Other Chicha Aesthetics: Bodies, Images, and the Performance of Chicha/Southern Cumbia in El Alto, Bolivia

This paper analyses the separate and joint impacts of government spending on economic and social infrastructure, corruption control, regulatory quality, rule of law, political stability, and investment freedom on economic growth. Thirty-six observations from 1989 to 2024 are used, which are taken from the different reports of the IMF, World Bank, World Financial Report, and Heritage Index. According to positivist philosophy and deductive reasoning, causal-correlational research uses the fully modified least square method to estimate long-run effects. A long-run cointegration exists among economic growth and development expenditure in social and economic infrastructure, corruption control, political stability, investment, monetary freedom, and regulatory quality. Spending on social and economic infrastructure positively affects Nepal's economic growth. A rise in a unit's social and economic infrastructure expenditure increases Nepal's growth rate by 0.222 and 1.349 units, respectively. Social infrastructure is more growth-promoting than economic infrastructure. Control of corruption, investment freedom, and regulatory quality have no long-term impacts on growth. The rule of law adversely affects economic growth. The volatility of GDP growth is approximately 92 percent dependent on infrastructural investment, political stability, anti-corruption, and monetary freedom. Nepal's economic development depends on investment in social infrastructure, political stability, better governance, and re-examining legal frameworks for sustainable development.

This article analyses the pattern and trends in inter-district disparities in the levels of development particularly in levels of income, and physical and social infrastructure by using multivariate analysis. It finds wide regional disparities across districts in the availability of social and economic infrastructure which have persisted and prolonged over time. Amongst the four broader economic regions, the districts of western region continued to occupy top ranks in economic infrastructure as compared to other three regions, viz. central, eastern and Bundelkhand. Bundelkhand region presents the grim scenario with almost six out of seven districts falling in the category of backward districts in India. The central and eastern regions have almost mediocre status. Such a pattern provides a strong justification for the recent policy initiatives of the state government for improving the economic infrastructure especially banking services, industrialization and agricultural infrastructure to facilitate production and sale of outputs and social infrastructure for building human capital. However, budgetary support for such initiatives and weak implementation are major concerns for any meaningful results, particularly in backward districts. The article advocates more rigorous efforts towards developing economic and social infrastructure, particularly in laggard districts of the state. This would also help in accelerating the pace of economic growth and employment opportunities, and reducing regional disparities in development in Uttar Pradesh.

This research paper evaluates infrastructure in rural areas of Indian states, utilizing cross-sectional data from India and its 20 major states. To assess the performance of infrastructure, the study develops a composite index for economic and social infrastructure, incorporating key indicators such as tele-density, rural road length, electrification, the number of schools, access to safe drinking water, and primary health centres. Data is sourced from various secondary reports, including government publications and national surveys, ensuring a comprehensive overview of essential variables. To analyse the data, the Z-score technique standardizes the variables, and min-max scaling normalizes the weighted indicators to a composite index ranging from 0 to 100. States are classified as low, moderate, good, or high performers based on this index. Findings reveal significant disparities in infrastructure development, with states like Kerala, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh performing well in economic infrastructure. However, social infrastructure reveals a more complex landscape, with Uttar Pradesh excelling while states like Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand show significant lagging. These differences highlight the fact that gains in social services are not always correlated with progress in the economic infrastructure. The study highlights the need for focused governmental interventions to improve infrastructure on both fronts and support all-encompassing rural development. Ultimately, enhancing the quality of life in rural India and guaranteeing equitable growth rests on narrowing the gap between economic and social infrastructure investment. KEYWORDS: Economic Infrastructure, Social Infrastructure, Composite index, Z-Score, Min-max scaling

Critical Analysis of Infrastructure Development in Gujarat: A Cause of Concern

This study aims to find empirical evidence of the determinants of education level, health level, economic infrastructure, social infrastructure, and employment on the economic growth rate of West Nusa Tenggara Province (NTB) from 2019 to 2022. Data sources were obtained from secondary data, consisting of macroeconomic variable data for NTB accessed through the BPS website. The data analysis method used was quantitative analysis, employing statistical tests using EViews. The results of the study indicate that education level and employment level have a positive and significant effect on the economic growth of NTB Province, with probabilities of 0.000 (less than 0.05) and 0.0009 (also less than 0.05) for the employment variable. Meanwhile, the health level, economic infrastructure, and social infrastructure have a positive but not significant effect.

Infrastructure facilities, both social and economic, such as healthcare, education, energy, transportation, water supply and communication system play a crucial role in accelerating economic growth of any region. Uttar Pradesh, one of the most populous states of India, is facing many challenges in attaining sustained economic growth. One of the critical factors that plays a prominent role in economic development of the state is social and economic infrastructure. Present study aims to analyze the role of social and economic infrastructure in the economic growth of Uttar Pradesh and reveals that there is a unidirectional causality between physical infrastructure and growth. The findings of the study indicate that both social and economic infrastructure has a significant impact on the economic growth of Uttar Pradesh and there is a need for substantial investment and policy reforms to address the existing gaps and challenges.

The Village Fund is a fund sourced from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget that is designated for the Village that is transferred through Budget 21 of the District / City Expenditure and is used to finance the administration, and the empowerment of the community. (Law Number 6 Year 2014 Article 1 About the Village). The Village Fund is managed in an orderly manner, obedient to the provisions of legislation, efficient, economical, effective, transparent and accountable with due regard to the sense of justice and compliance and prioritizing the interests of the community. With the Village Fund, the village government is required to manage the village funds effectively and accountably. effective is the extent to which the target (quantity, quality and time) has been achieved by the village government in the utilization of village funds. 
 This research is conducted to give an illustration of the extent of the impact of village funds in village development in Tunjungtirto Village Singosari Subdistrict and whether the village funds are used according to the program. The impact analysis focuses on the areas of development which includs the construction of basic facilities and infrastructure, the construction of basic social service facilities and infrastructure, the construction of economic facilities and infrastructure. Based on the program of the implementation of village funding during the last three years from 2015 to 2017, it can be explained that the impact of village funds on the development of Tunjungtirto village are: First, in the field of basic infrastructure facilities, an improvement of residential environment and transportation in the area Tunjungtirto has been made because a number of programs have been carried out for the development of physical facilities and infrastructure such as the construction and improvement of existing water drainage in the neighborhoods of each RT in the Tunjung Tirto Village area, the environmental supporting facilities of the Garbage Disposal Site (TPS). 2. Secondly in the field of social services infrastructure, has had a very good impact on the education needs of children and health of residents in the village Tunjungtirto with the program development activities and repairs of school buildings early childhood, Taman Pendidikan Alquran (TPQ), health posts in some RT and RW in the village Tunjungtirto. 3. The three impacts of the economic infrastructure, by providing facilities by building a community economic facility (Sareko) on the Karangploso highway to provide an ease of place to sell various results of economic activities based on the household.
 The conclusions of the research results are: 1. Village Fund Implementation in Tunjungtirto Village has been implemented for development activity program in accordance with development priority set by Permendes PDTT, 2. Determination of Program of development activity funded by Village Fund is done through participative process (buttom up) , transparent and accountable by implementing Deliberation of Village Development Plan (Musrenbangdes). 3. The Impact of Village Funds in the development of village development areas covering basic infrastructure, basic social service facilities, and economic infrastructure have a positive impact for the village community. 4. The impact of village funds on community empowerment is useful in mobilizing household-based economic activities in management, production and distribution. 5. Impact of Village Funds for Village Governments can give acceleration of village development in order to achieve the vision and mission of Tunjungtirto village government in RPJMDes.

Sectoral analysis of private participation in infrastructure shows that most private investment has gone into economic infrastructure (like telecom, power, transport) as compared to social infrastructure (like water supply, health, education). Social infrastructure in India is currently suffering from resource crunch as well as abysmal levels of efficiency. Therefore, the need for private investment may perhaps be greater in these sectors, both in terms of resource augmentation and efficiency improvement. However, the projects in social sectors tend to be small (e.g. the cost of a primary school is much less compared to a power plant), and there may be issues in imposing full-cost-recovery user fees given that many such services (like water supply and primary education) are merit goods. Therefore, they are much less attractive to the private sector. The chapter will focus on challenges in financing social infrastructure and the strategies to overcome them. The Manila Water Company example for water supply, and the numerous education and health PPP projects in Australia and the United Kingdom show that private participation in social infrastructure is possible for mutual benefit to the private and public sectors. Impact investment, importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) norms, social stock exchange, and so on will also play a part in popularizing private investment in social infrastructure.

What can we learn on Chinese aid allocation motivations from available data? A sectorial analysis of Chinese aid to African countries

D evelopment of social and economic infrastructure in every region is of the basic requirements of economic growth. Infrastructure stimulates economic activity, enhance the productivity of private sector’s inputs, improve economic performance and thus sustainable economic development, enhancing the social welfare and better income distribution. Since the different kind of infrastructure has different effects on the sectors of the economy and then on regional development, examining the effect of infrastructure on regional economic development in various economic sectors for policymakers and planners is of particular importance. In this regard, the production function for different sectors (industry, services and agriculture) for the 30 provinces of Iran for the period 2007-2013 is estimated. Production function by the Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) method is estimated. Results show that social and economic public infrastructure has a positive impact on the economic growth of these sectors. Furthermore, the result indicates that the impacts of different kinds of infrastructure are different on various sectors of the provinces. That is the impact of social infrastructure on industrial and service sectors are more than an economic infrastructure. On the other hand the economic infrastructure has more effects on the agricultural sector compared to other infrastructure.

PurposeThis study investigates the performance of Indian states based on infrastructural investment in social and economic sectors using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Most of the studies in the literature are based on how different elements of infrastructure such as transport, energy, education, healthcare system affect the economy of different countries/regions. In this study, we consider these elements under two different sub-systems, namely, social and economic infrastructure and measure the cooperative efficiency for competitive growth.Design/methodology/approachA four-stage DEA approach is proposed for the analysis of a sample of 28 Indian states for the years 2011, 2013 and 2015 under consideration. First stage calculates the per capita GDP contribution, while stage-2 evaluates the efficiency of investments in social infrastructure followed by the efficiency analysis in economic infrastructure in stage-3. Finally, fourth stage evaluates the co-operative efficiency for the overall performance.FindingsThe findings of three different cases based on population sizes, viz., highly populated, moderately populated and less populated regions suggest that the government can identify the top and poor performers. It also studies the variations in efficiency tally of states using Malmquist indices.Practical implicationsThis kind of study will vigilant government and local authorities on the investments made in all the states for social and economic infrastructure and establish a competitive environment among state governments to compete for improved infrastructural growth.Originality/valueThis study is the first of its kind in developing countries like India, which focuses on efficiency analysis using DEA based on two sub-sectors of social–economic infrastructural investments.

INTRODUCTION A country's level of human and economic development is closely related to its levels of achievement in physical and social infrastructure. While physical infrastructure is an important determinant of domestic production, good social infrastructure is vital for human development as well as economic progress through better educated, better skilled and healthier citizens. Education and health are the main constituents of social infrastructure. Many studies document the contribution of education and health to economic development in which they are considered investments in human capital comparable to physical means of production, such as factories and machines. The economic attainments of Europe, North America, Japan and East Asia are inconceivable without their attainments in human capital; hence, the importance of social infrastructure. Therefore, it can be surmised that investment in human capital through education, training, health and medical facilities yields additional output and economic returns. Economic growth theory also sees human capital as an important source of economic growth. Further, to achieve rapid economic growth, it is essential that the population should be well-educated and trained to be able to work effectively. It is also essential for reducing poverty. No amount of welfare measures can help a poor illiterate person the way education can by enabling him to become more productive and skilled. Therefore, effective education for the masses is crucial for reducing poverty and sustaining high rates of economic growth over long periods by providing a well-skilled labour force. The role of physical infrastructure in promoting economic development has been well-documented in the literature [Estache (2006), Sahoo and Dash (2008, 2009)]. Physical infrastructure not only contributes to enhance productivity, but it also assists in the realization of the potential ability of human capital and creates situations in which the potential can fully function. It also directly and indirectly contributes towards improving the quality and safety of people's lives. Within the scope of infrastructure, roads, railways, air transportation, seaports, electric power and telecommunications and information technology are often used as services and intermediate goods essential for the productive processes of the manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors.

Music video is a short film which presents a visual representation of recent music. In these days, there is a trend that amateur users create music video in the video sharing website. Especially, the music video which is created by cutting and pasting existing video is called mashup music video. In this paper, we proposed the system that users can easily create mushup music video by using existing music videos. In addition, we conducted assessment evaluation experiment for our system. The system firstly extracts music features and video features from existing music videos. Then, the each feature is clustered and the relationship between each feature is learned by Hidden Markov Model. At last, the system cuts learned video scene which is the closest feature among learned videos and pastes it synchronizing with input song. Experiment shows that our method can generate more synchronized video than a previous method.

Over decades, music labels have shaped easily identifiable genres to improve recognition value and subsequently market sales of new music acts. Referring to print magazines and later to music television as important distribution channels, the visual representation thus played and still plays a significant role in music marketing. Visual stereotypes developed over decades that enable us to quickly identify referenced music only by sight without listening. Despite the richness of music-related visual information provided by music videos and album covers as well as T-shirts, advertisements, and magazines, research towards harnessing this information to advance existing or approach new problems of music retrieval or recommendation is scarce or missing. In this article, we present our research on visual music computing that aims to extract stereotypical music-related visual information from music videos. To provide comprehensive and reproducible results, we present the Music Video Dataset, a thoroughly assembled suite of datasets with dedicated evaluation tasks that are aligned to current Music Information Retrieval tasks. Based on this dataset, we provide evaluations of conventional low-level image processing and affect-related features to provide an overview of the expressiveness of fundamental visual properties such as color, illumination, and contrasts. Further, we introduce a high-level approach based on visual concept detection to facilitate visual stereotypes. This approach decomposes the semantic content of music video frames into concrete concepts such as vehicles, tools, and so on, defined in a wide visual vocabulary. Concepts are detected using convolutional neural networks and their frequency distributions as semantic descriptions for a music video. Evaluations showed that these descriptions show good performance in predicting the music genre of a video and even outperform audio-content descriptors on cross-genre thematic tags. Further, highly significant performance improvements were observed by augmenting audio-based approaches through the introduced visual approach.

Infrastructure is sine qua non for pacing the growth and sustaining the development of an economy especially the developing ones.Objectives: This study aims to identify the districts and regions of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India, lagging in terms of availability of social and economic infrastructure so that special transformational policies can be implemented for these areas.Moreover, the study also analyses the relationship between availability of infrastructure and socio-economic development of the districts and regions of the state.Methods/Approach: Composite Indices for social infrastructure, economic infrastructure and socio-economic development have been constructed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for analyzing the performance of the districts and regions of the state.Regression analysis is used to analyze the relationship between social and economic infrastructure and socio-economic development of the districts and regions of the state.Results: Most of the districts of the state are having strong relationship between availability of economic infrastructure and the level of socio-economic development.However, no such relationship has been observed between social infrastructure and socio-economic development.Conclusions: The study is very relevant from policy making point of view as Uttar Pradesh, with its large population and low per capita income, is key to forging India's overall socio-economic development.