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Women athletes are often asked to participate in unpaid or underpaid community appearances and youth camps to generate fan interest, promote their sport, and inspire the next generation of athletes. The expectation to invest in the future of one's sport for the benefit of others is a gendered process—requiring athletes to employ different forms of labor in addition to their athletic labor. Drawing from the literature on future-oriented labor and immaterial labor, we show how the sport industry is structured to extract value from what we refer to as women's "inspirational labor." Interviews with 29 women athletes and 15 managers in professional softball and soccer in the United States are used to illustrate the ideological and economic structures of inspirational labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slow and very slow landslides can cause severe economic damage to structures. Due to their velocity of propagation, it is possible to take action such as programmed maintenance or evacuation of affected zones. Modeling is an important tool that allows scientists, engineers, and geologists to better understand their causes and predict their propagation. There are many available models of different complexities which can be used for this purpose, ranging from very simple infinite landslide models which can be implemented in spreadsheets to fully coupled 3D models. This approach is expensive because of the time span in which the problems are studied (sometimes years), simpler methods such as depth‐integrated models could provide a good compromise between accuracy and cost. However, there, the time step limitation due to CFL condition (which states that the time step has to be slower than the ratio between the node spacing Δx$\Delta x$ and the physical velocity of the waves results in time increments which are of the order of one‐10th of a second on many occasions. This paper extends a technique that has been used in the past to glacier evolution problems using finite differences or elements to SPH depth‐integrated models for landslide propagation. The approach is based on assuming that (i) the flow is shallow, (ii) the rheological behavior determining the velocity of propagation is viscoplastic, and (iii) accelerations can be neglected. In this case, the model changes from hyperbolic to parabolic, with a time increment much larger than that of classic hyperbolic formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on regional development has recently explored new domains, including agency. Evolutionary perspectives link new development paths to technological innovations and adaptation of economic structures to changing environments. In contrast, the agentic perspective attributes the formation of new development paths to the purposeful actions of human actors. A broad interpretation of the notion of development paths is adopted, which goes beyond technological change, including also innovation in regional policy, governance, and leadership. The special issue contributes to these debates by offering diverse theoretical insights and empirically rich cases from the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Norway, and Sweden. The eight cases explore how local agency emerges, functions, and facilitates the creation of new development paths under conditions of relative peripherality and legacies of former industrial specializations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history and output of industry is closely related to the concept of productivity. According to the analyses by economic historians, the successive industrial revolutions always generated a rapid increase in productivity. However, this growth was volatile until the next industrial revolution: peaks and valleys followed each other. From the end of the 2000s, industrial labour productivity in developed countries has been decreasing once again, despite the fact that a new technical and technological era started (industry 4.0). Statistical offices, economic research institutes and central banks pay special attention to changes in labour productivity and its measurement possibilities, with particular regard to the effects of changes in the economic structure. The authors focus in present study on industrial productivity in the appropriate areas, complemented by the aspect of labour productivity. In the course of the short- and long-term analyses of the topic, the authors examine the methods applied, the influencing factors, the connection with the sustainability of the economic output, and analyse domestic experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkish foreign policy during the AKP era has been under academic scrutiny for a long time, but the outcome of the analyses has often varied considerably. Yet most of this research agrees upon one thing, which is that Turkey under the AKP has become more active and more influential, both in its region and in the international arena. While accepting Turkey's continuing relevancy, this paper argues that, although Turkey still could be considered as a regional power, its capacity for influencing regional and global politics had been eroded considerably in the last decade. At first glance, Turkey's recent U-turns and failures in foreign policy under Erdoğan's personalized style could be identified as the main reason for this erosion. However, building on Ruy Mauro Marini's conceptualization of subimperialism, this paper contends that it is actually conditioned by the neoliberal restructuring of the Turkish economy in the last four decades, which has transformed Turkey's economic structure in a very profound manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

In this study, we provide the first attempt to relate economic policy uncertainty (EPU) to firms' access to finance. Using data from 26 countries and the news‐based index from Baker et al. (2016), we provide evidence that EPU significantly increases financial constraints and decreases firms' access to finance. Our main inference is robust to alternative measures of financial constraints, alternative samples, alternative model specifications, and several approaches that control for potential endogeneity. We further show that the EPU‐financial constraint relationship is driven by both the demand and supply sides of financing. Additional analyses suggest that the impact of EPU on firms' financial constraints is moderated by board characteristics (i.e., gender diversity, independence, and duality). They also highlight the moderating roles of government effectiveness, the rule of law and control of corruption. Collectively, our findings provide novel theoretical and practical contributions in relation to EPU and the firms' setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the effect of natural resource dependence on employment quality in Africa, analysing data from 2002 to 2020. Our findings indicate that resource dependence is positively and significantly linked to poor employment quality. Specifically, a one‐percentage‐point increase in resource rent dependence results in a 0.026‐percentage‐point rise in vulnerable employment and a 0.282‐percentage‐point increase in working poverty rates. However, this effect of resource rents on employment quality occurs only when institutional quality is low. Once institutional quality surpasses a certain threshold, this adverse effect is reversed. These results highlight the need for policies that diversify economic structures to reduce African economies' overreliance on natural resource rents and enhance institutional quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 2000s, Latin America witnessed a resurgence in debates concerning the state's economic role, coinciding with a political transformation as new parties emerged to power. Existing literature on the "return of Industrial Policy" in the region largely offers a descriptive perspective, bypassing the intricacies of policy typifications and their associated political foundations. This paper addresses these gaps with two main contributions: First, it posits that the state's proactive economic interventions in Latin America were not comprehensive, but instead divided into two distinct channels: the sectoral and the macroeconomic. Second, by employing a fuzzy‐set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) of 59 democratic Latin American administrations, the paper delves into the political dynamics that underlie each channel. A detailed comparative analysis between Brazil and Chile serves as a focal point, illuminating their notable policy divergence. The research concludes that labor‐supported parties are predisposed toward adopting active developmental roles, especially in contexts lacking complex economic structures. However, even incomplete strategies require the presence of robust developmental institutions and is contingent upon a government's capability to establish developmental coalitions and countervail opposing interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Green development, which is crucial because of the escalating ecological and environmental issues, is largely driven by industrial transformation and environmental legislation. Purpose: The paper aims to examine the combined effects of environmental regulations and industrial change on the green economy, based on their separate effects. Methods: We use a fixed-effects regression on panel data covering 30 provinces in China in 2010-2020. Results: We reach the following conclusions: environmental regulations and rationalization of the industrial structure both support growth in the green economy, but advancement in the industrial structure hinders it. The combined effect of environmental regulations and advancement and rationalization in the industrial structure has a significantly positive impact on growth in the green economy; it is most pronounced in regions with higher resource endowments and economic development. Discussion: By providing specific empirical facts, this study clarifies the effects of industrial transformation and environmental regulations on growth in the green economy, contributing to enriching the literature and helping to pave the way to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding labor market dynamics remains a pivotal aspect within contemporary economic discourse, as necessitates the pursuit of effective employment models to ensure steady progress in the conditions of changes in the economic structure. The aim of the research is to examine the dynamics of the labor market in developing countries, with particular emphasis on China and Kazakhstan, taking into account economic, social, and technological trends. The methodology includes the analytic and comparison of trends in the labor market in developing countries, such as China and Kazakhstan over the past 20 years, and also monitoring the socio-economic nature of the labor process. The study identified changes in the labor market and provided empirical evidence for new forms of employment, utilizing comparative analysis and data visualization of the sectoral structure of the economy and global labor market trends up to 2027. The obtained results provide three main conclusions: a decrease in demand for low-skilled workers and an increase in demand for highly qualified individuals; the emergence of jobs with low levels of social protection; new forms of employment-oriented towards workers outside the social security system, domestic workers, and self-employed individuals. These types of employment can fill jobs in platform and piecework economies, cooperativism, and the sharing economy, which allows employers in developing markets to optimize employment. The findings of the study can contribute to understanding the functioning of the labor market in developing countries including the development of small and medium-sized businesses, startups, and innovative projects, and may be applicable in the development of economic and social policies for sustainable economic growth and social stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's manufacturing sector has fallen into recession since 2010 and one key bottleneck is the increase in operating cost of enterprises. To step out of the predicament, it is critical to reduce cost. By collecting data of 29 manufacturing industries in China during 1980–2020, this paper jointly measures translog cost function and factor input share function and detects the effects of infrastructure investment on cost structure and performance of China's manufacturing industries. It finds infrastructure investment reduces enterprises' operating cost and their demand on labour force. The rate of return to infrastructure is greater than that to private capital, indicating that insufficient supply of infrastructure holds back the development of manufacturing industries. Therefore, it is highly advocated that Chinese government should increase investment in infrastructure construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past twenty years, China has become the world's largest trading nation and a significant trading partner for most countries. Despite these important links, concerns regarding China's commercial and diplomatic goals persist due to its unique state-centric economic structure. This paper applies an augmented gravity model to tease out drivers of China's bilateral trade relationships, asking why some countries are more important than others as sources of Chinese imports. Our results show that both business and political considerations drive China's import decisions. Political friendliness with China, as measured by UN General Assembly voting records, or established trade agreements, has a positive impact on exports to China. The results further suggest that countries with official diplomatic ties with Taiwan export less to China. Membership in China's Belt and Road Initiative, however, does not generally translate into a significant increase in Chinese imports from the member country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North-South divide forms the central axis along which scholars study the contemporary global order. Yet many countries fall in-between the cracks of a world divided into core and periphery. This paper develops a structural account to understand the position of countries in this space of in-betweenness. The focus is on Central and Eastern Europe. I draw on already existing scholarship on liminalities, the varieties of capitalism and transition studies to argue that a liminal identity of in-betweenness goes hand-in-glove with a domestic logic of transitioning, as the state seeks to move somewhere else. Furthermore transitioning dynamics position the state in the semi-periphery, as the transition to the civilizational core requires capital and know-how from abroad. The resulting semi-peripheral position further underlines the liminal identity. The paper uses this apparatus to understand why CEE countries are typically climate change laggards within the EU. Their continuing liminal identity results in frustration over and resistance against the schooling tendencies of Brussels and Western European capitals. The dynamics of a sense of imposition of climate change mitigation policies stem from CEE's liminal positioning as apprentices, but the reasons for the perceived alienness of such policies are located in domestic societal dynamics, and CEE countries' economic structure. The specific political structures of communism and the communist transition have strengthened particularistic personal ties of friendship and family between individuals and the localities they live in, while simultaneously weakening general and abstract conceptions of the public good. Accordingly initiatives for preserving specific localities can be strong, but conceptions of protecting an abstract, global climate, are not well developed. Additionally, the material costs of protecting the climate are higher in post-communist economies due to their comparative advantage in resource and labour intensive industries, their reliance on foreign capital, and a lack of domestic innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having an important place in the liberation and establishment of Republican Türkiye, Maraş not only serves as a bridge from the past to the present with its culture and history, but also is located in a transition zone in Anatolia geographically and geologically. The current characteristics of the province have brought about natural disasters and other developments that affect every area, from social life to economic order. Various disasters of geological and meteorological origin have occurred in Kahramanmaraş in many periods of history. As a result of the disasters, loss of life and property occurred in the region and province. In this study, the natural disasters that occurred in Maraş between 1923 and 1960, when the economic structure was still based on old methods and techniques and the land used in agriculture reached its largest limit, and the effects of these disasters on the economic life will be discussed. During the study, primarily the Prime Ministry Republic Archive, TUIK sources, Maraş press, other works on the province and region, and sources on the period were used. The main aim of the study is to reveal the reflections of natural disasters in Maraş on economic life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking Guangxi as a case study, this study explored the spatial and temporal evolutionary characteristics of the spatial network structure of tourism economic linkages in Guangxi from 2010-2019 by applying the modified gravity model, social network analysis method, Ucinet software and ArcGIS. The study shows that (1) from 2010 to 2019, the tourism economic linkage degree of various cities in Guangxi was increasing year by year and became closely connected, but the overall regional network structure remained noticeably imbalanced; (2) there are differences in the centrality of the network of various cities in the region, and Nanning-Yulin-Guilin-Liuzhou has become the main linkage channel for the development of tourism economy in Guangxi; (3) there is an obvious core-edge zone stratification in Guangxi, and the density value of tourism economic linkage in the core zone increases year by year, while the improvement in the edge-edge area is relatively small; (4) the spatial distribution of the four cohesive subgroups of tourism economic linkage in Guangxi has deteriorated, owing to the imbalance of the spatial distribution within the subgroups which lead to the poor stability of the overall tourism economic structure. Based on this, a synergistic development model of "tourism core cities - tourism city clusters - tourism economic belt" is proposed to support the high-quality development of tourism in Guangxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a systemic comparison of minimum wage decision-making in Korea and Taiwan. It demonstrates that Korea's big-business-dominated economy builds confrontational labour–business relations to be exploited by political parties, resulting in partisan decisions on the minimum wage, to a greater extent than Taiwan's more mixed economy. A large social divide based on the economic structure translates into a substantial partisan difference in minimum wage policies, when endorsed by the unique features of the minimum wage issue and carried out through the agents of the tripartite commission. As seen from the outcomes, a marked difference exists between Korea and Taiwan: Korea shows a dramatic fluctuation in annual minimum-wage increases, whereas Taiwan's increases remain stable across different governments. Korean governments actively respond to their core constituencies, whether labour or business, while Taiwan governments seek to strike a balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the economic roots of the 1929 Women's War in colonial Nigeria. It analyzes the dynamics of women's social mobilization and its link to the imposition of British indirect rule and the economic crisis of the Great Depression. It relates how the Great Depression, colonial economic structure and organization, political culture, and gender ideology provide a more complex understanding of the causes of the revolt. The article suggests that these factors informed the tactics women employed in mass mobilization and protests against the British colonial institutions and their African agents. The article argues that the conjuncture-based articulation of resources and political opportunity underlying the movement set the case of women in Eastern Nigeria apart, but it occurred in the context of the global dynamics of colonial transformation of rural societies and the Great Depression, which squeezed rural income in the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Compare a time series of input-output coefficients for 66 different countries. • Assess the effects of geographical proximity on technological convergence over time. • Closer economies tend to be more similar due to geographical tech spillovers. • Institutional proximity also matters for technological convergence. • Over time, closer economies are becoming structurally more similar. From a time-space perspective, we assess the effects of geographical proximity on technological convergence over time identifying proximity dimensions associated with countries' technological similarities. We compare a time series of input-output coefficients for 66 different countries extracted from the 2021 edition of OECD Inter-Country Input-Output to verify whether nearby countries are more likely to share similar technologies. Our results reveal that geographical technological spillovers are important since closer economies tend to be more similar than distant ones. This is particularly evident for the European economies in the sample, suggesting that institutional proximity also matters for technological convergence. Over time, closer economies are becoming structurally more similar; however, this trend seems to have slowed down after the 2008–9 financial crisis. Conjectures on how informational gaps are filled in the consolidation of the databases – encountered in an environment of limited information – based on known practices of using regional and global average structures may add a layer of uncertainty to our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Addressing Pasinetti's "institutional problem" requires theorising actions. • The paper theorises actions within institutions and changing economic structures. • The paper theorizes collective and particular objectives within economic structures. • How social groups represent structures is crucial to explain structural change. The paper builds on Pasinetti's separation between a dynamic path that provides a normative framework (the "natural economic system") and the need to devise concrete institutions to approximate that path (the "institutional problem"). The paper argues that addressing the "institutional problem" requires theorising the role of actions within economic structures. By doing so, it proposes an approach to institutional analysis that shows how an economy growing with structural change offers opportunities for, and imposes constraints on, the pursuit of collective objectives as well as particular objectives by social groups variously defined. It also makes it possible to address the interplay between collective and particular objectives. A key argument is that how social groups themselves represent structures and their position therein is a non-reducible factor to explain which dynamic path an economy follows out of those which a given structure makes possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A productive restructuring model for the Greek economy is introduced. • The productive structure is optimized by using a particle swarm optimizer. • Policy intervention should focus on technologically advanced industrial sectors • The improvement of the economic structure cuts across all the economic system • Industrial structure adjustment has great potential to economic development policies The term productive restructuring refers to the transformation of an economic system for reaching predefined economic and social goals. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodological framework of productive restructuring, based on input-output analysis, targeting the optimization of the productive structure of an economy. The process of the productive restructuring involves: firstly, the reallocation of production among different economic sectors and, secondly, a process of intermediate input substitution. The proposed optimization model aims at the maximization of the total employment under macroeconomic constraints. A Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is employed for the solution of the optimization problem. The proposed methodology is applied to the Greek economy. Results appear to show that the productive restructuring should focus on manufacturing sectors, mainly those of high and medium-high technological level. The findings of the research suggest that industrial structure adjustments have great potential for policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The art form jazz dominated the popular music market of the US throughout the first half of the 20th Century. However, the traditional touring circuits slowly disappeared with the demise of jazz clubs thus causing barriers of access for audiences and musicians alike. The Jazz Road Program was launched in the summer of 2019 by South Arts with the aim of promoting deeper engagement between jazz musicians, presenters, and communities and supporting the touring economy. This article documents the program during its initial run from 2019 - 2022. Data was collected from South Arts records on recipients, award amounts, and touring destinations, interviews with organizers, artists, evaluators, and presenters, and surveys with artists and presenters. Results documented positive results in terms of touring economics and reach, quality of music, career development, audience development, and presenter support, as well as some lingering barriers of access and administrative hurdles. Conclusions encourage further inclusion and development of need-based and well-designed granting programs as key ingredients towards strengthening the economic structure of jazz as an art form and eliminating barriers of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the intricate relationship between economic growth and unemployment across multiple African countries, with a focus on estimating the Okun's coefficient. Data from the International Labour Office (ILO) and the World Bank's databases for 39 African nations were utilised. Two distinct methodological approaches, first differences and the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter, were employed to assess result robustness. Findings reveal that in most African countries, the link between GDP growth and unemployment is weak or non-existent, unlike advanced economies. This divergence underscores unique economic structures and labour dynamics in African nations, necessitating tailored approaches to address unemployment. The study also investigates factors contributing to Okun's coefficient variability in Africa, emphasising structural, demographic, and economic influences. Demographic trends, domestic market competition, and the rule of law are identified as key determinants. Consequently, policymakers are urged to prioritise measures targeting these factors to enhance job creation and economic stability. Additionally, the study highlights the role of growth volatility, particularly in Morocco, emphasising the need for policies to stabilise economic growth and mitigate unemployment fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature suggests that international trade may have different results over income inequality according to a country's trade and economic structure. The main goal of this article is to analyze the impact of international trade on income inequality in Latin American countries between 1997 and 2020. Our results suggest that international trade variables, such as trade openness and economic complexity, are highly significant and have impacted the income distribution. The results show that following the process of trade openness, the "simplification" of the economy led to a reduction in income inequality in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive examination of the differences in food production and the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics from the county scale is an important reference value for improving China's grain production and guaranteeing food security issues. The spatio-temporal pattern and distributional dynamic evolution of China's grain production were investigated based on data from 2 545 county scales from 2000 to 2020, using standard deviation ellipse, three-stage nested Theil index and stochastic Kernel density estimation etc methods. The results showed that, the overall level of China's grain production rose at a slow pace, the growth rate of food production showed an obvious fluctuating trend from 2000 to 2020, and China's grain production would remain stable but the growth rate of fgrain production would decline slightly over a long period of time in the future. In terms of spatial distribution pattern, the center of grain production in China was moving to the northwest, showing the directionality of northeasts-outhwest, and the development dispersion of southeast-northwest. In terms of spatial difference, the overall difference in China's grain production was showing an increasingly high level, and although the contribution rate of county difference in China's grain production had decreased from 49.94% to 29.51%, the county scale was still the most important source of the overall difference. Therefore, spatial differences were mainly dominated by county differences, followed by inter-provincial differences, inter-municipal differences and inter-regional differences, respectively. In terms of spatial effect, China's grain production level showed a growing trend and the possibility of local convergence, and its spatial effect had continuity and had obvious positive correlation spatial effect under different time and county space. In coordination with the development trend and practical needs of China's regional economic structure transformation, the "double cycle" development pattern captured the differences in regional grain production resilience in detail, which was conducive to the formulation of reasonable and effective grain production policies tailored to the local conditions of each region, and was of great significance for steadily breaking through the grain production dilemma and coordinating grain production security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reasons for China's economic slowdown over the past decade have rarely been explored. With the introduction of promotion reforms for officials, the Chinese government's attention has gradually shifted toward the latter in the "economy–environment" balance. Based on this interesting phenomenon of China's development, this article attempts to solve the mystery of China's economic growth decline. We find that the reform lowers emissions, possibly at the cost of economic growth. Heterogeneity analysis shows it significantly affects western and resource-based cities, while the impact differs in other cities. The economic growth rate effect of the policy shows a fluctuating downward trend over time, while the suppression effect of carbon emissions is the opposite. Corporate environmental governance actions are micro-channels for policy effectiveness. The findings of the study emphasize the policy implication that rational transformation of the economic structure requires continuous reform of the promotion and appraisal mechanism of officials in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use can affect energy consumption by changing the economic and social structure of cities. Thus, the optimization of land use patterns is key to promoting energy sustainability. In this study, we explored the spatiotemporal evolution of China's urban energy consumption and its driving factors from the role of land use, with the application of high-precision nighttime light images and land use data acquired from remote sensing satellites. A deep clustering network in deep learning was used for clustering analysis of urban energy consumption. The results indicated that the economic and structural effects of land use were the primary driving factors of the increasing urban energy consumption, whereas the decrease in the energy intensity (caused by technological progress) restrained the growth rate of energy consumption. With the exception of economically developed cities, generally, the contribution of the population size to the temporal increase in energy consumption was relatively small. The spatial difference in urban energy consumption was mainly due to the between-group differences among the diversified cluster groups, which were strongly influenced by land urbanization and population size. These conclusions can help the Chinese government formulate differentiated urban energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a case study of mortgage debt in Zagreb, Croatia, this article argues that the anthropology of household debt should engage more deeply with its economic implications and uses for debtors. It contributes novel insights from an understudied Eastern European setting to the Anglophone-centric debates on housing wealth and the financialization of subjectivity. The original mortgage pathways approach uses repeat interviews to track individual and household trajectories of mortgage debt. These processes are constituted by interactions between mortgagors and other actors, structural and conjunctural conditions, social norms, contingencies, and mortgages themselves. While mortgagors embraced the norm of housing wealth accumulation, their homeownership had layered meanings shaped by norms regulating reproduction and kinship and local structural and conjunctural conditions. At the same time, some individuals employed mortgages for profit-making strategies, and personal and public experiences with predatory lending stimulated a widespread prudent and active approach to mortgages. Thus, instead of an across-the-board financialization of subjectivity or its opposite, "domestication" of finance, there was an uneven interpenetration between the financial rationality of mortgages and mortgagors' prudent rationality that combined instrumental reasoning and value-based goals. Mortgages entail certain intrinsic effects, but their materialization is not exempt from the variability and dynamism of debt processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years anthropologists have increasingly conducted fieldwork among economic agents and on financial practices that would have seemed foreign to our predecessors of just a generation ago. This work can be broadly categorized as the analysis of expert capitalism. Expert capitalism is the knowledge-intensive, abstract, and often technical pursuit of profit. Anthropologists conducting such research have produced germinal insights regarding the contingent factors that make up expert capitalism, the key role of representations, language, and narrative in constituting the object referred to as an economy, and the unstated assumptions that frame the actions of expert capitalists. However, there have been as yet few systematic reflections regarding how to conceptualize expert capitalist fields and objects in such a way as to make them amenable to empirical, anthropological analysis. This article seeks to develop the anthropological documentation and analysis of expert capitalism by outlining a set of strategies useful in facilitating such research. These strategies fall under the rubrics of (1) mesoanalysis, (2) institutionalization, (3) reflexive practice and problematization, (4) subjectification, and (5) representations as economic facts. The article concludes that, taken together, these strategies constitute what might be termed econography: a mode of analysis suited to analysis of and writing about expert capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has induced immense material consumption and environmental threats while fostering economic development along participating countries. Quantifying recent trends of the material footprint of BRI economies and identifying potential drivers are vital to inform sustainable resource use. However, an assessment on the determinants of BRI material consumption from an economic system viewpoint is lacking in the literature. To fill this gap, this study proposes a multi‐region structural decomposition analysis model to assess the drivers of material footprints in BRI economies. To scrutinize the effects of transitioning economic structures, the effects of domestic and cross‐border production activities are separated. The latter is further characterized by production technology and sourcing structure. Using global multi‐region input–output tables of 2005–2015, this study reveals that shifting international sourcing patterns boosted BRI material footprint, with rising intermediate goods and services sourced from BRI regions substituting those from North America and the European Union. Capital formation in the construction sector took the primary role in driving BRI material footprint growth, followed by manufacturing sectors, especially since 2013. Disparities in the key drivers of material footprints have been identified among developed, emerging, and least developed economies. The results have relevant policy implications regarding alleviating BRI material pressure, including fostering material‐efficient demand patterns, facilitating environmental technology improvements in local countries, and establishing stringent governance on material usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first database of historical local population for Italy. The historical Italian municipalities population dataset (ITPOP) will cover the population of the peninsula at constant boundaries from 1861 to 2011. This paper presents the results of the initial stage of the project, with municipal homogeneous population figures for all Italian municipalities between 1861 and 1921 – the so-called «Liberal age». The database embraces the scrutiny of thousands of municipal territorial variations creating homogenous units that allow for analyses that can be comparable through time. From a methodological perspective, this contribution represents a first step towards the adoption of a local perspective in the Italian economic history literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this paper is to identify the factors that have influenced changes in the level of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) over time. Using the additive and multiplicative LMDI decomposition method, the observed changes are analyzed with regard to four factors: pollution coefficient, energy intensity, economic structure, and economic activity. Results in the period of interest (2007–2017) from Tunisia show that economic activity constitutes the main driver of increasing GHG emissions. Structural change has a positive but relatively modest effect on the program. The effect of energy intensity negatively contributes to the observed increase of GHG emissions. Against this backdrop, Tunisia should continue to reduce its dependence on energy from traditional sources in favor of renewable energy sources to limit future GHG emissions, while also improving the efficiency of energy use and energy conservation. Following the discussion of results, this study concludes with select policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Assessing the vulnerability of the economy, society, and environment of the belt and road initiative (BRI) countries and identifying the distribution characteristics are significant to promoting the construction of the Belt and Road. Based on the panel data of the BRI countries, this study selects 22 indicators from three aspects of the economy, society, and environment to construct a comprehensive indicator evaluation system and propose a multi-index and long time series vulnerability calculation scheme. Furthermore, the spatial differentiation characteristics and influencing factors of vulnerability in BRI countries are studied. The results show hierarchical differences in the comprehensive vulnerability index of BRI countries, and the low-vulnerability countries accounted for the largest proportion. The economic vulnerability, social vulnerability, and environmental vulnerability of the BRI countries all have apparent spatial variations. Among them, the vulnerability of various systems in Central and Eastern Europe and Northeast Asia is relatively low, while most of West Asia, northern South Asia, southern Central Asia, and some parts of Southeast Asia have relatively high vulnerability. In addition, economic development, economic structure, resource security, and infrastructure are all factors that have a greater impact on the comprehensive vulnerability, while the impact intensity varies with regional differences. Finally, this paper puts forward appropriate suggestions. With the goal of reducing the comprehensive vulnerability, this paper tries to provide a reference for better promoting the sustainable development of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reasonable leverage ratio is conducive to the sustainable development of the enterprise. During the green transformation stage of China's economic structure, improving the relevant credit policies to support green development has become an urgent need for the relevant government departments in China. This study first systematically analyzes the influence of excessive debt on green technology innovation (GTI) using the data of China A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2020. The empirical results showed that the excessive debt of enterprises significantly restricted their GTI. Excessive debt had a significant negative impact on the GTI of non-state owned enterprises (non-SOEs) and enterprises that did not implement the ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) certification. However, its impact on SOEs and enterprises adopted the ISO 14001 EMS was insignificant. The excessive debt mainly inhibited enterprise innovation by affecting the R&D investment of enterprises and raising the debt cost of enterprises. This study supplemented the relevant studies on the economic consequences of corporate debt deviation with different enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to some common views in macroeconomics, fiscal policy can be effective in stabilizing the economy and achieving macroeconomic goals. The past few decades have seen the widespread use of monetary policy tools for this purpose. Since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, there has been a renewed interest in using fiscal policy as a stabilizing tool. The macroeconomic implications of government expenditures and revenues and their effects on the overall economic structure have been studied by various empirical methods in several countries as well as in Iran. In this paper, far from previous studies, the issue has been implemented using Bayesian structural vector autoregression (B-SVAR). Because this method takes the previous information into account, the B-SVAR method is able to make more accurate estimates than other VAR models. Empirical findings show that government spending and income (income tax) have a limited effect on macroeconomic variables, including GDP, inflation, private sector consumption, income tax and total investment, and in the housing sector. Also, the impact of the private sector on production fluctuations in this model was not confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve sustainable development goal (SDG) 7 the world needs a lot of catching up. India has been at the forefront of renewable and clean energy missions and its ecological footprint of 0.8 global hectares fares quite well vis‐à‐vis the world average. This study, spanning from 1990 to 2021, investigates the impact of structural changes, technological innovation, and renewable energy adoption on India's ecological footprint, utilizing a novel dynamic Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) simulation for both short and long‐term analysis. We find that agriculture exerts a significant increase in the ecological footprint, both in the long run and the short run. Similarly, industry value added has a positive and statistically related to the ecological footprint. However, the result of the service sector indicates negative influence on ecological footprint in the long run, but a positive and significant relation with ecological footprint in the short run. Technological innovation has shown a favorable effect on the environment by reducing ecological footprint. Renewable energy consumption has also enhanced environmental quality by reducing ecological footprint in both short run and long run. To reach SDG 7 goals and lower India's ecological footprint, policy implications include promoting renewable energy, sustainable practices in agriculture and industry, and encouraging technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the extended C-D production function method to measure the total distortion of factor prices and the distortion of capital, labor and land factor prices in China's provinces and cities. The results indicate that between 2000 and 2019, due to factors such as the dual economic structure between urban and rural areas, human intervention in the capital market, and lagging land marketization reform, both capital and land factor prices showed negative distortions, except for positive distortions in labor factor prices. The degree of this positive distortion began to gradually weaken, and even showed a negative distortion trend in some regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a compilation of research papers that explore the topics of Smart Cities and Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). The papers cover a range of subjects including energy efficiency, renewable energy communities, smart urban management, and financial schemes for sustainable neighborhoods. The findings emphasize the importance of energy renovation, potential energy and financial savings, and the need for collaborative approaches and policy direction to achieve sustainable urban development. The papers also provide insights into innovative solutions and technological advancements that can contribute to the realization of carbon-neutral and sustainable cities. [Extracted from the article]

This paper analyzes the heterogeneous influence of economic networks on urban economic resilience capacity from different network characteristics, providing an innovative research perspective and theoretical framework for the economic resilience capacity of urban clusters. The urban economic elasticity is measured by multiple indicators and constructed economic network using night light data, the complex network approach was combined with spatial econometrics to analyse the contribution of economic network linkages and economic network locations to regional economic resilience capacity. The results show that: urban economic network linkage has a significant positive impact on urban economic resilience capacity, and the polycentric pattern of urban clusters has a driving effect on this impact; in contrast, the influence of urban network location on economic resilience capacity has an inverted u-shaped curve. Compared with non-smart cities, regions in smart cities are better able to promote urban economic resilience capacity through economic networks, and the impact of economic networks on regional economic resilience capacity has network external spillover effects beyond geographical distance, The results of the study infer that cities in urban agglomeration should rationalize network locations, and build a coordinated urban agglomeration network structure to enhance economic resilience capacity of the regional economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green transformation of industry and sustainable economic development both require considerable investment. In this regard, green finance that is compatible with economic development can help cope with the massive demand for capital. Taken China's Yangtze River Delta (YRD) as an example, this study is to measure the coordination degree between green finance and economic development. First, the concept, content and scope of green finance is defined based on the new financial regulation mechanism. Second, a green finance measurement index is built to calculate the green finance index for 30 Chinese provinces by the CFA test. Third, based on the economic structure index, an economic development index is built. Testing the rationality of green financial index and the economic development index, this paper finally measures the degree of coordination between green finance and economic development in the YRD. The results reveal that, first, green finance is a financial instrument that integrates financial industry development, environmental improvement, and economic growth. The measurement of the green financial development index includes the sum of regional green credit, green investment, green securities, and green insurance. Second, after years' development, the comprehensive score of YRD's coupling coordination degree exceeds 0.8 in 2020, which shows a high level of coordinated development between green finance and economic construction. However, there is a 2-year timing effect between the economic development and green finance index increase, which reveals that green finance development in the YRD requires further policy guidance and support. This study's findings can provide a theoretical reference and case support for the further development of green finance and related policies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds on the insights of Antonio Gramsci and Stuart Hall to introduce the ‘critical-relational’ approach to the analysis of left-wing ideologies that have been defined as populist. In doing so, we identify four distinctive ideologies: ‘populist social democracy’, ‘populist socialism’, ‘popular social democracy’ and ‘popular socialism’. Two key contributions are made. First, the ‘relational’ aspect of this conceptualization establishes clear distinctions between ideologies that appeal to the ‘people’ either to: (i) democratically empower (‘popular’) or disempower (‘populist’) disenfranchised groups; and/or (ii) disrupt economic class relations (‘socialist’) or redistribute them without transforming them (‘social democratic’). These distinctions, we contend, shed light on important differences between left-wing ideologies that are often conflated in the literature on left populism. Second, the ‘critical’ aspect of our interpretation aims to reveal how discourses of the ‘people’ are mobilized within left-wing ideologies to either reproduce or contest economic and political structures of power. Overall, this provides grounding for a more precise empirical analysis of the diverse ideologies that characterize the political left. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying and analyzing energy consumption and structural changes in Pakistan's major economic sectors is crucial for developing targeted strategies to improve energy efficiency, support sustainable economic growth, and enhance energy security. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method is applied to find the factors' effects that change sector-wise energy consumption from 1990 to 2019. The results show that: (1) the change in mixed energy and sectorial income shows a negative influence, while energy intensity (EI) and population have an increasing trend over the study period. (2) The EI effects of the industrial, agriculture and transport sectors are continuously rising, which is lowering the income potential of each sector. (3) The cumulative values for the industrial, agricultural, and transport sectors increased by 57.3, 5.3, and 79.7 during 2019. Finally, predicted outcomes show that until 2035, the industrial, agriculture, and transport incomes would change by -0.97%, 13%, and 65% if the energy situation remained the same. Moreover, this sector effect is the most crucial contributor to increasing or decreasing energy consumption, and the EI effect plays the dominant role in boosting economic output. Renewable energy technologies and indigenous energy sources can be used to conserve energy and sectorial productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waqfeyah is a document that informs the procedures and principles of a foundation and contains information such as what the donated goods are, who will benefit from them, and how and to whom and what amount will be paid. While waqfeyahs reflect the cultural, social, legal and economic structure of the period to which they belong, they are also important documents that reveal book arts practices such as calligraphy, illumination, marbling and binding. The art of illumination, which is one of the manuscript book arts, was generally applied in the past to embellish religious, literary and scientific manuscripts such as Mushaf, delâilü'l-hayrât, important manuscripts such as tughras, edicts and waqfeyahs. In this research, it is aimed to examine the illuminations in the waqfeyah cash book numbered 1444, which includes seven waqfeyahs belonging to Sultan III. Mustafa's daughter Beyhan Sultan. The technical, motif, color and composition features of the illuminated pages in seven waqfeyahs were determined, and the findings were interpreted in appropriate tables. As a result of the research, it has been understood that the colors, motifs and techniques used in the decoration of the foundation cash book numbered 1444, dated to the XIX. century, reflect the illumination characteristics of the period to which it belongs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st century, the diversification of communication and transportation opportunities has not only facilitated regular migration movements but also led to changes in the volume and dimensions of irregular migration. Migrants not only significantly influence the demographic, sociological, and economic structures of the countries they move to but have also become subjects of security concerns. Member countries of the European Union (EU) are targeted by migration movements due to attractive factors such as high living and working conditions, economic prosperity, and governance styles that respect human rights. Claims that migrants threaten the societal security of the EU by affecting its language, religion, cultural values, traditions, and national identities have become frequent topics of discussion in political and academic circles. In this regard, the main aim of the study is to determine whether migration poses a threat to the societal security of the EU or if such a perception exists in EU society. The findings indicate a strong perception in EU society that migration constitutes a threat to societal security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes urban sprawl in the Algerian cities of Skikda and Tébessa from 1985 to 2024, utilizing supervised classification of Landsat satellite imagery and GIS analysis. Skikda, a coastal city, experienced a 68% increase in built-up areas due to industrial growth and coastal geography, whereas Tébessa, an inland city, saw a 45% increase, with growth moderated by its topography and economic structure. The findings illustrate how socio-economic factors, land-use policies, and geographical characteristics influence urban expansion patterns. Skikda's rapid, scattered growth contrasts with Tébessa's controlled expansion. This study highlights the need for customized urban planning strategies that consider local contexts to manage urban sprawl effectively. By comparing the dynamics of coastal and inland cities, the research provides valuable insights for sustainable urban development in medium-sized Algerian cities, offering a framework for similar studies nationwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I am critical of the absence of a coherent theory of costs. I criticize existing cost concepts that define cost externally, through an objectified phenomenon (input price, scarcity of goods, the value/utility of the alternative which is forgone or sacrificed) and similar Böhm-Bawerk´s attempts derived from the value of a marginal product. The critique of the opportunity costs concept, which are regarded as an agent´s economic costs regardless of the fact that they are forever lost in the alternative course of history, is under scrutiny as well. The initial proposal for a modification of the cost theory is presented. The proposal is based on the introduction of the concept of individual utility as a mental structure, called an Idea of Economic Orientation. Agent defines how something should be desirable as well as possible, and thus creates the Idea. It is reflected in reality in the form of an agent’s portfolio of goods. The individual utility is based on a structural coincidence of an Idea as a mental structure with the real economic state of affairs of an agent. I claim that an integral part of the individual utility is the structure of cost, which is reflected in reality as one part of an agent´s portfolio of goods. The cost structure thus has its factual status (recorded by accounting operations), which is at the same time influenced by the opportunistic (counterfactual) consideration of the cost structuring; so, what is contrafactual shapes the factual. The proposal thus enables the synthesis of some vital elements of previous cost theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to amplify the imperativeness for a re-oriented regulatory approach that prioritizes constructive engagement with the regulated communities, harnessing the existing pool of savings and retention of market participation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a doctrinal legal research design with data drawn from primary and secondary sources of law. The primary sources include case laws and statutes, and the secondary sources include book chapters, journal articles and other internet-sourced materials. Findings: The paper finds that the status quo in Nigeria if left to continue would spell severe economic disaster for Nigeria's securities administration, but a well-structured realignment of the regulations would boost the country's securities market effectiveness. Research limitations/implications: The research's conclusions and suggestions might only be applicable to Nigeria's particular situation with regard to capital market development and securities regulation. Other nations or locations with distinct regulatory systems, market structures and economic situations may not be able to immediately adapt it. When extending the research results outside of the Nigerian environment, caution should be exercised. For regulatory agencies and policymakers, the research offers insightful suggestions. The analysis may pinpoint certain areas where policy changes are required to address reoccurring problems and improve the chances for a healthy capital market. Practical implications: For Nigeria's regulatory frameworks controlling securities to be strengthened, this paper would be crucial. To make sure they are in line with global best practices, this entails examining and revising current laws, rules and standards. A stronger regulatory environment may also result from the implementation of harsher enforcement procedures and consequences for noncompliance. It is also required for creating market infrastructure, fostering market integration and cooperation, facilitating access to capital, monitoring and evaluation. It would also benefit investor education and protection. Social implications: Addressing these persistent issues and potential remedies in Nigeria's capital market development and securities regulation would have various advantageous social effects. These include improved market infrastructure, more financial inclusion, improved investment protection for investors and improved market openness and integrity. Such results will help Nigerian society as a whole by fostering economic expansion, job creation, wealth distribution and general social progress. Originality/value: This paper is the original work of the authors and has not been published anywhere nor submitted to another journal for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth in Spain has largely relied on certain water-intensive sectors including construction, leisure, and agriculture; but considerable heterogeneity is found across the country's regions, both in terms of water stress and economic structure. Using Data Envelopment Analysis and a panel Tobit model, we analyze the determinants of water efficiency in Spain, differentiating by groups of agents (companies, households, and municipalities) and paying particular attention to inter-regional differences and specifically the sectoral structure of the various regions. To the best of our knowledge, such an analysis has never before been conducted with a focus on Spain's economy. Moreover, we emphasize the importance of considering the circular aspects of water management by including treated wastewater and recycled water in our analysis. We argue that this approach provides more credible and accurate measures of efficiency as well as more robust results around the key driving and explanatory factors. Our analysis reveals that water efficiency has a very significant inertia component with respect to one-year and even two-year lags, and this is found to react positively to water scarcity. Moreover, water efficiency depends on income in a nonlinear way, and it is sensitive to the economic structures of the diverse regions, with more efficient regions tending to export more at the national level. In terms of policy implications, our results provide an empirical basis from which to advocate for water tariffication as a means to spur efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]