Despite the scale, reach, and global impact of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), its study has remained largely at the purview of various micro-level analyses (e.g., Gutmann 2007; Levi and Vitória 2002). However, differences in prevalence rates at the national level suggest that other forces might be at work. Following the work of McIntosh and Thomas (2004), the only cross-national study of HIV/AIDS published to our knowledge, we conduct a cross-national analysis that examines world polity ideas that higher levels of health and women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be associated with lower levels of HIV prevalence. Initially, we find no support for these hypotheses. However, we respecify our models to test a political opportunity structure hypothesis that democracy enhances the ability of health and women’s NGOs to deal with HIV. We test this line of reasoning by including an interaction term between democracy and the health and women’s NGO variables. In doing so, we find that health and women’s NGOs are associated with lower levels of HIV prevalence in democratic rather than repressive nations.

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The article presents a cross-national analysis that tests hypotheses drawn from dependency theory that poor nations undergoing World Bank investment and structural adjustment loans tend to have higher rates of deforestation than poor nations not undergoing these types of loans. In doing so, the article analyzes cross-national data for a sample of 61 nations from 1990 to 2005. The study finds substantial support for the dependency theory hypothesis. It also finds that a number of other factors help to explain deforestation. These include non-governmental organizations, democracy, agricultural and forestry-based economic activity, population growth, data quality and tropical climate. The article concludes with a discussion of the findings, methodological implications, policy suggestions and possible directions for future research.