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We examine how broad changes in work arrangements and lifestyles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected households' location decisions. Using data on over 360,000 residential, interstate moves over the last 5 years, we find that more than 12% of moves were directly influenced by the pandemic. Among pandemic-influenced movers, over 15% of households cite that remote work influenced their move. Lifestyle-related (job-related) migration increased (decreased) significantly, particularly for the set of households who are likely to have access to remote work. We further find that these changes in migration patterns are positively related to post-pandemic economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humanity faces a wide range of freshwater challenges and threats, from the failure to provide safe water and sanitation to all, to ecological disruptions and degradation, increasing violence over water resources, accelerating climate change, and failing institutions and infrastructure. In recent years, crises around minerals, energy, food, and water have stimulated new debates over definitions and concepts of sustainability—including whether the world is reaching a point where natural resource limits will constrain growing populations and economic expansion. Understanding the concept of "peak water" and the strategies that might be available to avoid these constraints is key to moving toward a more efficient and sustainable water future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opening of equity markets to foreign investment by developing countries appears to generate an enormously large positive growth effect (see Bekaert, Harvey, and Lundblad (2005), Journal of Financial Economics 77, 3–55) in spite of a relatively small role of such markets for financing investment in most economies. We propose a spillover channel from equity market opening to lower costs of bank loans, which helps to explain this puzzle. From analyzing bank loan data associated with China's introduction of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program, we find significant support for this channel. Furthermore, we show that a reduction in the risk premium in loans is an important mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encouraged by the ubiquitous belief entrepreneurship's value as a source of economic growth, for many governments developing entrepreneurial ecosystems has become elemental to their development strategies, representing a prominent trend in public entrepreneurship policy. However, the entrepreneurial ecosystems field is recent, undertheorized, and fragmented, limiting its capacity to explain the effects of entrepreneurial ecosystem policies. Advancing research is crucial for advising policy makers on how to formulate effective entrepreneurial ecosystem policies that are decisive for developing ecosystems. Lacking such solid and coherent theoretical foundations, entrepreneurial ecosystem policies risk being ineffective, while policy makers tend to simply replicate entrepreneurial ecosystem policies from other entrepreneurial ecosystems. We aim to address this issue by providing guidance on key parameters to inform the formulation of entrepreneurial ecosystem policies. The development of entrepreneurial ecosystems requires customizing a mix of policies adapted to the unique characteristics of each ecosystem, promoting the quality of entrepreneurship to ensure the allocation of resources to productive use, and addressing the complexity of entrepreneurial ecosystems with a holistic policy approach. Based on our findings, we present a conceptual framework and discuss three parameters for policy formulation: top-down versus bottom-up formulation, support to systemic versus framework conditions, and holistic versus siloed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The access and utilization of global knowledge flows are becoming increasingly relevant for individuals, organizations, and countries in order to foster knowledge creation, innovativeness, productivity, and economic growth. The importance of global knowledge flows is undisputed and substantial research has been conducted to understand the different transmission channels. However, the underlying characteristics, determinants, and impacts of global knowledge flows are only partly comprehended and remain to be explored in more detail. The purpose of this special section is to bring together different perspectives on global knowledge flows in order to provide novel insights and expand our understanding of how to utilize them. After a brief review of the relevant literature, we discuss the six papers in this special section and conclude with overall theory and policy implications and highlight key avenues for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We extend the growth at risk (GaR) of Adrian et al. (2019) by considering the nonlinear nexus between macro-financial environment indexes and economic growth. In this extension, we use the threshold quantile regression model to investigate the nonlinear impact of five constructed macro-financial environment indexes on economic growth and measure China's GaR from 2021Q1 to 2021Q4. The empirical results show that the threshold effect does exist. Incorporating this nonlinear relationship significantly improves the accuracy of China's GaR measure in terms of smaller prediction loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the data at the prefecture-level city from 1999 to 2019, we study the impact of officials with mismatched higher administrative rank on regional economic development. The study found that the high-level configuration of officials can significantly promote regional economic development. On average, the concurrent appointment of a provincial standing committee member as the municipal party secretary at the prefecture-level city can increase the GDP of the municipality by 9.1%. The mechanism analysis shows that increased transfer payment from up-level government and increased investment in regional fixed asset are the main reasons for the economic growth. Further analysis reveals that the economic growth effect of high-level configuration of officials is heterogeneous in terms of promotion pressure and the development stage of prefecture-level cities, the higher the promotion pressure of officials and the lower the per capita development level of prefecture-level cities, the greater the role of officials with mismatched higher administrative rank in promoting economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Special economic zones (SEZs) are essential if a developing country is to boost economic growth. The selection of an SEZ site might be viewed as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) difficulty because of the many conflicting aspects connected to different locations. This work presents a flexible neutrosophic MCDM approach for optimal SEZ site search. The single-valued neutrosophic sets transform the qualitative evaluation of the criteria for SEZ alternatives into a quantitative evaluation. The method based on removal effect on criteria (MEREC) approach is improved in a neutrosophic environment to ascertain the relevance of every characteristic of SEZ alternatives. We suggested a three-tuple neutrosophic combined compromised solution (N-CoCoSo) to evaluate the choice of expert to solve the SEZ site ranking problem. According to the planned N-CoCoSo, coastal forest regions are the worst location for SEZ sites; agricultural land near coastal areas is ideal. The sensitivity and comparability study helps establish the suggested method’s consistency and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of financial expansion, natural resources, gross domestic savings, and foreign direct investment on economic development in Pakistan, using annual data spanning from 1970 to 2020. We utilized the three regression techniques including Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), Cointegrating Regression analysis (FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR), and dynamic Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) to uncover the determinants influence on economic progress. The GMM technique findings reveal that natural resources and foreign direct investment have positively influenced the economic progress. Financial expansion and gross domestic savings both have a detrimental effect on Pakistan's economic growth. Moving on to the effects of FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR, the natural resources and foreign direct investment favourably affected the Pakistan's economic growth, whereas financial expansion and gross domestic savings adversely influenced the economic growth. Furthermore, the outcomes of dynamic symmetric (ARDL) approach in the short-run and long-run show that FDI and financial expansion have a negative impact on economic development, whereas natural resources and gross domestic savings have a favourable impact. In order to attain long-lasting and sustainable economic growth, it is crucial for the government to implement inventive policies and regulations that promote financial supply-side reform and enable various financial development initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article scrutinizes the dynamic interplay between theory and practice in EU competition policy. Through an in-depth analysis of theoretical and empirical insights, the article evaluates the impact of antitrust measures, merger control, and sector-specific regulations on EU flagship initiatives and economic growth. Emphasizing the pivotal role of competition policy in the single market, it calls for heightened theoretical underpinnings to enhance policy efficacy. As the article unfolds against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, it underscores the policy's adaptability to new strategic priorities, advocating for innovation, resilience, and sustainable development. The analysis reveals that while the European Union's competition policy has contributed to market efficiency and economic growth, challenges persist, particularly in addressing weak competition in certain sectors and adapting to evolving global economic dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of labour misallocation on economic growth in China's manufacturing sector from the perspective of industry linkages and analyzes the role of these linkages in this relationship. Utilizing data from various Chinese industries and the input-output table, the findings are as follows: First, neglecting industry linkages results in an overestimation of the negative impact of labour misallocation on manufacturing growth. Second, manufacturing subsectors partially mitigate the impact of misallocation by adjusting the input structure of intermediate products. Third, there is heterogeneity among the subsectors in their ability to offset the negative impact of labour misallocation. This study corrects the overestimation of the negative effects of labour misallocation in the existing literature, deepening our understanding of the market's role in the allocation of production factors. The study provides theoretical insights and practical references for the economic development and industrial transformation of manufacturing-led countries, emphasizing the significance of industry linkages in analysis and application, and offering a basis for formulating differentiated industrial factor allocation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether the impacts of financial development and liberalization on economic growth vary across different stages of development, which remains unaddressed in the literature on the finance–growth nexus. In the analysis, a comparative meta-analysis was performed for studies of advanced, developing, and emerging market economies, using 6,135 estimates extracted from a total of 379 previous works. The results have significant implications for studies of the finance–growth nexus. In particular, the impacts of financial development and liberalization on economic growth do not vary across different stages of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the importance of sustainable development of transport infrastructure in the context of ensuring the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of Ukraine. It is concluded that today sustainable development of transport infrastructure is a key element for achieving national and global sustainable development goals and an important condition for ensuring economic and inclusive growth, social stability, improving the quality of life of the population and achieving sustainable development of the country as a whole. Comparing the data of the Competitiveness Index for 2015-2021 and the First Voluntary National Review on the Sustainable Development Goals in Ukraine, it was possible to focus on the fact that over the years, the transport infrastructure in Ukraine has been developing at a very slow pace, requiring significant investment for development and modernisation. Particular attention was paid to the review of the state of transport infrastructure after the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine and the importance of its restoration. It is emphasised that today it is becoming clear that there is a need for a comprehensive approach to solving problems in the transport sector, which should combine both the problems that existed before the war and the challenges caused by military operations. It is noted that today Ukraine faces the task not only of restoring the destroyed transport infrastructure, but also of modernising it in line with the current global sustainable development goals. At the same time, sustainable development of transport infrastructure in the context of ensuring the achievement of Ukraine's sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without changing approaches to the formation of the State policy in the transport sector. It is noted that despite significant challenges, Ukraine has significant potential for modernising the transport sector in accordance with international standards of sustainable development. The restoration and development of transport infrastructure in Ukraine in the context of war is a complex and multidimensional task that requires an integrated approach, analysis of problems and adaptation of the strategy to new conditions, in particular, to the restoration and modernisation of infrastructure, introduction of innovations and ensuring the sustainability of transport networks in the context of military and post-war challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effects of civil conflicts in Burundi on its economic performance. The analysis of the structural effects using a structural VAR model points to the long-lasting effects of a civil conflict shock on economic growth in Burundi. After 10 years, the effect on economic growth is still noticeable. The cumulative effect of a civil conflict shock is found to be a 7.1% decrease in economic growth over a horizon of 10 years. Using the Synthetic Control method, estimates indicate that the Burundian civil war led to an average GDP per capita decline of approximately 138 dollars per annum, compared to what it would have been in the absence of war. The average annual loss as a percentage of the counterfactual GDP per capita is 34%. The total monetary cost of the war during this period is estimated at USD 1514 per person and almost 10 billion USD for the entire country. The estimated effects are robust to placebo checks conducted. We compare these results with costs of conflict in other countries to better understand the relative financial burden of the civil war. The study highlights the need to consolidate peace to achieve long-term economic development in Burundi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Export product diversification accelerates economic growth by helping the nations to escape the commodity dependence trap, reducing the volatility of terms of trade, and stabilizing export revenues. Creative industries are the emerging and evolving industrial sectors that affect the export basket's composition of nations and its growth effects. In this paper, for the first time, we calculated the diversification level of creative products' export basket using three measures including Theil and GINI inequality indices and Herfindahl–Hirschman concentration index for the top ten exporters including China, the US, France, Italy, the UK, Germany, India, Switzerland, Singapore, and the Netherlands. In addition, we analyzed the effects of diversification of creative products' export basket on the economic growth of the countries over the period 2002–2020. Our results indicate the diversification level of the creative products' basket in Switzerland, the US, France, and China decreased over the period, while for Germany and the Netherlands, it increased over recent years. For other countries, the indexes do not show significant fluctuations. By estimating a Barro-type growth regression model and also panel Granger non-causality test, we found creative products' diversification acts as a pro-growth factor in the countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of green growth argue that technological advancements and price signals can decouple economic growth from environmental impact through resource substitution and enhanced efficiency. In this research, we investigate the extent to which economic growth in Norway is decoupling from three key indicators of environmental pressure: energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and material consumption. Our findings show efficiency improvements across all of these indicators, but no absolute decoupling for any of them, and less so, a sufficient absolute decoupling to meet global sustainability targets. Despite the prevalent discourse surrounding a purported 'green shift', the overall environmental pressure within Norway is still on an upward trajectory. Mounting evidence regarding the absence of sufficient absolute decoupling suggests that the time may be ripe for high‐income nations like Norway to transcend policy focus on green growth and engage in transitions towards a post‐growth economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an attempt to understand the Adivasi landlessness in the context of the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in Kerala. Kerala has been projected as a model of development so far as social development indicators are concerned. Based on in-depth personal interviews with 72 Adivasis and three Adivasi and human rights activists in eight districts of Kerala, this article examines whose landholding has been a topic of debate in various political platforms. The study was carried out to explore whether the State's development initiatives and economic growth trajectory had any space for the Adivasis of Kerala. Adivasi landlessness and lack of efficient land distribution may be attributed to the so-called State-led development narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the integration of the Mount Hebron area into a distinct social and political region during the time of British Mandate in Palestine and the emergence of a regional "Hebronite" identity encompassing both the city of Hebron and the villages of the area. The study demonstrates that, while in many areas of the country such regional integration, or regionalization, developed through the gradual growth of economic, administrative, and political networks in the nineteenth century, the regionalization of Mount Hebron took place much later. It was not an outcome of the same dynamics as in other regions, but mainly a reaction born of chronic insecurity, as well as the social and even environmental hardships experienced in the region. In the 1940s, the determination to overcome these challenges was translated into the construction of a stable regional system that had significant intra-Palestinian and even geopolitical consequences. The study also shows that, while the Hebronite identity was a sub-national one, it had strong symbiotic, sometimes ambivalent, relations with the Palestinian and Arab national identities. Moreover, it was in no way a primordial but clearly a modern phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of capital efficiency on the economic growth of Bangladesh using the Harrod-Domar (H-D) model. Design/methodology/approach: We use annual data from 1980 to 2019 for this paper. Three steps are taken in the data analysis. First, to check the existence of a unit root, we use the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and to determine co-integration among the variables, we use the Johansen-Juselius co-integration test. Next, for long-run estimation, we use the dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) estimator. The sensitivity of the long-run estimations is further checked by the fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimators. Lastly, we use the Granger causality test to determine the long-run causality among the variables. Findings: The long-run co-integration test validates the co-integrating relationship among the variables. DOLS estimations reveal that the economic growth of Bangladesh is negatively associated with the incremental capital output ratio (ICOR), validating the notion that capital efficiency matters for achieving higher economic growth. On average, an increase in ICOR by a unit tends to reduce economic growth in the long term by 0.75 percent. Our results also reveal no significant relationship between savings and economic growth when the model is extended. Finally, causality results indicate unidirectional causality between ICOR and economic growth. Practical implications - Based on the results obtained, we argue that the enhancement of capital productivity could bring efficiency because ICOR is an inverse of capital productivity. Since Bangladesh's capital productivity is considerably low compared with other neighbouring countries, it is suggested that firms should gradually move towards technological advancement and enhance economies of scale, etc. in the long run. Moreover, policies in favour of continuous skill development programmes could be highly effective in increasing capital productivity given that capital follows a vintage structure. Originality/value: This is the first paper to analyse the economic growth pattern of Bangladesh using the traditional H-D model by incorporating variables such as savings and ICOR and also by relaxing the assumption of time-invariant (i.e. fixed) data of the variables. Moreover, this paper extends the traditional H-D empirical model by introducing key indicators and time breaks for Bangladesh's economy through a stepwise regression process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to determine causal relationships between the level of productive credit, real deposits and money demand - all of them in real terms - and Gross National Product between 2006 and 2020. Design/methodology/approach: The vector autoregressive technique (VAR) was used, where data from real macroeconomic aggregates published by the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) are correlated, such as productive credit, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, deposits and money demand. Findings: The results indicate that there is no causal relationship, in the Granger sense, between GDP and financial activity, but there is between the growth rate of real money demand per capita and the growth rate of total real deposits per capita. Originality/value: The study shows that bank credit mainly finances the operations of current assets and/or liabilities. In addition, economic agents use the banking system mainly to carry out transactional and precautionary activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the causation linking financial technology to economic growth in the East African Community states from 1997 to 2019. Design/methodology/approach: Autoregressive distributed lag is used. Gross domestic product per capita proxies economic growth, automated teller machines, point of sale, debit card ownership and mobile banking measure financial technology. Findings: The results unveil a significant relationship between financial technology and economic growth. The findings show bidirectional causality between automated teller machine and economic growth, with unidirectional causation from economic growth to point of sales and internet banking, mobile banking and government effectiveness to economic growth. The error correction term is negatively significant, demonstrating a long-term convergence between Fintech measures and economic growth. Research limitations/implications: The governments should effectively enact and implement policies that protect investments in financial technologies to boost economic growth in the East African Community countries. The government should reduce taxes on financial technology equipment and related services. The use of automated teller machine, debit card ownership and internet banking should be encouraged through cashless transactions. Financial institutions should adopt cashless operation policies to encourage the use of financial technologies. Originality/value: Research results on the bond between financial technology and economic growth are not conclusive. These studies demonstrate that technological innovations are double edged-swords, with both positive and negative sides. The results are conflicting; some reveal positive relationships, while others show negative links. Hence, research is required to fill the lacuna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, the heterogeneity of the linkages among financial development, productivity and growth across income groups is emphasized. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical analysis is conducted with an illustrative sample of 130 economies over the period 1991–2019 and classified into four subsamples: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), developing, least developed and net food importing developing countries. Forecast error variance decompositions and panel vector auto-regressive estimations are computed, with insightful findings. Findings: Higher levels of output stimulate the economic development in the agricultural sector, mainly via the productivity channel and, in the most developed economies, also through access to credit. Differently, in developing and least developed economies, the role of access to credit is marginal. The findings have practical implications for stakeholders involved in the planning of long-run investments. In less developed economies, priorities should be given to investments in technology and innovation, whereas financial markets are more suited to boost the development of the agricultural sector of developed economies. Originality/value: The authors conclude on the credit–output–productivity nexus and contribute to the literature in (at least) three ways. First, they assess how credit access, agricultural output and agricultural productivity are jointly determined. Second, they use a novel approach, which departs from most of the case studies based on single-country data. Third, they conclude on potential causality links to conclude on policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-renewable energy fosters economic growth, whilst simultaneously it serves as the primary source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Using data from the world's three major carbon emitters over the period 1980–2020, this paper adopts the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach to explore the dynamic nexus between energy consumption, economic growth and CO2 emissions. The results reveal that energy consumption matters for economic growth. From a short-term perspective, an increase in oil consumption positively impacts economic growth in the United States and India, whereas a negative shock solely affects China's economic growth. Regarding coal consumption, a positive shock only affects the US's economic growth, while China and India are more likely to be affected by a negative consumption shock. In the long run, the nexus between oil consumption and economic growth exhibits a similar asymmetric pattern in China and the United States. Concerning the effect of coal consumption on economic growth, only negative shocks count for China and positive shocks for the United States. The findings also identify various patterns of energy consumption on CO2 emissions. An increase in oil consumption, whether from a short- or long-run perspective, increases CO2 emissions in all three countries, while a decrease in oil consumption only mitigates CO2 emissions in China and the United States. There are more complicated patterns to the role of coal consumption in CO2 emissions. The results vary significantly from country to country; however, energy consumption has generally promoted economic growth as well as resulted in environmental issues that cannot be disregarded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex relationship between water, energy, food, and ecological systems, known as the WEFE nexus, has emerged as a major topic in the debate about sustainable economic development and resource management. This subject is of special interest in Mediterranean coastal areas as rapid economic expansion driven by population growth, higher influx of tourists, and intensification of agriculture is leading to structural water scarcity conditions. However, addressing the diverse range of issues associated with the nexus is a difficult task due to the existence of intricate interconnections, interdependencies, and nonlinearities within and across its various components. Accordingly, this case study applies a combination of participatory systems modeling and network analysis tools to yield insights into the complexity of this nexus in Axarquia, a region with features that make it an example of water-stressed jurisdictions in the Mediterranean. Overall, our results provide a strong foundation to understand the dynamics that govern this nexus in regions where the availability of freshwater resources is a significant concern. Furthermore, they lay the groundwork for the development of models and scenarios to simulate the impact of various policies and interventions on the overall system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to assess the interplay between financial globalization, effective governance and economic growth in sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the Generalized Method of Moment Estimation and the Panel Quantile Regression techniques to analyze how financial globalization and governance impact sub-Saharan African economies. Findings: The results show that governance is vital to the region's economic development. In order to achieve significant growth, sub-Saharan African economies must prioritize actions that promote good governance. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to sub-Saharan African economies. Practical implications: It is crucial for the sub-Saharan Africa economies to concentrate on strengthening governance frameworks in order to realize its full economic potential because improvements in governance quality would have a favorable effect on economic growth. Social implications: The findings indicate that both capital inflows and governance dynamics are essential for fostering economic growth in SSA economies. Also, balancing globalization's benefits with effective governance is crucial for promoting sustainable growth in SSA. Originality/value: This paper fills a gap in literature by using the KOF financial globalization index to assess the impact of financial globalization and governance on economic growth in sub-Saharan African economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

KEY POLICY INSIGHTS: Socio-economic issues must be addressed simultaneously to agree in theoretical issues for the management of extant and new protected areas. An increase in the area covered by protected areas does not guarantee biodiversity conservation. The global development model, based on economic growth, is the major impediment to biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the finance-investment nexus in sub-Saharan Africa using data from 41 countries spanning the period from 2000 to 2022. The central question addressed is whether there is a "too little" or "too much" finance problem in the region. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a system-generalised method of moments (GMM) approach to analyse the association between finance and private investment. Additionally, a dynamic threshold regression model is used to uncover potential nonlinearities in this relationship. Findings: Initially, the study identifies a negative correlation between increased finance and private investment. However, further analysis using the dynamic threshold regression model reveals a critical threshold level of finance. Specifically, the threshold is found to be 6.52% of domestic credit to the private sector and 23.18% using the financial development index. Below this threshold, finance negatively impacts private investment, while surpassing this threshold leads to positive growth in private investment. These findings indicate an issue of "too little" finance in the finance and private investment nexus in sub-Saharan Africa. The results are robust across different model specifications. Research limitations/implications: The implications of this study highlight the importance of identifying critical thresholds for financing to enhance investment expenditures in the region. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by uncovering nonlinearities in the finance-investment nexus in sub-Saharan Africa. The identification of critical thresholds provides valuable insights for policymakers, emphasising the need to strengthen the financial sector in countries operating below these thresholds to promote private investment and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odisha has experienced three distinct growth regimes during 1991-2019, namely, 1991-2002, 2003-10 and 2011-19. Odisha outshone the national economy and the 15 other major states in terms of growth rates in Gross State Domestic Product per capita (GSDPPC) and Human Development Index (HDI) during 2003-10. However, during 2011–2019, Odisha witnessed a significant growth slowdown vis-à-vis the national economy but such downslide in GSDPPC and HDI is not significantly different from the major states. The first Naveen Patnaik decade saw an upsurge which was possibly due to good luck rather than good policy, and the second one marked a downslide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Okun's law is empirically assessed for the 257 NUTS2 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) European regions over the period 2010–2020, which is characterised by intense economic, societal and political changes as a consequence of the 2009 economic crisis, the austerity measures followed and the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Okun's law equation is estimated using instrumental variables regression, employing a two-step methodology: (1) a panel regression estimator to obtain predicted variables of the endogenous variable (Gross Domestic Product (GDP) % change) by including the appropriate instruments in the model, (2) a linear-mixed fixed, random coefficient model and empirical Bayes predictions for the random intercepts and random slopes to obtain Okun's coefficients. Study results confirm the Okun's law for all regions under consideration and suggest that unemployment responses to economic growth differ among regions; either due to business cycle effects or structural labour-market factors. For regions depicting the strongest inverse impact of GDP on unemployment, a cyclical recovery is expected to be accompanied by a reduction in unemployment; while the weakest inverse relationship observed is associated with structural factors (i.e. industry composition, labour-force skills, long-term unemployment). At policymaking level, considering regional labour-market idiosyncrasies is of utmost importance to differentiate labour policies. [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]

From the perspective of investment-driven to innovation-driven for high-quality development, this study discussed an influence mechanism of investment structure optimization on the industrial agglomeration degree and its growth path of balanced regional economics. We put forward assumptions about their relationship with a mediator of the regional innovation capability and a moderator of the market-oriented business environment to solve problems of the regional economic gap to accelerate the construction of a unified national market in China. We used the regional industrial data of 31 provinces in China from 2004 to 2017 to verify these hypotheses. Finally, we found that regional innovation capability completely moderates the relationship between investment structure optimization and industrial agglomeration degree, and the market-oriented business environment adequately moderates the relationship. This result shows that regional innovation capability and market-oriented business environment restrict industrial agglomeration degrees and accelerate the integration of diversified capital. So, improving the investment of human capital and R&D capital is the key to solving the regional economic gap. It has enriched the research of high-quality development and provided necessary enlightenment for the practical application of regional industrial economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the threshold effect of inflation on the foreign direct investment (FDI) – economic growth nexus in sub-Saharan Africa using panel samples of countries that have adopted an inflation-targeting regime. The study sourced data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators over a period of 1982–2020 and adopted the fixedeffect panel threshold model approach for its analysis. The findings reveal two separate thresholds of inflation in the FDI – growth nexus. The growth-enhancing effect of FDI is largely realized when inflation is below the optimal threshold level of 7.26%. Beyond the second threshold level of 16.49%, the beneficial effect of FDI on growth is seen to diminish in terms of effectsize. This study provides new insights into the growth effect of FDI and the role of inflation levels in this nexus. The thresholds of inflation and the attendant size-effect of FDI on growth can be benchmarks for Africa and other developing and emerging economies in assessing their situations. As African monetary authorities choose which inflation targets to set for their monetary policies, the findings raise significant implications for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the causal association between Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure development, measured by an ICT index, and the economic growth of 42 African economies between 2000 and 2019. Whether ICT development has contributed to real per capita GDP growth or ICT infrastructure expansion has just been a consequence of growth in real per capita GDP has been overlooked in prior studies concerning Africa. The econometric techniques used to analyse the data included robust second-generation tools to investigate cross-sectional dependence, slope homogeneity, and panel causality. The findings detected significant independence between the variables across countries, the slope was heterogeneous, and there was a long-run association between all of the economies in the sample. Dumitrescu and Hurlin’s panel causality analysis indicated a unidirectional causal association between per capita income and the ICT index. The results also demonstrated that capital and employment were the leading causes of per capita GDP growth. The findings suggested that accelerating economic growth in developing economies was essential to promoting ICT investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-commerce is a key aspect of the modern digital economy, which is actively developing in the context of globalization. The importance of e-commerce lies in its ability to promote economic growth, create new opportunities for entrepreneurship, and provide consumers with access to a wide range of goods and services. This article analyzes the legal regulation of e-commerce in the context of the globalization of the digital economy, examining the experience of countries such as the USA, Singapore, China, and the European Union. The article outlines the main principles of legal regulation of e-commerce under Ukraine's national legislation and highlights the key challenges facing legal regulation in this area. The experience of foreign countries shows that effective legal regulation of e-commerce is possible with the harmonization of legislation, enhanced protection of consumer rights and personal data, ensuring cybersecurity, and supporting innovation. The USA, Singapore, China, and the EU have different approaches to regulating e-commerce, but all aim to create a favorable legal environment for the development of this market segment. The article also examines the main features of legal relationships in the field of e-commerce, as defined by the Law of Ukraine "On E-commerce". It highlights the rights and obligations of participants in electronic transactions, the procedure for concluding electronic contracts, the protection of consumer rights and personal data, and the responsibility of participant s for non-fulfillment of their obligations. Based on the analysis of foreign experience and national legislation, recommendations are formulated for improving the legal regulation of e-commerce in Ukraine. Further research in this area may focus on studying new technological solutions and their impact on legal regulation, analyzing the effectiveness of existing legal norms, and developing recommendations for their improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria has plentiful sources of renewable energies that are yet to be efficiently utilised, despite the country committing to net‐zero emissions by 2060, declared at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021, which necessitates lower consumption of fossil fuels. However, this commitment may divert the country from ending poverty as the main goal of sustainable development. This study seeks to identify the asymmetric effects of renewable and non‐renewable sources of energy used in electricity generation, along with CO2 emissions on the economic growth of Nigeria through asymmetric approaches. The findings indicate that Nigeria should mainly pursue policies concentrating on increased consumption of non‐renewable energies in the short run and more renewable energy in the long run to achieve higher economic growth. Furthermore, the long run causality results approving the only feedback relationship existing between renewable energy and economic growth, paves the way for Nigeria so that over the time the country will be able to significantly increase the share of renewable energy through which it can achieve a higher level of economic growth and approach its target of net‐zero emissions by 2060, both of which are the main goals of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the short- and potential long-term economic costs and benefits to Israel from its war with Hamas and Hezbollah that began in October 2023. As of October 2024, Israel’s economy has not returned to its pre-war level of output, and Israel’s government’s debt is increasing to pay for the war. The long run effect of the war will depend on its outcome, but there is potential for a very negative economic effect since the war might cause or contribute to a brain drain of young and talented Israelis. Israel is very vulnerable to a brain drain since it has many high-tech workers who have a comparatively easier time in re-locating to new countries than other workers since with their skills, they should be able to find well-paying jobs in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico's declaration of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in 2017 marked a significant territorial shift with far-reaching geopolitical implications. The establishment of SEZs represents the culmination of a three-decade period – starting with neoliberal reforms initiated in 1992 – during which Mexican state policies have increasingly prioritized hydrocarbon and mineral extraction. The proliferation of SEZs, or designated ‘development poles’, underscores a concurrent expansion of sacrifice zones – places abandoned, polluted, rendered invisible, or outright eliminated in pursuit of ostensibly greater common goods such as economic growth, progress, and more recently, sustainable development or decarbonization. Drawing on findings from 21 semi-structured interviews, this article elucidates how green extractivism shapes spatial politics in Mexico. Moreover, it provides a systematic categorization of both existing and emerging ‘green’ and ‘indirect’ (‘grey’) sacrifice zones as the state continues its push toward development as terracide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between political instability, economic growth, and Greece's overall stock market index (ASE) returns from 1970 to 2018. The aim is to measure and quantify the impact of political instability on economic growth and the overall stock market returns. The analysis includes six different variables as proxies that quantify political instability. A new Socio-Political Instability index is constructed from these variables by employing the principal component analysis. The empirical part employs GARCH, GARCH-M, Granger causality tests and OLS regressions. The paper provides new insightful results and a new measure of political instability for Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critiques the neo-Malthusian proposition that drastic global population reduction is essential to counteract the current climate emergency. It applies a new materialist, rhizomatic and more-than-human ontology of capitalism based Deleuze and Guattari’s analysis of the ‘capitalist axiomatic’: the free flows of commodities, capital and labour characteristic of capitalist production. Three sections address these rhizomatic flows, considering ‘extractive capitalism’, economic growth, and population growth through this DeleuzoGuattarian lens. The paper concludes, contra Malthus, that while growth in the global human population is placing strain on the environmental capacity to support it, it is the complex, rhizomatic interactions within the capitalist axiomatic that are producing anthropogenic climate change. Remedies short of a wholesale global shift from a capitalist economy are proposed to address this global crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As globalization and economic development accelerate, Chinese tea has emerged as an essential export commodity in the international market. China boasts abundant tea resources, which have significantly promoted economic growth through tea exports. This study analyses the relevant literature and the prevailing state of China's tea export trade. Using statistical data on tea exports and empirical research methodologies, this investigation examines the key determinants influencing the high-quality development of China's tea export sector. The research integrates relevant frontier theories from management science and engineering to propose tailored recommendations. The study reveals that while the industry has demonstrated robust economic growth, it is confronted with challenges such as the need for enhanced brand visibility and adherence to international quality benchmarks. The research findings highlight the positive influence of the "Belt and Road" initiative on the tea export trade, which advocates for strategic international collaboration. This study concludes with policy recommendations that underscore the importance of bolstering the international dissemination of Chinese tea culture, standardizing export practices, and fostering global cooperation to augment the industry's high-quality development trajectory. The findings aim to enhance the export capabilities of Chinese tea and foster the robust growth of the tea export industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is the source of economic growth. Innovation in a region comes from its own knowledge creation and knowledge spillovers from other regions. Previous studies showed that R&D factors flow benefits knowledge spillover, thereby promoting economic growth. But these studies ignored the impact of a region's knowledge-absorptive capacity on knowledge spillovers. Ignoring the impact of regional absorptive capacity means that the knowledge spillover from the same R&D factors flow is the same, clearly inconsistent with reality. This thesis analyzes the impact of R&D factors flow on economic growth and explores the moderating effect of regional absorptive capacity on the relationship between R&D factors flow and economic growth from theoretical and empirical perspectives. First, we construct a knowledge creation and diffusion model of the new economic geography, including regional absorptive capacity, and analyze the theoretical logic of the flow of R&D factors and regional absorptive capacity influencing economic growth. Second, we employ spatial econometric models to examine the impact of R&D factors flow and regional absorptive capacity on economic growth, utilizing panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2021. The results demonstrated a spatial positive correlation between regional economic growth in China. The R&D factors flow could have significantly promoted not just a region's direct economic growth, but also the economic growth of surrounding regions via spatial spillover effects. Furthermore, the stronger the regional absorptive capacity, the greater the direct effects and spatial spillover effects of the R&D factors flow on economic growth. The novelty of this article is to introduce regional absorptive capacity into the theoretical model, refine the methodology for assessing regional absorptive capacity in empirical research, and examine its moderating effect between the inflow of R&D factors and regional economic growth. This article reveals that the positive impact of the inflow of R&D factors on spatial spillovers and economic growth varies depending on regional absorptive capacity. According to the conclusions above, enhancing regional absorptive capacity is equally important as facilitating the flow of R&D factors. Therefore, it is vital for a region to strengthen its absorptive capacity for new knowledge while promoting R&D factors flow. The study provides valuable policy insights for accelerating the flow of innovation factors, enhancing regional absorptive capacity, and consequently promoting long-term sustainable economic development in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth in leading tourist destinations faces challenges requiring investment, technological advancement, and resource management. This study examines the impact of tourism, Fintech, FDI, and digitalization on economic growth in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the USA. These countries, identified by UNWTO for 2022, represent 46% of the global tourism market. Utilizing yearly data from 2010 to 2022 from sources like the World Bank, Crunchbase, and UNWTO, we apply Pooled OLS, PCSEs, FGLS, and Two-Step GMM models using Stata v17.0. Additionally, Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) was conducted using SmartPLS v.4.3 software. Our findings reveal that Fintech, tourism, FDI, and digitalization significantly contribute to economic growth, with varying degrees of impact across different models. Specifically, digitalization and tourism demonstrate the most substantial positive effects, while FDI and Fintech also play crucial roles. The study highlights the necessity of integrating these factors to foster sustainable economic growth in top tourist destinations. These results provide actionable insights for policymakers, stakeholders, and government officials, emphasizing the importance of strategic investments in Fintech, tourism, FDI, and digital infrastructure to enhance economic performance. The implications of this research extend to informing policy formulation and strategic decision-making aimed at leveraging technological advancements and investments for sustained economic development in major tourist economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it has been more than two decades since the completion of the first study establishing the tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH), this area of research still appears within the scientific literature in its analysis of tourism from an economic standpoint. In this regard, numerous studies have analysed the relationship between tourism and economic growth, usually measured using the arrival of tourists, tourism income and/or expenses for the first dimension and with GDP for the second. A first comprehensive review of these articles for the period 2002–2013, based on 95 peer-reviewed articles, was carried out, in which the main results obtained up to that time were evaluated. After this initial review, the interest found in the academic literature in its analysis of TLGH, far from diminishing, has continued with the publication of numerous articles on this field. Accordingly, 82 peer-reviewed empirical articles published during the 2014–2022 period are included in this analysis on a more current situation, along with the trends in the analysis of TLGH, determining whether the main conclusions based on the results, methodologies, measured variables or the destinations under study have remained the same compared to the previous decade or if there are any significant changes found within the scientific literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions are an important determinant of long-run economic growth. However, most studies only examine this relationship over a relatively short period and do not regularly include institutional variables in growth models. This article applies the pooled mean group (PMG) estimator to a panel of 18 OECD countries over 138 years. We find evidence that institutions matter for economic growth in the very long-run and conclude that economists should include them in any empirical application of the neoclassical growth model. Our result is robust to various robustness checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between insurance development, population, economic growth, and health expenditures for a panel of 31 OECD countries over the period 1995–2021. A dynamic panel data analysis based on cointegration, FMOLS, DOLS, VECM, and Granger causality tests is employed to suggest for the existence of a long-run relationship among variables. The long-run results show that insurance development, national income, and population exhibit positive impacts on health expenditures. The results reveal that insurance factor has larger income effects than substitution effects on health expenditures. Regarding the short-run causal relationship between the variables, the empirical results suggest that economic growth strengthens health expenditure growth, while insurance growth reduces it. In the short-run, insurance development has a crowding-out effect since it produces larger substitution effects than income effects. The results provide political implications that governments need to concern the short-run crowding-out effect of private insurance sections on health expenditures when making fiscal policies on public health expenditures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health events (PHEs) have emerged as significant threats to human life, health, and economic growth. PHEs, such as COVID-19, have prompted a reevaluation for enhanced regular prevention and control (RPC). In this study, we focus on the core concept of prevention and control intensity (PCI), and establish a neoclassical economic growth model from the long-term and macro perspective to balance life protection and economic growth. The model construct the mechanism of PCI on economic growth through population dynamics and capital accumulation under the backdrop of RPC for PHEs. We find the conditions for PCI when the economy achieves steady state, and provides an algorithm establishing the optimal strategy that maximises per capita disposable income based on the optimal PCI and consumption. Simulation result quantifies an inverted U-shaped relationship between PCI and capital per capita, output per capita and consumption per capita in the steady state. The model suggests that, given the PHEs of inducing potential unemployment shock, it is worthwhile to combine the implementation of moderate PCI with coordinated policies of income distribution. Highlights: • Building a Neoclassical economic growth model under public health events (PHEs). • Model links regular prevention and control (RPC) to macroeconomic factors. • Exploring mechanism of RPC for PHEs on economic growth. • Appropriate prevention and control intensity can engender economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, economic growth has been closely coupled to carbon emissions responsible for climate change, but to stabilize global mean temperature, net-zero carbon emissions are necessary. Some economies have begun to reduce emissions while continuing to grow, but this decoupling is not fast enough to achieve global climate targets. Subnational climate actions seem to be crucial for the achievement of these targets. Here, we uncover the effectiveness of subnational efforts by estimating decoupling rates and CO2 emission intensities over the last three decades for over 1,500 subnational regions, encompassing 85% of global emissions, using global data on reported economic output and gridded production-based emissions. Thirty percent of regions with available data have fully decoupled, with higher-income and historically carbon-intensive regions exhibiting higher rates of decoupling and declining emission intensity. Countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development with greater spending on subnational climate actions show higher decoupling rates, as do subnational regions in EU countries where climate policies have been implemented, highlighting the effectiveness of subnational policies. Moreover, subnational analysis reveals greater variance of decoupling rates within national boundaries than between them and that countries with weaker governance typically show higher variance of decoupling within their borders. If recent rates of production-based carbon decoupling continue, less than half of subnational regions would reach net-zero before 2050, even when accounting for observed acceleration via socioeconomic development and assuming no interregional carbon leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the impact of China's regional emergency logistics response capabilities on economic growth sustainability, this study develops a set of comprehensive indicators. It applies the entropy weight method combined with the TOPSIS method to evaluate these capabilities across regions. Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2021, this study employs panel models, panel quantile regression, and panel threshold models to analyze the impact of emergency logistics response capability on sustainable economic growth. By measuring the regional emergency logistics response capability and examining its effects on the sustainability of economic growth, this research provides foreign investors with a clearer understanding of the ability of different regions in China to handle unexpected public incidents. This, in turn, helps reduce investment uncertainty, mitigate certain risks, and offers valuable insights for enhancing the efficiency of international investments in China. Key findings are: (1) Since 2018, the establishment of the Ministry of Emergency Management has significantly improved China's regional emergency logistics capabilities, with the eastern region outperforming the central and western regions. (2) Enhancing China's emergency logistics response capability helps improve the sustainability level of economic growth. This reflects how China's emergency management departments can mitigate the adverse impacts of public emergencies on economic growth by transforming social logistics into emergency logistics. (3) As emergency response capabilities have strengthened, their impact on economic sustainability initially decreased but later increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]