equation modeling for a sample of 135 nations to appropriately test for indirect and complex relationships among economic, social, and environmental indicators. The results demonstrate that economic dependency and environmental decline lead to increased urban slum populations in less developed nations, and that nations with larger urban slum populations have higher rates of TB and malaria. Important interrelationships also are evidenced among additional predictors, such as socio-health characteristics, economic development, and location in Sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, this research demonstrates that current epidemiological patterns in TB and malaria prevalence have important sociological underpinnings. Public policy should be directed toward addressing the social causes of these diseases, including improved access to schooling, health care, and other basic resources, especially in urban areas characterized by slum conditions.

Agricultural Trade Dependency and the Threat of Starvation: A Cross-National Analysis of Hunger as Unequal Exchange

Hunger represents a persistent problem in less developed countries (LDCs). Comparative sociological research debates the role of exports in influencing hunger, as export specialization can be a means to development as well as dependency. We consider the severity of hunger as an outcome of unequal exchange relationships, utilizing a measure of agricultural export flows. The results reveal that agricultural export flows to high-income countries elevate the severity of hunger in LDCs, net of other important modernization, food production, and military factors. Thus, the concept of unequal exchange is relevant in explaining cross-national patterns in hunger, and suggests that inequalities in food distribution are paramount in contributing to threatening levels of hunger in LDCs.

Trading sex for security: Unemployment and the unequal HIV burden among young women in developing nations

Young women in their late teens and early twenties are especially susceptible to HIV infection in developing nations, as incidence of HIV is growing most rapidly among females aged 15–24 years. While prior research considers the role of various social and economic gender stratification measures to explain trends in the female HIV burden, the potential influence of unemployment has not yet been considered, nor has there been explicit focus on the empirical drivers of young women’s HIV. This article considers the role of unemployment in predicting the female HIV burden among 15- to 24-year-olds using regression analyses. The results demonstrate that unemployment among young women significantly impacts the proportion of female HIV cases among those aged 15–24. However, labor force participation also does not guarantee against HIV transmission. These results support ideas related to the increased likelihood of concurrent partners, transactional sex, and ‘sugar daddies’ among young women who are unemployed, having a lack of means to meet their resource needs otherwise. The patterns revealed demonstrate the importance of economic insecurity through unemployment in contributing to the HIV burden among young women in developing nations.