Echoes of Georgescu-Roegen's thermodynamic view in Latin American development debates.

ABSTRACT A core belief in development economics is that inequality will increase initially as economic development proceeds. This belief was widely shared by development economics in the 1960s and 1970s, and was informed by the work of the Nobel Laureate Simon Kuznets who postulated that as economic development proceeds, inequality of income within a country first increases, and then decreases – the well-known Kuznets Curve. This view was also reflected in Mahbub Ul Haq’s initial thinking as an economic planner in Pakistan. In this paper, we ask: is inequality a necessary consequence of economic development? We look at the cross-country evidence on the relationship between inequality and economic development, and find that the evidence is mixed, with no clear pattern both across and within countries. We then discuss selected examples of countries where inequality did not rise with successful economic development. We conclude by arguing that there is no mechanical relationship between inequality and economic development, and governments can enact policies that can lead to strong economic growth with no accompanying increase in inequality.

The current collapse in development assistance, including development assistance for health, is anchored in budgetary efficiency, geopolitical reorientation, or the need for national prioritization. However, it is producing one of the largest self-inflicted efficiency losses in modern global health policy by ignoring essential concepts of development economics and health. In contexts of high inequality and with the inherent market failures in these areas, equity is not the opposite of efficiency but rather a necessary condition for achieving it.

ABSTRACT Enhancing democracy's moderating role in the impact of tourism on the ecological footprint and CO 2 emissions is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, gaps remain in the literature on tourism economics, economic development, and environmental economics. To bridge this gap, this study analyzes data from 19 African countries between 2003 and 2020 to explore how democracy moderates the relationship between tourism, ecological footprint and CO 2 emissions. To ensure robustness, the analysis employs the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) method for cointegrated panels, the panel‐corrected standard errors (PCSE) technique to handle cross‐sectional dependence, and the generalised method of moments (GMM) approach to address endogeneity concerns. The findings indicate that both tourism and democracy contribute to environmental degradation. Furthermore, the results show that the marginal effects of tourism on ecological footprints and CO 2 emissions intensify as democracy levels rise. From a policy perspective, these findings underscore the need for democratically governed African states to adopt stricter environmental regulations and sustainability standards within the tourism sector. As democracy promotes citizen participation, governments should leverage this by engaging local communities and civil society in designing eco‐conscious tourism strategies, including the promotion of green certifications for hotels, investment in low‐carbon transport options, and the integration of environmental impact assessments into tourism planning.

ABSTRACT As the global climate crisis intensifies, understanding the micro-level drivers of the low-carbon transition is paramount. This research investigates the interplay between Green Financial Literacy (GFL) and Digital-Intelligence platforms in shaping Low-Carbon Consumption (LCC). Drawing on investor sophistication logic and integrating Digital-Intelligence interaction mechanisms, we analyze how GFL is associated with the depth (intensity) and breadth (variety) of LCC. Using a unique dataset from Ant Forest that combines survey responses with objectively tracked behavioral data, we find that GFL is positively associated with both dimensions of LCC, whereas general financial literacy is only positively associated with LCC breadth. Importantly, the relationship is moderated by environmental recognition and investment return concerns. These findings contribute to the economics of sustainable development by revealing how human capital and FinTech support the financing of sustainable lifestyles.

This paper is based on the background of the "adaptation paradox". The paradox means climate risk is getting worse and people also need to accumulate more human capital. We use the fixed effect model to test how climate risk affects human capital level. The study finds that climate risk clearly stops human capital accumulation. When the climate risk index rises by 1 unit, the average per capita labor human capital falls by about 0.143 units. Mechanism analysis shows that this influence mainly works through three ways. First, it changes families' decisions on investing in human capital. Second, it makes the labor market lock into low-skill paths. Third, it takes up local government's public spending on education and health. We further do many robustness tests. These tests include changing model settings, adding more control variables, using different ways to measure the dependent variable and controlling industry heterogeneity. All results support that our core conclusion is reliable. This study theoretically helps the cross development of climate economics and human capital research. In practice, it provides support for building a climate-adaptive human capital policy system.

This study aims to analyze the development of global value chains (GVC) research within the fields of development and business economics using a bibliometric approach. Data were collected from the Scopus database and analyzed using VOSviewer to identify publication trends, influential articles, collaboration networks, and thematic structures. The results show a consistent increase in the number of publications, indicating growing academic interest in GVC. Citation analysis reveals that highly influential studies are dominated by themes related to digital transformation, sustainability, and global economic systems. Co-authorship analysis highlights the presence of key scholars who act as central connectors within research networks, although collaboration remains partially fragmented. Meanwhile, co-occurrence analysis demonstrates that recent research increasingly integrates topics such as sustainable development, circular economy, and innovation. Overall, the findings suggest that GVC research has evolved into a multidisciplinary field that combines economic, environmental, and technological perspectives. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive mapping of research trends and identifying future directions for GVC studies.

Purpose This study examines the impact of female executives on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance within Chinese-listed companies. Utilizing firm-level data from 2015 to 2022, this study investigates how gender diversity in leadership drives ESG outcomes. Furthermore, it examines the heterogeneous effects of ownership types, financial constraints and regional development levels, providing evidence-based insights into the strategic role of women in executive positions in advancing corporate sustainability and informing governance reforms for inclusive business practices. Design/methodology/approach The study employs a dual fixed-effects regression model to analyze panel data from Chinese-listed companies. Beyond investigating the direct impact of female executives on ESG performance, the model incorporates financial constraints as a moderating variable. Sub-sample analyses are conducted to explore heterogeneity across ownership types (state-owned and private) and regional economic development (eastern, central and western China), offering a nuanced understanding of contextual factors shaping the relationship between gender diversity in leadership and corporate sustainability outcomes. Findings The empirical results reveal that a 10% increase in female executive representation significantly enhances corporate ESG scores by 0.1939 points. This effect is particularly pronounced in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) exhibiting the most pronounced effect. Moreover, the results indicate that reduced financial constraints amplify the positive association between female executives and ESG performance. Regional disparities reveal that female executives significantly drive ESG improvements in economically developed eastern region of China, whereas no statistically meaningful impact is observed in underdeveloped central and western regions. Practical implications The findings suggest that corporations should institutionalize gender-inclusive recruitment and promotion systems to strengthen female decision-making authority. Policymakers are encouraged to adopt region-specific strategies, such as incentivizing gender parity in underdeveloped areas to mitigate ESG governance gaps. Furthermore, SOE reforms could integrate gender diversity metrics into ESG evaluation frameworks to catalyze industry-wide sustainability practices. Finally, financial institutions could develop green financing instruments offering preferential terms to firms achieving gender-balanced leadership thresholds. Originality/value This study expands to the reservoir of literature on gender diversity and sustainability by providing empirical evidence from an emerging market where ESG disclosure is evolving. It is among the pioneer studies to quantify the marginal effect of female executives’ representation on ESG performance and to reveal how this relationship is influenced by financial constraints, ownership structure and regional disparities. The study underscores the strategic value of female executives in fostering inclusive governance and regionally balanced sustainable development.

Purpose Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is widely recognised as an important driver of economic development, yet its role in agricultural contexts – particularly in relation to policy-relevant behavioural responses – remains underexplored. This study seeks to address this gap by providing new empirical evidence on how farmers' EO is conceptualised and how it shapes income-generating strategy intentions (IGSIs) under conditions of uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on survey data from 497 farm households in the rural Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is employed to conceptualise EO, while probit regression models are used to estimate the impact of EO on farmers' IGSIs under alternative income-loss scenarios. Findings The results indicate that EO may be represented as either a unidimensional or a multidimensional construct; however, the unidimensional specification provides the best empirical fit in this context. Regression estimates further show that EO exerts a consistently positive and statistically significant effect on farmers' IGSIs across different income-loss scenarios. Research limitations/implications A limitation of this study is the use of a single-method approach. Incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods in future research could offer a more comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing farmers' livelihood diversification, including knowledge acquisition, policy context, and access to markets and infrastructure. Originality/value This study contributes to the entrepreneurship and development economics literature by validating a context-appropriate EO construct for smallholder farmers and by examining the role of EO in shaping forward-looking IG, rather than realised diversification outcomes. By focusing on intentions under climate-related uncertainty, the study offers policy-relevant insights into how EO may support adaptive capacity in rural, climate-vulnerable regions.

We try to study the relationship between microcredits and sustainable development in some Islamic economics over the period 1993–2021. We use a multi-step approach based on different statistical tests and econometric models in order to discern the type of correlation that could exist between microfinance and sustainable development. The experimental results show that there is a positive and significant relationship between the indicators of microfinance and sustainable development. By offering the opportunity to access microcredit, microfinance institutions can contribute to reinforcing sustainable development. Therefore, households should be encouraged to create investment opportunities and increase their demand for microcredit. In business settings, the term sustainability is defined along these triple bottom lines, such as social, financial, and environmental, and highlights activities that improve a firm’s social and environmental performance, alongside its financial performance.

This study estimates China’s methane (CH4) emissions from 43 specific emission sources in 2020 and projects future trends through 2050 under two scenarios: Current Legislation (CLE) and Maximum Technically Feasible Reduction (MFR). The analysis utilises the Greenhouse gas and Air pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model methane framework, incorporating updated province-level activity data to capture the pronounced regional heterogeneity inherent in emission profiles and mitigation capacities. The results reveal a national CH4 budget of 1114 MtCO2e in 2020, with the energy sector (59%) and agriculture (28%) emerging as the primary contributors. A substantial technical mitigation potential is identified; by 2050, emissions could be curtailed by up to 48% relative to the CLE scenario, representing a 46% reduction from 2020 levels. The energy and waste sectors emerge as the primary contributors to this potential. Specifically, coal mining CH4 abatement constitutes 58% of the energy sector’s total reduction potential, while enhanced solid waste management accounts for 97% of the mitigation within the waste sector. Key measures include ventilation air methane (VAM) oxidation and pre-mining degasification, as well as anaerobic digestion and recovery and utilization for energy use. Owing to regional disparities in hydrothermal conditions (representing the combined influence of temperature and moisture), demographic status, economic development, the most effective mitigation strategies vary across provinces. For example, pre-mining degasification and VAM oxidation are most impactful in major coal-producing regions such as Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi. In contrast, anaerobic digestion, recovery and utilization, and waste incineration play a dominant role in more economically developed and densely populated provinces such as Jiangsu, Shandong and Zhejiang. By delineating region-specific technological priorities, this study quantifies the maximum technical mitigation potential for China and offers guidance for other nations facing similar mitigation challenges.

These case studies explore the relationship between public transportation infrastructure investments and urban foot traffic to foodservice establishments. Specifically, they evaluate how changes in urban mobility influence the accessibility of place-based food businesses in different city contexts. Using foot traffic data from SafeGraph (2018–2020), the study examines the effects of two federally funded Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) projects on visitation patterns to nearby restaurants, cafes, and bars. Public transportation investments yield mixed results for nearby foodservice establishments. Milwaukee’s full-service restaurants experienced increased foot traffic post-inauguration, while Richmond showed no significant change. Limited-service restaurants near the new transit systems often saw decreases in foot traffic. This study introduces a novel application of high-frequency mobility data to assess urban foodscape changes following infrastructure investments. The intent of this article is to support policymaker decisions regarding infrastructure investment. It challenges assumptions about uniformly positive spillover effects from transit projects and emphasizes the need for place-specific planning and evaluation frameworks in urban revitalization strategies. Findings are relevant to urban planners, economic developers, and business owners navigating evolving patterns of consumer accessibility.

China’s Against the backdrop of the global low-carbon transition, balancing ecological protection and economic development has become a critical challenge. This study aims to examine whether and how the Low-Carbon City Pilot (LCCP) policy enhances urban industrial transformation momentum. Using panel data from 283 Chinese cities during 2008–2023, we employ a double machine learning (DDML) approach and use industrial robot installation density as a proxy for industrial development momentum. The results show that the LCCP policy significantly promotes industrial transformation and upgrading. Mechanism analysis indicates that the policy strengthens transformation momentum by enhancing government support and increasing public environmental awareness, particularly in cities with lower innovation costs. The effects are more pronounced in resource-based cities, non-old industrial bases, and economically developed cities, while also exacerbating regional disparities as more developed cities benefit more. These findings provide important implications for achieving coordinated development between carbon reduction and industrial transformation.

In the context of rapid economic development in China, urban development has also been accelerating, leading to a large influx of urban migrants. The problem of regional development imbalance has emerged as a result. Therefore, it is necessary to study the evolution trends and characteristics of rural population changes, because a large portion of these urban migrants come from rural areas. Jiangsu Province, as the most economically developed and powerful province in China, still shows significant differences in rural development and urbanization development in its southern and northern regions. Therefore, the theme of this study is the evolution trends and characteristics of rural population changes in the Jiangsu region. The article reviews some of the existing literature and research in this field and finds that the scale changes of urban and rural migrant populations in China since 2000 have always been the transfer of rural population to urban areas. This trend is currently weakening and is expected to end between 2040 and 2050. At the same time, the development of high-quality rural population still faces various challenges, and the returnees are mainly economic migrants. Currently, research on population change trends is mainly focused on specific regions, but according to the data from Jiangsu Province's statistical yearbook, it can be proved that the population change trends in Jiangsu Province are consistent with the above trend. However, without specific research on specific regions, it is still difficult to make changes to the current situation in that region.

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of firm-specific characteristics and regional and industry-level factors on the survival of newly established small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey. It also investigates whether these effects vary according to the initial scale of the firm. Design/methodology/approach The data from over 100,000 newly established SMEs operating in Turkey between 2009 and 2020 was analyzed using the Cox regression model. Findings SMEs that are larger, more productive and export more, and that operate in less economically developed cities and more innovative industries are more likely to survive. Moreover, these effects vary according to the initial scale of firms. Research limitations/implications This study has several limitations that should be noted. First, register data improve reliability but lack information on many firm-level characteristics that may affect survival. Second, the results are based on post-2009 data and reflect economic and institutional conditions specific to that period, which may limit their applicability over time. Finally, firm exit is treated as failure, although the data do not distinguish between negative exits and positive exits such as mergers. Practical implications The results suggest that policymakers should avoid a holistic approach when formulating policies for SMEs and develop separate approaches for micro, small and medium-sized firms. They also provide insights for owners and managers to help them ensure the survival of their firms. Originality/value The findings add to the existing understanding of the factors that contribute to the survival of start-up SMEs, particularly by examining the impact of factors such as the level of innovation and economic development of the environment in which the firm operates, which have been relatively little studied in the literature. More importantly, the results of the study underscore the importance of recognizing SMEs as a non-homogeneous group in research and policy formation.

Detty December has emerged as a recurrent feature of urban economies in West Africa, driven by large-scale diasporic return and intensified seasonal consumption. Despite its growing visibility in policy, tourism, and media discourse, the phenomenon remains under-theorised within development studies and is rarely examined as an economic system with governance and ethical implications. This paper conceptualises Detty December as a diaspora-driven, SME-centred seasonal economy characterised by compressed demand cycles, informal enterprise dominance, and weak institutional mediation. Drawing on development economics, SME and informal economy scholarship, and moral economy perspectives, the paper argues that short-term demand surges interact with institutional voids to generate concentrated but unstable value creation. While seasonal inflows produce significant income opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, they also intensify risk exposure, labour precarity, and asymmetric responsibility between mobile diasporic consumers and place-bound local economic actors. To situate these dynamics within longer-run development patterns, the paper introduces the illustrative case of Eruku Oshodi, a locally embedded cocoa-based beverage, to demonstrate historical continuity in the informal circulation of African-origin value without durable institutional protection or developmental consolidation. This parallel highlights how recurring informal economic systems can generate visibility and value while remaining structurally unmanaged. The paper contributes to development scholarship by reframing diaspora engagement beyond remittances and entrepreneurship, foregrounding seasonal time as an organising economic dimension, and integrating ethical governance into the analysis of informal SME economies. It concludes by outlining selective, ethics-informed policy directions for engaging with predictable seasonal demand systems in ways that reduce vulnerability and enhance developmental outcomes in urban African contexts.

This conceptual paper interrogates the tension between infrastructure-led development and climate justice in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state of India that serves simultaneously as an ecological common of national importance and a frontier for mega-project expansion. Drawing on political ecology, development economics, and post-development theory, the paper establishes that contemporary development in Uttarakhand is operationalised through a tripartite logic of growth-oriented Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), national security imperatives, and political-electoral optics. This logic systematically constrains the scope of climate justice by rendering the costs of ecological destruction, community displacement, and intergenerational risk as externalities that fall outside the calculus of project approval. The paper introduces the concept of 'constrained climate justice' to capture how justice claims are not absent from policy discourse but are actively reshaped, diluted, and subordinated within dominant development frameworks. Using the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Railway project as its principal illustrative case, the paper demonstrates how technocratic governance privileges economic valuation over social and ecological considerations. The study contributes to theoretical debates by reconceptualising climate justice not as an aspirational absence requiring insertion into development frameworks, but as a structurally constrained presence whose emancipatory potential is continuously curtailed by institutional architecture. The paper concludes by proposing alternative evaluation frameworks that could recalibrate the relationship between development velocity and justice claims in ecologically fragile regions.

Although strategies for developing the patchouli oil business to increase community income have received attention in a number of studies, studies that specifically examine empirical conditions at the local level, particularly regarding price fluctuations, technological limitations, and their impact on community income, remain limited. This study aims to describe the strategy for developing the patchouli oil business in an effort to increase community income in Nagari Sarik, Luhak Nan Duo Subdistrict, West Pasaman Regency. This study employed a qualitative approach with a field research design, involving a number of informants consisting of patchouli farmers selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through interviews, observation, and documentation, and were then analyzed using data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing techniques. The results showed that the development of the patchouli oil business was influenced by significant price fluctuations, limitations of distillation equipment that remained traditional, high production costs, as well as pest disturbances and weather factors. Farmers’ income varied depending on land area and production yield, but the net profit obtained was relatively small after deducting production costs. These findings contribute to the development of the concept of business development strategies in the community-based agribusiness sector while broadening understanding of patchouli oil business management at the local level. This study concludes that improving production quality, technological innovation, and institutional support are important factors in increasing community income. The implications of this study include theoretical contributions to the development of Islamic economics and practical contributions for the government and the community in formulating sustainable business development strategies, while also opening opportunities for further research related to market aspects and the patchouli oil supply chain.

Although widely known Pasinetti’s structural dynamics is largely ignored in the study of development. It might be instead of great relevance especially today that development economics has all but disappeared and that the periphery has dramatically changed. The paper first clarifies that the obstacle is the partial understanding of Pasinetti’s theoretical project. In particular, it should be appreciated that structural dynamics gives clear non-mainstream foundations to the analysis of structural change and allows for the study of development as part of the second stage of the investigation. Most important, given the open-ended analytical structure and its focus on production, it can give a new perspective to the internationalization of production as the key aspect of an updated centre-periphery approach. Much research on the participation into Global Value Chains (GVCs) can become more understandable and valuable within a clear theoretical framework.

In the discourse of Development Economics, the transition to a "Smart Society" is often viewed as a catalyst for bypassing traditional industrial stages. However, the spatial and structural reality in emerging markets like Algeria presents a more complex narrative. This study investigates the impact of the digital economy on economic growth in Algeria from a geographical and developmental perspective (1994–2022). Utilizing a multiple linear regression model via EViews 10, we examine the relationship between GDP per capita and key spatial/structural determinants: internet penetration (NET), physical capital (CAP), and trade openness (TR). The results confirm a Digital Productivity Paradox: while physical investment and trade show positive but statistically insignificant effects, internet penetration exhibits a highly significant negative coefficient (-0.0849, p = 0.0003). From a development economics standpoint, this suggests that Algeria is facing a "Leapfrogging Failure," where digital infrastructure exists but lacks productive integration into the national value chain. From a geographical perspective, the findings imply that the digital dividend is likely hampered by a spatial divide between urban centers and rural peripheries, leading to "consumptive" rather than "industrial" connectivity. The study concludes that to achieve the "Digital Algeria 2030" goals, policy must shift from national infrastructure coverage to localized digital industrialization and the closing of the spatial productivity gap.