Current issue

No. 3 / 2026 — Autumn

Peer-reviewed articles in economics, finance, public policy, and sustainable development.

0 Articles
Open access

Theoretical and Applied Economics
No. 1 / 2026 (646), Spring

Human development inequality within and between selected SAARC countries using Mean Log Deviation MLD

Andaish QIAMUDDIN
Baghlan University, Afghanistan
Dumitru Alexandru BODISLAV
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
Vansiya N. YOGESH
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, India

Abstract. This paper examines the inequality of the Human Development Index (HDI) and its components in selected SAARC countries from 2000 to 2020 using the Mean Log Deviation method. Findings show that all countries except Pakistan saw a decline in HDI inequality, with Nepal having the most significant reduction, while Pakistan's inequality increased by 17%. Health index inequality declined across all countries. In terms of education index inequality, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Afghanistan improved, but the Maldives and Pakistan saw increases. For income index inequality, all except Afghanistan reported declines, with the Maldives showing the most substantial decrease. The analysis revealed that between-country inequality exceeds the typical 100% threshold, largely due to India's large population. Excluding India, between-country inequality remains greater than within-country inequality across health, education, and income indices.

Keywords: Human Development, Inequality, SAARC, Mean Log Deviation.

Contents

1

From paradox to opportunity: designing a hybrid REIT Model for Romania's emerging capital market

Denis-Andrei MANOLE

2

Human development inequality within and between selected SAARC countries using Mean Log Deviation MLD

Andaish QIAMUDDIN · Dumitru Alexandru BODISLAV · Vansiya N. YOGESH

3

The influence of renewable energy consumption and trade openness on carbon emissions in South Africa: an augmented autoregressive distributed lag method application

Mohamadou OUMAROU · IBRAHIM · Apsatou ABBO · Mohamadou SANI · Mohammadou NOUROU · Najwa AKERMI

4

The hidden side of VAT: modeling compliance and inferring collection shortfalls in Romania

Mihai-Daniel GAVRILA

5

The dynamic nexus between oil price fluctuations, exchange rate volatility, and economic growth: empirical evidence from Algeria

Anissa BENRAMDANE · Mohamed Rachid BOUMEDIENE

6

Does unemployment influence out-of-pocket health expenditures in sub-Saharan Africa countries? Evidence from the defactored instrumental variables method

Jacques BOUNDIOA · Youssouf TRAORÉ

7

From transposition to distortion: how OECD corporate governance principles were misapplied in Romanian state-owned enterprise legislation

Ionuț-Valeriu ANDREI

8

Information transmission in the foreign exchange market: evidence from India

Karthika P DEVAN · Pallavi INGALE · Johney JOHNSON

9

The evolution of green energy utilization in Romania

Diana Elena ZIDARU

10

On the equivalence and nonequivalence of import subsidies and export subsidies

Wataru JOHDO

11

AI-simulated reciprocity and the narrowing of decision options within human attachment psychological architecture

Raluca Iuliana GEORGESCU · Dumitru Alexandru BODISLAV

12

Shockwaves abroad and the vulnerability of monetary policy: Morocco’s Central Bank response to geopolitical shocks and commodity price volatility

Youssef IBNOUZAHIR · Ahmed HEFNAOUI

13

Impact of growth and tax on pollution in the presence of corruption

Sarmistha BANERJEE · Bidisha CHAKRABORTY

14

Heterogeneous effect of financial inclusion on economic complexity in developing countries

Fousséni RAMDE · Ibrahim OUEDRAOGO · Porto BAZIE

15

Human ethics vs. algorithmic ethics: the limits of automating moral decision-making

Anamaria-Cristina ILIE

16

Migrants remittances and economic growth in Morocco: A VAR model analysis

Anas MOSSADAK

17

Determinants of inflation in Romania: A VAR approach

Ionela Oana Cristiana RADU

18

Effect of information and communication technologies on life expectancy and under-five mortality in WAEMU countries

Hamidou OUEDRAOGO · Pousbila DIANDA

19

Application of PHH and PHE model to Investigative FDI inflows effects on CO2 emissions in developing countries (OECD & BRICS)

Babu Rao GONA

20

Internal vs external migration: comparative patterns within the EU

Ana ALEXANDRESCU