Economic Imbalances Research Articles

South African Land Reforms Under the Auspices of the “Radical Economic Transformation”

Abstract The land question is an emotive issue across the world. At independence, erstwhile colonies adopted land reforms to address colonial imbalances in landholding. South Africa is one such country that has embarked on land reforms with the view to correcting economic imbalances created by the apartheid past. However, land reform in South Africa has not only been slow but has failed to deal with the twin challenges of poverty and inequality. Using qualitative research design and neoclassical theory, this paper investigates South Africa’s land reforms under the auspices of radical economic transformation. The paper argues that the wholesale expropriation of land without compensation does not fit into the obtaining (neoliberal) economic blueprint that has dominated the country over the years. The call for a radical transformation of landholding rights in the country without structural changes in macroeconomic management remains political rhetoric.

Hit the Road: Spatial Characteristics of Labor Absorption in South Africa

Unequal spatial concentration is at the heart of economic imbalance in South Africa. This research aimed at spatially characterizing labor absorption patterns and exploring the link to spatial development. Labor absorption is often used as an indicator of labor market well-being and for many countries, the indicator is often more insightful than the unemployment rate. The research used secondary data to create a longitudinal data set of labor absorption, functional literacy, the ratio of urban population and gross domestic product growth rate, among others, at a municipal level. Exploratory spatial data analysis and thematic mapping were undertaken to illustrate the characteristics of the labor market, while spatial grouping created clusters of municipalities based on labor absorption. A positive upward trend was observed between labor absorption and the share of people in an urban area; that is, the more urban an area, the higher the labor absorption rate. Furthermore, the spatial clustering of municipalities highlighted linear patterns and when this was overlayed with roads and development corridors, clearly indicated the impact of regional spillovers. The findings suggest a more integrated focus on regional innovation policy to reduce spatial disparities in the economic landscape.

Unleashing the dynamic linkages among natural resources, economic complexity, and sustainable economic growth: Evidence from G‐20 countries

AbstractThis research delves into whether access to natural resources is a blessing or a curse, a matter of contention within contemporary literature. Lacking conclusive evidence, particularly within the G‐20 countries, this study endeavors to establish the intricate linkages between economic development, natural resources, and economic complexity. A subset of G‐20 economies from 1990 to 2021 was used to analyze the results of the second‐generation CS‐ARDL model. After accounting for variables like corruption, total labor force, gross capital formation, trade openness, and inflow of foreign direct investment, we find that natural resources, economic complexity, corruption and gross capital formation are significant and adverse predictors of economic growth. Natural resource dependence is susceptible to price fluctuations and sustainability concerns, economic complexity may introduce market volatility challenges, corruption erodes trust and transparency, and excessive gross capital formation can lead to economic imbalances. On the other hand, economic growth is positively impacted by the additional effects of the control variables, including foreign direct investment, trade openness and labor force. In crafting its policy recommendations, this study artfully weaves a tapestry that resonates with the core principles of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These strategic imperatives include the adept stewardship of resources, the cultivation of economic diversity, the seamless facilitation of trade, the fortification against corruption, and a harmonious symphony that underscores financial stability and the nurturing of human capital, ultimately painting a vivid portrait of sustainable economic growth.

Державна регуляторна політика в аспекті управління економічною безпекою

It is defined that the problems of ensuring financial and economic stability are one of the priority and urgent problems faced by world powers in the last decade, especially for countries with a transforming economy, to which Ukraine belongs. They are characterized by the risk of a long-term budget deficit, which generates significant financial and economic imbalances, reduces investment attractiveness and slows down economic development. Different countries react differently to the present day’s challenges, develop their own special approaches to forecasting and managing the budget deficit, and search for specific instruments to overcome the negative budget balance both in the short and long term. It is concluded that the conceptual and logical scheme of improvement of the State regulatory policy in the aspect of administration of economic security of the State should be focused on solving the scientific and practical problem associated with the optimization of managerial decisions and improvement of relations within the framework of administration of the financial security of the State. Based only on experience and intuition, in modern conditions it is impossible to make qualified decisions on investment, asset management, attraction of borrowed capital, reorganization, etc. When developing a model of economic security administration as part of the State regulatory policy, tactical and alternative goals can be manifested, which can come into conflict when making strategic decisions. Along with this, the analysis of the choice of mechanism shows that profitable motivation has the greatest impact on the results of the State’s activities. If internal mechanisms have failed to achieve their goals, or if the diagnostics have revealed the futility of trying to overcome the crisis by mobilizing only internal reserves, the State can apply for external assistance in the form of loans. The system of strategic financial goals should be specified through the definition of certain target strategic standards. The development of such standards of financial and economic activity serves as the basis for making key managerial decisions and ensuring control over the implementation of the financial strategy in the State regulatory policy. At the same time, economic security itself influences the formation of the strategic development of the State.

Migration and the emergence of refugees from ukraine: scientific approaches and methodical tools to eliminate negative consequences

Migration and emergence of a significant number of refugees from Ukraine result in structural deformations in the labor market, depopulation of settlements, economic imbalances, and hindered economic growth. These challenges are unprecedented and constantly worsening, stressing the need for an in-depth analysis of migration patterns, alterations in the labor market, settlement systems, and economic activities. The scientific basis for comprehending the short- and long-term impacts of migration and creating effective guidelines for managing it have not been thoroughly investigated. The objective of this article is to examine the migration processes and devise theoretical and practical methods to curb its unfavorable outcomes. Several strategic prerequisites for the return and reintegration of migrants must be established, alongside outlining the potential for their future socio-economic status.

Price imbalances as part of global economic imbalances and their transformation in Russian conditions

Price imbalances as part of global economic imbalances and their transformation in Russian conditions

How Neo-Developmentalism Can Contribute to the Development of Developing Countries: An Example From the Economic Policies of President Lula's Administration in Brazil

Since many developing countries face poverty problems, economic imbalance, and a wide gap between rich and poor in society, implementing neoliberalism cannot meet the needs of their economic and social development. This paper examines the impact of neo-developmentalism on developing countries from the case of Brazil. The report analyzes the Zero Hunger Policy, the most important economic and social policy of neoliberalism during the Lula presidency in Brazil, and through the analysis of the program itself, analyzes its social and economic impacts on Brazil while also pointing out some of its limitations. Finally, this paper argues that neo-developmentalism can narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, improve the quality of life of the people in developing countries, and at the same time, it is also conducive to the strengthening of the role of the government in the market, and promote the economic development of developing countries.

Ethnonutritional, ethnomedicinal and sacred religious rites of ―Karkidaka charya‖ a traditional seasonal practice of Kerala

Karkidaka charya is the seasonal regimen followed during Karkidaka, the last month of the Malayalam calendar (mid-July to mid-August). It is the month with torrential rain, low digestive fire and causing the vitiation of three humours (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) according to Ayurveda classics. Economic imbalances of the early farming communities, low immunity and environment which is favourable for epidemics, made the month of Karkidaka more vulnerable. Hence, our older generation followed a strict regimen to avert from this detrimental Karkidaka. The present study is a compilation of the traditional practices in Kerala during the month of Karkidaka and its critical analysis. About 22 unique practices were observed in different parts of Kerala during this month. Most of the practices were observed as a caution for upcoming pandemic in the severe rainy month. The practices cover ethnonutritional, ethnomedicinal and sacred religious aspects of Karkidaka charya.

Comprehensive Evaluation and Coupled Coordinated Development Study of Water–Economic–Ecological Systems in the Five Northwestern Provinces of China

The five northwestern provinces face numerous challenges in sustainable development, particularly water scarcity, economic imbalances, and ecological degradation. This study aims to deeply assess the region’s water resource conditions, the current status of economic development, and the health of the ecosystem while exploring the relationships and coupling mechanisms among them. Using the obstacle model, the research analyzes the primary barriers affecting these three significant factors in the region. The study further reveals a continually improving trend of coordinated development within the water–economic–ecological system in the five northwestern provinces of China, indicating that water usage per ten thousand GDP is the primary obstacle. This research enriches our understanding of the development in China’s five northwestern provinces and provides a theoretical foundation for achieving sustainable development.

Imbalance analysis of regional economic law laws incorporating improved PPO algorithms

Abstract This paper first analyzes the status quo of regional economic law coordinated development and draws out the mechanism and characteristics of regional economic law legal imbalance under the perspective of game theory. Then, on the basis of the proximal strategy optimization algorithm, the generative adversarial network is introduced, and according to the auxiliary role of the subjective metric constituted by the generator in the generative adversarial network as the dominance function to provide the real metric, the GAN-PPO algorithm based on the generative adversarial network is constructed to improve the GAN-PPO algorithm. Finally, after evaluating the performance of the improved PPO algorithm, the mechanism and degree of imbalance in regional economic law laws are studied using the GAN-PPO algorithm. The results show that the GAN-PPO algorithm reaches the peak gain at 1,250,000 steps, the peak value of the average reward obtained is 885, and the speed of convergence is improved by 0.42 in the sensitive environment, which realizes the acceleration of the algorithm. In the regional economic law imbalance, the degree of regional economic imbalance is between [0.1,0.48], the degree of industrial imbalance is between [0.08,0.43], the degree of capacity imbalance is between [0.10,0.45], and the degree of information imbalance is between [0.05,0.38], and the regional economic law legal imbalance is obvious, and it needs to be reasonably regulated.

Euro area monetary policy and TARGET balances: A trilogy

The growth in TARGET balances after 2009 has given rise to intense academic and public debate. Our paper offers a systematic exposition of the necessary conditions for TARGET balances to emerge and provides a clear link to monetary policy. We show that large TARGET balances can only arise with excess liquidity. The interpretation of TARGET balances therefore depends on the monetary policy context in which excess liquidity is created. We distinguish three phases of TARGET balances growth and propose some easy-to-derive metrics for policy makers and academics to assess developments in TARGET balances. We develop a comprehensive econometric framework to account for relevant factors driving TARGET balances in the different phases. We find that while financial market stress and economic imbalances were the drivers of TARGET balances during the great financial and sovereign debt crises, the implementation of Eurosystem asset purchases was the driving force since March 2015. As excess liquidity is likely to persist on account of higher demand for central bank reserves compared to the pre-crisis period, TARGET balances have the potential to remain sizeable in the future.

Beyond Oil Extraction: Building Lasting Relationships between Oil Producing Firms and Host Communities through Sustainable Energy Initiatives

In a world grappling with climate change, resource depletion and increasing poverty due to economic imbalances, the old model of resource extraction is not sustainable. Furthermore, building sustainable and lasting relationships between the oil producing firms and communities could be considered as more sustainable option to energy initiatives. Hence, the objective of this paper is to explore post-extraction welfare of host communities of oil producing companies in-line with the challenges of resource depletion, climate change, imperativeness of renewable energy, environmental concerns as well as social and economic benefits of adopting renewable energy using primary and secondary sources of data. The study proposes solutions to these challenges as well as highlighting the role of different stakeholders in this process.

Social Entrepreneurship towards Changing the Climate for Business in India

"Social entrepreneurship has received a greater recognition now a days. It has become need of the hour for sustainable growth of the Indian Economy. This study identifies the opportunities and role of social entrepreneurship in reducing economic imbalances and achieving sustainable economic growth in India. Climate change and its consequences threaten the economic growth especially the agricultural sector. Unlike traditional corporate businesses, social entrepreneurship focuses on maximizing gains in social satisfaction, rather than maximizing profit gains. These enterprises are structured as both forprofit and not-for-profit entities. Social entrepreneurs have been calling for a better ecosystem in which their social ventures could exist and operate. This will help them formulate better strategies and achieve their dual objectives. Besides, Ethical element is important because leaders who are about to change the world must be trustworthy. Around 600 social enterprises in India affect 500 million lives, attracting over USD 9 billion in capital. India is the youngest start-up nation in the world with 72 per cent of the entrepreneurs less than 35 years old. Around 70% of the social enterprises work with individuals from socially and economically disadvantaged communities, 82% work with women, 31% work with people with disabilities, and 46% work with children. The study analysed various agricultural social enterprises in India, working to improve the productivity, market linkages, and farmers’ income besides addressing social, cultural, financial and environmental problems. Majority of the enterprises are clustered around Maharashtra and Karnataka, followed by Telangana, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. More than 50% of the social enterprises are focused on providing access to products and services."

Identification of Urban Centre and Rural Growth Centres Around Guwahati and Its Surrounding Rural Region Using Hierarchical Settlements, Nested Hexagons, Remote Sensing and GIS

Guwahati city is the highest order urban center of Assam and is an important gateway to the north eastern region of India. In this study, a 50km buffer from the master plan boundary of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is selected for identifying potential urban centers and rural growth centers (URGC) of different order for decentralized planning and inter and intra-administrative cooperation around the city using multi-parametric criteria. This includes central place theory, nested hexagon method and thematic information on groundwater potential zones, land use/land cover, flood prone and landslide susceptible zones. Out of the 32 identified potential villages, 15 are proposed for new urban centers and 17 are proposed for development as rural growth centers. 9 towns are also proposed for up-gradation to higher order for proper spatio-functional interaction. However, several suggestions and preventive measures were made before initiating developmental expansion which needs to be considered. The findings of this study would be useful for decentralized planning to minimize the economic imbalances, rural migration and sustainable development of the region.

Clinical Characteristics, Diagnosis, and Therapeutics of COVID-19: A Review.

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that suddenly emerged at the end of December 2019 and caused coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to afflict humanity, not only seriously affecting healthcare systems but also leading to global social and economic imbalances. As of August 2022, there were approximately 580 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and approximately 6.4 million confirmed deaths due to this disease. The data are sufficient to highlight the seriousness of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although most patients with COVID-19 present primarily with respiratory symptoms, an increasing number of extrapulmonary systemic symptoms and manifestations have been associated with COVID-19. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, much has been learned about the disease and its causative agent. Therefore, great effort has been aimed at developing treatments and drug interventions to treat and reduce the incidence of COVID-19. In this narrative review, we provide a brief overview of the epidemiology, mechanisms, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and therapeutics of COVID-19.

MACROECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCING ON THE REORGANIZATION OF BANKS IN THE CONDITIONS OF ECONOMIC IMBALANCES

Іn the context of increasing economic imbalances, the goals of bank reorganization are being transformed and are acquiring new content, which increases the relevance of macroeconomic factors. The article is aimed at identifying the impact of macroeconomic factors on the choice of reorganization method by building a neural network like the Kohonen map. A cluster analysis method has been applied to build a neural network of the type of self-organization maps of Kohonen. As a result, has allowed four clusters. The first cluster includes developing countries. The most common methods are M&A agreements and buyback operations. Among the priority factors of influence are a high level of GDP per capita, a growing share of the urban population, and significant tax revenues. The second cluster includes developing countries, for which consolidation methods such as partial absorption, and acquisition of fixed assets are a priority. Among the main factors influencing, it is worth highlighting commodity trade, inflation, and the GDP deflator. The third cluster includes highly developed, developing countries, for which the dominance of share buyback agreements, which is primarily related to the share of foreign direct investments, the volume of GDP and the volume of tax revenues. The fourth cluster includes mainly developed countries, that are not included in the third cluster. Due to the determining influence of significant volumes of domestic crediting, foreign direct investments, GDP and a significant share of gross accumulation, practically all methods of reorganization are common in these countries (M&A, buybacks can be singled out among the most common transactions).

Using a novel strategy to investigate the spatially autocorrelated and clustered associations between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and mortality and the attributable burden: A case study in the Sichuan Basin, China

Due to the lack of statistical methods, few studies have investigated the spatial autocorrelated distribution in the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and mortality and used a statistical manner to explore the association-clustered regions, which play important roles in identifying high-sensitivity/susceptibility regions. The Sichuan Basin (SCB) is one of the most PM2.5-polluted areas, and the extreme economic imbalance may cause considerable spatial heterogeneity and clustering in PM2.5-mortality association. In this work, we used a recently proposed strategy by us to investigate the spatially autocorrelated and clustered association between daily PM2.5 and cardiorespiratory mortality from 2015 to 2019 in 130 counties of the SCB. First, generalized additive models were independently constructed to obtain the county-level association estimations. Then, an estimation-error-based spatial scan statistic was used to detect the association-clustered regions. Third, multivariate conditional meta autoregression was used to obtain the spatially autocorrelated association distribution, based on which the attributable deaths were mapped and their inequality was evaluated using the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve. Results showed that two significantly association-clustered regions were detected. One is mainly located in the megacity Chengdu where PM2.5 presented a significantly stronger association with no threshold effect at low-level PM2.5 but a threshold at high-level PM2.5. In the other cluster, a threshold effect at low-level PM2.5 but no threshold at high-level PM2.5 were found. The mortality risk at low/middle-level PM2.5 decreased from Chengdu as the center to the surrounding areas. A total of 29,129 (2.0 %) deaths were attributable to the excess PM2.5 exposure. The attributable deaths also decreased from Chengdu as the center to the surrounding areas with Gini coefficients of 0.43 and 0.3 for absolute and relative attributable deaths, respectively. This novel strategy provided a new epidemiological perspective regarding the association and implicated that Chengdu is significantly deserving of more attention regarding PM2.5-related health loss.

The impact of financial fair play on the financial performance of Spanish professional football: do the biggest clubs behave better?

PurposeThis study aims to contribute to the analysis of the impact of financial control or “financial fair play” (FFP) regulations on the financial performance of the Spanish professional football league (LaLiga) by examining the moderating role of club size. The authors argue that introducing FFP positively impacted the financial performance of small clubs but increased the economic gap between large and small clubs.Design/methodology/approachA 12-year dataset covering 22 football clubs is used to test the hypotheses. Panel regression models are estimated for eight measures of financial performance indicators, comprising three financial dimensions: profitability, liquidity and solvency. The Gini index is applied to clubs' economic and sports variables to determine the degree of economic imbalance between the largest and smallest clubs.FindingsThe results show that FFP significantly and positively impacted the profitability of small clubs and the solvency of medium-sized clubs but has not impacted the largest clubs' financial performance. After these regulations, economic inequality in Spanish LaLiga increased.Originality/valueThe authors find evidence that club size moderates the effect of FFP on financial performance. The moderating role of club size may explain the mixed results found in previous research. The authors’ findings contribute to improving the literature on the impact of FFP on the financial performance of European football clubs.

Disentangling the asymmetric effect of financialization on the green output gap

Insufficient green output can lead to environmental degradation while overinvestment may result in economic imbalances, social inequalities, and opportunity costs. Thus, sustaining an optimal level of green growth could restrict both green neglect and green grabbing. A higher level of financialization is believed to be an efficient allocation mechanism for green development. This research provides empirical insights into how financialization helps narrow the green growth gap. Using various estimation techniques such as the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter, Hamilton's filter, and the super-efficiency slack-based model, we examine the heterogeneous effects of financialization on the green growth gap by utilizing unbalanced panel data from 124 countries spanning the period 1980–2020. The results, obtained through bootstrapped quantile regression, indicate that financial access, depth, and efficiency contribute to improving insufficient green growth levels and curbing excessive investment in green initiatives. However, we find little or no evidence that financial stability or liberalization restricts overinvestment in low-carbon economic development or improves environmental stewardship when green neglect is observed. Additional analysis suggests that business cycle fluctuations, especially during recessionary periods, adversely affect the ability of financialization to optimally allocate green resources, but this effect is mitigated if financial development is countercyclical. Policymakers should prioritize promoting financial depth and efficiency, as well as provide access to finance, in order to support sustainable green growth and to avoid overinvestment in low-carbon economic development.

Exergy analysis of natural resources embodied in China's interregional trade and its implication for regional imbalance.

Large-scaled interregional trade is based upon massive exchanges of natural resources, leading to more environmental emissions and economic imbalance. China is the largest trade country in the world and has to face such challenges since different Chinese provinces are in different development stages with different resource endowments. By using the latest multi-regional input-output (MRIO) tables and exergy accounting, this study aims to investigate natural resources and added values embodied in interregional trade in China for years of 2012, 2015, and 2017. Regional environmental inequality (REI) index and logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) were applied to measure the imbalance states and uncover corresponding driving factors. Results show that the total trade volumes in the middle Yellow River and eastern coastal regions were generally higher than those in other regions, together accounting for 41.50 ~ 41.78% of the total trade volume during the study period. The major flows of embodied natural resources shifted from the middle Yellow River region to western coastal, eastern coastal, and southern coastal regions. The northern coastal and eastern coastal regions were the major exporters of embodied added value. Less developed regions had higher REI values, indicating more environmental and economic losses than developed regions. Natural resources intensity was the major impact factor on the trade imbalances in most provinces. This study provides valuable insights for alleviating trade imbalance and promoting sustainable natural resources management based on cross-regional collaboration.