Neo-Liberal Trade and Investment Policies, the ITGA and Youth Smoking Rates: A Cross-National Analysis of Developing Nations

Abstract

Past evidence suggests that economic globalization and the spread of neo-liberal policies are leading to higher adult smoking rates in the developing world, but currently there are no cross-national analyses examining the impact of economic globalization and neo-liberal policies on youth smoking rates in the developing world. This study seeks to fill the gap in the literature regarding youth smoking and neo-liberal policies by conducting the first cross-national panel analysis of youth smoking rates in the developing world. Using data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), the World Bank, Freedom House, and United Nations for over 90 nations, this study expands the use of dependency theory to test for the negative externalities of neo-liberal trade and investment policies on health. Specifically, this study examines the relationship between increasing international trade, multinational corporate penetration, and membership in the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) on youth smoking rates in developing nations using first difference scores. The results show support for the hypothesis that increasing international trade dependency and membership in the ITGA are correlated with increasing youth smoking rates in the developing world.

Notes

¹I also conducted semi-difference and lagged dependent variable models and the results are somewhat similar to those presented here, but since these models suffer from issues concerning the correlation of error terms the validity of the models is in question. This study is meant to examine change over time not just static level variables. Results of the semi-difference and lagged dependent variables are available by request. Additionally, I conducted a sensitivity analysis with the years of each survey from each nation as dummy variables and the results are very similar to the ones presented in Table 1 and these results are available upon request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gary Maynard

Dr. Gary Maynard received his PhD from Stony Brook University in New York in 2013. He also received two MA degrees from Stony Brook—one in Sociology and another in Theatre History. His PhD dissertation was titled Global Youth Smoking, Neo-liberal Trade Policies and World Polity – A Lagged Panel Analysis of Youth Smoking in the Developing World. His research and teaching interests include quantitative research methods, sociology of health, social development, globalization, international sociology, mass media, gender studies, and the sociology of religion.