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China's pulp and paper industry (CPPI) has been always the main carbon emission source in recent years. However, the analysis on influencing factors of carbon emissions from this industry is insufficient. To address the issue, the CO 2 emissions from CPPI are estimated in the period of 2005-2019, the driving factors of CO 2 emissions are investigated by the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method, the decoupling state of economic growth and CO 2 emissions is determined by Tapio decoupling model, and finally, future CO 2 emissions are predicted under four scenarios by the STIRPAT model to explore the potential of carbon peaking. The results show that CPPI exhibits a rapid increase and a fluctuating downward trend in CO 2 emissions during the period of 2005-2013 and 2014-2019, respectively. The main promoting and inhibiting factors to the increase of CO 2 emission are per capita industrial output value and energy intensity, respectively. There are five decoupling states of CO 2 emissions and economic growth during the study period, and the CO 2 emissions exhibit a weak decoupling state with the industrial output value growth in most years of the study period. It is very difficult to realize the carbon peaking goal by 2030 under the baseline and fast development scenarios. Therefore, efficient low carbon and strong low-carbon development policies are necessary and urgent for the realization of carbon peaking goal and the sustainable development of CPPI., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Cancer is a significant public health issue all over the world. The diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of cancer patients are a huge health, economic and social burden for societies. The link between the state of health of a country and its economic performance has been proven by numerous studies. The aim of this study was to examine the age-standardized death rate of oral cancer in relation to the economic development of 13 European countries., Methods: Aggregated data were collected from the European Health for All (HFA-DB) database until 2019 and analysed using second degree polynomial functions and correlation analyses, followed by time-series analysis involving vector autoregressive models., Results: We found that in 10 of the 13 surveyed countries, the age-standardized death rate of oral cancer initially increased with GDP growth and then showed a downward trend above a certain level of economic development. Austria had a weak but significant positive effect with the second lag of GDP, Hungary had a significant negative effect with the first lag of GDP, and Italy had a significant negative effect with the second lag of GDP. In most cases, both the first and second lags of GDP changes were not statistically significant, indicating that short-term fluctuations in GDP do not directly influence changes in oral cancer mortality rates. Overall, while there are clear long-term associations between GDP and oral cancer mortality rates, the immediate causal effects of GDP changes on mortality rates are limited, suggesting that other factors and longer-term dynamics could play a more crucial role in this relationship., Conclusions: An increase in a country's economic development alone does not guarantee a decrease in the number of oral cancer patients. Therefore, in order to reduce the number of cases of oral cancer, strengthening education and prevention are essential., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This paper examined the impact of climate change on economic growth using panel data from 20 European countries during the period 1990-2020 and the estimation techniques of cointegration and the ARDL model. The empirical results reveal that precipitation; labour force and CO 2 emissions have a positive effect on long-term economic growth in sample countries. However, temperature, foreign direct investment, and urbanization have a negative effect on growth over the same period. Therefore, our study highlights the complex links between climate, demographic, and economic developments in European countries over the past three decades. Urbanizations, as a driver of urban development, and FDI, indicators of economic attractiveness, influence not only economic dynamics but also environmental impacts, exacerbating the challenges of CO₂ emissions and climate change., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval: Not applicable approval and consent to participate. Consent to participate: The authors agree. Consent for publication: All authors have read and approved the manuscript to publish with this journal. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In the study, the relationship between ecological footprint, economic freedom, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth is analysed under the scope of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. Here, fifteen countries with the highest economic freedom for the period 1996-2018 are selected to more clearly underline the impact of economic freedom on the environment and examined, i.e., Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland. The long-term relationship between the variables is examined using the panel cointegration test. According to the test results, it has been observed that the variables in the EKC model act together in the long run. According to the long-term estimation results, it is seen that economic freedom decreases the ecological footprint, namely, environmental degradation, in Canada, while it increases in Estonia. Furthermore, it is concluded that renewable energy reduces the ecological footprint in Australia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland. Nevertheless, it has been determined that the EKC hypothesis is valid for Canada, Denmark, and Singapore, but not for other countries., Competing Interests: Declarations: Research does not include human participants and/or animals. Informed consent is not included in the study. Consent to participate: The author has agreed with the content and has given explicit consent to submit. Consent for publication: The author has agreed with the content and has given explicit consent to submit. Competing interests: The author declares no competing interests., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper is based on a study that examined authorship and collaborative research among scholars in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions with a focus on prospects for Africa. The study involved intensive documentary desk review of conference book of abstracts and conference proceedings to examine authorship and collaborative research. The study reviewed a total of 10 conference books of abstracts and proceedings organized or hosted by universities including ODL institutions in Africa. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise some thematic areas of interest. It is revealed in this paper that authorship in terms of co-authorship is high in some conferences but low in others in relation to collaborative research. Furthermore, authorship between two scholars was higher compared to three or more authors in collaborative research. This implies that co-authorship is trending in relation to collaborative research thus raising collaboration prospects for Africa. It is therefore recommended that ODL scholars should be encouraged to do more co-author publications from collaborative research in order to promote teamwork and comparative studies in knowledge production for socio-economic development relevant for Africa and beyond.

In the course of 2020-2023, the Centro Studi Piemontesi renewed its commitment to the preservation and promotion of the memory of the history and culture of Piedmont and the ancient Savoy States, both through the targeted purchase of a number of documentary sources available on the antiquarian market, and through the donation of various private documentary collections, accepted with the commitment of taking care of their reorganization, inventorying and utilization. Among the purchases are two letters written by Count Gian Francesco Galeani Napione di Cocconato (1748- 1830) in 1807 and the Catalogo de’ Cavalieri dell’Ordine della Santissima Annunziata drawn up by Giovanni Toja in 1779. The donations include: the valuable series of diplomatic honours given by the heirs of Manlio Brosio (1897-1980), linked to his activities as a minister in the Bonomi, Parri and De Gasperi governments, as an Italian diplomat and as Secretary General of NATO from 1 August 1964 to 1 October 1971; the documentary fonds on journalist and academic Francesco Pastonchi (1874-1953), donated by Count Piero Gondolo della Riva; the war and captivity diary written by Alessandro Forchino during his time as a fighter in World War I, donated by his daughter Gabriella and published by Centro Studi Piemontesi; and the documentary fund on the Vitelli and Losa families, of particular interest for the industrial history of Piedmont. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the thermal treatment of two types of waste from the paper industry was investigated, paper mill sludge and sewage sludge from biological wastewater treatment plants. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) and torrefaction were investigated as sustainable alternatives for solid biofuel production. Untreated samples and samples chemically pre-treated with alcoholic vinegar were subjected to torrefaction at 350 °C in N2 atmosphere, and the exhaust gases were analysed. HTC was performed at 250 °C with a residence time of 4 h. The feedstocks and the biochars produced were characterised by different analytical methods, and the effects of pre-treatment on fuel properties were studied. Both processes, HTC and torrefaction, showed inspiring results in the production of biofuels from paper industry wastes under the tested experimental conditions. A positive influence of pre-treatment on fuel properties (higher heating value, carbon content) of the obtained char was observed, and changes in the gas phase during torrefaction were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, where the dramatic effects of climate change continue to increase, it is critical to turn from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources to achieve the CO 2 emission reduction targets that countries have committed at the Paris Climate Agreement and COP 27 conference. This study analyzes the effects of macroeconomic factors, including economic growth, investments, and unemployment, on the transition to renewable energy in OECD countries. From 1996 to 2020, long-run relationships between variables were examined using advanced econometric methodologies for empirical analysis. For this purpose, panel data analysis, second-generation panel unit root tests, cross-sectional dependence tests, and panel cointegration tests were applied. Economically, in the long run, according to panel CCEMG and AMG estimator, while economic growth enhances the renewable energy transitions, investment does not statistically promote an impact on the renewable energy transitions. Renewable energy transition increases with unemployment. Moreover, the role of the considered variables in the renewable energy transition varies among country-specific. Within the framework of the results obtained, it has been proven that before determining policies for renewable energy transformation, it is necessary to do the necessary groundwork in the economy to increase economic growth and investments and reduce unemployment., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper has two main objectives. First, it aims to analyse the connections between education and poverty established by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), a central policy tool for the articulation of the Post Washington Consensus. Second, it intends to study how the PRSPs have been consolidated and expanded through different international organisations. With these objectives, the paper includes four sections: the first and second sections present the "model of poverty" and the "model of education" defined in the PRSPs. The third analyses how different international actors have adopted the PRSPs as a guide to orient their strategies and policies in the field of education, development and poverty reduction. The fourth and final section critically explores the current global development agenda and identifies some of its main challenges in terms of conceptualisation and implementation.

Poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) present a recipient country's program of intent for the utilization of World Bank loans and grants to alleviate debt under the bank's programs of action for poverty reduction in highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs). This article argues that structural transformation is a prerequisite for poverty reduction in Zambia. However, the Zambian PRSP is largely informed by mainstream thinking on poverty and livelihoods. It champions a neoliberal program constructed on the sanctity of the market and seeks to maintain the very structural processes that engender poverty. Because it fails to break, conceptually and methodologically, from past program failures, the PRSP is likely to be just the latest installment in the ever-changing fashionable semantics of the "development community." The article examines the conceptual and methodological failures of the Zambian PRSP particularly with respect to the measurement of poverty and the concept of participation.

Education, being a process of teaching and learning is evaluated through examination at the end of the learning period. Examination not only serves as a feedback for the trainer to ascertain the level of knowledge acquisition but also serves as a measure of knowledge retention by the trainee. Any misconduct or irregularity distorts this feedback mechanism and gives a false outcome of the learning process. This paper examines the causes and forms of examination malpractice in Nigeria, the consequences on the national development, previous efforts made at curbing it and recommended ways of eradicating examination malpractice in the country. Relevant journals and conference papers consulted, and the writers' personal experiences during examination invigilation were the sources of data used in the paper. It is discovered that the perennial lack of political will on the part of government to enforce the Decree 20 of 1984 and now, Examination Malpractice Act 33 of 1999 has caused the examination misconduct to remain on the increase in Nigeria. This paper recommends strongly that the Examination Malpractice Act of 1999 should be amended to incorporate that section of Decree 20 of 1984 which stipulated twenty-one years imprisonment without option of a fine for a convicted culprit. And the Act should be diligently enforced no matter whose ox is gored.

The existing scholarly discourse surrounding the energy transition has long operated on the assumption of perfect displacement of non-renewable energy. However, an evolving set of studies highlights an intricate web of inefficiencies and complexities that prevent the perfect displacement of fossil fuel energy with renewable energy production. Since this could carry serious implications for the environmental targets of several economies, it is crucial to accurately and continuously measure the actual extent of fossil fuel displacement. Within this framework, this study empirically investigates the extent of non-renewable energy displacement by renewable energy for a balanced panel of seven Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries between 1989 and 2015. The outcome function also controls for globalisation, real GDP per capita, and crude oil prices. After implementing the necessary diagnostics, the panel cointegration establishes a significant long-run relationship among the selected variables. The PMG-ARDL estimation indicates that renewable energy production and globalisation significantly reduce the fossil fuel energy production, whereas real GDP per capita and crude oil prices induce it positively. However, the coefficient of renewable energy production is only - 0.39, indicating that more than 2.5 units of renewable electricity are necessary to displace a unit of non-renewable energy. As such, this study concludes that the current energy transition in Asia-Pacific region is not perfect. These results are robust to the usage of the FGLS estimation technique. The study suggests the adoption of a new energy transition that allows greater displacement of fossil fuel energy as well as gradual reduction in overall energy use., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Using historical data on energy from (Malanima 2020) and GDP from the Maddison Project Database, this paper investigates the energy-growth nexus in a less-studied region, mainly Australia and New Zealand, since 1870. The long annual series allow meaningful application of recently developed time-varying and quantile Granger causality analysis. Results indicate that there is a bi-directional Granger causal relationship between economic growth and energy, coal, and oil consumption at both ends of the distribution, and during various time periods over the past 150 years. Little evidence is found on the Granger causal relationship from gas consumption to economic growth, but some evidence on the direction from economic growth to gas consumption. The Granger causal relationships between electricity consumption and GDP change over time, but results suggest much closer links between the two in most recent decades, and big (positive and negative) changes in electricity consumption significantly Granger causes economic growth., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In the complex international society, the economic development and defense construction of BRICS countries have attracted increasing attention. This article incorporates technological innovation, militarization, and environmental change into a unified analytical framework to assess the potential impact of technological progress and defense military expenditure on the environment in BRICS countries. Based on CSD tests, unit root tests, and cointegration tests, this study constructs a CS-ARDL model to examine the long-term and short-term relationships among various variables from 1990 to 2021. The results show that technological innovation, military expenditure, and economic growth can significantly increase ecological footprint in the long run, while in the short term, technological innovation and economic growth significantly increase ecological footprint, and the impact of military expenditure is not significant. It is suggested that BRICS countries should focus on supporting low-carbon technology policies and research and development investment, while also considering the use of cutting-edge technology to improve military intelligence capabilities in order to reduce the negative impact of technological innovation and military activities on the environment., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Renewable energy has gained significant attention due to the growing concern for environmental sustainability and the high reliance on energy imports in European countries. In this study, we use a two- stage approach to assess renewable energy efficiency (REEF) of European countries. Initially, we employ the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method to quantify the efficiency of renewable energy. Subsequently, we investigate the factors influencing REEF between 2005 and 2020. Our findings reveal a generally high level of REEF across European countries, but some countries have become worse in this regard (e.g., France, Ukraine, Russia, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and Serbia). In order to find the causes of these changes, we considered the explanatory variables of gross domestic product (GDP), energy price, renewable energy consumption, information and communications technology (ICT), and industrial value added in a spatial system generalized method of moments (spatial SYS-GMM) model. The findings provide confirmation of the spatial spillover effects of REEF within European countries. The strongest positive effect is related to energy prices. In simpler terms, as energy prices rise, the efficiency of renewable energy has increased in European countries. Additionally, ICT and renewable energy consumption have positive impacts, too. But GDP and industrial value added, have decreasing effects. Based on these findings, we put forth several policy suggestions aimed at enhancing the efficiency of renewable energy in European countries., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper aims to measure the impact of environmental provisions in free-trade agreements on pollution levels in 40 Asian economies for the period 1990-2019. Following the failure of WTO negotiations, there has been a rapid proliferation of preferential trade agreements incorporating various types of environmental clauses. We exploit such changes to assess their influence on pollution emissions. We use a DOLS approach that considers the potential endogeneity of environmental clauses. Further, panel vector error correction models (VECM) are employed for examining the presence of a cointegration relationship among the variables studied. Overall, our findings indicate that these environmental clauses have heterogenous effects on CO 2 emissions. We do not find significant effects of environmental clauses on pollution. However, this result is driven by environmental provisions that are not legally enforceable. We do find a positive effect of environmental clauses with a higher level of legalism on the environmental quality. These results show that the inclusion of environmental provisions in trade agreements is not sufficient by itself. Such provisions should incorporate a legally enforceable framework to effectively address environmental concerns. These findings have significant policy implications for Asian countries., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper used graduation statistics of the Namibian secondary higher education over two decades to determine linkages to human capital of the youth and its multiplication into economic development. The paper assessed the effect of regional differences to show historic educational discrimination and why the education reform was required to correct the skewed past. It was hypothesized that the educational reform would result into improvements of the academic levels within the disadvantaged regions and anticipated that the correction will partly have negative effects on the previously advantaged regions. By applying panel data, the paper attempts to simultaneously address the complex relationships of development, education, and the underlying causalities within the economic system of Namibia. Concepts in the testing of socio-economic components are done by looking at confounding logics, stochastics, and the use of latent variables to determine linkages by using the canonical correlation method. This approach could be extended in future as guide for decisions on education. Our study shows that the implementation of the Namibian education reform resulted into increased enrolment numbers, but unfortunately also into the declining of academic levels, combined with the narrowing of learners' outputs. The reform response in the previously disadvantaged regions was slower than expected. Findings of the longitudinal data show that education levels in Namibia partly contributed towards human capital formation to multiply into economic development. The study shows that the method of analyzing linkages between cause and effect by means of causality provides advantages for analysis. The results confirm findings that human capital formation has a positive effect on the country's economic status, but for efficacy analysis of policy, we need regional information.

Higher Education Institutions are expected to stimulate the innovation system and to contribute to the development of societies in a global perspective. Within this context, there is an increasing focus on internationalization. HEIs are developing institutional mechanisms to support internationalization while academics are expected to carry specific practices that allow them to improve the internationalization of knowledge production. At the same time, they are encouraged to engage with non-academic partners to co-produce and transfer knowledge, contributing, in this way, to economic and social development. Although there is some research on the impact of internationalization on academic entrepreneurship, studies on the effects in other dimensions of academic engagement with society are almost absent. This paper aims to fill this gap by analyzing the relationship between academics' internationalization practices and perceptions and the development of different types of academic engagement. Our analysis draws on quantitative analysis with data provided by an international survey (APIKS) and explores the Portuguese context. Findings show that the different practices and perspectives on internationalization impact differently on the way scientists engage. While there are positive effects of internationalization of research on engagement, the time academics stay abroad and the high focus on publishing in internationally high-rated journals may negatively affect academics' orientation towards the local community. This paper contributes to the debate on the role of the internationalization in the context of a knowledge-based society, considering different dimensions and a broad spectrum of knowledge-based engagement activities.

Technological innovation is considered one of the most significant production variables. The influence of natural resource rents on this factor is crucial to the success of nations' sustainability with abundant natural resources. Driven by a theoretical argument, this research investigates the impact of natural resource rents on technological innovation by engaging the "instrumental variable fixed-effect method." With "Driscoll-Kraay's robust standard errors," the research accounts for "cross-sectional dependency" in a panel of 79 economies from 1995 to 2021. The empirical results confirm that natural resource rents positively and significantly impact innovation measured with trademark and patent applications. The findings also indicate that the components of natural resource rents, such as oil and natural gas rents, significantly promote technological innovation. The findings also indicate the roles of human development, financial development, and trade economies in the impact of natural resource rents on technological innovation. Due to heterogeneity, the analysis categorizes countries based on their economic development into "developed," "transition," and "developing" economies. The article finishes with policy implications, arguing that natural resource rent support a more resource-efficient economy and move toward a more circular economy targeted for sustainability. Therefore, emerging markets that initiate natural resource rents can support human capital and financial services through financial sector development and trade in maximizing technological innovation., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Bilateral debt swap is an innovative global financing mechanism designed to support heavily indebted countries (HICs). It is a debt-restructuring process involving donor countries forgiving debt owed by HICs in exchange for commitments to undertake projects on environment and socio-economic development. It is a unique approach designed to help heavily indebted countries get back on their feet. Effective debt swap financing can lead to both economic growth and environment sustainability, but they are challenging to implement. This study examines the impact of bilateral debt swap financing on economic growth and environment sustainability. For the purpose, we have used debt swap index developed with Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) methodology. KMO widely used approach of Principle Component Analysis (PCA) to solve the problem of "over-identification" and make strong correlation among endogenous variables of interest. In order to validate the nexus empirically between bilateral debt swap financing with economic growth and environment sustainability, we have employed the Two-Step System Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) approach in 25 countries for the period of 2002 to 2021. This modern econometric method addresses endogeneity issues and controls for unobserved heterogeneity in panel data. At the same time, the technique addresses the simultaneity problem, reverse causality, and remove selection bias. Findings of the study shows that effective bilateral debt swap financing can boost economic growth and environment sustainability by investing domestic resources for targeted activities along with reduced debt burden. Empirical results reveal that 1% change in debt swap financing can lead to a maximum of 0.23% growth in the economy and 0.28% improvement in environment sustainability. However, it is important to note that in most empirical specifications, results are inconclusive. One possible reason for this is often ineffective debt swap practices coupled with inadequate monitoring and evaluation in HICs. Policymakers should focus on enhancing debt swap policies to promote economic growth and environment sustainability., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)