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We use second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulation, and theoretical modeling to study the response of the neat liquid water-air interface to changes in the potential of an external electrode positioned near the liquid, but out of direct contact. We observe a parabolic dependence of second harmonic intensity on applied potential. Based on standard theory, we associate this dependence with the response of the diffuse layer water molecules to changes in interfacial potential profile. Taking the literature value for this response leads to the unexpected conclusion that the electric fields within the diffuse layer are opposite in sign from those originating from the electrodes. This conclusion implies that the traditional continuum-based models of interfacial screening lack the complexity necessary to properly describe the potential profile of the liquid water-vapor interface. Effects such as overscreening in the topmost interfacial layer and extended correlations in the interfacial hydrogen bonding network may play a role in governing the response of the water interface to external fields.

We use second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulation, and theoretical modeling to study the response of the neat liquid water-air interface to changes in the potential of an external electrode positioned above the liquid out of contact. We observe a parabolic dependence of second harmonic intensity on applied potential. This dependence is reminiscent of bulk-phase electric field induced second harmonic (EFISH) but more complicated because it combines the second-order response of the topmost water layer and the potential dependent response of the interfacial electrical double-layer. Based on the literature values for these contributions, we derive a physical interpretation of our measurements that reveals new insight into the response of the neat water interface to external electric fields. Specifically, we find that the net dipolar orientation of water molecules within the double-layer is primarily responsive to the internal fields generated by the excess surface concentrations of OH- and H3O+ that arise to screen the external potential. Notably, this interpretation implies that the orientational response of water dipoles at the interface can actually oppose the direction of the external field, a subtle effect that is not captured by traditional models.

Debate on globalisation versus protectionism was relevant in long back, though prevailing consensus construing protectionism saves job in the short run and slows economic growth in the long run. The objective of the study is to examine empirically whether globalisation affects overall employment generation in the South Asian countries during the period 1991–2016 in individual as well as panel of countries. Having no long-run associations in the majority of the countries, results support that the change in globalisation index makes a cause to change in employment only for Bhutan, while change of growth rate of employment makes a cause to change in the rate of globalisation for Maldives and Nepal. Further, the dynamic panel study fails to establish any long-run relationships between globalisation and employment of the countries of the region. However, in the short run, globalisation makes a cause to employment in the panel format, which is highly unlikely to happen in case of the individual countries. Thus, extent of globalisation and employment generation in the South Asian countries do not have strong inter relationships.

In emerging labour market, particularly, the direct and indirect association between employment level and foreign direct investment (FDI) in a dynamic economy is non-deniable. Like private and public investments, FDI promotes employment generating agenda and at the same time, sound employment scenario of an economy attracts FDI to inflow. Under this backdrop, the present study attempts to examine whether employment and net FDI inflow have long-run associations and short-run dynamics in South Asian economies for the period 1991–2016. Applying cointegration and Granger causality tests for individual country level and panel cointegration, vector error correction and Wald test on the two standardized variables—employment–population ratio and per capita net FDI inflow—reveal that the two indicators have cointegrating relations for Bangladesh and Nepal and FDI makes a cause to employment generation in Bangladesh only. Further, the panel data exercise shows the existence of long-run or equilibrium relations linking the two indicators without significant error correction results. The Wald test results show that there is short-run causality working from employment ratio to per capita FDI and vice versa. The study, thus, prescribes for ensuring quality environment in the concerned domestic economies of the region so that employment opportunities invite FDI inflow to their territories.

We use second harmonic generation spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulation, and theoretical modeling to study the response of the neat liquid water-air interface to changes in the potential of an external electrode positioned above the liquid. We observe a parabolic dependence of second harmonic intensity on applied potential, indicating that water’s net interfacial dipole responds linearly. We also observe a minimum intensity when the potential is tuned to a specific positive value. Interpreting this minimum based on the macroscopic electrostatic potential profile yields misleading physical conclusions because it neglects the internal bias exerted on molecular orientations by the excess surface concentrations of OH- or H3O+. We thus find that water’s net interfacial dipole orientation is primarily responsive to the effects of these ionic species rather than the external electric field.

Growth and national importance of aquaculture production is empirically assessed as an important indicator of development. The present article aims to test whether the major aquaculture producing countries of the world are converging over time. The authors have applied the absolute and conditional beta convergence and sigma convergence approaches on the data of FAO for the period 1997-2013. The results show that there is an absolute beta convergence and sigma convergence among 25 major aquaculture producing countries; negative sign of coefficient of conditional beta convergence with per capita income is also noticed. It implies, the growth rates of aquaculture for developed nations are declining with rise in per capita income and backward fish-intensive countries are catching up with the giant producers like China and India. The cross-country variations are also going down which means that the countries' development gaps are getting narrowed by means of growth of aquaculture resources.

Proper working of forward and backward linkages between the public and private investments in the face of balanced development of an economy is an already established fact in the literature of development economics.The present article is aimed at examining the working of these two linkage effects upon the economies of 24 countries in different economic status: whether public capital is more productive than private capital and finally to test whether public investments crowd-in or crowd-out the private investments for the period 1988–2013. The results show that, for the entire period, forward linkage has worked for Spain, Senegal and Ecuador and backward linkages worked for United States of America, United Kingdom, Thailand, South Africa, Nigeria, Cambodia, Rwanda and Paraguay. Both forward and backward linkages have happened for Ireland, China, India, Brazil and Peru. For the second objective, the numbers of instances of the income-generative capacities of both types of investments are a few in the entire as well pre-crisis phases unlike that of the post-crisis phase. And the results of the third objective show that there are the maximum instances in favour of crowding-in effects from either private to public or from public to private in all the time phases and a few instances in crowding-out effects.JEL: O18, H54, E22, E01

Freshwater fish output is taken as a proxy variable for empirical assessment of indirect benefits in terms of enhanced quantity of freshwater fish (output) cultivation. It is not unlikely to assess empirically the productivity of subsidized public scheme when rural development or rural asset generations are underlined in the said scheme, MGNREG Act, 2005. Rainwater harvesting is a major component part of the scheme since about 49.5 per cent of the total fund is already utilized on water conservation and obviously it has an impact on the cultivation of freshwater fish output. Time series data on annual expenditure on MGNREG and corresponding freshwater fish output at the state level are taken during the period 2006-07 to 2013-14 for 16 major Indian states. Fixed effect model and random effect models are being applied and the Hausman specification test suggests that fixed effect model is more appropriate than random effect model. Significant differences among the intercepts of the selected states are revealed as per F test. The results of fixed effect panel regression establish that fish output is enhanced by 0.000257 thousand tones or 0.26 tones if MGNREG expenditure rises by one crore or 10 million rupees.

Health expenditure in India has become an important policy variable so far as the concept of social sector development is concerned. The distributional aspect of such expenditure is again another important side of the overall development of a country or state. The present paper tries to examine whether the major states of India are converging in terms of per capita health expenditure out of the state-wise capital expenditure provided by the central government in the head of medical and public health for the period 1990–1991 to 2009–2010. If they are found to be converging, then the study further explores on whether there is falling tendency of the dispersion and inequality of health expenditure across the states. Using the data of Reserve Bank of India on Capital Expenditure of different states and Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1992) method of convergence, the study reveals that there is absolute β convergence and σ results show the tendency of divergence among the states. The health expenditure concentration and inequality has been quantified by Gini coefficient and Theil index which show that there is rising inequality up to 2003–2004 and then the phase towards equality starts.

In the post modern economic thinking, the real and financial sectors of an economy are found to be interlinked. The magnitude of such a linkage between the real and financial sectors can further be fuelled by the mechanisms of governance of an economy. It is expected that good governance always works as a catalyst for an economy to grow and develop in different aspects. The present study tries to examine how do the World Bank governance indicators influence or get influenced by the chain of interplays between the real and financial sectors measured by the domestic credit to GDP ratio (CGDP) in some selected Asian economies for the period 1997–2014. The results show that, in most cases, there is no such interplay between themselves. The countries where some sorts of causations are observed, like that in India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, governance indicators work a little. In most cases, the demand side approach, that is the CGDP ratios, work as the catalyst to the ways of governing of the selected economies, works significantly. On the other hand, the countries like S. Korea and Bangladesh do not experience any sort of causation; governance indicators do not work at all for them. So, the World Bank generated governance indicators is not general, rather partial in affecting the credit to GDP ratio of the countries.

For last one and half of a decade the Indian financial system has been trying to boost up the link between the real and financial sectors by means of the financial inclusion mission. The mission, among others, needs a rising branch expansion supported by rising number of employees in all categories. The present chapter, thus, seeks to test three hypotheses. Hypothesis I seeks to measure the concentration ratios of different classes of employees over the period, 1985–2012 which covers pre and post financial sector reforms in India and pre and post phases of global financial crisis. Hypothesis II seeks to test whether there are any significant changes in the average values of number of employees in all categories and Hypothesis III seeks to link the financial inclusion by means of branch expansion with different categories of bank employees across the branches and population. It is observed that concentration of bank employees in India has gone down after the reform process started affecting the clerical and subordinates staffs. With respect to the second hypothesis, it is inferred that the reform programme, in over all sense, has not benefitted to the bank employees; rather produced a disparity among Clerical and Subordinate Classes with the Officers’ Class. Again financial crisis has badly affected the non officer classes with similar kind of good effect upon the Officers’ Class. Lastly, third hypothesis concludes that branch growth is cointegrated in pair way to three series which are growth of officer per branch, growth of subordinates per branch and growth of population per officer. Hence, financial inclusion mission cannot be made feasible mainly by a corresponding growth in the officer class among the bank employees.

Indian Railways is a department owned and controlled by the Government of India, via the Ministry of Railways. Progress of additional railroad construction and railway-based infrastructure of the country could be assessed with the help of interrelationship between the revenue generated with corresponding investment and growth of GDP of the country. The present chapter attempts to test two hypotheses: 1) whether there is any causal link between railway investment and GDP of the country through its revenue and 2) what are the impacts of investment, revenue on the GDP of India over time. Results show that there are bilateral causalities between investment and GDP and unilateral causality from GDP to revenue but there is no way causality between revenue and investment. Additionally, investment, not revenue, influences GDP in a significant way but the revenue elasticity of investment is insignificantly changing over time.

Empirical evidences on convergence or divergence of a group of economies or regions in most instances are based upon per capita income as the only determinant for discussion. As time goes on, there has been a lot of studies on the convergence or divergence of certain variables which are proxy to the income variable. The present chapter attempts to examine whether there is convergence or divergence in per capita gross capital formation across 37 countries for the period 1980-2013. The study observes that there is significant absolute ß and s convergence for the cross section of all the economies for the entire period. By segregating the entire data into the categories of developed and developing country, the study further observes significant s convergence in both the cases with no absolute ß convergence in either of the country categories.

The development of road infrastructure works as one of the most important inputs of production and overall economic activities all around the global economics. The developed countries of the west hold the larger road lengths in both gross and per capita terms compared to the less developed and emerging countries. But it is also undeniable that the less developed emerging countries have been growing fast in this respect or rushing to catch with the developed countries. The present chapter, hence, tries to study the modes of growth and convergence of GDP per kilometer of road length across the 30 selected countries for the period of 1990-2011 by means of ? convergence and also try to estimate the cross country inequalities by means of Gini Coefficients. It observes a sign of ? convergence and the inequality are going down over time, although there are some signs of divergences in some of the short time spans.

Sustaining good governance is necessarily required for all countries in the world after the phase of globalization, especially when almost the entire world is struck by the global financial crisis originated from the USA. The present study tries to concentrate upon establishing an interlinkage among capital accumulation of a sample of countries with principal components of governance for the time period 1996-2012. Correlation analysis along with the Granger Causality test is applied to identify directions of causalities among capital formation and all the governance indicators. The study observes an inverse relation between governance indicators and capital accumulation for majority of the developing countries and in some cases positive relations for developed countries. Besides, it is observed that there are causal relations from capital formation to governance in most of the developed countries whereas in most of the developing countries there are causalities from governance to capital formation.