Deep Economic Crisis Research Articles

China’s Relations with the Mediterranean States: Military and Political Aspects

China is one of the most influential non-regional actors in the Mediterranean. As of 2021, it is ranked among the top three trading partners of almost all Mediterranean states. Chinese foreign policy in the Mediterranean reflects the growing importance of geoeconomics and, in particular, economic instruments of foreign policy in Chinas foreign policy strategy. The intersection of the routes of the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century and the Silk Road Economic Belt in the Mediterranean basin indicates the regions high potential for the development of new logistics routes, economic corridors and supply chains. Despite significant impact of the coronavirus restrictions on the global economy and the deepest economic crisis seen in recent years, China has not reduced its global activity. Actually, it is the pandemic that can become an incentive for the development of new formats of cooperation within the Belt and Road in the Mediterranean. Chinas traditional foreign policy paradigm presupposes emphasis exclusively on economic interaction and non-involvement in political issues. De facto Chinas economic relations with the countries of the region are increasingly complicated by military and political issues. The article categorizes the main political and security issues that arise between China and partner countries in the Mediterranean region. While the discourse of human rights and sustainable development prevails in relations with Europe, the issues of ensuring security and managing regional instability come to the fore when dealing with the states of North Africa and the Middle East. Given Chinas growing economic needs, it is likely that in the medium term there will be a doctrinal formalization of Chinas role in the political process in the Mediterranean region.

The Uruguayan ‘68: Student Unrest and Breakdown of Democracy

In 1968 in Uruguay, as in many countries all over the world, a student movement broke up, impulsed by the high school students and joined by university students. It began in April as a claim against an increase in the price of the bus ticket and for a better budget dedicated to education. In a context of deep economic and social crisis, these demonstrations of unrest were common. But the increasing violence of the demonstrators, the radicalization of the student collective actions and the systematization of armed repression changed its nature during the austral winter. The proclamation of the state of emergency restraining the individual liberties and several student’s deaths by the police are maybe the strongest symbols of this violence, which kept increasing until the coup d’état in 1973. In order to propose a general overview of the Uruguayan ’68, this paper will expose the global and national contexts as well as the research field on the subject. Afterward, it will focus on the local scale to present a brief account of the events. It will finally consider some opening reflections about the relation between the students and media. Based on some of our own research, we intend to propose the idea of an informational field as an object of study, as a way to consider the encounter and struggle of multiple protagonists for the construction of representations of the students’ protest. Particularly in 1968, this also implies contemplate transnational circulations of information that articulate local and global scales.

Economic relations between China and Venezuela: modern characteristics and prospects

Venezuela suffers currently from a deep economic and political crisis. China, being significant partner for Venezuela, has recently increased its presence on the Venezuelan market. The study reveals the distinguishing features of modern Chinese-Venezuelan economic relations. It analyzes China's foreign economic strategy in Latin America and identifies the trends in trade, investment and finance relations between China and Venezuela. The conclusion is made that the Chinese strategy in Venezuela is not based on the concept of South - South cooperation, but it more relates to the North - South approach. At the same time, the political factor plays an increasingly significant role in the development of relationship between states from a perspective of escalation of the confrontation between the United States and China. The possible scenarios and consequences of the Venezuelan political crisis for China are identified and certain comparisons with Russia are presented.

Tactical Investigation Operation is an Effective Way of Forensic Prevention of Organized Crime in Russia

The article examines the problem of forensic prevention and its role in the fight against organized crime. The author says that this problem is especially urgent now in Russia and around the world. Tactical and forensic research, focusing on the study of tactical techniques separately and in their combinations, is possible only when seeing a holistic picture of the system of tactical techniques. The world is in a state of deep economic and social crisis. Migration processes have captured all countries. Organized crime in Russia is becoming ethnic. This complicates the fight against crimes against the person. Practice shows that ethnic criminal communities are highly organized and brutal. The author of the article analyzes tactical operation of the most criminally prone areas of the city of Krasnoyarsk. This tactical operation was carried out in 2017 by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate for the Krasnoyarsk Territory. As a result of painstaking work carried out with the help of public and private ORD methods, a map of the criminal zones located in the most popular and fashionable restaurants of the city of Krasnoyarsk was compiled. Subsequently, this map was posted by the criminal investigation officers on the Internet - in all relevant social networks. Thus, summarizing what has been said, we can make a reasonable conclusion that forensic zoning, as part of forensic prevention, is fundamentally different from criminological zoning. Obviously, the main criteria for forensic are not criminological reasons and conditions conducive to the commission of a crime, but the mechanism and methods of crime as forensic categories. A forensic scientist can implement a tactical operation of criminal territories according to the method and mechanism of committing crimes. It can be not only restaurants and other public places. The article demonstrates the method for the most criminogenic zones of poaching of aquatic biological resources in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. The author of the article concludes that the tactical operation zoning is a universal scientific category of forensic science and criminology. Forensic prevention and tactical investigation operations are an effective way to combat organized ethnic crime.

Factors affecting fuelwood production and consumption in Greece

Wood, one of the most important renewable energy sources (RES), has been used as a fuel since ancient times. Wood was the first material to be used for energy production. Gradually its use as a fuel dwindled as other sources gained popularity. However, following the oil crises of the 1970s, various countries switched to RES and in particular to wood as a primary heat source. The current paper attempts to highlight the factors that affect fuelwood production and consumption in Greece in recent decades and to propose a number of policy measures. More specifically, fuelwood production in Greece over the last decades is constantly declining mainly due to overgrazing, forest fires, urban sprawl, poor management and inadequate transport infrastructures; all these factors considerably impact the country’s forest productive capacity. Several decades ago, fuelwood was in great demand in Greece. Gradually, however, it lost its popularity to other heating fuels and was only used in rural residences or in a small number of urban homes. The last decade, however, owing to the deep economic crisis afflicting the country, there has been a marked increase in the demand for fuelwood mainly by low-income households.

Ждет ли США судьба Римской империи? (размышления по поводу статей Ирины Жежко-Браун об элите меньшинства в США)

The starting point of the paper is the three articles in the journal Ideas and Ideals by Irina Zhezhko-Brown who analyzes the formation of a new ruling class in the USA, which rests on racial and gender minorities. The values proclaimed by the elite are fundamentally different from traditional American values. The paper shows that any attempt to bring them into life can have devastating consequences for American society and, ultimately, lead to its downfall. Considering the huge role of the USA in the world system, this can be compared to the fall of the Roman Empire. The author shows that it is possible to escape such an outcome. The obstacle to this escape is the entire social and economic system that has developed in the USA. In the field of economics, the priority in recruiting personnel is given to quotas based on race and gender instead of qualification and business qualities, which will lead to a significant decrease in the financial performance of companies and the wages of employees. The author analyzes such long-term macroeconomic defects of the American economy as the budget deficit, trade and balance of payments deficit, and the growth of government debt. In the near future, these defects may lead to a deep economic crisis, a stock market crisis, and the US dollar can lose its position as the key currency. The paper considers economic and political premises and prevention methods of these destructive processes.

Free Competition and Fiscal Policy in European Union

Fiscal policy and the harmonization of tax laws are extremely important in order to prevent distortions of free competition in UE. The process of European Union construction is based on integration and liberalization of markets in order a loyal and free competition. This issue is really important in order to crisis superaction. In this context the fiscal policy has a very significant impact on countries economics in EU and on company’s management, especially for those most exposed to globalization. The impact of taxes on free competition, economic growth and employment is quite evident since the EU foundation. So, it would be expected a more significant progress towards fiscal harmonization among EU countries. However, until now the question of tax harmonization had no results. It remains a sensitive question in EU. Almost two decades after the entry of the Euro, after a deep economic crisis that endangered the European project, face to BREXIT, we raised some questions as base to this work: what are the political and institutional limitations to tax harmonization in EU? Why there are no further progress was made in the field of tax harmonization, at least, in company’s income? How does this affect social cohesion? What are the effects on economic and social cohesion? This study intends to reflect on the political and institutional constraints of the tax harmonization, quite necessary to the effective process of economic and social integration within the EU. As methodology, we will use a comparative study about income taxes in several EU countries and the relation to GDP, as well the deductive method to analyze the results we find and some reference studies on the subject. In conclusion, we will present the analyze the results and try to answer to these questions. With this study we pretend give a contribution in order to find an answer to the investigation questions.

Labor market regulation in Eastern Russia in 1918–1922: Institutional factors, mechanisms, and outcomes

This article uses archival documents and periodical publications to analyze the impact of the Civil War on the labor market in the regions of Eastern Russia. It considers key labor market institutions such as legislation, infrastructure (labor exchanges, unemployment funds, and professional and entrepreneurship organizations), and labor contracts. It has been established that there was continuity in the regulatory framework and labor market management tools between the Provisional Government and the anti-Bolshevik governments. The study shows the challenges and shortcomings of managing hiring and dismissal processes by soft regulatory methods given the deep economic crisis. The labor supply was backed by extensive cohorts of prisoners of war, refugees, and foreign workers, which contributed to a drop in labor rates. The government sought to stabilize the situation by reinforcing transactional barriers to reduce employment. The labor market in Eastern Russia was subjected to regionalization and localization.

The Effect of Job Insecurity and Life Uncertainty on Everyday Consumptions and Broader Life Projects during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Contemporary society is characterized by a high level of uncertainty in many domains of everyday life. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a deep economic crisis, exacerbating worldwide feelings of uncertainty and precarity. Individuals with insecure jobs have (and will) probably suffered the most from this situation. Workers with higher job insecurity have poorer psychological and physical health, display more negative work attitudes and are less satisfied about their life. However, much less is known about the impact of job insecurity and life uncertainty on consumer behavior. Using the Conservation of Resources theory as a framework, the present study examines a model in which job insecurity and life uncertainty would have a negative effect on everyday consumptions and broader life projects of individuals. Data collection was conducted in Italy in June and July 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic, in the immediate aftermath of the national lockdown. In a sample of 830 workers, the results of a mediation analysis showed that job insecurity and life uncertainty had a detrimental impact of consumer behaviors, since they were significantly associated with higher propensity to sacrifice and reduce everyday short-term consumptions (e.g., buying food) and greater perceived unaffordability of broader long-term life projects (e.g., buying a house).

Towards an Even More Spatially Diversified City? New Metropolitan Population Trends in the Post-Economic Crisis Period

After the deep economic crisis that began in 2008, in 2014, Spain started to show signs of recovery, entering the so-called “post-crisis” period. Though it has not yet reached the entire population, economic improvement has had a positive impact on the real estate market, economic activity, and employment. Residential mobility has also increased, but flows have become more unstable and complex. The direction of these flows, the reasons for moving, and the ages and socioeconomic categories of migrants have diversified. These complex “new mobility” patterns are reconfiguring the spatial distribution of the population in Spanish urban areas. On the basis of Continuous Register (Padrón Continuo) microdata, this paper primarily aims to study population changes in the 69 Spanish functional urban areas (FUAs) defined by the National Institute of Statistics (INE)/Eurostat, focusing on their population growth or decline in their centers and peripheries during the crisis (2011–2015) and post-crisis (2015–2019) phases. Then, the paper analyzes the five major Spanish metropolises (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, and Bilbao) in greater depth. The findings confirm the hypothesis that, during the post-crisis period, the population growth of cores and rings and thus the spatial distribution of urban inhabitants have been changing, resulting in the growing demographic heterogeneity of Spanish urban areas that are diversifying both internally and compared to each other.

Warlord Politics and Economic Clientelism in Lebanon

Since October 2019, Lebanon has been going through a deep economic and financial crisis that drove the country to a political meltdown. Facing a severe recession, high inflation and unemployment, nationwide protests in the aftermath of the Beirut explosion in August 2020 have led to the resignation of Hassan Diab’s cabinet – the second government to resign within the span of a few months. This article studies the interplay of the political, economic, and social factors that led to the current economic and political crisis. We show how warlord politics, and a corporate consociational system have misguided incentives and policies and consolidated a rentier economy that inevitably led to the current situation.

Transformation of Agro-Forest Management Policy under the Dynamic Circumstances of a Two-Decade Regional Autonomy in Indonesia

Agro-forest management policy is one of the most trending issues in Indonesia under the dynamics circumstances of regional autonomy. Regional autonomy has been recognized in the formal governance system of the Republic Indonesia through Regional Governance Law 5/1972 and Village Governance Law 5/1979. A strong political reform following deep economic crisis in 1998 has forced Indonesian President Suharto to step down, and the new government has to accommodate political reform agendas, included a broader regional autonomy, which has been implemented under a Regional Governance Law 22/1999, then replaced by Law 32/2004 and Law 23/2014. The existing Regional Governance Law has shifted almost all authorities in forest management from the regency to the province, and associated with the new established Law 11/2020 on job creation, a single license of multi-purpose forest utilization was introduced, including agroforestry, that will potentially reduce deforestation and improve the community welfare. This study evaluates key elements of local development goals, risks and barriers, as well as basic capitals for agro-forest management in Tebo Regency, Jambi Province, using an Interpretive Structural Modelling approach. Overall, this study concludes that weak coordination, low quality of human capital, inappropriate communication with stakeholders, and lack of financial resources are the greatest challenges to the implementation of agro-forest management, particularly agroforestry, as a part of social forestry schemes.

Монетарна безпека: окремі визначення та оцінки

For almost 30 years of independence, Ukraine has experienced a number of deep economic, financial, banking, debt, currency and inflation crises. In some cases, they were extraordinary. As a result, the current real GDP of the country remains a third less than in 1990. One of the reasons for this was the unstable nature of economic recovery and currency price stabilization at the beginning of the zero years and in 2010-2013. After all, during the crises of 2008-2009 and 2014-2015, Ukraine set world anti-records due to falling its GDP up to 14.8 % and 15.8%, respectively. This was accompanied by the deep devaluation crises and the recurrence of uncontrolled inflation. In principle, the systemic relationship between the fragility of production, exchange rate and price dynamics appeared in Ukraine in the 1990s when its real GDP fell by 59%. The scale of that crisis was twice the scale of the Great Depression in the United States, accompanied by devastating devaluation and inflationary shocks. The article is devoted to the study of methodological and practical approaches to the definition of monetary security. The experience of their implementation in Ukraine is considered. The criteria of successful monetary policy applied within the neoliberal discourse are analyzed. The logic and reasons for their gradual transformation over the last 30 years are shown. The decisive role of the global crisis of 2008-2009 in the theoretical and practical changes observed in the world’s leading economies in terms of defining the goals, objectives and instruments of their monetary policy is reflected. An analysis of some outcomes of the implementation of domestic monetary strategy is given. The problematic nature of determining its priority goal is shown. The ambiguity of methods and consequences of targeted reduction of inflation in Ukraine is noted. The impossibility of maintaining its low and stable level under the conditions of free floating exchange rate of hryvnia is substantiated.

Evolution of epidemiological characteristics of infective endocarditis in Greece

ObjectiveThe clinical profile, management and outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) may be influenced by socioeconomic issues. MethodsA nationwide prospective study evaluated IE during the era of deep economic crisis in Greece. Epidemiological data and factors associated with 60-day mortality were analyzed through descriptive statistics, logistic and Cox-regression models. ResultsAmong 224 patients (male 72.3%, mean age 62.4 years), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 62; methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) 33.8%) predominated in the young without impact on mortality (p = 0.593), whilst Enterococci (n = 36) predominated in the elderly. Complications of IE were associated with mortality: heart failure [OR 2.415 (95% CI: 1.159–5.029), p = 0.019], stroke [OR 3.206 (95% CI: 1.190–8.632), p = 0.018] and acute kidney injury [OR 2.283 (95% CI: 1.085–4.805), p = 0.029]. A 60-day survival benefit was solely related to cardiac surgery for IE during hospitalization [HR 0.386 (95% CI: 0.165–0.903), p = 0.028] and compliance with antimicrobial treatment guidelines [HR 0.487 (95% CI: 0.259–0.916), p = 0.026]. Compared with a previous country cohort study, history of rheumatic fever and native valve predisposition had declined, whilst underlying renal disease and right-sided IE had increased (p < 0.0001); HIV infection had emerged (p = 0.002). No difference in rates of surgery and outcome was assessed. ConclusionsA country-wide survey of IE highlighted emergence of HIV, right-sided IE and predominance of MRSA in the youth during a severe socioeconomic crisis. Compliance with treatment guidelines promoted survival.

Public-private partnership in fighting the COVID-19 global economic lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a serious blow to national socio-economic systems, causing the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Neither national economies and their states, nor national health and social welfare systems, nor private business, nor the global economy have stood the test of the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has predetermined an increase in the area of uncertainty as a new quality of post-coronavirus economic reality, in the structure of which private business plays a decisive role. In this regard, the principles of partnership between the state and private business in the production of public goods need theoretical understanding due to the new reality. Adequate institutionalization of relations between partners in implementing socially significant projects can be an important success factor in the fight against economic lockdown. The state dictate regarding the terms of partnership with private business, prevailing before COVID-19, largely explains the insignificant contribution of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to accelerating GDP growth in the countries of the world. After COVID-19, the priority of the intentions of private investors in organizing socially significant projects with the state should become the norm that will allow using PPPs to unlock the economic lockdown.

Emotions and challenges to justice

ABSTRACT In this special issue, our aim is to analyse the role of emotions with particular attention to shaping political actions in the face of present challenges to justice. The relationship between the widespread rise of collective emotions and the experience of injustice in our societies is a pressing issue, both in our everyday practice of ethical and political discourse and in philosophical reflection and discussion. Some negative emotions—such as fear, resentment, greed, distrust towards institutions, and disrespect for basic human rights—are often manipulated and amplified. Other, more positive, emotions, such as respect, hope, solidarity, and affinity, often seem to be not enough to give rise to alternative policies. This worldwide problem reflects a deep economic, social, and existential crisis. In this framework, philosophical reflection on emotions can be put fruitfully in dialogue with the contemporary philosophical analysis of collective intentionality and collective agency, which aims at investigating the nature of different types of groups and their main features as well as phenomena such as sense of group membership and group agency. Indeed, it is often argued that collective emotions boost the sense of group belonging in individual members and act to reduce uncertainty in joint actions. In normative terms, feelings such as the rejection of cruelty have been proposed as the foundation of moral equality, and even rationalistic approaches tend to focus on respect first of all as a feeling, as Kant maintained.

Chapitre 6. El papel de la bioética en el cumplimiento de los derechos humanos en México: una visión de esperanza y vida duradera para los mexicanos.

The Political Constitution of the United States of Mexico (CPEUM) dates from February 5, 1917. It recognizes that all people will enjoy the guarantees granted by the Constitution, which may not be restricted or suspended, except in some cases and under the conditions that it herself establishes.On the centenary of the promulgation of its Magna Carta, Mexico is experiencing a deep economic, political, social and governmental crisis, and the consequent loss of access to fundamental human rights to survive.Among the effects of this situation, 44 million people are in the age of preparing to enter the labor market and sustain the Mexican economy for the next four decades. However, their economic situation prevents them from having the resources required to access adequate food, pay educational expenses and enter the labor market.This reality makes it essential to explore the possible causes that have originated these circumstances and propose viable alternatives that alleviate &#8211; in the medium term &#8211; the immense deficiencies of the Mexicans and recover the hope that there will be possibilities of a lasting life.

ДО ІСТОРІЇ ОНОВЛЕННЯ ПАРКУ ВАНТАЖНИХ ВАГОНІВ ДЕРЖАВНИХ ЗАЛІЗНИЦЬ УКРАЇНИ (1918 – 1919)

The article attempts to investigate the historical circumstances of technological renewal of the fleet of freight cars of the state railways of Ukraine in 1918-1919. It is found that in conditions of political instability and deep economic crisis its sustainable operation. The need for coherence in the operation of railway transport was due to the aggravation of the final act of the First World War, which also affected the technical task of rolling stock in the context of its equipment with means of transporting troops. It is determined that against the background of limited available resources, domestic machine-building enterprises presented conceptual samples of biaxial covered freight cars of the NTV type, developed on the basis of all the requirements of the time, taking into account possible technical replacements of individual components. The reasons for the slowdown in the process of renewal of the rolling stock of state railways, as well as the general restoration of the transport industry of Hetman Ukraine in 1918-1919 are clarified. the latest examples of legendary monuments of domestic car building should be a priority for the revitalization of the technological heritage of railway transport of Ukraine. Further study of the topic requires clarification of a wide range of issues concerning the impact of these events on the restoration of the Soviet railway industry in the first half of the 1920s. The practical significance of the proposed study can be introduced into the development of the concept of restoration of historical rolling stock for the branch museum collection of Ukrainian railways. Key words: freight car, rolling stock, railways of Ukraine, industry, transport.

Main trends, determinants and problems of modern economic growth in developed and developing countries

The article, based on a number of author&amp;apos;s calculations, shows that in the mechanism of modern economic growth, which over the last two hundred years has led to colossal progress in the now advanced economies (AES) and a part of developing countries (DCS), there occurred serious failures in the last 3-4 decades. Despite the infor-mation revolution and deepening of the international division of la-bor, compound annual growth rates (CAGRS) of per capita GDP (PCGDP) and total factor productivity (TFP) in the AES and many DCS have demonstrated a significant tendency to slowdown. Although the AES are still leading the world in the field of fundamental technological innovations, due to the loss of the demo-graphic dividend, decrease in the efficiency of government effec-tiveness, hypertrophied development of the financial sector, they are noticeably losing their positions in the world economy. Unlike many African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries, a number of Asian countries (including the PRC, India and NICS), due to the policy of pragmatic reforms and openness, has succeeded in acceleration of CAGRs of their PCGDP and TFP. However, given that in many AES and DCS after the global crisis of 2009 there was no significant mitigation of financial and social problems, and on the eve and during the pandemic they ag-gravated, it cannot be ruled out that if serious socially oriented re-forms are not carried out in the AES and DCS, a deep financial, economic and socio-political crisis may arise in the world in the next year or two.

Modern economic growth of developing countries: the most important trends, proportions, factors and social consequences

The article, based on a number of author&amp;apos;s calculations, shows that in the mechanism of modern economic growth, which over the last two hundred years has led to colossal progress in the now advanced economies (AES) and a part of developing countries (DCS), there occurred serious failures in the last 3-4 decades. Despite the information revolution and deepening of the international division of labor, compound annual growth rates (CAGRS) of per capita GDP (PCGDP) and total factor productivity (TFP) in the AES and many DCS have demonstrated a significant tendency to slowdown. Although the AES are still leading the world in the field of fundamental technological innovations, due to the loss of the demographic dividend, decrease in the efficiency of government effectiveness, hypertrophied development of the financial sector, they are noticeably losing their positions in the world economy. Unlike many African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries, a number of Asian countries (including the PRC, India and NICS), due to the policy of pragmatic reforms and openness, has succeeded in acceleration of CAGRs of their PCGDP and TFP. However, given that in many AES and DCS after the global crisis of 2009 there was no significant mitigation of financial and social problems, and on the eve and during the pandemic they aggravated, it cannot be ruled out that if serious socially oriented reforms are not carried out in the AES and DCS, a deep financial, economic and socio-political crisis may arise in the world in the next year or two.