Domestic Factors Research Articles

Australian energy policy decisions in the wake of the 2022 energy crisis

Large economies are trying to shift their energy procurement from fossil dependence to renewable sources. In 2022 global commodity markets saw rapid price increases due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent economic barriers on Russian commodity exports. Australia was not immune to these commodity price rises. Throughout the last decade Australia has become increasingly exposed to global energy prices through its commodity exports of LNG and thermal coal. Over this same decade Australia also experienced energy and climate policy discontinuity, and therefore policy uncertainty. These factors combined with a continued reliance on aging thermal plant resulted in a perfect storm of events which saw Australian electricity and gas prices reach all-time highs across the east-coast. The outcome resulted in long-term government intervention in markets to stabilise prices. This article will argue domestic factors helped fuel record high electricity and gas prices but have since subsided or are in the process of being mitigated. As a result, policymakers should reconsider how interaction occurs with electricity and gas markets to stabilise prices. Another decade of energy and climate policy discontinuity would not be a helpful development for the desired energy transition. A survey of market participants exemplifies concern that this outcome is materialising.

Two-Level Game Analysis on US Decision to Withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

Abstract
 This study analyzes the reasons behind the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017. Using descriptive methods and Two-level Game theory as an analytical tool supported by secondary data, we found some domestic factors driving this policy. First, different preferences existed between the government as the “chief negotiator” and interest groups and public opinion representing domestic interests. Two-level game theory explains that international agreement can only be ratified if the win-set negotiations are in overlapping conditions or where international and domestic preferences find a meeting point. However, no common ground between international and domestic preferences resulted in a deadlock. Second, the U.S. public strongly resisted the agreement. Public opinion and hearings are factors that, to some extent, can become obstacles for national governments in international negotiations. Ratification is not only carried out through a formal process (legislative approval) but also through an informal process (public opinion and approval). In addition, the election of Donald Trump, who carried protectionist values with his “America First” slogan, strengthened the position of the opposing groups and those who embraced protectionist values. Therefore, the election of Trump as the president marked the end of the TPP debate because both the executive as the “chief negotiator” and the dominant domestic group rejected the ratification.
 Keywords: Trans-Pacific Partnership, Two-Level Game Theory, United States

Putin, Ukraine, and Security Dilemma: Analysis of Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Its Consequence

This paper analyzes the factors that led Russia to invade Ukraine and draw important lessons from this war. The major findings of this are that the causes of the war are more varied and run deeper than just the personality of Putin. The domestic factors and structural conditions suggest that this war was not simply the outcome of a deeply personal reaction of an authoritarian leader. Putin started the special military operation and invaded Ukraine. Putin overestimated the military power of Russias army and underestimated the Ukrainian peoples loyalty and affiliation to their government. The West also misjudged the severity of bringing former Soviet satellites into North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Russias geopolitical environment has also deteriorated. Russias image as a major power collapsed after the slogging military operation. And the sanctions followed by the Russian armys invasion have affected Russias economy, which made Russia the most-sanctioned country in the world.

Research methodology of the mechanism of ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons

The article is devoted to the research methodology of the mechanism of ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons. The article draws attention to the fact that the scientific study of the mechanism of ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons is, thanks to the correctly chosen methodology, a solid foundation. This scientific theoretical activity will help to gain new knowledge about the general patterns of emergence, development, functioning and relationship between society and man in the studied plane. The article states that the research methodology for ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons is a conceptual plan and purpose of research, defining the content and practical application of methods and techniques for understanding processes and phenomena related to ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons. It is substantiated that the combination of conceptual approaches, methods, principles and research means of ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons allows to reveal the essence of the object as much as possible, predict the ways of development of the sphere of these social relations, obtain new theoretical knowledge and develop practical recommendations for improving the relevant research mechanism. to provide them, to develop ways to overcome destructive phenomena in the researched area. It has been proven that the research methodology for ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons is a complex system of conceptual approaches, general principles of scientific research, methods and tools that together study the formation, development and current state of the modern mechanism for ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons, taking into account the influence of globalization and domestic factors. The proposed methodology has a synergistic and interdisciplinary nature and requires the use of methodological tools from various branches of science, such as jurisprudence, international law, philosophy of law and history.
 The article is devoted to the research methodology of the mechanism of ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons. The article draws attention to the fact that the scientific study of the mechanism of ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons is, thanks to the correctly chosen methodology, a solid foundation. This scientific theoretical activity will help to gain new knowledge about the general patterns of emergence, development, functioning and relationship between society and man in the studied plane. The article states that the research methodology for ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons is a conceptual plan and purpose of research, defining the content and practical application of methods and techniques for understanding processes and phenomena related to ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons. It is substantiated that the combination of conceptual approaches, methods, principles and research means of ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons allows to reveal the essence of the object as much as possible, predict the ways of development of the sphere of these social relations, obtain new theoretical knowledge and develop practical recommendations for improving the relevant research mechanism. to provide them, to develop ways to overcome destructive phenomena in the researched area. It has been proven that the research methodology for ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons is a complex system of conceptual approaches, general principles of scientific research, methods and tools that together study the formation, development and current state of the modern mechanism for ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons, taking into account the influence of globalization and domestic factors. The proposed methodology has a synergistic and interdisciplinary nature and requires the use of methodological tools from various branches of science, such as jurisprudence, international law, philosophy of law and history.

The Mediating Role of Governance in Foreign Direct Investment Inflows and Economic Performance Nexus: New Evidence from Nigeria

The recent FDI-growth literature suggests that the varying effects of foreign direct investment on economic growth in host countries might be due to certain domestic factors that determine the benefits of FDI. Among these factors is the quality of governance; thus, this study examined how the interaction between foreign direct investment (FDI) and governance affects the performance of the Nigerian economy by relying on annual time series data spanning 1986 to 2021. The results from the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model revealed that the interaction between governance and foreign direct investment exerts a positive and highly significant impact on economic performance. Apparently, the interaction between governance and foreign direct investment appears to be elastic. The foregoing suggests that governance is a significant moderating factor between foreign direct investment and economic performance in Nigeria.

The Moderating Effect of Institutions in Government Expenditures - Economic Development Nexus in ECOWAS Countries

The total effect of growing public spending on economic development is ambiguous, especially with today’s realities of exposure to international trade and domestic factor such as institutions. Hence, the objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that good institutions moderate the effect of large government size on economic development. The study employed secondary data covering the period 1986 to 2018 and Arellano and Bover’s Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) panel estimation technique was used to achieve the study objective. Data on Gross Domestic Product per capita, government size, population growth rate, inflation rate, gross fixed capital formation, human development index (HDI) and financial development were sourced from World Development indicator database while data on institutions was obtained from International County Risk Guide database. The study found that the stated hypothesis is validated i.e good institutions mitigate any negative effect of large government size on economic development for Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The study therefore, concluded that the relationship between government size and economic development depends on quality of institutions in ECOWAS countries. It is recommended that member countries should embrace democratic governance and build democratic institutions in order to promote government stability. More so, there is need to tightening up of existing public sector rules and regulations on corruption and the setting up of anti-corruption institutions to fight corruption and check corrupt behaviour in the ECOWAS countries.

GGDP Index Establishment Based on ARIMA-LSTM Prediction Model

More and more studies have shown that GGDP may be more representative of the national economic health level and this paper establishes a GGDP calculation system based on the Environmental Economic Accounting System Central Framework. Then, with GGDP as the clustering index, the countries are divided into five categories. The Entropy TOPSIS model is established to quantify the impact of global climate. Then, based on the Ridge regression model, the functional relationship between GGDP and climate assessment values under different clusters is studied. Finally, two steps are taken to analyze the potential advantages and disadvantages of GGDP. In the case of using GDP, a prediction model based on ARIMA-LSTM is established to analyze global climate and economic development trends. In the case of using GGDP, to quantify the change of GGDP, international factor α and domestic factor β are introduced to characterize the impact of global efforts and domestic efforts on GGDP.

Nexus of Strong Presidentialism and Philippine Foreign Policy: The Case of the Duterte Presidency's Hedging toward China*

During the Duterte presidency from June 2016 to June 2022, the government of the Philippines limited its affinity with the United States and pursued an ostensibly pro‐China policy. This bold move took place amid the ongoing US–China rivalry. This paper carries out a retrospective examination of Duterte's China policy from the perspective of Philippine domestic politics. Specifically, we assess the international relations literature on hedging as a foreign policy strategy and argue that domestic factors play a major role in filtering systemic influences and leaving state leaders with sufficient room for strategic discretion and maneuvering. This is particularly the case with the Philippines, where strong presidentialism gives clout to the president in foreign policy development. We argue that much of the “audacious” behavior in the foreign policy of the Duterte government can simultaneously be understood as pragmatic, as it was believed to better serve the regime's short‐term goals. While the alliance with the United States remained largely intact, the Duterte government emphasized its success in stabilizing Sino–Philippine relations.

Policy Convergence under Decentralization: Lessons from Indonesia’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research on policy convergence has developed very significantly in comparative literature. However, little is known about the dynamics of policy convergence under unitary systems, assuming that they have greater convergence than under federal systems. This research maintains that unitary systems present no less intricate dynamics of policy convergence than the federal systems. Looking at a decentralized unitary system, this research argues that the dynamics of policy divergence is primarily driven by a need to pursue responsiveness to local priorities. It assesses the case of Indonesia in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through qualitative and quantitative exploration, combining documentary and the named entity recognition (NER) methods. The main data were sourced from the selected national newspapers sanctioned by the Indonesian Press Board. The result points to several factors affecting policy convergence, namely, responsiveness, compliance, policy inconsistency, policy clarity, leadership, horizontal learning, and electoral politics. Of these factors, the most important one is policy responsiveness; that is, whether national and subnational policies converge or diverge is affected by the need of a subnational government to respond to local priorities. This research fills the void in the current research by understanding the interplay between domestic factors and policy convergence, thereby extending the debate on the dynamic of policy convergence under a decentralized unitary system. Working with the COVID-19 pandemic adds nuances to the literature on crisis-driven policy convergence dynamics. It also points to a practical implication on the importance of crafting better institutional arrangements on national-subnational relations to better respond to pressing issues in a more convergent manner.

International and Domestic Factors of Battery Electric Vehicle Technology Diffusion in Japan

International and Domestic Factors of Battery Electric Vehicle Technology Diffusion in Japan

Lübnan Dış Politikası ve 2005 Refik Hariri'nin Öldürülmesine Kadar Lübnan-Suriye İlişkileri

In its political history, Lebanon has been a country where religious and sectarian differences have come to the fore. These differences have had an impact on Lebanese political, economic and socio-cultural life as well as Lebanese foreign policy. This study argues that until the assassination of Rafik Hariri, "Lebanese foreign policy and Syrian-Lebanese relations were influenced by domestic political factors in Lebanon, while regional/global problems in the Middle East directly/indirectly affected Lebanese foreign policy and Lebanese-Syrian relations". In its relations with Syria, Lebanon is a country whose domestic factors are shaped together with foreign political processes, is known as the capital of crises and civil wars and is home to the Syrian-Israeli conflict. In other words, Lebanese domestic and foreign policy cannot be considered independent from Syria and Israel. However, Lebanon is the epitome of the Middle East and has been in the sphere of interest of both local, regional and global actors. In this study, the manifestations of external factors in Lebanon's domestic politics will be discussed by presenting the historical background necessary to understand the current debates, the importance of Lebanon for Syria, the reflection of the changing structure of the Middle East after the Iraq War on Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli relations, the assassination of Rafik Hariri and the consequences of the political division in Lebanon after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. In the study, this historical process is analyzed from an analytical perspective, and the relations between the actors and their consequences are analyzed from the perspective of Lebanon, Syria and the Middle East.

Agricultural Development Management in the Context of Ukraine's Foreign Economic Security

Purpose: Unsolved pre-war problems of agricultural production are additionally burdened by ongoing military operations, which have caused inevitable changes in domestic and foreign markets. Identifying and eliminating threats to the development of the agricultural sector will increase the efficiency of agricultural production, which will increase the level of foreign economic security of the country and, at the same time, strengthen global food security.
 Design / Method / Approach: Based on the data of domestic and international statistical services and organizations, we used economic and statistical methods (regression, trend analysis) and graphically presented the obtained results.
 Findings: A critically low share of imports negatively affects foreign economic security and pricing in the domestic market. The products export of plant-origin and low-value metals, as opposed to the high-tech products import, is critical. The condition with the provision of fish and fish products, fruits, berries and grapes, eggs, vegetables, and melon food crops is unstable. It depends either on conditions in foreign markets or only on domestic factors. The geographical structure of foreign trade is unsatisfactory and threatening due to excessive imports from China. An inverse correlation between the export volume of Ukrainian agricultural products and the world level of food prices has been established.
 Theoretical Implications: The work confirms the importance of the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the context of global food security.
 Practical Implications: We offer a set of actions, the implementation of which will make it possible to eliminate problems in agricultural production that negatively affect the state of foreign economic security.
 Originality / Value: Work on a highly specialized topic, which includes the development of agricultural processes against the background of ongoing military operations.
 Research Limitations / Future Research: In further research, it is advisable to consider the importance of the agricultural sector in the system of economic security of different countries since this article is limited to the methodology of the Ukrainian government.
 Paper type: Empirical
 JEL Classification: Q11, Q17, Q18

From short to long term: Dynamic analysis of FDI and net export in global regions.

It is crucial to examine the impact between foreign direct investment (FDI) and net exports (NE) for unveiling international trade dynamics, and the economic development of different geographical regions. It yields sharp insights into how FDI inflows, driven by theories such as backward linkage, export platform, and knowledge transfer, enhance a host country's export capacity and contribute to economic growth. Moreover, studying the reciprocal linkages between FDI and NE helps recognise the aspects of domestic factors, such as productivity and the product life cycle, in attracting FDI and increasing export performance. Based on those theories, the study aims to ascertain the dynamic causality or correlation between FDI and NE across all regions with the utilisation of panel data gathered from 110 countries, considering the period from 2002 to 2020. The Wavelet coherence method is used to investigate the relationship between these variables across different frequencies and periods, followed by a Granger causality test. The findings demonstrated that FDI and NE have a significant relationship in most regions, with a bidirectional relationship between FDI and NE across all continents. The results could assist respective governments and policymakers in formulating policies related to FDI flows and offer insights into how a host country can attract more FDI and boost NE.

Social Pressure in the International Human Rights Regime: Why States Withdraw Treaty Reservations

AbstractStates often use reservations to modify their treaty obligations. Prior research demonstrates why states enter reservations and why states object to reservations, but little work explains why states withdraw them. We argue that states withdraw reservations in response to international social pressure. Using novel data on reservations and reservation withdrawals for the nine core international human rights treaties, our analyses reveal two factors that compel states to withdraw reservations: (1) pressure from peer states and (2) pressure from human rights treaty bodies conducting periodic reviews. While previous work emphasizes domestic factors, our research shows that the international community encourages states to withdraw reservations and strengthen their commitments to human rights and international law.

Return and volatility connectedness across stock markets: A global perspective

ABSTRACT The connectedness of stock markets is inevitable because of the rapid increases in global financialisation, financial liberalisation, and integration of national economies. This study therefore increases the number of stock markets included in the LASSO-VAR model to separately estimate the connectedness of the daily-frequency market returns and volatility of a sample comprising 50 selected stock markets between 2011 and 2021. We observe that the total connectedness index changes substantially over time, exhibiting the highest change during market turbulences, i.e., the beginning of COVID-19. We also show that the transmission of shocks originates from most European markets and then impacting Asian–Pacific markets, although their intensities exhibit significant time variations. Finally, we find that macroeconomic news and uncertainties are drivers of total connectedness, while directional total connectedness is mainly driven by global rather than domestic factors.

Financial Globalisation and Total Factor Productivity Growth in Pakistan

The study aimed at examining the impact of financial globalisation and natural resource rents on Total Factor Productivity growth in Pakistan. The total factor productivity growth is computed by the growth accounting model assuming the Cobb-Douglas production Function, while the KOF index of globalisation is used to quantify financial globalisation. The series encompassed the time period from 1985 to 2019, and in order to get empirical results, an Autoregressive Lag Distributed Model is used. The empirical outcomes proved that financial globalisation positively impacts productivity. Hence, the propositions put forth by endogenous growth and new trade theories that globalisation has a central role in achieving productive growth are confirmed by the empirical findings of this study. On the other hand, the results indicated that rent-seeking behaviour concerning natural resources has a negative influence on total factor productivity growth in the long run demonstrating a natural resource curse exists for Pakistan’s economy. Based on its findings, the study recommended that promoting outward-oriented policies with a primary focus on financial integration is crucial for augmenting the overall productivity of domestic factors of production. Likewise, it is imperative to discourage rent-seeking behaviour from natural resources to increase the factor’s productivity.

Canadian food inflation: International dynamics and local agency

AbstractWe offer a descriptive analysis of the complexities surrounding food price inflation in Canada three years after the outbreak of COVID‐19. The Consumer Price Index and its food component have registered significant shifts since 2020 and remain elevated. This behavior is influenced by international dynamics, such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the consequent commodity price surges, and domestic factors, including grocery market concentration. As external events interact with local policies, business practices, and the structure of the food retail industry, debates around market competition intensify. We posit that while the influence of international factors on local prices is undeniable, fostering domestic grocery competition remains crucial. At the same time, managing expectations of major price reductions in a small open economy like Canada's is important. In addition, we discuss some of the research and data needs that have become salient during the current inflationary episode.

Local Currency Bond Markets in Africa: Resilience and Subordination

ABSTRACTThis article examines the development and implications of local currency bond markets (LCBMs) in African countries in the context of international financial subordination (IFS). Despite the promotion of LCBMs as a solution to debt vulnerability, there is a dearth of research that offers a systematic empirical examination of their actual benefits along with conceptual explanations as to when and why such benefits may or may not materialize. This is especially true for countries at the bottom of the global economic hierarchy. To explore how the subordination in global production and financial systems shapes LCBM development, the article offers an empirical analysis of selected African countries that combines interviews with policy makers, officials and experts with statistical data. The findings suggest that while LCBMs offer some benefits, such as mitigating risks associated with foreign currency debt, their potential is limited by the structural processes created by IFS, such as their dependence on the global financial cycle, the relatively higher costs of this debt and the sustained constraint on macroeconomic policy making. However, there are also domestic factors which shape how these structural constraints are mediated in the context of LCBM development — in particular, historically developed financial structures of developing countries, the political economy of the state and the structure of production. This study thus contributes to the debate about the developmental benefits of domestic debt market development and the emerging research agenda on IFS.

Academic Attitude as Mediator between the Relationship of Blended Learning Environment and Student’s Performance in Technology and Livelihood Education

The onset of the new normal in the school, as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighted the importance of using blended learning to embrace the transition from pure online to face-to-face classes. This study intends to ascertain the mediating influence of academic attitude on domestic factors, teaching-learning practices, and students' performance in TLE (Technology and Livelihood Education) - Cookery in a Blended Learning environment among the Grade 9 students of St. John of Beverly School Inc. and the challenges of the new normal setup in education. The study employed the descriptive correlational design and a survey questionnaire distributed via Google Forms-Pearson product-moment-correlation coefficient to determine the relationship among the variables. The results revealed that academic attitude, self-discipline, and motivation have a significant effect on cognitive performance with r = .337 and r =.318 significance when tested at a .05 level of significance, respectively, and self-discipline has a significant effect on psychomotor performance with r =.282 significance when tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The researcher, however, recommends further study to investigate other academic attitudes such as optimism, diligence, perseverance, and resourcefulness or other more appropriate variables to study the mediating role of academic attitudes in the blended learning environment on students’ cognitive and psychomotor performance.

Corruption and Foreign Policy Formulation and Implementation in Nigeria: An Overview

This paper examines the nexus of corruption and foreign policy formulation and implementation vis-avis the impacts on politics and governance in Nigeria. Using liberalism as a theoretical approach to capture the discourse, the paper relies on qualitative data collected from secondary sources. The study argues that political leadership and corruption are interwoven, with far-reaching implications for socio-economic development. The paper concludes that for Nigeria to experience political and socio-economic development, responsible and credible leaders must emerge to implant the act of good and selfless governance in the country through policy formulation and implementation. The study reveals that Nigeria has yet to benefit fully from the conduct of external relations since independence in 1960. This is because some of the domestic factors that determine Nigeria’s image (economy, military, demography, leadership, constitution, etc.) are not fully developed to give the nation the leverage to assert its influence at the regional level and on the global scene. It is, therefore, recommended that these factors that impede the formulation and implementation of Nigeria’s foreign policy should be looked into and resolved so that the country can benefit both from its domestic policy and foreign relations and maximize fully her potential rather than people turning the table for their benefit.