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Does the growth in non-agricultural sectors spill over to the agricultural sector of an economy? There is limited evidence available on the issue for the developing world, especially for Pakistan which has undergone large structural changes since its independence. This study examined the impact of sectoral growth linkages on agricultural output of Pakistan for the period of 1960-2016. We have estimated an econometric model which incorporates inter-sectoral linkages of Pakistan economy using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). Our analysis revealed that the economy of Pakistan has shifted from an agricultural dominant economy to services-based economy during the past six decades. Results of VECM show that the industrial sector has a negative impact on the performance of agricultural output whereas services sector is influencing the output of agriculture sector positively in the long run. Short run results show that industrial sector is affecting the performance of agricultural output positively whereas services sector is influencing the output of agriculture sector negatively. Negative impacts of industry in the long run and services in the short run imply that agricultural sector should be given its due share in public investment and the role of middle man should be minimised at the time of sale of agricultural production in the markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines economic development in Japan during the 19th century using the growth linkages/virtuous circle model. Identification of the interaction between agriculture and industry in Japan using the growth linkages model; Details on agricultural and nonagricultural growth in the 19th-century Japanese countryside; Discussion on rural growth linkages in Japan.

The paper examines whether a long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth exists employing panel integration and cointegration techniques for a dynamic heterogeneous panel of 15 OECD and 50 non-OECD countries over the period 1975–2000. Three different measures of financial deepening are used to capture the variety of different channels through which financial development can affect growth. Our findings support the existence of a single long-run equilibrium relation between financial deepening, economic growth and a set of control variables. Further, the evidence points to a bi-directional causality between financial deepening and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addresses how increased rural incomes in select African cases are spent on consumption items. Implications for stimulating rural growth; Areas of intervention necessary to sustain demand-led growth; Improved agricultural technology and economic reforms.

The literature on JIT production suggests a causal link between work-in-process inventory and manufacturing productivity. Such a connection has been described in numerous case studies but never tested statistically. This paper uses historical data for 52 Japanese automotive companies to evaluate the inventory-productivity relationship. We find that firms increased their productivity rank during periods of substantial inventory reduction. More detailed tests suggest that inventory reductions stimulated gains in productivity: On average, each 10% reduction in inventory led to about a 1% gain in labor productivity, with a lag of about one year. Such effects were more immediate for Toyota affiliates, but undetectable for close suppliers of Nissan. These findings imply that inventory reduction served as an important driver of process improvement for many Japanese automotive companies, although some firms emphasized other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that the relevance of the growth linkage model for social equity is limited, particularly in those regions that do not generate a substantial agricultural surplus. The case study focuses on the Hambantota District of Sri Lanka where the Green Revolution has had very little effect. Agrarian production relations; Social stratification and consumption linkages; Patterns of rural consumption in southern Sri Lanka.

Existing study argues that labour market flexibility accompanied by trade liberalisation helped in building complementary relationship between formal and informal sectors in India. However, no direct relation is established between the labour market flexibility and trade liberalisation with respect to inter- and intra-sectoral movement of labour. The present study enquires whether the extent of labour mobility between and within formal–informal sectors affects the formal–informal growth linkages due to the tariff cut on traded goods, as a part of trade liberalisation in India. The findings based on static CGE analysis indicate that in absence of labour market segmentation (i.e. in absence of both wage rigidity and skill specificity) with full mobility of labour, formal sector growth is higher vis-à-vis the growth of those activities under segmented labour market with full mobility of labour. Amongst growing informal sector activities, output growth is lower in absence of segmented labour market with full mobility of labour. Finally, restricted labour mobility leads to largest expansion of formal activities, but further exacerbates the growth of informal activities. The study reveals that improvement in functional income distribution is mixed across households, depending on the degree of labour mobility, which implies labour market adjustment is costly due to structural reforms, that pitches for government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unbalanced development and growth among regions may cause the spread-backwash effects from developed-rich areas to the poor that commonly occur in the central city to its suburbs in the regional development context. Our study estimates the long-term effects of a small city, Yogyakarta, as a special region in Indonesia towards its periphery areas. The time-series econometric method is used based on Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and population data among five regions over the last thirty years instead of the cross section model. An alternative spatial combination among regions evaluated the regional development process. Development of the central city confidently has a long-run cointegration relationship with its suburbs. This study has indicated that Yogyakarta has spread-backwash effects towards its outskirt areas, either medium or low-level suburbs. Furthermore, a central city is no longer considered a single determinant in influencing the economy of other regions. The development of Sleman tends to be a new centre and shows that it produces a spillover effect to other areas; thus, it can be a potential trigger to improve linkages and economic performance of greater Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta City and parts of Sleman and Bantul areas are directly adjacent to the Yogyakarta City formed Yogyakarta urbanised area (YUA) as an urban agglomeration in Yogyakarta. The emergence of the YUA in greater Yogyakarta urgently promotes a sustainable collaboration and spatial interaction across territorial administration to manage economic and environmental interest conflict towards sustainable development among municipalities/cities level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An estimated two billion people do not have sufficient access to nutritious food, and nearly half are dependent on small‐scale and subsistence farming. Projections show that the global population is not on track to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. With this in mind, development actors are increasingly seeking to better integrate rural farmers into agricultural markets. This synthesis of the literature can help to inform policy decisions to improve outcomes for smallholder farmers in low‐ and middle‐income countries, and to enable the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. This work is the most comprehensive and up‐to‐date review synthesizing evidence from 262 interventions. Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review is to appraise and synthesize evidence of the effects of five types of interventions facilitating farmers' access to output markets in low‐ and middle‐income countries. We examine how these effects vary across contexts and subgroups. We also identify evidence on program costs and evidence gaps in the literature. Search Methods: The search of included studies was based on nine major databases/search engines and 25 institutional websites, using a set of English search terms. We also conducted forward and backward citation tracking of literature, published a public call for papers, and contacted key experts. Selection Criteria: We included studies on the effects of five types of output market access interventions, focusing on participants residing in low‐ and middle‐income countries: (1) Farm‐to‐market transport infrastructure interventions; (2) Access to output market information interventions; (3) New marketplaces or alternative marketing opportunities interventions; (4) Contract farming interventions; (5) Improved storage infrastructure and technologies interventions. We included published and unpublished studies from 2000 onwards, with experimental and quasi‐experimental study designs focusing on relevant outcomes. Data Collection and Analysis: We screened 52,366 studies, identifying a total of 439 papers representing 289 unique studies on the effects of 262 interventions in 53 countries. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments were completed by two independent reviewers. Main Results: All five types of output market access interventions resulted in small‐to‐moderate positive effects on almost all measures of market participation, agricultural production, and welfare outcomes. These improvements occurred through a reduction in transaction costs, adoption of improved practices, greater farm investment, access to higher prices for farmers, greater volume sold, and increased farm income. Effects vary by intervention type. However, the body of evidence is comprised of a large share of included studies with a high risk of bias. Few studies have information on the cost of interventions, and there are gaps in the available evidence. Authors' Conclusions: Output market access interventions are effective in reducing transaction costs and addressing market failures, thereby leading to higher income levels. Evidence of effects on food security and nutrition is sparse and has not provided conclusive findings. We also found that multi‐component interventions are not necessarily more effective than single component interventions. The specific needs and dynamics of each context should inform the choice of the intervention and approach. Investments in additional research with low risk of selection bias and confounding effects will improve the evidence base, especially for outcomes that constitute gaps in the literature. For example, the effects on quality of agricultural products and group participation are under‐researched, and we did not find any included studies focusing on North Africa or the Middle East. Collecting and reporting information on interventions' cost‐effectiveness will help decision‐makers to prioritize limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-reliance is essential for community-based rural tourism (CBRT), ensuring effective running in the long term. However, existing studies have focused on general self-reliance conditions while overlooking details surrounding the community's self-reliance in each activity of the CBRT value chain. This study filled this significant gap by observing community self-reliance in CBRT and considering the tourism value chain (TVC) framework. Built upon the abduction method, this study applied the systematic combining approach to observe three aspects of self-reliance, i.e., goals or objectives, rights and abilities, and owned resources, in the TVC of CBRT entities. Taking the case of CBRT in Sleman Regency, Indonesia, the data collection involved representatives of 49 community-based tourism villages (desa wisata). The results showed that observing community self-reliance in CBRT allows for the identification of multifaceted self-reliance problems in rural tourism communities. Apparently, the observed CBRT initiatives are unable to achieve complete self-sufficiency across all aspects of self-reliance. Reliance on external collaboration and support networks persists out of necessity rather than an inability to self-manage. Policy protections, capacity building, and collaborative partnerships are necessary to develop resilient and sustainable rural tourism amidst necessary dependencies. CBRT planning and policies should hence consider the abovementioned aspects of self-reliance to empower CBRT toward sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In natural microbiomes, microorganisms interact with each other and exhibit diverse functions. Microbiome engineering, which enables bacterial knockdown, is a promising method to elucidate the functions of targeted bacteria in microbiomes. However, few methods to selectively kill target microorganisms in the microbiome without affecting the growth of nontarget microorganisms are available. In this study, we focused on the host-specific lytic ability of virulent phages and validated their potency for precise microbiome engineering. In an artificial microbiome consisting of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus subtilis, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, the addition of bacteriophages infecting their respective host strains specifically reduced the number of these bacteria more than 102 orders. Remarkably, the reduction in target bacteria did not affect the growth of nontarget bacteria, indicating that bacteriophages were effective tools for precise microbiome engineering. Moreover, a virulent derivative of the phage was synthesized from prophage DNA in the genome of lysogen by in vivo DNA assembly and phage-rebooting techniques, and E. coli-targeted microbiome engineering was achieved. These results propose a novel approach for precise microbiome engineering using bacteriophages, in which virulent phages are synthesized from prophage DNA in lysogenic strains without isolating phages from environmental samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The asset side of Islamic banks has two different portfolios running side by side, namely risk-sharing (PLS) and non-risk sharing (non-PLS) financing. The segregation of PLS and non-PLS financing has gathered some attention recently owning to its relative importance for sustainable economic output. This study attempts to analyze the impact of decomposed Islamic financing modes (PLS and non-PLS) with a particular focus on their impact on real economic activity. In addition, we moderated the relationship with asset quality of aggregate Islamic banking sector. Quarterly data from 2014 to 2021 have been sourced from datasets of the Islamic financial service board (IFSB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and Central banks' data streams. Eleven countries have been selected based on the highest local and global share in global Islamic financial assets. Panel data regression model has been used in this study. The findings indicate that PLS financing is a weaker driver to channelize funds. However, industrial production output is significantly affected by non-PLS financing. Further the results suggest, Islamic finance–output nexus found to have a stronger relationship in the presence of higher asset quality of Islamic banks. The results show that firms mostly rely on non-PLS financing, due to reduced asymmetry and higher transparency in non-PLS contracts compared to PLS modes. The results have implications for governing bodies of Islamic financial system in boosting risk-sharing contracts and firms to limit agency conflicts arising from fluctuating cost of financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ICTuse has significantly increased over the years across the world, including Saudi Arabia. This study links ICTwith economic growth (EG) in Saudi Arabia, controlling human capital (HC) and COVID-19. We employ time-series annual data from 1990 to 2021, a nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach, and a cointegrating regression analysis to look at the asymmetric effects of ICT diffusion on EG. The NARDL assessment establishes a cointegrating relationship among variables; the effect of ICT negative shocks on EG is favorable and relatively larger. In contrast, the positive shocks of ICT generate a negative and somewhat less impact on EG with an overall positive impact. The findings imply that the ICT, during its expansion stage, cannot contribute positively to EG, perhaps because of a lack of required skilled human capital to administer and utilize the ICT instruments. The positive and insignificant coefficient of HC supports this conclusion. Despite Saudi Arabia's generous efforts, physical and human capital have no significant impact on EG. COVID-19 has hindered the usual economic activities in the Kingdom and impaired EG. The cointegrating regressions authenticate the robustness of the NARDL findings. The outcomes suggest policymakers should appraise the existing ICT infrastructure and initiate raising the capability of HC through practical training and education to benefit from ICT diffusion and positively impact EG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on how remittance outflow shapes the economic growth (EG) performance in leading remittance-sending nations, considering the role of trade, ICT, and human and physical capital as control variables. It utilizes panel data from 1990 to 2021 and utilizes second-generation econometric methods. Our findings reveal a cointegration among variables and show that remittance outflow is growth-enhancing in leading remittance-paying countries. Trade, capital formation, and ICT deployment positively impact economic performance and appear to be a blessing for EG. While the role of HC is insignificant, indicating that it does not affect EG. The outcome suggests that remittance outflow is not an economic problem for the remittance-paying nations; instead, they must utilize the talent and skills of migrant labor to achieve EG. Our results suggest that policymakers should concentrate on using the talent and skills of migrant labor, consider trade as a source of growth, develop policies to improve the skills and competencies of the local workforce and deploy and utilize ICT facilities effectively to achieve sustainable EG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiome engineering is an emerging research field that aims to design an artificial microbiome and modulate its function. In particular, subtractive modification of the microbiome allows us to create an artificial microbiome without the microorganism of interest and to evaluate its functions and interactions with other constituent bacteria. However, few techniques that can specifically remove only a single species from a large number of microorganisms and can be applied universally to a variety of microorganisms have been developed. Antisense peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a potent designable antimicrobial agent that can be delivered into microbial cells by conjugating with a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP). Here, we tested the efficacy of the conjugate of CPP and PNA (CPP-PNA) as microbiome modifiers. The addition of CPP-PNA specifically inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida in an artificial bacterial consortium comprising E. coli, P. putida, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Moreover, the growth inhibition of P. putida promoted the growth of P. fluorescens and inhibited the growth of L. plantarum. These results indicate that CPP-PNA can be used not only for precise microbiome engineering but also for analyzing the growth relationships among constituent microorganisms in the microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial inclusion and gender equality are the key constituents of the principle of "leaving no one behind" upheld by the Sustainable Development Goals, which emphasise a holistic approach for the sustainable development of all. Financial inclusion and gender equality are interrelated factors that can influence economic growth in complex ways. In addition to their independent impact on economic growth, there is an active interaction between the two which also plays an important role in determining the level of economic growth. This interaction has been neglected by the existing literature. Based on this gap, the paper investigates the existence and type of this interaction between financial inclusion and gender equality in determining economic growth for a group of 48 developing countries for the period 2004–2019 using the Generalised Method of Moments. The study found a complementary interaction between gender equality and financial inclusion, such that improvements in financial inclusion in the presence of better gender parity have a multiplicative effect on economic growth and vice versa. The study concludes that gender equality creates various pull and push factors for better financial inclusion. Similarly, financial inclusion eliminates gender inequality in access to financial products, exacerbating the influence on economic growth both individually and collectively. Impact statement: This study looks at the complementary role of financial inclusion and gender equality in promoting economic growth in developing countries. The study employs a panel data analysis of 48 countries from 2004 to 2019 using the Generalized Method of Moments to find a substantial complimentary relationship between financial inclusion and gender equality. The findings show that innovations in financial inclusion, combined with greater gender equality, have a multiplier effect on economic development. This study emphasizes the need to increase financial inclusion and gender equality as interconnected methods for achieving sustainable economic growth. The policy implications are considerable, implying that attempts to increase financial inclusion should be complemented by actions to improve gender equality, assuring inclusive and equitable economic growth. This work adds to the current literature by addressing a previously overlooked interaction, providing new perspectives for policymakers, economists, and development practitioners working to promote economic development in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate on the growth and tuber yield in potato (Solanum tuberosum L). Experiment was carried out in split-plot design comprising of nine calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate treatments i.e. T1- Ca(NO3)2 @0.5%, T2- Ca(NO3)2 @ 1%, T3- Ca(NO3)2 @ 2%, T4- MgSO4 @ 0.5%, T5- MgSO4 @ 1%, T6- MgSO4 @ 2%, T7- Ca(NO3)2 @ 1% + MgSO4 @ 1%, T8- Ca(NO3)2 @ 2% + MgSO4 @ 2%, T9- Control on two potato varieties i.e. Kufri Jyoti and Kufri Chandramukhi. Data collected on different parameters were analyzed using CPCS1 software. Among all the calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate treatments, application of Ca(NO3)2 @ 2% + MgSO4 @ 2% was found to be the best for most of the parameters studied and between the varieties Kufri Jyoti was found highly significant for the different parameters under study. Hence it can be concluded that commercial cultivation of potato in the central region of Punjab can be successfully supplemented with application of Ca (NO3)2 + MgSO4 and variety Kufri Jyoti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing literature documenting the link between parental migration and children's health. However, few studies have explained the underlying mechanism of this observed relationship. This paper examines the effect of parental migration on children's health through dietary diversity, using survey data collected in a less developed prefecture in South Central China in 2018. To overcome the potential endogeneity of parental migration, we instrument parental migration with the proportion of households with migrated labor force at the village level, and find that parental migration reduces children's dietary diversity at home. Moreover, we provide suggestive evidence that the reduction in dietary diversity may attribute to significant negative separation effects whereas minimal positive income effects in migrant-sending households. This study highlights the negative effects of labor migration on the next generation's nutrition. In those developing countries with a high prevalence of labor migration, policies that facilitate access to dietary diversity of those left-behind children are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Research Journal of Business Studies is the property of Prasetiya Mulya Publishing, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

South Africa dreams of eradicating poverty and achieving equitable distribution of its scarce resources among its citizens by 2030. Economic growth sustained over time is crucial in achieving its developmental goals. Domestic savings provide a cheap source of resources for investment that would sustain economic growth. This study explored the relationship between South Africa's aggregate national savings and aggregate national income from 1987 to 2021. The study utilized Solow's bivariate model and error correction-centered causality to ensure the robustness of the study results while testing the relationship between saving and economic growth. The study confirmed that aggregate national saving was positively related to South Africa's economic growth. In the short run, deviations from the long-run paths were partly corrected in the present period. In addition, the study found aggregate national saving Granger caused short- and long-term economic growth. The general policy recommendation is that the Government of South Africa should remove bottlenecks to aggregate national saving mobilization efforts by implementing pro-saving fiscal and monetary policies. High saving rates will stimulate income growth through investments in productive sectors, reducing poverty and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the paper is to analyze and evaluate the demographic development trends in Bulgaria as well as to identify demographically problematic rural areas and the consequences of their development. Based on information from the National Statistical Institute, the demographic processes in the rural areas of Bulgaria for the period 2011-2021 are analyzed. The obtained results show the high rate of population decline in some regions of Bulgaria and the unfavorable values of the coefficients for demographic dependence and replacement. Rural areas of our country are experiencing faster depopulation than cities. This leads to significant territorial disparities in the manifestation of the observed processes. The last part emphasizes the need to implement regional demographic policies aimed at stimulating families with children and reforming professional education. It is also recommended to implement a proactive immigration policy to attract Bulgarians living abroad and immigrants from third countries with the necessary educational and professional qualifications to reduce the negative effects of the labor shortage in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the relationship between household debt and income inequality in South Africa for the period 1980–2021. We use two measures of inequality and estimate a vector error correction model (VECM) which includes household debt, inequality, and other macroeconomic variables. To test the robustness of our results, single equation models are used, which estimate household debt as a function of inequality and macroeconomic factors. We employ two measures of inequality, namely Gini coefficient and ratio of top and bottom income earners' proportion of income. Furthermore, we use both household debt as a percentage of disposable income and household debt service costs as dependent variables in single equation regressions. The study finds a negative and significant relationship between household debt and income inequality in the long run, which contradicts the Rajan hypothesis in the South African case. Rather, we find that inequality in South Africa creates a bias in debt allocation towards high-income earners, whose incomes can easily absorb the extra debt (reduced ratio of debt to disposable income). There are therefore no socio-equity considerations in South African credit markets. We find growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita also has a moderating effect on the relationship between household debt and income inequality. High GDP per capita growth in the presence of high inequality reduces the impact of inequality on household debt and vice-versa. All other control variables take expected signs. These results are robust to changes in the inequality or household debt measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article focuses on the book "Long-Run Economic Growth," edited by Steven Durlauf, John F. Helliwell and Baldev Raj. This book contains nine papers which, discuss long-run economic growth. Contributions examine the testable implication of various growth theories and modeling and identification of common shocks; international trade and growth linkages; analysis of comovements and convergence at regional level of incomes; and public services, money, and growth linkages.

Development agencies and international donors' efforts are increasingly focusing on better integrating poor and remote farmers into agricultural markets to address the chronic issues of rural poverty and hunger in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Using systematic methods for information retrieval, critical appraisal and evidence synthesis, this research aims to examine evidence on the effects of five focal types of agricultural market access interventions: (i) farm‐to‐market transport infrastructure interventions; (ii) output market information interventions; (iii) initiatives creating new marketplaces and alternative marketing opportunities; (iv) contract farming initiatives; (v) interventions improving storage infrastructure. In this review, we will study evidence of the magnitude and direction of intervention effects on agricultural, socio‐economic, and food and nutrition security outcomes. We will examine evidence of the distribution of reported effects across different contexts, interventions and sub‐groups of the population (e.g., according to sex, socio‐economic status, farm size, etc.). We will also report on included studies' risk of bias and on what evidence is available on intervention costs, or their cost‐effectiveness. This protocol outlines this review's planned methods and the criteria for selecting and including studies in its analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does agricultural insurance affect the modernization of farming in low income countries? We focus on institutional contexts without formal contract enforcement, where smallholders cannot access modern inputs via markets. Instead, farmers can engage in relational contracting with traders to sell their crop and gain access to inputs (as an advance in‐kind payment). Although conventional theory assumes that insurance "crowds in" modern inputs by attenuating investment risk, we demonstrate that insurance reduces the number of farmers receiving modern inputs from traders. Insurance also reduces the quantity of inputs that traders provide to farmers who remain in a relationship. Insurance may impede the uptake of modern inputs when institutions are imperfect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the sectoral version of Okun's law for oil-rich countries from 2000 to 2019. Using a panel ARDL estimation, namely the CS-ARDL and PMG methods, this study confirms the negative association between the sectoral level of output growth and the unemployment rate. Our findings indicate that the unemployment rate is affected more by the output growth of the services sector than by that of the manufacturing and agriculture sectors. Moreover, we show that the relatively higher proportion of the services sector to the total output growth seems to explain these results. Furthermore, we revealed that oil rents play a significant role in the sectoral Okun's coefficient difference. Finally, this study suggests that the importance of the manufacturing and agriculture sectors should be a crucial factor to be considered in the economic policy agenda in resource-rich countries. Hence, the significant implications for these countries' policymakers are to gain additional benefits from oil sector output, support and strengthen their manufacturing and agriculture sectors, achieve sustainable economic growth, and minimize the adverse effects of oil dependence on the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International remittances remained one major source of international financial resources in the world. Yet very limited empirical studies exist on the impact of these remittances on economic growth, more especially in Ghana. To bridge this void in literature, the study analyzes the impact of remittances on GDP growth in Ghana from 1990 to 2020. The ARDL estimation technique was used to test the long-run association between the selected variables. The results showed that GDP growth rate has a long-run relationship with remittance inflows, foreign direct investment, unemployment rate, inflation, trade, population growth rate and official development assistance. Lastly, the mediating effect of unemployment on remittance inflows negatively affects GDP growth rate in both runs. It is therefore recommended that to ensure sustained GDP growth rate in Ghana, government should consider tapping into the contribution of remittances by ensuring reliable transfer means and cutting down the cost of transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sectors are the engines of economic growth in any economy making inter-sectoral linkages the most significant target for development practitioners and policymakers. This study examines and ascertains the magnitude of production and consumption inter-sectoral linkages in Uganda's economy. Secondary data from 2009/10 and 2016/17 Uganda Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) is analyzed based on the multiplier model. A buttress of robust checks including a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is adopted for validation purposes using a longer time series from 1980 to 2020. The study found that a one million income injection across sectors has a larger multiplier effect (in terms of output, GDP, income, and consumption) than the service sector followed by agriculture and then the industrial sector. Despite the higher multiplier effects of the services sector, its contribution to employment is limited. A large amount of labor is trapped in the low-paying subsistence agricultural sector. Therefore, the government should implement policies that supplement rapid services sector growth with strategies that attract and utilize excess labor in the agricultural sector. Results also indicate that the services sector prematurely emerged as the driver of economic growth before the economy was fully industrialized. Government should formulate industrial sector catch-up policies to rebalance its development agenda. To accomplish this, proportionately more funding should be allocated to the industrial sector. Lastly, sectoral multiplier effects projections and forecasts should be incorporated into the National Development Plans, Budgeting Frameworks, and forecasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial innovation in the cryptocurrency space has prompted central bankers and financial policymakers around the world to question the future of money and payments. For many scholars and policymakers, the rise of cryptocurrencies implies significant improvements to the efficiency of making cross-border payments--and thus portends a gradual sunset on the legacy payments system. But for decades, that legacy payments system has partnered with the State to accomplish valuable foreign policy and national security goals: to combat money laundering, deter state aggression, and defend human rights and democratic institutions. This Article examines the potential for cryptocurrency payments ecosystems to bypass the legal frameworks that today require banks to act as gatekeepers of illicit finance and enforcers of sanctions regimes. Ultimately, in light of the trade-offs implied by moving from a bank-centric to a multi-railed crypto system, this Article argues for infrastructure-building within the existing system. In particular, it proposes the introduction of a centralized verifying party, which would conduct customer due diligence on an industry-wide basis. Given the current costs and complication of banks' current legal requirements to undertake individualized due diligence, the structural reform proposed here stands to make the legacy payment system more efficient--and hence more attractive relative to crypto competitors--for making cross-border payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization has led to a rapid increase in the international trade of intermediate goods, which plays a vital role in economic growth. This study investigates whether trade openness facilitates output growth by improving access to intermediate inputs. In particular, it has been examined whether industrial sectors with higher intermediate input diversity grow relatively faster in countries that are more open to trade. Through the adoption of the difference-in-differences approach, we find strong evidence that this is indeed the case based on a large cross-country sample. The empirical estimation indicates that industries more diversified in intermediate inputs will grow by 2.6 percentage points faster in more outward-oriented countries. Furthermore, our results are robust to various specification checks and are unlikely to be driven by omitted variables, outliers, or reverse causality. By identifying the mechanism through which trade openness facilitates output growth, our study highlights the additional gains from trade liberalization that may be undermined by increased protectionism, especially for industrial sectors that rely on diversified intermediate inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the development of the world shows that building a new countryside is the only way for all countries to move towards industrialization and urbanization. Whether from the perspective of world development or from the perspective of China's century-old villages, the development of rural agriculture is very important. Rural infrastructure construction is the key measure to promote all aspects of rural development. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current situation of China's rural infrastructure construction, study the factors affecting the development of rural infrastructure construction and find out the key reasons, so as to put forward suggestions on rural infrastructure construction and promote rural development. Therefore, this article uses the relevant data of China Rural Statistical Yearbook 2020 to analyze the influencing factors of China's rural infrastructure. The article divides rural infrastructure into three levels: agricultural production infrastructure, peasant living infrastructure and rural social undertakings infrastructure, and eight indicators are selected for each level. The article analyzes the new indicators system constructed from 24 original indicators using factor analysis. According to the analysis results, the article comprehensively analyzes rural infrastructure construction situation of 31 provincial administrative regions from three levels and comprehensive indicators. Finally, the articled reaches the following conclusions: the overall development of rural infrastructure construction in Jiangsu, Shandong and Henan provinces is the best, while the rural infrastructure construction in Hainan and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai and other provinces is the worst compared with other provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to accentuate the role of financial development, renewable energy consumption, and information and communication technology (ICT)-oriented strategies to achieve inclusive growth in 21 Asian economies from 1995-2019. The long-run findings of panel linear ARDL reveal positive but insignificant responses in inclusive growth to financial development. Whereas, the estimates of panel NARDL depict that financial development positive and negative movements boost inclusive growth significantly. Interestingly, both techniques provide significant but contradictory outcomes for the effects of renewable energy on inclusive growth. Moreover, the results confirm that the individual impact of financial development and ICT increases but their interaction decreases inclusive growth. It indicates that ICT fails to complement the financial sector in enhancing inclusive growth. Therefore, the study recommends improving ICT infrastructure through the appropriate investment so that it could complement the financial sector effectively to achieve inclusive growth. It implicates for the stakeholders to boost the efficiency of the financial intermediaries and equitable access to digital finance and clean energy to attain inclusive growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By constructing a translogarithmic stochastic frontier production model, this study explores the total factor productivity (TFP) of service-oriented manufacturing in 30 provinces in China during 2004–2020. We carried out decomposition analysis to understand in greater depth the potential drivers of TFP growth. The results show that the overall TFP of service-oriented manufacturing continuously improved during the sample period; however, the overall growth rate showed a significant slowing trend, and the contribution of TFP growth to output growth is still low. The industrial growth of service-oriented manufacturing is mainly driven by capital input, and the transformation of its growth mode from extensive to intensive has not yet been realized. Furthermore, there exists significant regional and sub-sectoral heterogeneity in the TFP growth of the industry. The decomposition of TFP growth shows that technological progress and technical efficiency are the main sources of TFP growth, but the growth rate of technological progress is declining gradually, and its driving effect on TFP is weakening. The deterioration of both scale and allocation efficiency hinders the improvement of TFP in service-oriented manufacturing, and there is still room for the industry to improve its TFP level by improving scale efficiency and allocation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the impact of foreign direct investment, trade, final consumption expenditures, exports and imports of goods and services on the Romanian economic growth. The study used yearly data ranging from 1990 to 2020, and stationarity was checked using unit root testing. An asymmetric (non-linear autoregressive distributed lag) technique was employed to examine the relationship between variables with the estimation of short-run and long-run analysis. The findings of the short-run analysis show that the variables trade and final consumption expenditures positively impacted the economic growth in Romania through the positive and negative shocks. Further, the evidence also uncovered that foreign direct investment adversely influenced the economic growth, while the variable exports of goods and services revealed a significant influence to economic growth via positive shock. Imports of goods and services exposed a negative association via a positive shock and positive relation via a negative shock to the economic growth. Similarly, the long-run analysis also uncovered that variables trade and final consumption expenditures positively impacted the economic growth in Romania via positive and negative shocks, while the variable foreign direct investment showed negative linkage. Exports of goods and services uncovered a substantial influence on economic growth via positive shock, while imports of goods and services revealed a negative association via positive shock and positive linkage via negative shock to the economic growth. Foreign direct investment and imports of goods and services have a detrimental impact on Romania's economic growth. In order to execute the right policies to solve trade and foreign investment uncertainties in Romania and boost economic growth, conservative measures are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how small corporations in rural areas of Japan obtained funding from the 1880 s through the 1910s and reassesses the role of market-based financing for Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While most previous literature shows that Japan effectively used bank-based financing for SMEs, this study provides evidence that corporations of various sizes, including small ones in rural areas, arranged funding through the stock and bond markets during Japan's early industrialisation period. While this type of financing arrangement helped promote early industrialisation, it also strengthened the dual economy during full-fledged industrialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of carbon emissions, renewable energy consumption, FDI, and exports on economic growth in BRICS countries from 2000 to 2018. The study uses other variables such as interest rates, labor force, trade openness, and gross domestic savings to determine the long-run relationship among variables. We employ several econometric techniques, such as ARDL, pool mean group (PMG), mean group (MG), and the Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality tests, to draw empirical inferences. The estimation of the PMG model indicates that carbon emissions, renewable energy consumption, exports, FDI, and savings have a significant positive long-run impact on economic growth, while interest rates and trade openness affect economic growth negatively. FMOLS and DOLS results also confirm the robustness of PMG long-run results. Moreover, the Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality results indicate a bi-directional causal relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth and between economic growth and foreign direct investment, also one-way causality from exports and labor force to economic growth. It implies that an increase in carbon emissions and FDI leads to an increase in economic growth, also increase in economic growth, the CO2 emissions and FDI increase in BRICS economies. Finally, the current study recommends a vital policy that the primary focus should target toward promoting renewable energy consumption, FDI, exports, and savings to boost economic growth in BRICS countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the relative socio-economic importance of land-based sectors has declined in comparison to non-land-based businesses such as tourism, food and beverage activities. However, policy implementation and research have primarily focused on the economic contributions of land-based businesses, leaving businesses outside these sectors and in rural areas, referred to as non-land-based businesses, largely overlooked. Therefore, this study aims to examine the importance of non-land-based businesses and the key determinants of the relationships between non-land-based businesses and land-based (farming, forestry and landed estate) sectors in rural Scotland. Through a survey of 1500 businesses whose primary focus is not agriculture, forestry or landed rural estates in four Scottish regions, the key findings of the logit model reveal that businesses located in rural areas are more likely to have relationships, both direct (supplying or purchasing goods/services) and indirect, with farming, forestry and landed estate sectors than their urban counterparts. Focusing on rural businesses, the results show that business size, sectors, business age, exporting, importing and business constraints related to cash flow, digital connectivity and government financial support significantly influence their relationships with land-based sectors. The results of crosstab analysis also reveal differences in business performance, business challenges related to Brexit and future plans between non-land-based rural businesses having relationships with land-based sectors in different rural classifications: accessible/remote small towns, accessible rural areas and remote rural areas. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to support rural businesses and future land-based and non-land-based sectors in rural Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important factor in determining the success of a small-scale broiler farm is its economic viability and efficiency. During times of trouble for the industry, the idea receives more attention. The conceptual considerations of economic sustainability and efficiency are frequently quite constrained, according to the difficulties raised in this study and by other authors. There is a lack of information about South Africa's small-scale broiler production's economic viability and effectiveness. Furthermore, it is clear that small-scale broiler producers have the ability to increase their economic efficiency. By reducing the mortality rate, feed conversion rate, and production duration, both their technical and financial efficiency could be improved. Profitability in the production of broilers will be considerably increased by lowering the cost of these variable inputs, particularly feed and day-old chicks. Additionally, raising the education level, capacity utilization ratio, and broiler production would all contribute to raising the farms' efficiency levels. To ensure effective resource use and to maximize practicable profit, small-scale broiler producers who are not operating close to the profit frontier must make efforts to reduce both technical and allocation inefficiencies. Collectively, all these measures would ensure the economic sustainability of small-scale farmers in South Africa would be met. Moreover, the sustainability of small-scale broiler producers can be achieved if strategies that build local capacity and that empower them to sustain high levels of productivity are provided. In addition, the efficient use of resources will ensure that productivity is enhanced, and might increase profitability. It is therefore important to ensure that small-scale broiler producers achieve maximum profit for a given set of inputs. Approaches in assessing the farm-level profitability such as cost-benefit and gross margin analyses can be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought-tolerant maize varieties (DTMVs) offer hope as an adaptation strategy for farmers facing increasing frequency of droughts in sub-Saharan Africa. Adoption of these varieties also offers hope to enhance sustainability in the agricultural production system. However, these varieties are not yet widely cultivated, and the potential economic benefits not fully understood. This study examines the scalability of DTMVs in Tanzania under three scenarios: (1) scalability conditional on knowledge of DTMVs; (ii) scalability conditional on (physical) seed availability in addition to awareness; and (iii) scalability conditional on seed affordability in addition to awareness and (physical) seed availability. The study uses household production and consumption data from major regions in Tanzania. The results from the economic surplus model indicate that by 2032, the adoption of DTMVs could generate between US$ 373 million and US$ 499 million in cumulative benefits for both producers and consumers. Such benefits could potentially lift up to 1.6 million people out of poverty by 2032. It is estimated that consumers would get 40% of the benefits and producers 60%, with the largest benefits occurring in the major maize-producing regions of Mbeya, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Mwanza, Arusha, and Kagera. Consumers in Dar es Salaam would also benefit significantly from the price reductions resulting from increased production. The largest returns on investment would occur in Dodoma, Geita, Simiyu, Singida, and Kagera. These findings justify the investment of both public and private funds to support the scaling of DTMVs in Tanzania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable economic development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is a significant part of China's regional development strategy. The article selects panel data from 11 provinces of the region from 2004 to 2020 and constructs a spatial economic model and a threshold effect model to investigate the impact of energy development and technological innovation on the real economy of this region. The result indicates that technological innovation plays a significantly beneficial role in supporting the development of the local real economy, while its spatial spillover effect to neighboring provinces is not significant. Energy development has a significant negative impact on both the local real economy and that of the neighboring provinces. Such impact is shaped by the threshold effect of the level of technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth of structural mass and energy reserves influences individual survival, reproductive success, population and species life history. Metrics of structural growth and energy storage of individuals are often used to assess population health and reproductive potential, which can inform conservation. However, the energetic costs of tissue deposition for structural growth and energy stores and their prioritization within bioenergetic budgets are poorly documented. This is particularly true across marine mammal species as resources are accumulated at sea, limiting the ability to measure energy allocation and prioritization. We reviewed the literature on marine mammal growth to summarize growth patterns, explore their tissue compositions, assess the energetic costs of depositing these tissues and explore the tradeoffs associated with growth. Generally, marine mammals exhibit logarithmic growth. This means that the energetic costs related to growth and tissue deposition are high for early postnatal animals, but small compared to the total energy budget as animals get older. Growth patterns can also change in response to resource availability, habitat and other energy demands, such that they can serve as an indicator of individual and population health. Composition of tissues remained consistent with respect to protein and water content across species; however, there was a high degree of variability in the lipid content of both muscle (0.1–74.3%) and blubber (0.4–97.9%) due to the use of lipids as energy storage. We found that relatively few well-studied species dominate the literature, leaving data gaps for entire taxa, such as beaked whales. The purpose of this review was to identify such gaps, to inform future research priorities and to improve our understanding of how marine mammals grow and the associated energetic costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the institutional quality effects on the foreign direct investment (FDI)–regional integration nexus in the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). The novelty of our approach extends the regional integration theory in Africa by employing the Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII) and utilizes a dynamic panel data model based on the one-step system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) estimation to explore the institutional quality effects on the relationship between FDI location advantages and inflows and dimensions of regional integration. Our study highlights macroeconomic integration as the strongest indicator of regional integration as well as the most crucial determinant of FDI in CEN-SAD. We also discovered that FDI inflows into the lower-middle income countries (LMICs) were only slightly higher than in low-income countries (LICs). Our results infer that institutional reforms augment FDI location advantages and enhance FDI inflows irrespective of the level of integration in the Community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines causal relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and economic growth in Tanzania during 1990–2020. As financial development and trade were not incorporated in extant studies, we included them as intermediate variables because of their intermediation role in this study. FDI inflow is considered an important economic growth catalyst in developing economies. Neoclassical growth theories claim that it enhances economic growth by augmenting capital stock and technology. According to the neoclassical theories, FDI does not enhance the long-run growth rate but instead is related to the level of output. However, empirical evidence is rather mixed, with some supporting the neoclassical theoretical views on economic growth, while others opposing them. We employ the autoregressive distributed lag model and Granger causality tests to analyze the relationship. The results indicate that there exists a long-run relationship among the variables under considerations in Tanzania. Furthermore, the finding reveals positive and statistically significant unidirectional causality running from FDI inflow to economic growth in Tanzania in the long and short run. Hence, we conclude that Tanzania should emphasize FDI-led growth policies to enhance economic growth to realize the desired economic objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the impact of government effectiveness on trade and financial openness in 35 selected countries around the globe. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research approach was applied in the study using the generalized quantile panel regression approach to analyze the impact of identified variables in these selected countries. Panel quantile models with high estimation performance are preferred in the presence of excessive deviations and in cases where the normal distribution is invalid. Findings/results: The empirical findings indicate that selected countries with above-average governmental effectiveness, that is, with a well-established state bureaucracy and a historically strong state tradition, will further increase their activities toward international integration through financial and trade openness. Practical implications: This study aims to provide valuable information that governments and regulatory authorities can benefit from in their decision-making processes. Originality/value: In this study, it is preferred to use the trade openness of countries as the share of exports in total world exports and financial openness as the ratio of capital flows to world flows. In this way, these variables will provide new information to analyze the influence of government effectiveness. Implementing the generalized quantile panel regression technique can also be expressed as an innovation in this field of literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the effect of financial development on major economic indicators, i.e., economic growth, inflation, and employment by applying System GMM estimation technique for a panel of 120 countries for the period 1997 to 2017. Four distinct proxies of financial development are used, i.e., private sector credit, liquid liabilities, money and quasi money, and bank credit. The results contradict the traditional supply-lending hypothesis and reveal negative impact of financial development on economic growth. Moreover, financial development is found to be positively associated with inflation and employment growth. It is suggested that there is need to reform and strengthen the supervision of financial intermediaries to ensure sound prudential lending practices. Furthermore, more credit needs to be allocated to highly productive firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]