Advanced Countries Research Articles

Which Policies Against Inflation After Covid-19 and the War in Ukraine: The Italian Case

ABSTRACT The aftermath of the pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine have revived the debate on the causes and consequences of inflation, as well as the policies needed to combat its effects. Despite the obvious absence of a role for monetary policy in triggering price rises, the response of monetary authorities, especially in the Eurozone, has been conventional: raising interest rates, with negative consequences for activity levels. In this paper we argue that the inflation episode we are witnessing is a consequence of the attempt by profit-makers to maintain the same (if not higher) levels of profitability as before. It is, therefore, a case of conflict inflation. The policies needed to avoid severe consequences for the weakest sections of the population should be aimed at compensating workers against the loss of purchasing power. In this context, Italy is a case study. It is one of the few advanced countries where there is no statutory minimum wage. Considering data from the main studies on the conditions of Italian workers and building our argument on the most recent economic theory, we stress the need for the introduction of a legal minimum wage in Italy and, in general, for upstream redistribution policies.

Solutions to Enhance Foreign Direct Investment Attraction to Vietnam in the Digital Transformation Phase

The reality shows that developing countries often face capital and technology shortages, outdated industrial production techniques, small-scale production, low labor productivity, low per capita GDP, low GDP growth rates, low savings rates, underdeveloped foreign trade with a trade deficit, exporting raw materials and semi-processed goods, a development gap compared to advanced countries, and dependence on developed countries in terms of trade, technology, foreign aid, and expertise. This is referred to as the "vicious circle" of poverty by Paul A. Samuelson, which requires an external boost. According to him, this boost includes capital, technology, expertise, etc. Therefore, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) is considered an effective solution for the socio-economic development of developing countries. Consequently, these countries pay special attention to studying the factors that influence FDI attraction policies to timely adjust their policies to optimize FDI attraction and serve the process of economic and social development. Evaluate the attraction of foreign direct investment and examine the factors influencing foreign direct investment attraction. Based on that, propose solutions to enhance the attraction of foreign direct investment in the current phase.

사회안전망이 혁신저항에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze whether the social security system can alleviate the resistance of workers in existing industries in a situation where resistance is increasing as technological innovation occurs in all industries. In particular, we will focus on looking at labor market policies such as retirement income security systems such as ‘pensions’ and ‘unemployment benefits and vocational training’ that are directly related to the lives of workers in existing industries that have declined due to technological innovation and new growth industries. For the analysis, 17 major industrially advanced OECD countries were set as the analysis target, and the analysis period was set from 2000 to 2021, when globalization, digitalization, and resistance to technological innovation resulting from the Fourth Industrial Revolution began in earnest, and panel data was constructed. did. As an analysis method, in addition to the existing panel regression analysis, fuzzy set analysis was performed to complement the limitations of regression analysis. As a result of the regression analysis, it was found that passive labor market policies centered on unemployment benefits alleviated resistance. As a result of the fuzzy set combined factor analysis, it was revealed that a high level of active labor market policy is still needed, and that a passive labor market policy with a short period but strong guarantees and a flexible labor market environment are needed.

International mobility characteristics, effects of, and effects on elite scientists

Understanding the international flows of elite scientists is critical to science and talent policies. In this study, using the Scopus data of 78,815 top h-index scientists between 1921 and 2020, we investigate the characteristics of the international mobility of elite scientists, including geographic features, mobility types, and disciplinary characteristics. Our results reveal an increasing number of countries participating in international mobility over the past 2 decades, with North America and some Western European countries still serving as centers. Emerging economies have also become important mobility hubs in recent decades. Mobile scientists who have returned to their home countries have become the dominant mobility type, mainly in the form of short-term mobility. The disciplines of physics and astronomy and engineering have larger shares of mobile scientists than other disciplines, and the average flow frequency of elites varies among 26 observed disciplines. We use a difference-in-differences model to analyze how global mobility affects the individual productivity of elite scientists by distinguishing flow paths. The results indicate that international mobility improves the research performance of elite scientists who move to more scientifically advanced countries and that research quality is most positively impacted when elite scientists move to the United States or move from China.

The Impact of Non-Financial Remittances on the Development of Developing Countries in Africa

This study explores and emphasises the utility of non-financial remittances to Africa’s developmental aspirations and the importance of critical thinking in the management of diaspora matters by agencies of government saddled with the diaspora affairs of developing countries in Africa. Drawing on the literature review and using the Socratic approach, the reflective analysis of this study demonstrates that greater value could be extracted from Africans’ diaspora remittances if more attention is focused on non-financial remittances and the remitters’ wellbeing. Through the exploration of the philosophical bases of the remittance processes, the study draws out non-financial remittances of ideas, skill, knowledge, technology, and innovation as a preferred and more valuable form of remittances with real effects on Africa’s economic growth and development. The study contributes by deepening our knowledge of non-financial remittances to the socio-economic development of less advanced countries, particularly in Africa.

Uncovered equity parity: new evidence from a copula approach

ABSTRACT This article finds novel evidence on the uncovered equity parity (UEP) condition by employing copula methodology with historical datasets spanning back to 1870. First, across 17 advanced countries over the twentieth century, a higher equity return currency tends to depreciate in real terms at an annual frequency. Moreover, we also find a statistically significant positive tail dependence between the real equity returns differential and the real exchange rate differential. That is, when real currency returns and real equity returns take extreme values, they tend to co-move in the same direction, implying a time-varying UEP condition that is also confirmed by our time-varying Student-t copula estimation. Our novel findings call for richer theoretical explanations on the UEP relationship.

Uncertainty shocks, financial frictions, and business cycle asymmetries across countries

I show that uncertainty shocks trigger sharper declines in consumption, investment, and GDP – and a sharper increase in trade balances – in emerging countries relative to advanced countries during recessions. Using an open-economy model – estimated on a set of advanced and emerging countries – I demonstrate that these facts can be explained by an interaction between uncertainty and financial frictions. In particular, the results imply that during recessions, elevated borrowing costs in emerging countries – about 5.9% greater than advanced countries – interact nonlinearly with uncertainty to generate the observed excess volatility.

South Korea's Medical Tourism Competitiveness and Future Strategy: Focused on Cancer Treatment: A Review.

Medical tourism is a leading industry of South Korea. Since the transition from the latest health pandemic to endemic, foreign patients have been on a rapid increase. The Korean government regards medical tourism as a major national industry and pursues medical, legal, and policy strategies with the goal of attracting 700,000 foreign patients by 2027. Examining objective data and statistics as well as academic articles, we investigated the strengths and advantages, which might persuade foreign medical tourists to visit South Korea by performing a comparative analysis with high-income or medically advanced countries among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other competing Asian countries. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Compared with other advanced countries and Asian competitors in cancer treatment, South Korea shows excellent result of major cancers treatments, accessibility to hospitals and medical professionals, and competitiveness in terms of surgery and treatment costs. South Korea has excellent competitiveness both in price and in cancer treatment with the outstanding results of cancer mortality rates and 5-year survival rates. The achievement of Korea's cancer treatments is due to accurate diagnosis with the advantage of PET-CT, 64-sllice CT, 3.0 TESLA MRI, etc., and the use of cutting-edge equipment, such as CyberKnife and Da Vince robotic surgery. Besides, the Korean central and local governments actively support for the promotion of Korea's medical tourism industry, such as issuance of visas for foreigners, the hospital certification system, and medical tourism convergence cluster project.

ADULT EDUCATION IN DENMARK: MODERN DISCOURSE OF LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT

Sustainable and rational adult education is now a crucial component of the European education system due to the demands of a modern, innovative workforce that must be highly educated and adaptable. This article provides a comparative examination of adult education contemporary situation in Denmark and Ukraine. The author’s research interests are in the sphere of the legal frameworks supporting the structural patterns, guiding principles, financing, and acknowledgement of Danish adult education. For the establishment of adult education policies in Ukraine, the Danish setting is essential because of Denmark's unique experience in developing a democratic adult training system that is a part of lifelong learning. In data collection for this study, the author has analyzed multiple legislative sources in European and Danish educational environments at various time points from 2000 to 2023. The conducted research demonstrates that the legal framework in the modern Danish environment encourages adult education in a way that shapes it into a very effective system. On the other hand, significant legislative, structural, and technological changes are needed for adult education in Ukraine, particularly in light of the ongoing aggressive war. This comparative study will contribute to a better understanding of the educational situation with adults in advanced European countries and will help to justify new approaches to the training of adult citizens in Ukraine.

Romania and EU standards, 1990–2022

European statistics provide a clear picture of Romania's dynamics in relation to European standards. The data use very relevant indicators for the diagnosis of the standard of living of the Romanian population in relation to other European countries: GDP per person, calculated at purchasing power (PPS). In 1990, for the former socialist countries, showed that they were at considerable distances from the standards of advanced European countries. The biggest gap was registered by: Romania, followed by Bulgaria and Poland and the smallest gap was recorded by the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The first 10 years of transition (2000) were extremely difficult for Romania and Bulgaria, which represents a massive impoverishment of the population. The Czech Republic also faced problems as a result of the process of separation from Slovakia. Slovenia was the country that achieved the smallest gap.The highest level of living standard, by GDP/inhabitant, is presented by the Czech Republic, Slovenia followed closely by Slovakia. Romania, after a dramatic decline in the 90s, later recorded an important increase, but still maintaining approximately half of the advanced European standard, from 30.9% to 52%.

Severe Impairment Rating Scale (SIRS) in assessing patients with severe dementia in Chinese Community

AbstractBackgroundLike other advanced countries, Hong Kong is facing the challenges of an aging population, reduced fertility, and increasing longevity. Most older people who diagnosed with moderate to severe dementia would need institutional care. Nevertheless, the current instruments available in the Chinese population are having flooring effects in measuring the functional conditions for this specific group of population.MethodThis study aims to validate the 14‐item Chinese Severe Impairment Rating Scale (C‐SIRS), as an instrument designed to measure functional condition of older people with moderate and severe dementia. The development of this validation study was under classical test theory to examine and test (1) the degree of clarity, understandability, and relevance (i.e. content validity), (2) the test‐retest reliability score of SIRS, (3) the degree of the inter‐relatedness among SIRS items like internal consistency, and (4) the correlation between SIRS score and the functional measures by Hong Kong Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HK‐MoCA) and Modified Barthel Index 100 (MBI‐100).ResultWhen assessing the relevance and sensitivity of the question with the universal agreement calculation method, the scale‐level content validity index (S‐CVI/UA) of C‐SIRS received relevance ratings of “almost agree” or “absolutely agree” by all the experts. The Fleiss' kappa showed that there was moderate agreement between the panellists’ judgements, with at least 8 years of experience, κ = .326 (95% CI, .319 to .343), p < .001. 105 older people with moderate to severe dementia recruited from nursing home were enrolled in the validation, the C‐SIRS had a high level of internal consistency, as determined by a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.99 with F = .005, p = .831. The SIRS shows significant correlation with both cognitive, as measured by MoCA (with r = .337, p < .001), and functional measures as measured by MBI (with r = .64, p < .01).ConclusionC‐SIRS is sensitive in measuring the functional condition in older people with moderate to severe dementia. Moreover, C‐SIRS is easier to administrate with shorter time required. Further study should help by investigating the sensitivity of C‐SIRS to assess the change over a longer period of time.

Impact of indirect taxes on CO2 emissions in the presence of institutional quality: evidence from a global panel data analysis

PurposeDespite the importance of tax policy in reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, there is a dearth of research on the environmental impact of indirect taxes. This paper examines the impact of indirect taxes on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, with an emphasis on institutional quality.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the Government Revenue Dataset (2021), comprising 143 countries, dividing into 114 developing and 29 developed countries, during the period between 1996 and 2019. The author adopts panel data techniques, with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors to account for the issue of cross-sectional dependence (CSD).FindingsThe results indicate that indirect tax revenues have a negative and significant impact on CO2 emissions for the total sample. The subsample analysis revealed that while indirect taxes reduce carbon emissions in developing countries, opposed results are reported for developed countries. This finding implies that most of the advanced countries have already reached a high level of taxes, at which carbon emissions increase as indirect tax increases further. Interestingly, the results revealed that institutional quality enhances the role of indirect taxes in mitigating carbon emissions for both developing and developed countries.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the sole study using the newly developed tax data by the United Nations University, World Institute for Development Research (UNU-WIDER) to investigate the impact of indirect taxes on carbon emissions, with an emphasis on institutional quality. The existing literature focuses on specific taxes, like carbon taxes, with no comprehensive research on the link between indirect taxes and carbon emissions.

The impact of the US–China trade war on Taiwanese firms' R&D investment and outward investment to technologically advanced countries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the impending relationship between the impact of the US–China trade war on Taiwanese firms' spending on R&D and their offshore investment in technologically advanced countries (TAC), the authors examined if changes in these firms' R&D ratios and the growing presence of skilled workers in Taiwan's labour market during the trade war have affected their offshore investments in TAC.Design/methodology/approach Using a model built on pooled cross-sectional time-series data from 2012–2019, the authors examined whether a change in R&D ratios of domestic firms in Taiwan and the growing presence of skilled workers in Taiwan's labour market have affected the offshore investment by these firms during the trade war. Using data from the Manpower Utilisation Survey, the authors applied differences–in–differences–in–differences and differences–in–differences–in–differences–in–differences estimation methods and found that the trade war indeed gave a boost to Taiwan's job market, particularly for skilled workers.Findings From the estimation results, the authors noticed a rise in employment opportunities alongside a decline in the earnings of skilled workers in industries where more firms have spent on R&D as well as invested in offshore operations. However, firms in Taiwan that had not heavily spent on R&D from industries where investment in foreign operations was otherwise high have also attracted skilled workers during the trade war.Practical implicationsAn in-depth analysis of the impact of the trade war on domestic firms' spending on R&D and their investment in offshore operations in TAC should be helpful to policymakers interested in understanding the effects of the trade war and subsequent changes in firms' spending on R&D on labour market outcomes. If changes in the R&D ratios and a steady supply of skilled workers influenced the outflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to TAC, this insight could be helpful for those devising policies and measures to curb the impact of the trade war on domestic spending on R&D.Originality/value The study findings not only provide broad lessons to policymakers in Taiwan, but the country case study can guide growing economies that are equally careful while perceiving trade war as a significant deterrent to domestic R&D spending and the outflow of FDI.

Losing traction? The real effects of monetary policy when interest rates are low

Based on a panel of 18 advanced countries starting in 1985, we find that monetary transmission to economic activity is substantially weaker when interest rates are low. The results hold when controlling for potential confounding non-linearities associated with debt levels and the business cycle as well as for the trend decline in equilibrium interest rates. These findings suggest that the observed flattening of the Phillips curve has gone hand in hand with a steepening of the IS curve as interest rates remained persistently low, making monetary policy trade-offs more challenging.

EU countries’ digital transformation, economic performance, and sustainability analysis

Digital transformation generates challenges and opportunities at the individual and organizational levels. Implementing digital technologies impacts all countries’ economic growth and orientation toward sustainability. This paper aims to evaluate the effects of digital transformation on the economic performance and sustainability of European Union (EU) countries. The paper employs artificial neural network analysis, structural equation modeling, and cluster analysis to investigate the relationships among digital transformation, economic performance, and sustainability. Economic performance is measured using GDP per capita, while SDG scores represent sustainability. The use of computers and the Internet in enterprises, the volume of e-commerce, and the percentages of implementing new digital technologies, such as cloud computing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things, illustrate digital transformation. The research findings reveal the extent of digital transformation in each country and the significant influence of digital transformation on economic performance and sustainability. The main drivers of digital transformation are the use of computers and the Internet in enterprises and e-commerce. However, new digital technologies exert increasingly noticeable effects, particularly in developed European countries. This study elucidates the profound implications of digital transformation on economic performance and sustainability. It underscores the pivotal role of digital technologies, especially in advanced European countries, in driving economic growth and sustainability. The results can be helpful to regulators in developing digitization strategies that underpin sustainable economic performance.

Vaccinomics-aided next-generation novel multi-epitope-based vaccine engineering against multidrug resistant Shigella Sonnei: Immunoinformatics and chemoinformatics approaches.

Shigella sonnei is a gram-negative bacterium and is the primary cause of shigellosis in advanced countries. An exceptional rise in the prevalence of the disease has been reported in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. To date, no preventive vaccine is available against S. sonnei infections. This pathogen has shown resistances towards both first- and second-line antibiotics. Therefore, an effective broad spectrum vaccine development against shigellosis is indispensable. In the present study, vaccinomics-aided immunoinformatics strategies were pursued to identify potential vaccine candidates from the S. sonnei whole proteome data. Pathogen essential proteins that are non-homologous to human and human gut microbiome proteome set, are feasible candidates for this purpose. Three antigenic outer membrane proteins were prioritized to predict lead epitopes based on reverse vaccinology approach. Multi-epitope-based chimeric vaccines was designed using lead B- and T-cell epitopes combined with suitable linker and adjuvant peptide sequences to enhance immune responses against the designed vaccine. The SS-MEVC construct was prioritized based on multiple physicochemical, immunological properties, and immune-receptors docking scores. Immune simulation analysis predicted strong immunogenic response capability of the designed vaccine construct. The Molecular dynamic simulations analysis ensured stable molecular interactions of lead vaccine construct with the host receptors. In silico restriction and cloning analysis predicted feasible cloning capability of the SS-MEVC construct within the E. coli expression system. The proposed vaccine construct is predicted to be more safe, effective and capable of inducing robust immune responses against S. sonnei infections and may be worthy of examination via in vitro/in vivo assays.

Development of the Self-efficacy for Social Participation scale (SOSA) for community-dwelling older adults

BackgroundSocial participation is important for the health of older adults and super-aging societies. However, relatively few independent older adults in advanced countries actually participate in society, even though many of them have the capacity to do so. One possible reason for this could be a lack of self-efficacy for social participation. However, few scales have been developed to measure self-efficacy for social participation among community-dwelling independent older adults. Therefore, we developed the “Self-efficacy for Social Participation” scale (SOSA) to assess the self-efficacy of community-dwelling independent older adults, and examined the scale’s reliability and validity.MethodsWe distributed a self-administered mail survey to approximately 5,000 randomly selected independent older adults throughout Japan. The construct validity of the SOSA was determined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Criterion-related validity was assessed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and according to subjective health status.ResultsIn total, 1,336 older adults responded to the survey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified 12 items distributed among four factors: instrumental self-efficacy, managerial self-efficacy, interpersonal self-efficacy and cultural self-efficacy. The final model had a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.90, goodness-of-fit index of 0.948, adjusted goodness-of-fit index of 0.915, comparative fit index of 0.952, and root mean square error of approximation of 0.078. Significant correlations existed between the SOSA score and GSES (r = 0.550, p < 0.01) and subjective health status (r = 0.384, p < 0.01) scores.ConclusionsThe SOSA showed sufficient reliability and validity to assess self-efficacy for social participation among older adults. This scale could aid efforts to improve the physical and mental health, and longevity, of older adults through increased behavioralizing social participation.

Urban feng shui based on citizenship rights and its impact on the spatial structure and mental health of citizens: Review

This research introduces “Urban Feng Shui” based on citizenship rights and its impact on citizens’ mental health. Feng Shui is an ancient knowledge of Chinese whose goal is to create harmony between humans, the environment, and the building (the city and its body). Many advanced countries are trying to find a deep understanding of the relationship between man and his environment, and in recent years, many architects and urban planners have been trying to correct this several thousand-year-old theory that many East Asian countries have based. The working method in this research is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. First, the existing theories about feng shui were examined quantitatively, then the above information was analyzed with a qualitative method in the presented samples, and urban feng shui was introduced, and while recognizing the theoretical approaches of feng shui, it was concluded that according to The principles and methods of this theory complicated, the teachings of Urban Feng Shui theory based on citizenship rights can be effective on the mental health of citizens and cause the production of a new approach.

EUROPEAN OFFSHORE NETWORK WITH WIND POWER PLANTS

Problems The growth of electricity consumption and the change in climatic conditions present society with the challenge of ensuring sustainable and ecologically clean electricity production. For many countries, especially in the European Union, the transition to sustainable and ecologically clean energy sources has become a priority.&#x0D; Objective A general overview and analysis of trends in the development of the network of offshore wind power plants located in the open sea on the continental shelf of European countries&#x0D; Methodology of implementation The strategy for the development of a single European offshore network with wind power plants was used for research. The study of the effectiveness and advantages of offshore power plants was carried out in the variability of the advanced countries of the European Union..&#x0D; Results An overview of the electric power industry of European countries that pursue an active policy in the field of offshore energy is given. The statistics on the generation of wind energy, the number and development of wind turbines in Europe are given. The main projects that have been implemented or are in the process of preparation have been considered. An analysis of the measures introduced by the European Union to increase the use of wind energy and reduce dependence on traditional energy sources and achieve carbon neutrality was performed.&#x0D; Conclusions The European offshore network with wind power plants has become an important component of sustainable energy development in the region. Statistics on the development of offshore wind energy indicate that European countries are actively working on the development of this sector, investing significant efforts and resources.

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC): A state-of-the-art review of material behavior, structural applications and future

Ultra-high-performance concrete commonly known as UHPC is rising curiosity among structural engineers all over. Though early research on this material dates back to a couple of decades, some initial knowledge about this material, its behavior, and its properties is largely limited to a few research circles in a handful of advanced countries. This paper introduces UHPC as a material, elaborates on its ingredients, and describes its properties. A detailed review of available research literature about UHPC is made. The contributions made by several researchers have been discussed in detail. Following this, the structural behavior and strength of the material are reviewed comprehensively. Comparisons are made between conventional concrete and UHPC with respect to their properties, stress-strain relation, cracking behavior, compressive, tensile, and shear strengths. A detailed evaluation is made of the enhanced properties of the material with respect to its durability and long-term performance. The resistance of this material to moisture permeability, chloride ingress, and chemical attacks is understood. The impact resistance and energy absorption characteristics of the material are compared with conventional concrete. The study documented the structural applications of UHPC as well as the potential applications in the field of civil engineering. Finally, the authors enlisted the impacts of this new material (UHPC) on the future direction of structural engineering and the innovative solutions it can provide to structural engineering problems