Adjustment Programs Research Articles

Global and domestic drivers of inflation: evidence from select South Asian countries

PurposeThis study empirically examines the impact of some domestic as well as global factors such as trade openness (TO), money supply (MS), exchange rate, global oil prices (GOPs) and interest rate (IR) on inflation.Design/methodology/approachThis study deploys a quantitative method considering 30 years of data (1991–2020) from four South Asian countries, namely, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. To determine the potential impact of different factors on inflation, this study applies the panel analysis of the system generalized method of moments (SGMM).FindingsThis study empirically finds that TO, MS, exchange rate and GOPs have a positive impact on inflation, while IR and the structural adjustment program (SAP) have a negative impact on inflation. Out of the various determinants considered in this study, TO, exchange rate and the SAP are insignificant, while the rest of the variables are significant and consistent with previous studies.Practical implicationsThis study informs policymakers about maintaining price stability and fostering economic growth in South Asian nations. It breaks new ground as the first empirical examination of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s SAP impact on inflation in the region.Originality/valueThis study tries to find out whether the SAP of the IMF is responsible for inflation in South Asian countries. It gives renewed attention to the causality of inflation from the perspective of countries receiving loans from donors, especially the IMF.

Qualitative Analysis of School Re-Entry Experiences of Turkish Survivors of Childhood and Adolescent Cancer: Parental Perspective

This study aimed to explore the school re-entry experiences of Turkish survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer. In this qualitative study, semistructured in-depth interviews were undertaken with parents of childhood cancer survivors who had completed treatment for at least 2 years (n = 20). Interviews were conducted via telephone or video conferencing. The study was conducted and reported according to the COREQ (Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research) guidelines. The components of qualitative rigor were considered to ensure confidence in the methods and data. The average age of parents was 43.20 ± 4.66 years (range 37-55) (n = 20). The mean age of survivors was 8.45 ± 2.03 years at diagnosis and 15.05 ± 2.08 years during the study. The diagnosis of most of the survivors was lymphoma (35%). Four main themes were developed: worry; challenging situations; negative effects of the disease process; and facilitating situations. Parents stated that both children and parents need support during the school re-entry process. This study revealed that survivors may experience problems that make school re-entry difficult. With cooperation between the health team and the school, arrangements should be made to ensure survivors have a positive experience on school re-entry. Pediatric oncology nurses should know survivors' requirements and take action to deliver school re-entry adjustment programs.

On the Determination of the Level of Basic Pension Insurance for Urban and Rural Residents and the Adjustment Program

With the increasing aging of the population, the key issue to optimize the basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents is not to bring excessive financial burden while improving the level of treatment level. Starting from three aspects: the dynamic adjustment mechanism of basic pension oriented to meet the needs of survival, the adjustment mechanism of contribution grade, the subsidy mechanism of contribution ratio and the long-term basic pension determination mechanism, this paper designs the optimization scheme of financial subsidy mode, and establishes the actuarial model and the financial moderate burden coefficient model to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the scheme. The calculation results show that the optimization of financial subsidies has significantly improved the ability of urban and rural resident insurance pensions, and the central and local finances have a certain ability to bear the steady increase of basic pensions and contribution subsidies.

Seasonality in U.S. disability applications, labor market, and the pandemic echoes

This paper examines the seasonality in the U.S. Social Security disability applications, and shows that the monthly disability applications exhibit a double-peak seasonal pattern which lags a similar seasonal pattern in unemployment and unemployment insurance initial claims by one to two months. The broad seasonal patterns in disability applications are remarkably similar across states but with significant heterogeneity in amplitudes, which seems to be associated with climatic factors. We utilize this inter-state heterogeneity to show that the seasonal patterns in disability applications and labor market conditions are correlated even after controlling for climatic effects. We also show that the seasonally in disability applications generated by the automatic settings of the widely used seasonal adjustment program X13 ARIMA-SEATS are distorted during the COVID-19 pandemic and the pattern of the distortion is similar to that in employment data.

Assessing the Impact of Trade Policies on Growth and Development of the Manufacturing and Agricultural Sectors in Nigeria

This article examines the impact of trade policies in Nigeria (1960–2022) on the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. To set the context, I have grouped the trade policy periods into two categories: (a) the pre–structural adjustment programme (SAP) era (1960–1985) and (b) the post-SAP era (1986–2022). I have then examined economic data and all the existing literature to understand the pattern of manufacturing and agricultural outputs during these policy periods. Pre-SAP and post-SAP trade policies show a shift from protectionism to liberalisation, moderately improving agricultural and industrial sectors but still facing obstacles. Despite policies and agreements to improve trade, economic development remains unrealised. This study demonstrated that trade policies have led to erratic progress in both the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, consequently making a lesser contribution to the overall Nigerian development. Within this debate, three different schools of thought can be distinguished. The first school of thought holds that trade policy reforms benefit the growth of Nigerian manufacturing and agricultural sectors. The second school of thought contends that trade policy reforms (such as trade liberalisation) have a detrimental effect on industrial and agricultural sectors. The third school of thought argues that there is no proof or substantial linkage between trade policy reforms and the productivity and growth of manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Nevertheless, to benefit from trade liberalisation, this article identifies the need to revise the Nigerian trade policy as well as stabilise foreign exchange rates to advance and boost local manufacturing and agricultural sectors and promote active participation in trade agreements and policies.

Evolution in key indicators of maternal and child health across the wealth gradient in 41 sub-Saharan African countries, 1986–2019

BackgroundAggregate trends can be useful for summarizing large amounts of information, but this can obscure important distributional aspects. Some population subgroups can be worse off even as averages climb, for example. Distributional information can identify health inequalities, which is essential to understanding their drivers and possible remedies.MethodsUsing publicly available Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 41 sub-Saharan African countries from 1986 to 2019, we analyzed changes in coverage for eight key maternal and child health indicators: first dose of measles vaccine (MCV1); Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus (DPT) first dose (DPT1); DPT third dose (DPT3); care-seeking for diarrhea, acute respiratory infections (ARI), or fever; skilled birth attendance (SBA); and having four antenatal care (ANC) visits. To evaluate whether coverage diverged or converged over time across the wealth gradient, we computed several dispersion metrics including the coefficient of variation across wealth quintiles. Slopes and 5-year moving averages were computed to identify overall long-term trends.ResultsAverage coverage increased for all quintiles and indicators, although the range and the speed at which they increased varied widely. There were small changes in the wealth-related gap for SBA, ANC, and fever. The wealth-related gap of vaccination-related indicators (DPT1, DPT3, MCV1) decreased over time. Compared to 2017, the wealth-gap between richest and poorest quintiles in 1995 was 7 percentage points larger for ANC and 17 percentage points larger for measles vaccination.ConclusionsMaternal and child health indicators show progress, but the distributional effects show differential evolutions in inequalities. Several reasons may explain why countries had smaller wealth-related gap trends in vaccination-related indicators compared to others. In addition to service delivery differences, we hypothesize that the allocation of development assistance for health, the prioritization of vaccine-preventable diseases on the global agenda, and indirect effects of structural adjustment programs on health system-related indicators might have played a role.

Social Welfare Policy: An Assessment of the Structural Adjustment Programme 1987-1993

Problem statement: This study examined social welfare policy in Nigeria, with emphasis on the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) objectives and its social welfare implications. The study looks at the effects of the Adjustment Programme and juxtaposes it with the social roles, responsibilities and objectives of the government, particularly in the area of providing socioeconomic and welfare needs for the people, to improve life and enhance the status of man and protect his dignity. In addition, responsibility of the government to her citizen is explained as a constitutional principle and obligation that should be a cardinal objectives and priority of the government. Approach: The methodology used for this study is secondary mode of data collection, which enhanced the understanding of the welfare status of Nigerians in the pre-SAP and post-SAP period under review. For example, studies by Philip Asiodu and Pius Okigbo on the introduction of SAP and the implications on people’s welfare pointed to the fact that, SAP is not a microeconomic policy, arguing that any policy that will address people’s welfare must be short term, unlike this study which examine the implications of SAP on the economic power parity and the well-being of the people. However, the study observes that the adoption of the structural adjustment policy by the government negates the welfare approach to governance. Instead of improving the welfare of Nigerians, the policy only made Nigerians vulnerable. Results: The study revealed a sharp decline in the peoples welfare, while it was observed that the socio-economic hardship that follows the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme have remained unabated, with succeeding administrations trying to fully deregulate the economy. Conclusion: In conclusion, the study revealed that, social policy in Nigeria has fall short of the principle and the concept of welfarism, which is about the general well-being of the citizens in health, education, safety and security, personal freedom and social capital that are lacking in today’s Nigeria.

“Useless degrees”, quality assurance, and employable graduates: neoliberal effects on University Education in Kenya

At a time when it is critical to understand humanity and its various forms of socioeconomic and political life, anthropology and other social sciences are being threatened by a neoliberal emphasis on “relevant” courses in universities in Kenya. Universities are suffering from a push for “relevance” at the detriment of their traditional role of being a public good. Using personal experiences, comparative secondary data overview and analysis, I discuss the challenges facing university education in Kenya under neoliberalism. I argue that the erstwhile role of universities serving the public good has been transformed so much that they struggle to be “sustainable” through “income generating activities” and teach “marketable courses” that will guarantee graduates employment upon graduation. This neoliberal approach to university education follows the growth of a capitalist ethic which started with Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) that has continually erased the welfare state and turned university education into a commodity and students as customers with preferences rather than as citizens with a right to education. Such a focus is detrimental to cultivating graduates who are well rounded and can respond to the challenges and opportunities of our ever-changing world.

Effect of Short-Term Capital Flows on Real Exchange Rate in Kenya

Short-term capital flows that are continuous have two disadvantages. Although they are attractive to investors, their tendency toward volatility and reversals increases the possibility of causing instability in the macroeconomy. There's little question that Kenya's open account policy and Vision 2030 goals will attract more short- and long-term investment. The research investigated how Kenya's macroeconomic indicators were impacted by short-term capital flows. The explicit goal was to ascertain how net short-term capital flows affected Kenya's actual exchange rates. In the study, series data spanning the years 1980–2018 were used. At that time, market liberalization was underway, and Kenya had begun to implement structural adjustment programs. The study used a correlational research approach utilizing e-views, ox-metrics, and STATA software to assess the model at a 5% significant level. The procedure of assessing the hypothesis included the use of t-ratios and P-values. To ascertain if the time series data were stationary, a unit root test utilizing the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test was performed. To ascertain if there was a long-term link between the variables, co-integration and error correction techniques were applied. To ascertain the nature of the link that existed between the variables, the Granger causality test was used. In order to evaluate the multicollinearity, autocorrelation, and heteroscedasticity assumptions, the Variance Inflation Factor, Durbin-Watson statistic, and Breusch-Pagan tests were applied. The results showed that short-term capital flows significantly and unfavorably affected real exchange rates (t-prob 0.000–0.05). The study suggested preventing the detrimental impacts of net short-term capital flows before they affect the whole economy.

THE EFFECTS OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS ON HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE WEST AFRICAN ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION (WAEMU)

Since the end of the 1980s, most developing countries, particularly those in the WAEMU, have resorted to foreign capital, notably Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a new source of financing. The general observation is that WAEMU countries have difficulty mobilizing and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by foreign capital to initiate their development. The aim of this research is to show the contribution of FDI to the human capital accumulation in WAEMU countries. So, the effects of foreign direct investment and public education spending on human capital are analyses. The data used cover the period 2000-2020 where countries have implemented structural adjustment programs. In order to highlight the effects of foreign direct investments on human capital in the WAEMU, after a theoretical and empirical discussion on foreign direct investments on human capital, an Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) model was constructed. The results show that foreign direct investment have a positive significant impact on human capital, which, in terms of economic policy implications means that FDI are means of improving the accumulation of human capital in WAEMU.

Validation of the Retirement Resources Inventory in Persian: Assessing Psychometric Properties among Iranian Retirees.

Retirement resources are considered one of the key determinants of well-being and coping with the challenging situations of retirement courses. Therefore, due to the lack of a valid questionnaire for research and practice at the national level as well as international comparisons, this study was conducted to translate the original retirement resources inventory into Persian and assess the validity and reliability of the Persian version. The research employed a cross-sectional descriptive methodological approach, beginning with translating the questionnaire into Persian. Psychometric properties were evaluated through face, content, construct validity, and reliability tests. 335 participants were involved in assessing construct validity, while 30 participants contributed to the internal consistency test, and 20 took part in the test-retest reliability test. Data analysis was performed using SPSS Version 26 and AMOS 24 software. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed eight components with eigenvalues greater than 1, accounting for 46.68% of the variance, with no questions being removed. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that all items had a factor loading above 0.3, resulting in a final model with 35 items and eight factors, supported by fit indices (χ 2/df = 1.95, TLI: 0.87, IFI = 0.88, RMSEA = 0.05, GFI: 0.85). Reliability measures showed Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.71 to 0.83 and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.93. The study concludes that the Persian version of the RRI, encompassing 35 items across eight dimensions, is a valid and reliable tool for the Iranian retiree population. This validated inventory can be utilized in future national and international studies, particularly experimental ones, to develop well-being and retirement adjustment programs, thereby aiding in understanding and supporting Iranian retirees.

Localized Multilateralism: Examining the African Development Bank

Abstract: This paper critically examines post-crisis efforts by focusing on the African Development Bank's (AfDB) role in facilitating recovery and poverty reduction across the African continent. Case studies include the COVID-19 crisis, migration, and efforts to battle regional hunger. The analysis contrasts the approaches of the AfDB's strategies with that of the World Bank's Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), underscoring the former's unique successes and efficiencies in addressing the specific needs of the continent to reduce poverty. The analysis begins by contextualizing the historical and socio-economic landscape, highlighting African countries' distinct challenges with structural adjustment and debt, and then delves into a detailed assessment of the AfDB's initiatives. This paper suggests that the AfDB's customized strategies could be more effective for Africa's development agenda due to their alignment with the continent's varied cultural, political, and economic landscapes. This approach, prioritizing contextual relevance over a sole focus on economic growth, is argued to be more conducive to addressing Africa's unique developmental challenges.

The Role of Private Investment and the Relationship between Monetary Policy and Economic Growth in Nigeria.

Despite government initiatives and policy reforms promoting private investment, such as the Structural Adjustment Programmes and various economic reform policies, Nigeria has experienced minimal improvement in private investment indicators, with the share of private investment in economic growth fluctuating over the years, characterized by intermittent increases and declines. Thus, the study investigates the role of private investment and the relationship between monetary policy and economic growth in Nigeria. The study utilized secondary data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria through an ex-post facto research design spanning from 1985 to 2022. Employing an autoregressive distributed lag model, which includes an error correction mechanism and cointegration test, the analysis examined variables, revealing that private investment mediates positively in the relationship between monetary policy and economic growth in Nigeria. The findings underscored the significant impact of private investment on the nexus between monetary policy and economic growth, suggesting policy recommendations including incentivizing private investment through the removal of capital controls and investment regulations, reducing or eliminating taxes and regulatory burdens, and fostering a supportive environment for business creation.

Development and testing of WEASEL for least-squares neutron spectrum adjustment

A new least-squares adjustment program called WEASEL has been developed. WEASEL is implemented in Python and uses standard ASCII interfaces for user input and output, and HDF5 interfaces for cross section, covariance data, and weighting function data. WEASEL allows the user to supply a trial neutron spectrum in an arbitrary group structure. The trial neutron spectrum is re-binned into a group structure consistent with the covariance data using a weighting function that can either be read from the data library or supplied as input by the user. WEASEL performs least-squares adjustments of a single irradiation environment. The adjusted neutron spectrum, covariance matrices, and other derived quantities can then be plotted and interrogated with standard software packages.

Impact of Remittance on Financial Sector Growth in Nigeria: An Econometrics Approach

Remittance inflow is one of the major sources of foreign exchange not only to individuals and financial institutions but also to the economy as a whole. The level of remittance to Nigeria has been on the increase, yet the exchange rate has been very unstable with the naira falling against the USD dollars consistently. Despite different literature on the impact of remittance on the Nigerian economy as a whole, limited studies have been carried out on the effects of remittance on the financial sector of the economy. This study investigated the impact of remittance on the financial sector in Nigeria using data between 1986 and 2022. The choice of the period is to capture the effect on the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) on the economy while also considering other macroeconomic factors and shocks in period thereafter. An Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) was employed. Evidence from the results revealed a long-run relationship between financial sector output, Remittances (REM), Cost of remittance (CRM), Trade Openness (TRO) and Exchange Rate (EXR). Meanwhile the cost of remittance was found insignificant. The empirical findings from the ARDL result show that there is a positive relationship between financial sector output, remittance inflow, cost of remittance, trade openness and exchange rate in Nigeria. Based on the empirical findings, the study recommended that government should employ policies that will encourage judicious utilization of funds received through remittances by channelling the funds into productive investment as it will encourage more inflow of remittances and make policy measures more stable to attract more remittances.

Perubahan Kebijakan Luar Negeri Amerika Serikat dalam Mengatasi Imigran Ilegal di Perbatasan Dengan Meksiko

The United States, particularly illegal immigrants from the Mexico border, is the primary destination country for these immigrants. In addressing the threat posed by illegal immigrants, the US implements foreign policy measures. Research aims to explain the factors contributing to these changes and examine the extent of changes in the US foreign policy concerning illegal immigration. The factors and levels of changes are analyzed using the foreign policy change theory developed by Jakob Gustavsson. The factors of change consist of international and domestic factors, encompassing political and economic elements. The levels of change categorized as adjustment changes, program changes, problem/goal changes, and international orientation changes. The research methodology employed is qualitative, utilizing a descriptive analytical approach and relying on secondary data. The international factors within the political realm include increasing criminal activities, while the economic aspect pertains to issues regarding low wages for workers. Domestic factors within the political sphere involve changes in foreign policy resulting from the fulfillment of campaign promises influenced by political parties, and the economic aspect relates to the declining income of the American population, affecting the average income of U.S. citizens. The observed levels of change predominantly fall under program changes and international orientation changes.

은퇴자의 은퇴적응에 영향을 미치는 요인

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting retirement adjustment among retirees.
 Methods Data from 427 retirees aged 50 and above residing nationwide were used for the final analysis. To explore the factors affecting retirement adjustment, independent variables were set as demographic and sociological factors, retirement-related factors, and retirement stress. Hierarchical regression analysis was employed as the primary statistical method.
 Results The factors affecting retirement adjustment among retirees were statistically significant in demographic and sociological factors, including final academic achievement and marital status, as well as retirement-related factors, specifically the primary post-retirement primary source of income. Finally, it was confirmed that retirement stress had a negative impact. Among the six sub-factors of retirement adjustment, marital status and retirement stress were statistically significant across all factors, and post-retirement primary source of income was statistically significant in all factors except family relationship adjustment.
 Conclusions To address the needs of marginalized individuals in retirement preparation education and career transition or outplacement service, it is essential to expand retirement preparation programs. Additionally, individual retirement counseling and retirement adjustment programs are necessary for managing retirement stress and enhancing psychological well-being. Furthermore, policy development is required for retirement fund preparation, including pension-related education and increased pension support.

Africa’s Contribution to the Discourse on Environment, Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development

Renewable energy and sustainability are vital for the development of Africa. Social welfare and economic growth are contingent on meeting the consumption needs and production targets using modern, sustainable energy sources. This is particularly crucial to Africans, given that the continent is home to the least developed countries globally, and the population with access to electricity is less than half. Colonialism has undoubtedly impacted and shaped our energy and, consequently, environmental transitions by allowing the traumatic exploitation of natural habitats and plundering of minerals, all at the service of the formation of their early modern states and the growth of capitalism. This status has been greased and maintained using neo-colonial and imperial tools such as the illusion of ‘free trade’, structural adjustment programs and crippling debt. All these are aimed at staging a stagnation of economic development that translates to underdeveloped industries and inefficient energy production levels. The domino effect of this is also seen in the current environmental crisis, which is essentially the biological destruction of wildlife and marine life while posing grave dangers to the continuation of African civilisation. This article explores the impact of imperialism and traces of neo-colonialism on the energy sector in Africa and how Africa can push for renewable energy by building its own industries and utilising abundant resources to chart a path towards sustainability. It dives into the depths of already established renewable energy programs that the states ought to accelerate to enable them to reach wider populations, as well as the mutually beneficial relationship we have between renewable energy and the environment.

Analysis of Coconut Production Trends under Three Policy Phases in Nigeria

ABSTRACT: Coconut is an important crop with numerous economic uses. However, it is not clear how coconut production has performed overtime considering policy inconsistencies within the Nigerian agricultural space. This study therefore measures trends in area, yield and production from a policy standpoint. The study measures growth rates, patterns of growth, sources of production growth and instability. The policy focus is centered on Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Data used for the study covers 1961 – 2017, broken into three sub-periods. The findings reveal structural weaknesses arising from slow adoption of new technology, occasioned by inadequate human and financial capital, a disjointed value chain system operating within a weak enabling environment and reliance on inherited land which reduces overtime thereby limiting expansion options for farmers; resulting in patterns of growth that show stagnation and deceleration in the sub-periods. To this end, in a bid to reverse this trend, the study recommends the need for a national coconut policy aimed at improving access to land, new technology, training, farm settlements and access to single digit loan rates that actively target youths in the coconut value chain, this initiative should accelerate the growth performance of coconut considering the immense benefit coconut offers.
 Keywords: Coconut; Decomposition; Growth rate; Growth pattern; Instability

State and Entrepreneurship on the Road to Green Growth in a Post Lignite Era: Friends or Foes?

Green governance is an emerging field, attracting increasing attention from scholars, and governments have been using a range of policy tools to support the transition to green economy, including regulation; financial incentives; voluntary agreements; fiscal measures; public sector procurement; targeting to the deployment of clean energy technologies. Greece has little experience in developing comprehensive long-term energy and climate strategies; thus, it is imperative that governance and analytical underpinning of long-term energy and climate planning be improved, and investment needs and innovative financing instruments for clean energy technologies analysed. To investigate the critical issue of state and entrepreneurship synergies in the framework of the green economy, the present survey employed a web-based questionnaire distributed to 417 small and medium sized enterprises in Western Macedonia from September to December 2021. Data analysis involved an exploratory factor and logistic regression analysis, creating a statistical model with three independent factors describing basic tools of the green economy. The results showed that, in Greece, state environmental governance is often perceived as inadequate, scarce, or constrained by considerations of economic growth. In addition, the research indicates that government policies with regards to environmental law implementation are mainly restricted to the "command and control" regulatory model, which fails to address green innovation and entrepreneurship and promote synergies between the private sector and the State. The analyses demonstrate that if government revenues are heavily reliant on taxes and fines, their capacity to finance structural adjustment programs can be severely affected, and alternative approaches are necessary to achieve the green growth.