Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: Current research on modern economic growth patterns and improvements in quality of life in states indicates that while such improvements in well-being are not always solely the result of increasing economic growth, as modernization theory would postulate, findings in cross-sectional and time-series studies show that modern economic growth has improved quality of life (Easterlin and Angelescu, 2007). These findings of international comparisons of quality of life seem to build on previous research in the area of political economy of quality of life that indicated that economic strength is the most important factor influencing changes in quality of life in developing states (Moon, 1991; Highum, 2006).

Results from my pooled, cross-sectional time-series model on 57 developing states over a twelve-year timeframe indicated government expenditures on the military, on education and on health all have positive and significant effects on quality of life, while government expenditures on government itself (state size) have detrimental effects (Highum, 2006). I concluded that expenditures by the government that are connected to some part of the economy other than the state go to enhance the quality of life in that state.

This paper, therefore, proposes to narrow the focus of the research and more fully explore the relationship between economic growth, government expenditures and changes in quality of life in developing states, as well as test my measure of quality of life versus the Human Development Index measure used by the United Nations, in order to assist international financial institutions and government policymakers seeking to positively influence quality of life in the 21st century in developing and transitioning states.