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The rapid growth of cities and the increasing traffic congestion have made vehicle emissions worse, especially in developing countries. Governments worldwide are now relying on regulations and policies to manage and reduce these emissions effectively. This change in approach towards emission control is also happening in developing nations. In this study, the effects of these policy measures are quantified using a calibrated integrated traffic and emission model (AIMSUN), and two hypothetical scenarios were analyzed: one scenario is where electric vehicles (EVs) replace traditional internal combustion EVs (ICEVs) in the study area and another scenario is assuming strict implementation of Euro 4/IV emission standards. The results showed that shifting towards a higher proportion of EVs leads to significant reductions in emissions but requires increased battery consumption, highlighting the trade-off between reducing emissions and higher energy demand. Implementing Euro 4/IV standards could considerably reduce emissions, especially from motorcycles and trucks. It suggests that focusing on these categories with a phased implementation approach could bring significant environmental benefits. Policymakers in developing countries should adopt a rounded approach instead of implementing strict policies. It is crucial for them to carefully weigh the pros and cons of policy instruments before making any decisions. This study shows how traffic micro‐simulation modeling coupled with emission models can be used in evidence-based decision-making., Author(s): Meshack W. Okebe (corresponding author) [1]; Silvester O. Abuodha [1]; Meshack O. A. Ochieng [1] 1. Introduction 1.1. Overview of Traffic Congestion and Its Impact on Emissions Urban growth [...]

Understanding the relationship between output and unemployment (Okun's law) is important for policymakers, particularly during crises. One of the aspects of Okun's law that is commonly examined during crises is the structural stability and behavior of Okun's law over the business cycle. While this issue has been addressed empirically in developed countries, little is known about it in developing countries such as South Africa. Hence, this study examines the structural stability and behavior of Okun's law over the business cycle in South Africa. This study adopts both the difference and gap methods of formalizing Okun's law to implement its objectives. The recursive rolling window method was used to test the structural stability of Okun's law over time. The behavior of Okun's law over the business cycle is examined using the Markov-switching regression method. This study was conducted using the data from 1994Q1 to 2021Q1. The results of this study show that Okun's law varies over the business cycle because the response of unemployment to economic expansion is quite different from that of economic contraction. Okun's law holds during economic expansion but fails to hold during an economic recession. Evidence from this study also reveals that the coefficients of Okun's law vary over time. For instance, in the case of the difference method, Okun's coefficients range from 0.063 to 1.221 in absolute terms. For the gap method, especially when the H-P filtering method is applied, Okun's coefficients range from 0.509 to 9.412 in absolute terms. In summary, the findings from this study suggest that cyclical unemployment responds more significantly to cyclical output growth than the response of changes in unemployment to changes in output. In addition, this study proves that Okun's law is unstable over time in South Africa. These findings imply a high degree of variability between the labor and goods markets in the country. Hence, policies must be designed to harmonize the divergence between the two markets. This will require the implementation of macroeconomic policies such as fiscal and monetary policies. From a fiscal policy perspective, the government should reduce taxes or provide tax holidays to firms. The interest rate should be set low in the case of monetary policy. JEL Classifications: J64, O40 and C24 Keywords: unemployment rate, output, Okun's law, Markov switching method, recursive rolling window regression, INTRODUCTION Quantitatively, Okun's law states that a 3% increase in output would lead to a 1% decline in unemployment (Okun 1962). Since Arthur Okun established this inverse relationship between economic [...]

This panel was convened at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31, 2023 by Alejandro Chehtman and Ntina Tzouvala, and chaired by George Galindo, of the University of Brasilia and the [...]

This lecture was convened on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 12:00 p.m., by the discussant, E. Tendayi Achiume of UCLA Law, who introduced the honoree, Antony Anghie of the National [...]

The international development community and anti-corruption organizations continue to grapple with finding lasting solutions to corruption in developing countries. There is a widely held view in international development scholarship and policy circle that rule-based anti-corruption policies are the solution. These policies are centered on enforcing laws and rules to enhance 'good governance' defined by accountability and transparency in the conduct of public institutions. In addition, the literature on corruption has rarely approached corruption from a cultural perspective. Instead, the literature has overemphasized formal institutions and governance. However, we have limited insights into how local cultural practices enable or constrain corruption. To address this gap, this paper employs ethnographic research in Liberia. Methodologically, it relies on close observation of Liberians over several years in their own social and cultural settings and face-to-face contact with various members of the local groups, namely Americo-Liberians and native Liberians. Participant observation was triangulated with interviews with 20 Liberian professionals, public officials, and community leaders who have dealt, directly or indirectly, with corruption in Liberia. Archival data and relevant documentation related to Liberian culture and anti-corruption programs were also gathered and analyzed to assist with the triangulation of data. The data analysis reveals discrepancies between rule-based anti-corruption programs and cultural practices in Liberia. The findings show that these externally designed interventions were intrusive and did not align with Liberia's closed relationship-based cultural practices. Highlighting the impact that social capital, social trust, social enforcement, and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness could play in reducing corruption in Liberia, the research proposes a new culturally competent conceptual framework of corruption. The proposed program would combine rule-based values with Liberian relationship-based values exemplified with existing traditional practices such as Kuu and Susu that have long afforded Liberians the opportunity to work together to achieve common goals and objectives. The author recommends both international organizations and the donor community to leverage existing local strengths and traditional capacities in the fight against corruption. Theoretically, the literature should also broaden the discussion on corruption by engaging cultural and context-specific variables. JEL Classifications: D7, N4, O1 and O2 Keywords: Corruption, relationship-based culture, rule-based culture, INTRODUCTION One of the major challenges confronting the international development community today is finding lasting solutions to rampant corruption in the public sector, particularly in developing countries. In Liberia, which [...]

Table of Contents I. Introduction 2 II. The Impact of Social Media in the Global South 10 A. Data Collection and National Security 11 B. Protecting Privacy and Truth 16 [...], In recent years, the disinformation crisis has made regulating social media platforms a necessity. The consequences of disinformation campaigns are not only limited to election interferences or political debates, but have also included fatal consequences. In response, scholars have generally focused on regulating social media companies in the United States without paying much attention to these companies' global impact, particularly in the Global South. Lost in the quest to fight disinformation is addressing the social media companies' neglect of consumer rights in the Global South. Countries in the Global North, such as the United States, have the power to regulate social media companies should they choose to do so. However, the current power asymmetry between major social media companies and countries in the Global South limits the ability of many of such countries to have any meaningful bargaining power to advocate for their citizens' consumer rights and their ability to manage misinformation campaigns in their sovereign territories. In some countries, it is even unclear if there is any political will from their respective government to advocate for consumer rights. This problem will not be resolved by relying on corporate social responsibility or corporate self-governance. Thus, this Article argues that unless countries in the Global South act collectively, they should not expect any major change from powerful social media companies in handling misinformation in their countries or promoting their citizens' consumer rights. Regional treaties among countries, as a form of collective action, could push social media companies to be more attentive to their actions outside the Global North and bear responsibility in a transnational space. Ultimately, collective action in the Global South could inspire a global coalition and promote global accountability.

Direct exporting activities and outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) are two types of internationalization that differ in firms' opportunities, resources and risks. We study home-country institutional factors for internationalization and empirically investigate the direct and joint effects of export regulations, credit markets and corruption in explaining exporting and OFDI from a country. Using country-level data from 96 developed and developing countries between 2000 and 2018, we test a series of hypotheses and examine nonlinearity in the relationships. The results of the study suggest that export regulations partially affect exporting but do not affect OFDI. Access to financial resources can be critical in parts for both exports and OFDI. The findings also show that corruption can have different implications for exports and OFDI. The interactions of corruption with export regulations and credit markets reveal some unexpected and counter-intuitive results, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between the direct and indirect (joint) effects of business environment factors and corruption on exports and OFDI. The results of the study contain important information for policymakers. Keywords: institutions, exports, OFDI, corruption, export regulation, credit markets JEL classification numbers: F1, F2, L5, O50, 1. Introduction Many countries have undertaken significant policy interventions in the form of regulatory reforms intending to promote internationalization (Stoian and Mohr, 2016; Becker-Ritterspach et al., 2019) for domestic Arms [...]