世界银行-领土不等式_关于国家不连续性的注记（英）-2025.6_45页_3mb

Territorial Inequalities and State Discontinuity Summary

Abstract and Methodology

The paper introduces an index to measure state discontinuity, defined as the uneven presence and responsiveness of the state across its territory. It assesses effectiveness in key domains such as education, health, basic services (water and electricity), and security using data from IPUMS International and the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) covering 545 regions in 32 developing countries.

Key Findings

• Regional Disparities: Latin American countries exhibit challenges in security, while Sub-Saharan Africa shows persistent gaps in basic services like water and electricity.
• Country Comparison: Countries like Mali and Mozambique have high discontinuity, whereas those such as Costa Rica and Armenia display more uniform service provision.
• Services-Specific Issues: Urban areas generally perform better in education, health, and basic services, but rural and remote regions face significant deficits.

Correlates and Policy Implications

• Testing factors like geographic size, rurality, and institutional aspects revealed notable correlations, such as larger regions tending to have lower state density.
• The index underscores the need for targeted policies to address regional disparities, recommending localized interventions to improve equitable service delivery and strengthen governance.

Conclusion

The study provides a framework for understanding territorial inequalities and state functionality, highlighting the importance of sub-national data for designing inclusive policies and fostering sustainable development by reducing discontinuities in service provision.