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[Display omitted] • Convergence in Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) of 120 countries is studied. • GTFP showed an increasing trend conditional on regional heterogeneity. • Full sample GTFP divergence was witnessed and three convergent clubs were formed. • The 2030 agenda has a positive treatment effect on the global GTFP. • Indigenous and foreign innovations play crucial roles in club formation. This study employs the Biennial Malmquist-Luenberger (BML) productivity approach to measure Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) in 120 countries from 1990 to 2021. Next, the Phillips and Sul methodology is applied to investigate whether these countries have witnessed an absolute convergence process, or whether there has been a club convergence process. We also use an Ordered Logit method to identify the factors affecting the formation of clubs. Finally, the fuzzy regression discontinuity method is used to examine the exogenous shock of the 2030 agenda on the global GTFP. The key findings are presented as: (1) during the study period, the global GTFP on average has shown an upward trajectory. The European region performed better than the other regions, whereas Sub-Saharan Africa lagged in GTFP. Developed economies led in technological progress, while developing ones have achieved slightly higher carbon efficiency; (2) although the full sample divergence was supported, three clubs were identified with significant disparities in GTFP. We found that per capita GDP, industrial structure, energy structure, and particularly, indigenous and foreign innovations play major roles in explaining the formation of convergence clubs; (3) there was an apparent positive jump at the cut-off, indicating agenda 2030′s favorable treatment effect on the global GTFP. Therefore, all countries, poorer and richer alike, should use the half-way momentum to self-critically review and revise their national SDG strategies and commit to strengthening multilateralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of escalating global competition in science and technology, complex product systems (CoPS) have emerged as a significant indicator of comprehensive national strength. The exploration of the catch-up phenomenon holds substantial implications for subsequent development of CoPS. Existing CoPS research often focuses on a single engineering task (such as high-speed rail) and market logic (such as the telecommunications industry), examining the catch-up phenomenon from a single or hard-power perspective. However, the China Manned Space Engineering Application System (CMSEAS), with its significant international influence and dual characteristics of scientific research and engineering development, presents a different scenario. Its market value is difficult to be reflected in a short time, making the relevance of existing research limited. This study selected CMSEAS as a case, and acquired data through interviews, internal meetings, on-site observations, official websites, archives, and other forms. Based on grounded theory, open coding, axial coding, selective coding, and a saturation test were carried out, and a catch-up model of CoPS was constructed by considering various influencing factors. The results show that the catch-up is driven by five major factors: support force is the basic condition for its gradual growth; the management system, technical capability, and human resource are interdependent and serve as the direct drivers of the catch-up; and social influence plays a significant role in propelling the catch-up indirectly. Notably, the setup of a general department, interaction among different factors, cultural soft power, and social influence serve as useful complements to previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of renewable energy technologies and sectoral transformation can open green windows of opportunity for latecomer countries to leapfrog. The present study focuses on analyzing the relationship between the knowledge dimensions of the sectoral innovation system – including localization, diversity, concentration, and originality – and the outcomes of the catching-up process in the renewable energy sector. In this way, we distinguish between successful latecomers and leader countries. The study analyzed data from a panel of 15,600 patents in these countries from 2000 to 2015 and examined the quantitative indexes of knowledge dimensions. To illustrate the outputs of the catching-up process, we use two dependent variables: renewable equipment export and renewable electricity generation. The findings show how the evolution of knowledge dimensions impacts technological catch-up in both leader and successful latecomer countries in different ways. While knowledge localization is crucial in leader countries, latecomer countries benefit from concentration and originality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the association between the anthropometric status at birth and brain and bone growth during the first year of life. According to the brain‐sparing hypothesis, we expect catch‐up to be faster in head circumference (HC) than in body length. Methods: This is a longitudinal design that included Argentinian infants under 12 months of age with at least three anthropometric records. We classified study participants into four growth status categories according to z‐scores for HC (HCZ) and length (LAZ) at birth, with z‐score = −2 as a threshold. We used the Count model to describe growth trajectories in HC and length in the first year of life according to the growth status at birth. Recovery indicator for HC and length was taken as the time until the predicted growth trajectory surpassed the threshold curve predicted by z‐score = −2 for age. Results: Growth models included 3399 infants. There were significant differences in the growth parameters between groups in all cases (p < 0.05). Within the group with a low HCZ and a low LAZ at birth, HC recovery was faster than length. In the case of a low z‐score for only one of the variables, newborns with a low HCZ recovered faster than individuals born with a low LAZ. Conclusions: The postnatal growth pattern in HC and length is associated with the growth status of HC and length at birth. As we hypothesized, the fastest postnatal recovery occurs for HC in cases of intrauterine delayed growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study investigates the economic growth and catch-up of the NUTS3 regions of 6 Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states of the European Union (EU), 4 countries acceding in 2004 (Czechia, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia) and further two admitted in 2007 (Bulgaria and Romania), compared to the average of 14 older members of the EU between 2000 and 2019. We based our analysis on the urban–rural region types of the EU in the case of 185 regions, identifying predominantly urban, intermediate, and predominantly rural types. We apply Theil Index to examine the development of disparities and test the phenomena with unconditional β-convergence hypothesis. The analysis indicates that the growth of all CEE countries and their regions is faster than the EU14 average; the capitals considerably exceed it, the catch-up of other urban regions is also relatively fast, while it is very slow in the case of other regions. The convergence between the 185 regions is weak, based on the EU region typology it was initially strong between the capitals, moderate in the case of intermediate and rural types, while divergence can be observed in the urban types. The catch-up of less developed regions is very slow despite EU cohesion funding, even though 80% of the population live here. The stagnation of regional disparities and slow catch-up of less developed regions indicate the poor efficiency of the EU cohesion policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analytical review of the literature on the role of technology cycle time (TCT) in the catching-up process of latecomers at the firm, sectoral, and national levels. At the national level, latecomer economies follow a detour that consists of economic growth through specialization in short-TCT sectors during the catching-up phase, followed by a shift to long-TCT sectors in the post-catching-up phase. The paper then discusses the double-edged nature of TCT at the sectoral level, such that short TCT can either be a window of opportunity associated with the rapid obsolescence of existing technologies and thus low entry barriers, or another source of difficulty associated with the truncation of learning from existing technologies. Only latecomers with a certain absorptive capacity can benefit from short TCT as a window of opportunity. Finally, at the firm level, this paper discusses the issue of possible convergence in the behavior of catching-up firms towards those of mature firms in advanced economies. At all three levels, the keywords are detours and convergence. Given the barriers to entry in long-TCT sectors, latecomers pursue a strategy of detouring into short-TCT sectors. That is, instead of trying to emulate incumbents by entering long-TCT sectors, latecomers take the opposite route. Subsequently, as latecomers improve their capabilities over time, they shift their specialization from short to long TCT sectors, thereby achieving convergence in behavior and strategy at the firm, sectoral, and national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the evolution of educational and occupational patterns among migrants and natives, as well as income inequality in Germany from 1985 to 2015. We show that despite migrants catching up in education, employment, and income with their native counterparts, unfavorable societal attitudes toward them have remained virtually unchanged, which can be attributed to Bourdieu's conceptualization of cultural inheritance. We find that while income inequality has increased significantly over the 30‐year period, this trend varied considerably by the federal state and that migration did nothing to add to inequality. Since both the German economy and society rely on migrants, there is a strong need for the narratives toward migrants to be based on empirical evidence. The findings of this study hold migrant‐related policy implications not only for Germany but also for other developed nations that rely on migrants as a labor force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the WHO and UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) 2022 revision were analyzed to assess the status of routine immunization in the WHO African Region disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, coverage for the first and third doses of the diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP1 and DTP3, respectively) and the first dose of the measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) in the region was estimated at 80%, 72% and 69%, respectively (all below the 2019 level). Only 13 of the 47 countries (28%) achieved the global target coverage of 90% or above with DTP3 in 2022. From 2019 to 2022, 28.7 million zero-dose children were recorded (19.0% of the target population). Ten countries in the region accounted for 80.3% of all zero-dose children, including the four most populated countries. Reported administrative coverage greater than WUENIC-reported coverage was found in 19 countries, highlighting routine immunization data quality issues. The WHO African Region has not yet recovered from COVID-19 disruptions to routine immunization. It is critical for governments to ensure that processes are in place to prioritize investments for restoring immunization services, catching up on the vaccination of zero-dose and under-vaccinated children and improving data quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as a key technology for future economic growth. It is labelled as a general-purpose technology, as well as an invention of a method for inventing. Thus, AI is perceived to generate technological opportunities and through these, innovations, and productivity growth. The leapfrogging hypothesis suggests that latecomer firms can use these opportunities to catch up. The aim of this paper is to provide insight into this catch-up process of latecomer firms through integrating AI into their knowledge portfolio and thereby creating new technological trajectories. The moderating effect of firm size is also analysed. Combining firm-level data with patent data, a regression at the firm level is conducted. Evidence is found that smaller firms experience productivity growth from AI when operating at the productivity frontier, indicating the opposite of the leapfrogging hypothesis. However, there is evidence for the positive impact of AI on firm innovation, which is higher for latecomer firms that are larger in size. In general, we find a diverging pattern of the influence of AI on productivity and innovation growth, indicating the need for a finer grained analysis that takes indirect effects - that also could explain the observed productivity paradox - into account. Plain English Summary: Small frontier firms experience a higher labour productivity growth through AI integration. In contrast, large latecomer firms experience a higher innovative productivity growth. These effects are dependent on the type of AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as a key technology for future economic growth. It is labelled as a general-purpose technology, as well as an invention of a method for inventing. Thus, AI is perceived to generate innovations and productivity growth. This paper investigates the influence of different types of AI on smaller and larger firms that are either frontier or latecomer firms. We find that smaller frontier firms experience a higher labour productivity growth while larger latecomer firms experience a higher innovative productivity growth. This diverging impact has implications for scholars, as it could partially explain the productivity paradox and shows the need for research on specific types of AI. This impact also has implications for policy makers and practitioners alike that aim to strengthen frontier firms or to develop latecomer firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of escalating global competition in science and technology, complex product systems (CoPS) have emerged as a significant indicator of comprehensive national strength. The exploration of the catch-up phenomenon holds substantial implications for subsequent development of CoPS. Existing CoPS research often focuses on a single engineering task (such as high-speed rail) and market logic (such as the telecommunications industry), examining the catch-up phenomenon from a single or hard-power perspective. However, the China Manned Space Engineering Application System (CMSEAS), with its significant international influence and dual characteristics of scientific research and engineering development, presents a different scenario. Its market value is difficult to be reflected in a short time, making the relevance of existing research limited. This study selected CMSEAS as a case, and acquired data through interviews, internal meetings, on-site observations, official websites, archives, and other forms. Based on grounded theory, open coding, axial coding, selective coding, and a saturation test were carried out, and a catch-up model of CoPS was constructed by considering various influencing factors. The results show that the catch-up is driven by five major factors: support force is the basic condition for its gradual growth; the management system, technical capability, and human resource are interdependent and serve as the direct drivers of the catch-up; and social influence plays a significant role in propelling the catch-up indirectly. Notably, the setup of a general department, interaction among different factors, cultural soft power, and social influence serve as useful complements to previous studies.

Selecting a suitable approach to achieve sustainable economic growth, particularly in developing nations, has always been a central theme in economic research. Economists continually seek a universal factor driving this phenomenon. The theory of economic catch-up, rooted in the Schumpeterian school and informed by the developmental experiences of East Asia (South Korea, China, and Taiwan) offers a framework for understanding this growth and development. Since different sectors offer different potentials for developmental entry, selecting industries becomes a crucial question in transitioning from poverty to prosperity. Through an exploration of theoretical foundations and existing research, we've distilled four key indicators: technology life cycle, modularity of technology, explicit knowledge levels, and the extent of embodied technology transfer. These indicators serve as a framework for prioritizing and selecting industries in alignment with the catch-up approach. To determine priorities, we've assigned weights to these indicators using the hierarchical analysis method. Employing the PROMETHEE method to rank stock market industries in Iran, three industries emerged in the following order: computer and electronics, medical, optical, and measuring instruments, and automobile and spare parts. These findings provide a framework for identifying key industries in Iran's seventh development plan and industrial policy document, facilitating informed decision-making.

We consider a market of technology transfer and licensing with an outside innovator and two asymmetric potential licensees where the licensees have asymmetric absorptive capacities of a cost reducing innovation. The low-cost efficient licensee/firm can only benefit from the new technology if the size of the cost reducing innovation is strictly bigger than the cost difference from its competitor. The high-cost firm always benefits from the new technology regardless of the size of the innovation. This leads to the possibility of strategic shelving of the innovation by the efficient firm. Under this backdrop, we characterize the optimal licensing contracts of the outside innovator. We find that in equilibrium, the innovator will use a fixed fee contract for some parameters and royalty or two-part tariff contract(s) for other parameters. Equilibrium fixed fees and royalty rates will also vary depending on the cost asymmetry and the size of the innovation. The optimal licensing contracts can be exclusive or non-exclusive, and shelving of the new technology may or may not happen which has welfare implications. We also investigate the first- and second-best licensing contracts in this environment and discuss their possible implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel theoretical perspective which views the K-pop industry through the lens of M-ies model. To date, the innovative aspects of K-pop have been largely neglected by business scholarship, in part due to the inadequacies of the existing theories to capture the dynamic nature of its development. To fill this gap, M-ies model is devised. It posits that innovators (i) were critical in creating a sustained level of innovative momentum (M), as they implemented strategies (s) to respond to the external environment (e). Using the M-ies model, we also explain how an intriguing parallel can be drawn between a seemingly unlikely pair, the K-pop and the semiconductor industry. In so doing, we point to the significance of producer-innovators, and how private sector – in particular, SM Entertainment as the first mover – was the main agent of creative destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the longitudinal growth data of 13,809 individuals in the Akita Prefecture, the percentage distributions of their adult height (AH) standard deviation scores (SDS) in relation to their prepubertal height SDS were obtained. The AH SDS increased with negative prepubertal height SDS and decreased with positive prepubertal height SDS, showing that a greater amount of change was associated with a greater interval of the prepubertal height SDS from the mean. The proportions of individuals who achieved normal AH stratified by prepubertal height SDS were as follows: 67.1%, in the group with prepubertal height SDS of –2.5 < to ≤ –2.0 SD, 46.0% in the group with –3.0 < to ≤ –2.5 SD, 75.2% in the group with +2.0 ≤ to < +2.5 SD, and 55.1% in the group with +2.5 ≤ to < +3.0 SD. Of all participants with short stature at prepuberty, 58.4%, 33.8%, 8.3%, and 0% of those with prepubertal height SDS of ≤ –2.0 SD, ≤ –2.5 SD, ≤ –3.0 SD, and ≤ –3.5 SD attained normal AH, respectively. On average, it is difficult for children with prepubertal height SDS of ≤ –2.5 SD to attain normal AH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of R&D subsidy associated with R&D projects on the productivity and internal capacities of Korean manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It also addresses the difference in effectiveness attributed to the characteristics of such projects. We constructed distinctive firm-level panel data combining the National Science and Technology Knowledge Information Service and Korea Enterprise Data databases and used stochastic frontier analysis with multivariate matching techniques. The results reveal that subsidised R&D projects did not help Korean SMEs in improving productivity and efficiency. Compared with the control group, which had similar external features, beneficiaries showed worse productivity growth as well as efficiency changes. Moreover, the effects of R&D subsidies differ depending on project characteristics. Specifically, the amount and period of R&D subsidy had a positive effect on catch-up but a negative effect on SMEs' innovation capacity. These results demonstrate the need for renovating the current support system for SMEs' R&D activities in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of science and patenting is often viewed as the focus of SMEs in post catch-up conditions, as they seek to pivot from performing low value-added activities to new technological ventures in searching for new niches. SMEs—particularly those in city areas—are incentivized to commit to research that is linked to scientific knowledge and patenting activities. This study is interested to explore whether these SMEs upgrade, file patents and commit to long term upgrading. Their performances are benchmarked to SMEs of San Jose—the largest city in Silicon Valley (the highly cited Marshallian industrial cluster). We have configured an extraction process for bulk patenting data and architected a sorting procedure to derive a list of relevant indexes from patents assigned to the bottom 40 (and 60) percent of the total assignees of a region. We discovered that SMEs in Taipei, Seoul, Singapore, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong and Dublin had indeed upgraded to adopt emerging (science-based) technologies and appropriate them—not only to supply for existing market needs, but also to build their competitive edge for future endeavours. While many cities are found to be relatively ahead in producing technologies that are classified as long cycle and science-based, Taipei saw a rising number of SMEs committed to science amid the majority which invested in non-science technologies. Taipei nonetheless stands out as the city which bears many characteristics of what a Marshallian cluster is like. This study sheds new light on the technological pursuit of SMEs in post catch-up conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Females experience considerable environmental variability when breeding seasons are long. Adverse nutritional conditions can result in a reduction in mating and reproduction. However, a return to good nutrition may help animals resume high reproductive investment. I tested the silver spoon hypothesis in which females raised under poor conditions are reproductively limited compared to those raised under good conditions regardless of their adult environment. I used a specialist herbivore, Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae), that lives on seasonally changing cacti. I provided juveniles and adults with a cactus pad with fruit (good diet), without fruit (restricted diet), or an improved adult diet (no fruit as juveniles, fruit at adulthood) to simulate a seasonal change in their diets near the end of the breeding season. I found that both ovary size and egg presence were reduced for females fed the restricted diet compared to those fed the good diet. Females fed the improved diet grew large ovaries like those fed the good diet, but few produced any eggs. Interestingly, female mating behavior did not change but females were less attractive to males when fed restricted diets. My results support the silver spoon hypothesis for compensatory growth and suggest that tradeoffs may occur between early survival and future reproduction when females experience a poor early life diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-based cost-effectiveness analyses on maternal vaccine (MV) and monoclonal antibody (mAb) interventions against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) use context-specific data and produce varied results. Through model comparison, we aim to characterize RSV cost-effectiveness models and examine drivers for their outputs. We compared 3 static and 2 dynamic models using a common input parameter set for a hypothetical birth cohort of 100 000 infants. Year-round and seasonal programs were evaluated for MV and mAb interventions, using available evidence during the study period (eg, phase III MV and phase IIb mAb efficacy). Three static models estimated comparable medically attended (MA) cases averted versus no intervention (MV, 1019-1073; mAb, 5075-5487), with the year-round MV directly saving ∼€1 million medical and €0.3 million nonmedical costs, while gaining 4 to 5 discounted quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) annually in <1-year-olds, and mAb resulting in €4 million medical and €1.5 million nonmedical cost savings, and 21 to 25 discounted QALYs gained. In contrast, both dynamic models estimated fewer MA cases averted (MV, 402-752; mAb, 3362-4622); one showed an age shift of RSV cases, whereas the other one reported many non-MA symptomatic cases averted, especially by MV (2014). These differences can be explained by model types, assumptions on non-MA burden, and interventions' effectiveness over time. Our static and dynamic models produced overall similar hospitalization and death estimates, but also important differences, especially in non-MA cases averted. Despite the small QALY decrement per non-MA case, their larger number makes them influential for the costs per QALY gained of RSV interventions. • Several static and dynamic cost-effectiveness models for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prevention interventions have been published, but these models used context-specific data and produce varied results. • The static and dynamic models produced similar estimated hospitalizations and deaths. The main differences can be explained by (1) model types and structures, (2) assumptions regarding nonmedically attended symptomatic RSV infections, and (3) waning assumptions for maternal vaccine and monoclonal antibody effectiveness. • Nonmedically attended cases' quality-adjusted life-years and waning effectiveness of RSV interventions are influential and uncertain and should be explored in economic evaluations of RSV interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial part of production and trade now takes place through global value chains (GVC), making it an essential conduit of knowledge spillover and technology transfer. Yet, extant studies examining how countries become productively efficient and catch-up to the global efficiency frontier through international trade have ignored the possible role of GVC in fast-tracking this process. This paper provides the first empirical evidence that fills this knowledge gap. We propose a two-stage empirical strategy to this end. First, we use a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to compute a measure of productive efficiency—defined herewith as a country's relative productive efficiency to the global productive efficiency frontier. Second, we use the productive efficiency index as an outcome variable in a reduced-form equation that controls for GVC participation and its interaction with country characteristics that influence the gains from GVC participation. In addition to using the panel fixed effect method, we estimate the reduced-form equation with the difference-GMM to address endogeneity issues, and the Tobit and Fractional Response models to address the bounded nature of the productive efficiency index. We find strong evidence suggesting that GVC participation enables technology-lagging countries to become more productively efficient as well as catch-up to the global efficiency frontier. We also find that the productive efficiency and catch-up gains from GVC participation accrue more strongly to countries that have a high human capital stock, a well-functioning financial market, maintain stable macroeconomic conditions, and specialize in downstream activities in the value chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is examining Korean In Vitro Diagnostics (hereafter, IVD) companies’ catch-up with established medical device companies by analyzing the process of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguration during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (hereafter, COVID-19) pandemic. The potential catch-up of medical device companies in Korea has long been known as a demanding goal due to the conservative nature of the industry. While the rise of latecomers in industries such as mobile phones and automobiles is often observed, such a rise is rarely found in the medical device industry. Korean IVD companies have consistently been aiming at overtaking the existing leaders in the industry by pursuing technological innovation backed by active R&D investment. While the extant research on the topic of catch-up is enriched, there are small number of studies on the topic of the catch-up of medical device companies. This study focuses on understanding how two Korean IVD companies, SD Biosensor and Seegene, achieved meaningful catch-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand the specific catch-up during the pandemic, this study adopted case study as a suitable method to examine the interactions between the pandemic and the device companies. The study results suggest that Korean IVD companies achieved significant growth by fully leveraging their dynamic capabilities in terms of market sensing (the emerging market dynamics associated with COVID-19) and opportunity seizing.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine healthcare delivery, causing declines in CDC-recommended vaccination rates across the life-course in the United States (US). Ensuring protection against disease outbreaks and associated morbidity and mortality depends on improving vaccine coverage rates (VCRs) and uptake. The authors conducted a targeted literature review to assess the pandemic’s effects on routine vaccination rates across different populations, evaluating VCR recovery and improvement efforts. The review highlights articles published with data measuring or evaluating VCR decline across the US during the COVID-19 pandemic from January 2020 to April 2022, associated health impacts, and policy and programmatic strategies to recover routine VCRs. While vaccination rates stagnated or declined across some populations pre-pandemic, the review indicated there were further VCR declines in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019 across numerous CDC-recommended vaccines, ages, and geographies, with some vaccines and sub-populations disproportionally impacted. The review additionally identified declines in patient healthcare visit frequency and increases in morbidity and mortality associated with vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) complications. Reviewed publications highlighted multifaceted strategies that could aid in recovering VCRs. Overall, findings demonstrate a significant reduction in VCRs across all age groups and highlight promising solutions to inform vaccine uptake efforts and ensure broader protection against VPDs.

Data from the WHO and UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC) 2022 revision were analyzed to assess the status of routine immunization in the WHO African Region disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, coverage for the first and third doses of the diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP1 and DTP3, respectively) and the first dose of the measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) in the region was estimated at 80%, 72% and 69%, respectively (all below the 2019 level). Only 13 of the 47 countries (28%) achieved the global target coverage of 90% or above with DTP3 in 2022. From 2019 to 2022, 28.7 million zero-dose children were recorded (19.0% of the target population). Ten countries in the region accounted for 80.3% of all zero-dose children, including the four most populated countries. Reported administrative coverage greater than WUENIC-reported coverage was found in 19 countries, highlighting routine immunization data quality issues. The WHO African Region has not yet recovered from COVID-19 disruptions to routine immunization. It is critical for governments to ensure that processes are in place to prioritize investments for restoring immunization services, catching up on the vaccination of zero-dose and under-vaccinated children and improving data quality.

Technological catch-up is a very complex and time-consuming process that requires all kinds of capabilities to be acquired by the latercomer firms in order to successfully complete the various stages. This process is influenced by various factors that determine its failure or success. Considering the factors affecting the successful and unsuccessful cases in the catch-up process can gain a good insight for companies and countries that want to go through this path successfully. In this regard, in the present study, with the help of a systematic review of the literature, a framework of factors affecting the success of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and knowledge-based industries was extracted in order to make a comparative comparison with the catch-up situation in the biopharmaceutical industry in Iran. Quantitative support of foreign and domestic studies of each of the factors by Shannon entropy method is calculated and compared with each other to identify gaps in the catch-up of the Iranian biopharmaceutical industry. The obtained results show that there is a high similarity between domestic and international articles in terms of entropy in terms of institutional environment, capability building, and technological regimes. It is also necessary to improve the unfavorable position of the domestic industry in the factors of the market catch-up, organizational issues and the catch-up strategies with the help of the proposed solutions.

Blockchain technology is one of the revolutionary technologies in service-based industries. E-health services are considered as a major economic and social activity in the world in which patients, the medical community and service providers such as insurance organizations play a key role. In Iran, e-health services have been introduced for more than a decade, but it is seriously lagging behind the leading countries. According to the Blockchain Opportunity window, a technological and economic catch-up is possible in e-health services in the country. Decentralization, data transparency, security and privacy are the key features of Blockchain technology. Therefore, in this research, through case study strategy and using documents, scientific articles, evidence, statistics and events and opinions of experts, policy factors were presented to catch-up through the Blockchain technology opportunity window. The dimensions of the proposed policy framework were presented in 4 categories: macro policies, market, financing, and technology learning and development. This study presents technological catch-up policy framework by Blockchain technology to policymakers for using in e-health services.

Early caregiving experiences set the stage for children’s developmental trajectories. Children who experience early adversity are more likely to show difficulties regulating their behaviors, emotions, and physiology than children who do not experience adversity. Parenting interventions designed to enhance parental sensitivity and responsiveness can buffer children from the detrimental effects of early adverse experiences and ultimately enhance child outcomes. One such intervention is Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), an evidence-based home visiting program developed to enhance parental sensitivity and responsive care. In this paper, we review the intervention objectives and effectiveness of ABC. We then describe efforts made to supervise the fidelity and dissemination of ABC, including its implementation in diverse cultural contexts and with Spanish-speaking families in the United States. Lastly, we discuss the potential of ABC as a novel intervention to be implemented within the child welfare system in Spain and Latin America.

This paper examines the changing landscape of GVCs and competition in the global semiconductor industry in the context of new geopolitics featured by the United States implementing "chokepoint" measures to limit the rise of semiconductor manufacturing in China. Overall, the paper finds that these US measures, like the IRA and CHIPS act, will have important impacts on semiconductor GVCs, especially in three types of memory (HBM, DRAM and NAND) and logic chips, and will slow down the speed and process of China's catching up and possibility of leapfrogging. By developing a conceptual framework for analyzing realism-based great power rivalries and national firm responses, we note that lead firms in South Korea and Taiwan can muddle through by reconfiguring their modes of GVCs, which can be summarized as "a bigger capacity and higher-ends in home bases and a smaller capacity and lower-ends abroad." Analyses of US patents show that Korea and Taiwan have maintained their technological superiority in terms of both quantity and quality of their patents, compared to China, whereas Japan has lost its past superiority to China at least in patent quantity. We also find that the pace of China's catch-up is very fast in quantity, but slow in quality in key segments (DRAM, NAND and logic chips), except HBM which is the most recent segment where China has already surpassed Korea or Taiwan in terms of the number of patents. Whereas China has been catching up rapidly in the number of patents, it might encounter problems in turning that into market catch-up given the existing restrictions in accessing complementary technologies and chipmaking equipment, such as advanced lithography machines (EUV) or even more matured technologies (DUV), and software. Severely constrained by these technological entry barriers, the degree of catching up by China tends to be faster in lower-end products by foundry firms (e.g. SMIC), medium to high in NAND memory chips (e.g. YTMC), and slow or difficult in DRAM (e.g. CXMT). In the meantime, China has been making progress in domesticating value chains in diverse equipment and components in chip manufacturing. • Korea and Taiwan have maintained their technological superiority through a strategy of: • Building "bigger capacity and high-ends in home bases and a smaller capacity and low-ends abroad" • China's catch-up is fast in quantity of patents but slow in quality • China's catch-up is fast in lower-end foundry products; moderate pace in NAND chips; slow in DRAM • China is domesticating key value chains in parts and components [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how China's solar photovoltaic (PV) industry can catch up so rapidly without radical technological innovation. Through the grounded theory method, we found it was the industrial innovation ecosystem construction and industrial innovation ecological relationship maintenance that made China's solar PV industry gain competitive advantages. From the perspective of the industrial innovation ecosystem, clustering and colocation provided a foundation for industrial innovation ecosystem construction. China's solar PV enterprises maintain the ecological relationship among the actors of the industrial innovation ecosystem through several ecological strategies, including resource orchestration and co-opetition. Hub firms played an important role in overcoming the liability of newness and putting forward the vision of shared fate in the early stage of industry development. Local governments and industry associations provided institutional support, coordination, and intermediary to enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Corrected age entails determining the age of premature infants by adjusting their gestational age to 40 weeks. Research on corrected age in relation to neurodevelopment is limited, both domestically and internationally, resulting in a lack of consensus and recommendations regarding the appropriate termination of the neurodevelopmental corrected age. This study aimed to assess the neurodevelopmental catch-up status of premature infants with varying gestational ages and to identify appropriate termination criteria for the corrected age of neurodevelopment., Methods: The study included 1,579 premature infants without high-risk factors and 8,441 full-term infants receiving care at the child health clinics of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children, and Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Wanzhou District, Chongqing between January 1, 2018, and March 1, 2023. Infants were grouped based on gestational age into early, middle, and late premature infants, as well as full-term infants. Over a 48-month period, the developmental quotient (DQ) of each functional area on the Gesell Developmental Scale was compared across groups., Results: There were no statistically significant differences in DQ of all functional areas between late premature infants and full-term infants at 36 months of age (all P>0.05). In contrast, some developmental functional areas in middle- and early-premature infants and full-term infants exhibited significant differences at 36 months of age; however, by 48 months of age, these differences were no longer significant (all P>0.05). The DQ of all functional areas in the late, middle, and early premature infant groups demonstrated a catch-up trend from 6 to 48 months of chronological age (all P<0.05)., Conclusions: The termination age for neurodevelopmental correction in premature infants may continue beyond 36 months of age, with longer correction time required for those born at younger gestational ages., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tp.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tp-24-243/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 AME Publishing Company. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate the status of neurodevelopmental catch-up and suitable correction termination age in preterm infants of different gestational ages., Methods: A total of 918 preterm infants without significant high-risk factors who attended the outpatient service of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from January 1, 2018 to March 1, 2023 were included. The data on developmental quotient (DQ) in Gesell Developmental Schedule (GDS) were collected, while 6 684 full-term infants were included as controls. According to the gestational age, the infants were divided into preterm groups (early preterm, moderate preterm, and late preterm births) and a full-term group, and these groups were compared in terms of DQ of each functional area and its changing trend with 48 months of chronological age., Results: The DQ values of all functional areas showed a catch-up trend from 6 months to 48 months of chronological age in each preterm group ( P <0.05). There were no significant differences in the DQ values of all functional areas between the late preterm and full-term groups at the chronological age of 36 months ( P >0.05). There were significant differences in the DQ values of most functional areas between the moderately/early preterm groups and the full-term group at the chronological age of 36 months ( P <0.05), but no significant differences were found in the DQ values of all functions areas at the chronological age of 48 months ( P >0.05)., Conclusions: The correction termination age for neurodevelopment in preterm infants may need to extend beyond 36 months, and the smaller the gestational age, the longer the time required for correction.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the share of fish stocks of unsustainable levels or overfished increased from 10% in 1974 to 31.4% in 2013. However, there are some well-managed regions where stocks are stabilizing and many badly managed regions where stock continue to decline. Using Fish Stocks Status data from 1980 to 2014 for 124 countries, this research examines how different income and regional subgroups contributed to reach globally unsustainable high overfished level by the use of convergence analysis. The result is that a majority of subgroups do appear to adjust their current fishing rate, in part, to their past level of overfishing. In other words, they will speed up their rate of catching when their past level of overfishing is low, and vice versa, following the principal of convergence theory. However, one or two subgroups such as Latin America and Caribbean region or the upper middle-income subgroup do not follow this majority's rule, making it harder for other subgroups and countries to control the escalating global overfishing level. Several policy implications from these findings will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful catch-up is an important channel to achieve sustainable development for emerging economies; however, it is a great challenge to catch up in complex products and systems (CoPS). Studies show limited evidence on how successful catch-up occurred in CoPS for emerging economies. This study holds the view that CoPS catch-up means a narrower gap in the innovation ecosystem between latecomers and leaders. This study disentangles the CoPS innovation ecosystem and uses China's high-speed railway (HSR) as a longitudinal case with abundant data to explore how successful catch-up in CoPS is achieved. The results show that the CoPS innovation ecosystem presents a dynamic evolution in the technology innovation subsystem, the value creation subsystem, and the habitat. Four types of forces from the innovation ecosystem mix together to drive CoPS catch-up. Finally, this study proposes a CoPS catch-up process model following the basic logic of start point, activities, and performance, and CoPS industrial standards are used to measure CoPS catch-up performance. The study on CoPS catch-up from an innovation ecosystem perspective provides new insights and useful implications for governments and entities in CoPS of emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology is one of the revolutionary technologies in service-based industries. Ehealth services are considered as a major economic and social activity in the world in which patients, the medical community and service providers such as insurance organizations play a key role. In Iran, e-health services have been introduced for more than a decade, but it is seriously lagging behind the leading countries. According to the Blockchain Opportunity window, a technological and economic catch-up is possible in e-health services in the country. Decentralization, data transparency, security and privacy are the key features of Blockchain technology. Therefore, in this research, through case study strategy and using documents, scientific articles, evidence, statistics and events and opinions of experts, policy factors were presented to catch-up through the Blockchain technology opportunity window. The dimensions of the proposed policy framework were presented in 4 categories: macro policies, market, financing, and technology learning and development. This study presents technological catch-up policy framework by Blockchain technology to policymakers for using in e-health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveDespite recent progress in caring for patients born with esophageal atresia (EA), undernutrition and stunting remain common. Our study objective was to assess nutritional status in the first year after birth with EA and to identify factors associated with growth failure.Study designWe conducted a population-based study of all infants born in France with EA between 2010 and 2016. Through the national EA register, we collected prenatal to 1 year follow-up data. We used body mass index and length-for-age ratio Z scores to define patients who were undernourished and stunted, respectively. Factors with P < 0.20 in univariate analyses were retained in a logistic regression model.ResultsAmong 1,154 patients born with EA, body mass index and length-for-age ratio Z scores at 1 year were available for about 61%. Among these, 15.2% were undernourished and 19% were stunted at the age of 1 year. There was no significant catch-up between ages 6 months and 1 year. Patients born preterm (41%), small for gestational age (17%), or with associated abnormalities (55%) were at higher risk of undernutrition and stunting at age 1 year (P < 0.05). Neither EA type nor surgical treatment was associated with growth failure.ConclusionUndernutrition and stunting are common during the first year after birth in patients born with EA. These outcomes are significantly influenced by early factors, regardless of EA type or surgical management. Identifying high-risk patient groups with EA (i.e., those born preterm, small for gestational age, and/or with associated abnormalities) may guide early nutritional support strategies.

In the Netherlands, the Health Council has advised that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination should be offered to both boys and girls. Additionally, boys and men up to the age of 26 years should be included in a catch-up program. In this study, we examine the cost-effectiveness of this HPV catch-up program.We used a static Markov model to estimate the amount of cancers prevented and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for different scenarios.Vaccinating men from 12 until the age of 26 years would result in an average of 48 cancer cases prevented in every cohort (an estimated total of 720 cases), with an average ICER of €32,256.We found that the catch-up vaccination program results in a relevant number prevented cases against an acceptable cost-effectiveness ratio. Policymakers should take these findings into account when evaluating a gender-neutral HPV vaccination program in the Netherlands.

Early caregiving experiences set the stage for children's developmental trajectories. Children who experience early adversity are more likely to show difficulties regulating their behaviors, emotions, and physiology than children who do not experience adversity. Parenting interventions designed to enhance parental sensitivity and responsiveness can buffer children from the detrimental effects of early adverse experiences and ultimately enhance child outcomes. One such intervention is Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), an evidence-based home visiting program developed to enhance parental sensitivity and responsive care. In this paper, we review the intervention objectives and effectiveness of ABC. We then describe efforts made to supervise the fidelity and dissemination of ABC, including its implementation in diverse cultural contexts and with Spanish-speaking families in the United States. Lastly, we discuss the potential of ABC as a novel intervention to be implemented within the child welfare system in Spain and Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many prior studies have examined latecomer firms' learning and upgrading; however, the context of upgrading changes significantly when they passed the initial catch-up stage and we know very little about how latecomer firms achieve continuous upgrading after they enter into beyond catch-up stage. This study employs a longitudinal case study to investigate how a latecomer firm pursued ambidextrous learning and achieved technological upgrading successfully in three different stages. We find that latecomer firms can achieve sustained technological upgrading through ambidextrous learning and that the specific learning mode in different stages can evolve with windows of opportunity and technological capabilities. These findings extend our understanding of how latecomer firms can upgrade to the innovation frontier and shed new insights into the ambidextrous learning literature. Implications for policy are discussed and directions for further research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]