Add Value Research Articles

Development of Rice By-Products Based Hair Tonic Mixed with Traditional Thai Herbal Extracts: A Sustainable Approach for Hair Care

Previously, byproducts from Thai rice mill industry including crude riceberry oil (CRO) and broken riceberry (BRB) showed antioxidant and tyrosinase-stimulating activities. This work aimed to develop 5 hair tonic formulae by mixing CRO (0.2-1.0%) and BRB (0.4-2.0%) with three Thai traditional herbal ethanolic extracts (2.0%) of Catunaregam tomentosa (CT), Acacia concinna (AC) and Tinospora crispa (TC) in 4:3:3 (v/v). The results showed that formula 5 (F5) containing 2% BRB, 1.0% CRO and 2% herbal extracts exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (DPPH scavenging capacity at 16.6 TEAC mg/g, FRAP value at 1.18 FeSO4 mg/g, and ABTS value at 14.9 TEAC mg/g) and tyrosinase-stimulating activity of 38%. This hair tonic was safe to use based on skin irritation test, and stable over 8-week storage at room temperature. Hence, F5 hair tonic (coded (R)) was tested on 20 subjects divided in 2 groups (older and younger age groups) with 10 individuals each in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experimental design with split-head method where treatments were conducted as intra-individual trial for 10, 20 and 30 days. The hair tonic coded C (Control without BRB, CRO or herbal extracts) and the commercial hair tonic coded G were tested for comparison. Adverse reactions were not noticed during the study. The hair tonic R was able to reduce hair loss by 48-71% in 2 groups with no significant difference from the commercial hair tonic. In comparison with the efficacy in the reduction of gray hair of the 2 groups at each time interval, the 2experimental (R) hair tonic product was found to be more effective in group 2 (younger age). However, the efficacy in the reduction of gray hair was lower than that in the reduction of hair loss. The experimental hair tonic R was more effective in dandruff reduction in group 1 (older age). The R hair tonic product received a satisfactory score of 6.79±0.32 out of 9.0 (moderate-to-high likeness) with the highest score from the aroma and the lowest score from the opaque color resulting from mixing aqueous herbal extract and oil. This is a sustainable way to add value to byproducts from rice mill industry and Thai traditional herbs as cosmetic elements in the formulation of hair products.

Commodity ETFs: Do They Add Value?

Commodity ETFs: Do They Add Value?

Time-Lapse Incubation for Embryo Culture-Morphokinetics and Environmental Stability May Not Be Enough: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Does the Time-lapse Incubator (TLI) add value to reproductive outcomes when its two components, undisturbed culturing and morphokinetic embryo grading, are separated. Methods: A prospective pilot, randomized, controlled, double-blinded, single-center study was conducted during the years 2016-2020. In total, 102 patients were randomized into three groups: (1) conventional incubation with morphological evaluation only (n = 34), (2) TLI with both morphological and morphokinetic evaluations (n = 32), and (3) TLI with morphological evaluation only (n = 36). All arms were cultured in ESCO-MIRI® incubators. A total of 1061 injected mature oocytes were evaluated (420 in arm 1, 285 in arm 2, and 356 in arm 3). The primary outcome was live birth rates. Secondary outcomes included clinical and cumulative pregnancy rates as well as embryo quality. Embryos in arm 3 were retrospectively evaluated for their morphokinetic score. Results: No significant difference was found in the live birth rate for single embryo transfer cycles (SET) (35% vs. 31.6% vs. 24%, p = 0.708) or double embryo transfer (DET) cycles (41.7% vs. 38.5% vs. 36.4%, p = 0.966). Comparable pregnancy rates, clinical pregnancy rates, and cumulative pregnancy were found for similar top-quality embryos for days 2, 3, and blastocyst stages across groups. A similar number of embryos were suitable for either transfer or cryopreservation within the different groups. For 62.8% of the embryos in arm 3, the morphokinetic and morphologic evaluations were similar. In only 2/36 (5.6%) treatment cycles, the use of morphokinetic scoring may have helped the patient avoid undergoing an additional treatment cycle. In the other cases, morphokinetic scoring would not have changed the end point of pregnancy. Conclusions: The two components of the TLI system-undisturbed culturing and morphokinetic embryo grading-do not appear to have a significant additional value in reproductive outcome, although these results should be validated by an RCT.

The heuristic divergence between community reporters and child protection agencies: Negotiating risk amidst shifting sands

BackgroundChildren enter the statutory part of ‘notify-investigate’ child protection systems via the reports of others, combined with acceptance by the statutory agency. This key nexus determines entry or deflection from statutory child protection services. ObjectiveTo examine the decision reasoning and processes of community (non-governmental organisation) workers that underpin reports to statutory services. Participants and settingParticipants are non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers in Aotearoa New Zealand. MethodsThe methods are focus groups, interviews and a ‘think – aloud’ vignette-based protocol, used to elicit reporting decision rationales and experiences. Theoretical concepts of heuristics, institutional co-responsibility, and policy change are used to explore the study findings. ResultsMost cases are reported only after NGO workers ‘build a picture’ in the context of relationships with families and efforts to address risks. Reporting is a last resort option and occurs after ‘tipping point’ changes in the balance of protective and risk factors. Participants note a rising threshold and changes to the criteria for report acceptance by Oranga Tamariki (the statutory agency) in recent years, due to changing policy aims, abuse definitions, an ‘add value’ principle, and workload pressures. This heuristic change results in many reports not accepted or acted on, leading to frustration, anxiety, and ethical ambivalence for NGO workers. ConclusionsThe rising threshold and ‘adding value’ principle while aimed at collective responsibility to family issues, is perceived by NGO workers as a deflection heuristic by Oranga Tamariki. In their view, it is applied too broadly, acts as a blunt tool that does not account for differences in role and power, and is used to deflect risk responsibility. Implications for children and whānau, (extended families) the possibilities for ‘co-responsibility’, ethical reasoning, and the data generated by reports are discussed.

Thirty Years of Research and Methodologies in Value Co-Creation and Co-Design

Value co-creation and co-design strengthen the development of projects and initiatives that involve working with people from interdisciplinary areas. Moreover, both concepts have been adopted in contexts such as health, marketing, education, social issues, software/hardware design, and economic contexts, among others. Co-creation can be one of the strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 because co-creation can be a means to implement global partnerships for sustainable development. However, there is a lack of research on methodologies for co-design and co-creation. To fill this gap in the literature in this study, we review studies about value co-creation and co-design and present an overview of the methodologies reported in the literature. The first part of this review was conducted as a bibliometric analysis based on 3858 (co-design) and 3524 (co-creation) scientific documents retrieved from the Scopus database. For the second part, a scoping review was conducted based on the analysis of 71 studies related to co-creation methodologies and 96 in the case of co-design. As a result, we identified 32 methodologies for co-creation and 26 methodologies for co-design. Co-creation and co-design add value to processes with different stakeholders, such as implementing innovations to provide better service in information systems of a wide range of contexts.

The Role of an Alternative Approach Educated Mind along with A Systematic Formal Quality Education in Economic, & Peaceful Sustainable Growth of Better World for All

Alternative Forms of Education have developed since the late 20th century, such as distance learning, homeschooling, and many parallel or supplementary systems of education often designated as “conformal” and “popular” religious institutions also instruct the young and old alike in sacred knowledge as well. In that case in my assessment of education to educate the mind also be like this to achieve growth and to gain and add value to every individual by keeping it globally excess-able for all to acquire International standard Education to unleash the highest potential of every unique talents and exercise them to put it into great values. Our core focus is to solve the problems from the bottom and look for much clearer sustainable brilliant resources to obtain the finest results. Alternative education methods and approaches refer and to enhance an educational process that facilitates teaching and learning with a golden ratio. Evaluating different strategies begins by defining traditional methods of education with characteristics such as formalization, authoritarianism, memorization, and repetition. A differentiated learning approach is also mandatory to excel the individual learning patterns or styles. All institutions provide and follow the same rules for teaching and it’s a barrier for learners to flourish with their mind power. Rules always shrink the mind of a thinker to explore, therefore having principles is much more appropriate for knowledge to unfold all the layers and dynamics of the intellect Department of the human brain. Education writing, singing, dancing, music, painting, poetry, leadership, doctor, engineering, science, etc all are knowledge & Education. Which is derived from the intellect department of our brain Memory is a crucial machine system to harnesses and harvests knowledge for anything and everything. Age, color, language, different faiths, etc should not be an agenda or set it in the rule book to stop someone from acquiring true knowledge to educate themselves. Once we are capable of re-shaping the education process and all are aware of it; it will lead us towards growth and greater development in human history. In the economic field, a peaceful and sustainable world. It requires spiritual enlightenment and emotional intelligence to navigate and curve them to build something for all. As a Social creature, we are part of each other and we are related to each other–therefore we all must take and understand the responsibility for collective development. The range comes from global unity to walk the talk in actionable performance. The role of improved schooling a central part of most development strategies, has become controversial because expansion of school attainment has not guaranteed improved economic conditions. This paper reviews the role of education in promoting economic well-being, and peaceful and sustainable growth for a better world, with a particular focus on the role of Education and an educated peaceful mind of quality results. It concludes that there is strong evidence that the cognitive skills of the population — rather than mere school attainment– are powerfully related to individuals’ unique earnings, the distribution of income, and economic growth. New empirical results show the importance of both minimal and high-level skills, the complementarity of skills and the quality of economic institutions, and the robustness of the relationship between skills and growth. International comparisons incorporating expanded data on cognitive skills reveal much larger skill deficits in developing countries than generally derived from just school enrolment and attainment. The magnitude of change needed makes clear that closing the economic gap with developed countries will require major structural changes in schooling institutions. Keywords: Economic growth, Education, Social creature, institutions

Investigating the effect of ESG on retail banks’ customer equity

AbstractEnvironmental, social and governance (ESG) has recently been gaining attention as an important consideration for corporate management strategies worldwide. Drawing on the literature surrounding equity theory and customer equity, this study aimed to investigate the influence of ESG on the customer equity of retail banks in Hong Kong. Based on a survey of 300 banking customers, the study found governance initiatives affected customer attitude, while environmental initiatives and social initiatives had no significant effect on it. Customer attitude provided a strong explanation for value equity, brand equity and relationship equity. Value equity and relationship equity had a positive influence on purchase intention, but the relationship between brand equity and purchase intention was insignificant. Customer attitude also mediated the relationship between governance initiatives and customer equity. The findings of this study add value to the understanding of sustainable marketing initiatives and responsible banking. The study contributes to the development of the ESG and customer equity literature and advances the implementation of sustainable banking practices. Practically, the results of this study suggest that banking practitioners should focus on governance initiatives as a primary driver of customer equity and purchase intention. Understanding the role of ESG initiatives in customer attitude and customer equity can help to develop and improve sustainable marketing strategies. Policymakers can use a governance approach to promote sustainable and responsible banking practices.

Tracing China's virtual water trade in global value chain: Participation, characteristics, and inequality

The disclosure of global value chain (GVC) division and cooperation is essential for the rational allocation of water resources and the achievement of trade equality, particularly as the global division of labor becomes more pronounced. Currently, there are limited studies on the global value chain at the sub-national level, with most focusing on virtual water trade (VWT) characteristics between two trading partners, without integrating VWT into the global value chain and overlooking significant cooperation among participants. Here, we characterize the international division of GVC and VWT patterns covering 194 regions (31 regions in China and 163 countries) around the world in 2020, and then examine the inequality between virtual water (VW) and value-added (VA) transfer from both environmental and economic perspectives, focusing on the sub-national scale of China. Our results show that in terms of water consumption responsibilities, considerable heterogeneity can be seen in different regions across China. Furthermore, relying solely on the export of primary products for economic development will lead to inequality in trade between countries. In this study, we trace the characteristics of VWT, taking into account the participation and contribution of regions in numerous GVC linkages. In addition, to make our policy implications more targeted, we refine the study resolution to the sub-national scale. Our results suggest that countries should prioritize consumer responsibility in GVC, reduce the drawbacks of trade barriers, and dispassionately exploit the economic and environmental advantages of water resources.

#SharingHEOR: Developing Modern Media for Communication and Dissemination of Health Economics and Outcomes Research.

Questions regarding the effectiveness and safety of health interventions and allocation of health care resources are frequently discussed in mainstream and social media. Additionally, government and foundation funders are increasingly mandating that results be disseminated to the lay public and patients may benefit from being able to digest scientific research regarding their health conditions. Therefore, it is important to widely disseminate and clearly communication health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) findings to a range of interested parties. Digital media features such as graphical or visual abstracts, infographics and videos are informative and add value to research articles by improving reader engagement with articles, potentially increasing their impact, and allowing results to be more widely disseminated. However, use of novel digital media for research dissemination has been relatively limited to date. In this article, we discuss the rationale for developing novel media to communicate and disseminate research findings and offer practical advice for doing so. We conclude by outlining a future agenda for research regarding HEOR communication and dissemination.

Lean Healthcare Analysis at Airlangga Health Service Center

Dental is one of the polyclinics whose biggest problems are waiting times and patient queues. The waiting time and patient queues are a waste in Hospitals. This study aims to identify any waste that occurs in the dental polyclinic at the Airlangga University Health Service Center (PLK) by implementing lean healthcare. Then, provide suggestions for improvements to reduce or eliminate the identified waste. The researcher used a qualitative approach with the results of the big-picture mapping to illustrate the flow of patient care in the dental clinic and determined which activities were value-added (VA) and which were not value-added (NVA). Interviews and questionnaires were distributed in this study to parties who have a role in the service delivery process to patients, namely the dental clinic coordinator, dentist, dental nurse, and service admin. The study's results found 7 value-added activities and 4 non-value-added activities. Then, the researcher used VALSAT to choose the right tools and process activity mapping with the highest score. The results of the waste identification show the weight of waste overproduction at 0.21, waiting at 0.33, transportation at 0.12, inappropriate process at 0.05, unnecessary inventory at 0.12, unnecessary motion at 0.07, and defect at 0.10. Then, a fishbone diagram is used to find the root cause of the waste, and then lean hospital to propose improvements to reduce or eliminate waste in PLK.

Lean Manufacturing Analysis to Minimize Waste on The Production Process

Improvements to eliminate or reduce non-value added activities that cause waste with Lean Manufacturing analysis on CV ABC. Lean Manufacturing is a continuous effort to eliminate (waste) and increase value add (value added) products (goods/services) to provide value to customers (customer value). Objective This research is to determine the factors that cause waste in the production process and to give proposal on company method minimize waste which has been identified. Data in this research are quantitative and qualitative data. Primary data processing in the form of standard time calculations took 30 data, which means 30 batches of fish roulade production. Lean Manufacturing Approach carried out by analyzing the flow of information and the flow of goods using the Value Stream Mapping method. Waste Which dominant happen that is time waiting, unnecessary movements and processes it is not in accordance with. Waste of time waiting occurs in process steaming. Waste time wait on process production can be minimized by adding production facilities which can reduce the dough waiting outside the machine steaming. Waste movement which no need can minimized by increased supervision from superiors as well as providing firm action to workers. Waste for non-compliant processes can be reduced by clarify standard operation Which applies in company and stick it in every production process, as well do maintenance machine in a way regular so that performance machine always deep conditions which good. Reduced time to reduce lead time ie amounting to 37.78 minutes. This time is obtained from subtraction the process of taking spices, weighing flour and vegetables as well as preparation and maximization activities process draining with addition facility. Matter this result change time leads time production from 674.44 minutes to 636.66 minutes.

Using learning analytics to alleviate course and student support administrative load for large classes: a case study

PurposeLarge class sizes are becoming the norm in higher education against concerns of dropping learning qualities. To maintain the standard of learning and add value, one of the common strategies is for the course convenor to proactively monitor student engagement with learning activities against their assessment outcomes and intervene timely. Learning analytics has been increasingly adopted to provide these insights into student engagement and their performance. This case study explores how learning analytics can be used to meet the convenor’s requirements and help reduce administrative workload in a large health science class at the University of New South Wales.Design/methodology/approachThis case-based study adopts an “action learning research approach” in assessing ways of using learning analytics for reducing workload in the educator’s own context and critically reflecting on experiences for improvements. This approach emphasises reflexive methodology, where the educator constantly assesses the context, implements an intervention and reflects on the process for in-time adjustments, improvements and future development.FindingsThe results highlighted ease for the teacher towards the early “flagging” of students who may not be active within the learning management system or who have performed poorly on assessment tasks. Coupled with the ability to send emails to the “flagged” students, this has led to a more personal approach while reducing the number of steps normally required. An unanticipated outcome was the potential for additional time saving through improving the scaffolding mechanisms if the learning analytics were customisable for individual courses.Originality/valueThe results provide further benefits for learning analytics to assist the educator in a growing blended learning environment. They also reveal the potential for learning analytics to be an effective adjunct towards promoting personal learning design.

Guidelines for Translating Frameworks, Methods, Tools and Principles of Local Innovations for Marginalised and Vulnerable Communities – 2023

The Guidelines for Translating Methods, Tools and Principles of Local Innovations for Marginalised and Vulnerable Communities aim to reflect on the ongoing experiences and lessons learned based on the first piloting round in the cities of Amsterdam, Helsinki and Porto inside the framework of CommuniCity Horizon Europe project and propose solutions for ethical and inclusive engagement with communities aimed to translate, in its metaphorical but oftentimes also literal meaning, the aims, definitions, points of reference of the project and its pilots. The overall goal to bring together representatives of the world of technology and vulnerable and marginalised communities implies the need for translation being a starting point for the mutually rewarding engagement and co-creation of technological solutions targeted to the specific needs of cities and communities. The reflective points outlined in this work add value to the next rounds of open calls and consequent piloting processes as well as to the practices exercised by the so-called replicator cities, keeping in mind the overall project goal of proposing scalable solutions to be further taken up by the European cities and communities.

Embodied Carbon Transfer in China’s Bilateral Trade with Belt and Road Countries from the Perspective of Global Value Chains

In the context of global value chains (GVCs), the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on China’s bilateral trade with Belt and Road countries (BRCs) is controversial. This study constructed a GVC accounting framework based on a multiregional input–output model, aiming to clarify the trends and transfer characteristics of the value added (VA) and the embodied carbon emissions (ECEs) in China–BRCs bilateral trade from 2000 to 2018 at the overall country, Belt and Road region (BRR), and typical country levels. The relevant results are threefold. (1) At the overall country level, the BRCs VA and ECEs imports and exports have shown overall increasing trends. (2) Most BRRs are net ECE exporters to China. Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia are the main ECEs destinations and sources. (3) In China–typical BRCs bilateral trade, China is a net ECEs exporter to most typical BRCs, and the net ECE transfers through route 1 (onefold value chain) are all positive, implying that route 1 can reduce ECEs in BRCs. These findings can help formulate policies and measures to reduce carbon emissions and provide a scientific basis for realizing the coordinated development of carbon emission reduction and economy in China and BRCs.

Biodiesel Synthesis from the Waste Biomass

In this work, physicochemical properties of the waste used oil (WUO) were carried out for its aptness for biodiesel production. Burnt Animal Bone was used as a precursor for the biodiesel production. The produced biodiesel was characterized and the optimum biodiesel produced was determined via statistical analysis. This was with a view to add value to WUO and finding environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuel. WUO was obtained from eatery in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The foreign materials and dirt in the oil was removed by filtration after preheating. The physiochemical and other parameters (cetane number, API, aniline point among others) properties of WUO were determined using standard methods. The BAB was burnt to ash in a furnace, sieved into fine powder, and then characterized using FTIR, SEM, XRF, BET adsorption, and qualitative analysis. Biodiesel production was done via base catalyst transesterification while statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Excel 8.0. In order to ascertain the quality of the biodiesel, the physicochemical properties were determined. Results showed that the refined WUO properties were in line with oil property requirement for biodiesel production. The physicochemical characteristics of the WUO showed physical state of the oil to be liquid/dark brownish at 28 oC, viscosity 6.58 cP at 28 oC, acid value, 0.96 (mg KOH/g oil), FFA (% oleic acid), 0.48, iodine value, 152.00 (g I2/100g oil), peroxide value, 5.1 milli-equivalent of peroxide/kg of oil among others. The derived catalyst showed high basic strength with Calcium oxide (87.63 wt. %) as the dominant element in the catalyst. Optimum biodiesel yield was obtained at run 5 with 98.52 (%wt. /wt.) at reaction time of 30 min, catalyst amount of 2.0 (%wt.), reaction temperature of 100 oC, and ethanol-oil molar ratio of 4:1. The produced biodiesel properties conformed to the recommended standard ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. The study concluded that WUO could serve as feedstock for biodiesel production that is environmentally friendly and the derived catalyst could be used as a bio-base in Industries.

Ethanolysis of Cao-Base Derived from Seashell for Conversion of Waste Used Oil for Biodiesel Production

The physicochemical properties of the waste used oil (WUO) were carried out for biodiesel production. The heterogenous catalyst (CAO based) used in this work was derived from waste seashell. The produced biodiesel was characterized and the optimum biodiesel produced was determined through statistical analysis. This was with a view to add value to the WUO and finding the solution to reduction of the excess carbon release to the environment. According to the results obtained, it showed that the refined WUO properties were in line with oil property requirement for biodiesel production. The physicochemical characteristics of the WUO showed physical state of the oil to be liquid/dark brownish at 28 oC, viscosity 6.58 cP at 28 oC, acid value, 0.96 (mg KOH/g oil), FFA (% oleic acid), 0.48, iodine value, 152.00 (g I2/100g oil), peroxide value, 5.1 milli-equivalent of peroxide/kg of oil among others. The derived catalyst showed high basic strength with potassium oxide (61.63 wt.%) as the dominant element in the catalyst. Optimum biodiesel yield was obtained at run 5 with 98.52 (%wt./wt.) at reaction time of 65 min, catalyst amount of 4.0 (%wt.), reaction temperature of 70 oC, and ethanol-oil molar ratio of 7:1. The produced biodiesel properties was compared with the recommended standard ASTM D6751 and EN 14214.

The presence of sustainability pillars in social impact businesses

The present study addressed aspects of the three pillars of sustainability in Social Impact Businesses, with the purpose of evaluating the contributions of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions to this type of enterprise, and thus meeting the objective of consolidating them in the market. To this end, it resorted to the methodological support of the qualitative, descriptive, and bibliographic and documentary approach. The result obtained with the study suggests that the three dimensions of sustainability add value to Social Impact Businesses, since these enterprises, even though they operate according to market logic, contribute to improving the lives of the population and the environment. Additionally, through the products or services they offer, they fulfill their socio-environmental purpose, directly acting in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals. From this perspective, the study aims to contribute to the solidification of Social Impact Businesses, serve as a basis for future research, and add knowledge to all those interested in the discussion of the topic.

Natural/Small Water Retention Measures: Their Contribution to Ecosystem-Based Concepts

The increasing incidence of droughts and heavy rainfall events is exacerbating conflicts between human and environmental demands for water. However, through providing multiple water-related ecosystem services and benefits simultaneously, Natural/Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRM) can mitigate such competing claims. Thus, they also contribute to the achievement of various Sustainable Development Goals and environmental targets set out in water- and agriculture-related policies of the European Union. In particular, NSWRM provide for the sound management of watersheds, which can significantly contribute to improved water quality and availability—as well as improving the resilience of agriculture and society. This paper demonstrates how NSWRM fit into the framework of ecosystem-based concepts, including Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM), Green Infrastructure (GI), Sustainable Land Management (SLM), Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), and Nature-based Solutions (NbS). NSWRM, as a distinct concept, bring added value to the other concepts by focussing on easy-to-implement, modestly sized, localised technical solutions to problems associated with water management, sediment, and nutrient loss. Through experience under the EU Horizon 2020 project OPTAIN (“OPtimal strategies to retAIN and re-use water and nutrients in small agricultural catchments across different soil-climatic regions in Europe”), we show what NSWRM are, how they are linked to each of the ecosystem-based concepts, and how they can help add value to these concepts. Fourteen case studies are drawn upon from diverse countries across Europe. As a result of this analysis, we present the potential for the application of NSWRM in the context of these concepts, while helping to identify planning tools, the expertise required, and potential funding mechanisms.

Does the Value-Added Tax Add Value? Lessons Using Administrative Data from a Diverse Set of Countries

The value-added tax (VAT) is a cornerstone of the modern tax system. It has many desirable properties in theory: it does not distort firms' production decisions, it is difficult to evade, and it generates a substantial amount of revenue. Yet, in many countries there are discrepancies between the textbook model of the VAT and its practical implementation. Where the VAT implementation diverges from its textbook model, the tax may lose its desirable properties. We draw on firm-level administrative VAT records from 11 countries at different income levels to examine the functioning of real-world VAT systems. We document four stylized facts that capture departures from the textbook VAT model which are particularly pronounced in lower-income countries. We discuss the effects on VAT performance and simulate a counterfactual retail sales tax and a turnover tax. Despite its shortcomings, we conclude that the real-world VAT is superior to the alternatives.

Does uterine arteries flow add value to CPR in the prediction of cesarean section for intrapartum hypoxia? - Secondary analysis of polish ratio37 group

Does uterine arteries flow add value to CPR in the prediction of cesarean section for intrapartum hypoxia? - Secondary analysis of polish ratio37 group