Economic Metrics Research Articles

Reinforcer pathology, probabilistic choice, and medication adherence in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The reinforcer pathology model posits that core behavioral economic mechanisms, including delay discounting and behavioral economic demand, underlie adverse health decisions and related clinical disorders. Extensions beyond substance use disorder and obesity, however, are limited. Using a reinforcer pathology framework, this study evaluates medical adherence decisions in patients with multiple sclerosis. Participants completed behavioral economic measures, including delay discounting, probability discounting, and a medication purchase task. A medical decision-making task was also used to evaluate how sensitivity to mild side effect risk and efficacy contributed to the likelihood of taking a hypothetical disease-modifying therapy. Less steep delay discounting and more intense (greater) medication demand were independently associated with greater adherence to the medication decision-making procedure. More generally, the pattern of interrelations between the medication-specific and general behavioral economic metrics was consistent with and contributes to the reinforcer pathology model. Additional research is warranted to expand these models to different populations and health behaviors, including those of a positive health orientation (i.e., medication adherence).

Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Church Health: A Survey of Selected Denominational Churches in Nairobi City County, Kenya

The subject of church health and its deteriorating condition has taken center-stage in leadership discourse across the world. A decline in the health of a church has negative implications not only on its sustainability but also on the wider society owing to the role of the church as the moral custodian of society. An argument has been advanced in extant scholarship that transformational leadership is suitable for guiding religious organizations. However, most studies on this front take focus almost exclusively on the numerical health aspect of the organizations. The aim of the present study was to estimate the differential effect of transformational leadership on spiritual health and economic health in addition to numerical health of selected churches in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The target population comprised members of selected denominational churches from which a sample size of 330 members was drawn. The participants filled out the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Natural Church Development tools. Data analysis was done using SPSS. Results showed that the four transformational leadership dimensions explained 40% of numerical health metric, 56.9% of economic health metric, and for 50.2% of spiritual health metric. Conclusion was drawn that transformational leadership had positive but differential effect on church health dimensions. The study has affirmed the relevance of transformational leadership for enhancing numeric, economic and spiritual health of the church in Kenya. However, in as much as the effect sizes were large, a substantial share of church health metrics still remained unexplained, thereby providing grounds for continued empirical enquiry.

Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Church Health: A Survey of Selected Denominational Churches in Nairobi City County, Kenya

The subject of church health and its deteriorating condition has taken center-stage in leadership discourse across the world. A decline in the health of a church has negative implications not only on its sustainability but also on the wider society owing to the role of the church as the moral custodian of society. An argument has been advanced in extant scholarship that transformational leadership is suitable for guiding religious organizations. However, most studies on this front take focus almost exclusively on the numerical health aspect of the organizations. The aim of the present study was to estimate the differential effect of transformational leadership on spiritual health and economic health in addition to numerical health of selected churches in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The target population comprised members of selected denominational churches from which a sample size of 330 members was drawn. The participants filled out the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Natural Church Development tools. Data analysis was done using SPSS. Results showed that the four transformational leadership dimensions explained 40% of numerical health metric, 56.9% of economic health metric, and for 50.2% of spiritual health metric. Conclusion was drawn that transformational leadership had positive but differential effect on church health dimensions. The study has affirmed the relevance of transformational leadership for enhancing numeric, economic and spiritual health of the church in Kenya. However, in as much as the effect sizes were large, a substantial share of church health metrics still remained unexplained, thereby providing grounds for continued empirical enquiry.

The impact of mergers and acquisitions on shareholders' value: an empirical study of pharmaceutical companies

PurposeThis research investigates the effect of mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions in the pharmaceutical sector. The study assesses the short-term value creation or destruction for shareholders of pharmaceutical companies involved in M&A activities on the acquiring side.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis is carried out by applying the event study methodology in order to define the cumulative abnormal return for each transaction observed. Then, the correlations between abnormal returns and economic metrics are determined building a multiple regression model. These metrics refers to the acquirer, target or to the deal itself.FindingsEvidence show a short-term value creation for shareholders of pharmaceutical companies involved in M&A transactions on the acquiring side. On the one hand, the analysis suggests a negative correlation between the value creation and the acquiring firm's level of indebtedness. On the other hand, the value creation is positively correlated with target's metrics such as Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Assets (ROA) and Research and Development (R&D) intensity. Value creation is also tied to deal-specific characteristics regarding the cash used in the transaction and the comparative extent of the deal.Practical implicationsThis analysis allows to predict returns around an announcement day considering the described indicators of value creation or destruction. M&As play a key role in the strategy implementation as reaction to exogenous shocks and endogenous needs.Originality/valueThis study enriches the literature of corporate finance applied to the pharmaceutical sector. Indeed, this industry is gaining increasing relevance in the M&A panorama. Thus, the related dynamics need to be assessed considering the uniqueness of the pharmaceutical sector in terms of regulation, stakeholders and social impact.

Determining the Required Frequency Control Reserve and Capacity and Location of Synchronous and Virtual Inertial Resources

Replacing conventional generating units with inverter-based generation has lowered the natural inertia of power grids and the primary frequency control reserve provided by synchronous generators. Some of the most important consequences include large frequency deviations and large rates of change of frequency (RoCoF) during sudden load and generation loss. Increasing the inertia of the grid through virtual inertia and synchronous machines, and fast primary frequency response are possible solutions for these problems. This paper proposes an optimization problem to determine the capacity of ultracapacitors and synchronous condensers installed at each bus for inertial response and also the optimal amount of fast primary frequency response while considering technical and economic metrics. A combinational model is proposed to calculate the values of these technical metrics, which results in acceptable accuracy and computational cost. Finally, a modified low-inertia version of the IEEE 39-bus test system is used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the method is successful in keeping the RoCoF and frequency deviations within acceptable limits while reaching a compromise between technical and economic aspects.

The build-up approach. Could it be an alternative to the CAPM?

Background: The paper contains the economic background for implementing the build-up approach as an alternative method to the Capital Assets Pricing Model (CAPM).
 Research purpose: This study aims to consider company-specific risk premium that makes cost estimation unique, subjective, and different within the economic factors that may be considered and used for entity cost of equity estimation, valuation, or other economic metrics.
 Methods: The author analyzes the most recent literature on companies’ cost of equity and estimating specific risk premiums. Each component of the cost of capital in the build-up approach was analyzed and interpreted. The petroleum industry was analyzed between 2011 and 2021. The Mercer model for specific risk was used.
 Conclusions: The build-up approach seems the best choice to calculate equity costs in a turbulent economic environment. However, due to its mathematical structure, it could be criticized for the huge subjectivity in the assessment risk premium rate. The key to using this method is to make it less subjective. This paper suggests an approach that minimizes the subjectivity in the build-up model. So far, there is no comprehensive analysis of the Polish market that has been prepared from the perspective of the petroleum industry’s specific risk premium. This research creates possibilities for further comprehensive analysis related to models to calculate company risk premiums and the factors that affect them.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF AME UNIVERSITY TO THE ECONOMY OF ITS ENVIRONMENT

The African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) lies on Camp Johnson Road in Monrovia, Liberia. Liberia’s second-largest institution has 5,000 students. The African Methodist Episcopal Church founded the school in 1995 and the Liberian Legislature sanctioned it in 1996. Since then, the university has thrived in the Liberian economy, expanding admissions every other semester and attracting acquisitions and improving its surroundings. Governments and university administrators fail to make informed higher education investment decisions and effectively communicate the value of institutions to their people because schools’ economic influence is rarely recorded. The economic impact of AME university was studied because policymakers, university administrators, and other stakeholders need a detailed and structured study of how colleges contribute to economic growth and development. This study could consider other ways AME University supports its local economy, such as direct spending on goods and services and human development. A Google Forms survey questionnaire was prepared to obtain data from people or groups about AME University’s economic impact on Camp Johnson Road and its surroundings. The questionnaire questions about the respondent’s gender, status, income, education, spending habits, and camp Johnson community’s businesses and university. The poll also asks on the university’s economic benefits, such as increased activity. The responses were used to identify trends and relationships between AME University and economic outcomes on Camp Johnson Road and neighboring areas. The analysis indicated that 85.6% of AMEU residents are familiar with the study region, 18.8% between 10 and 5 years ago, 17.7% over 10 years ago, and 10.4% before the institution. The report indicated that 85.6% of AMEU residents believe the institution has increased commercial activity and 13.5% believe it has had little influence. According to 93.1%, AME University recruited environmental businesses and boosted economic activity. The study found that African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) impacts its surroundings. Most Non-AMEU residents—62 business owners and 37 residents—have lived there 10–5 years. Most claim AME University boosted Camp Johnson Road’s business. 78.20% of non-AMEU residents think the institution boosted local economic activity by attracting new customers. 39.80% said the area’s major business is used and new American goods. Most business owners chose Camp Johnson Road for traffic and AME University. The figure reveals AMEU members spend $10, $10–20, and $50–100. If the institution exits Camp Johnson Road, 45.5% agree somewhat and 37.6% strongly that commercial activities will suffer. 26.7% of firms are disadvantaged by the institution’s pause, 52.5% are unaffected, and 21.8% are moderately affected. AMEU has impacted its local economy and Montserrado. Based on this knowledge, educational institutions should partner with local businesses and groups. Educational institutions must show community benefit to succeed. Policymakers, university administrators, and other stakeholders must assess institutions’ economic significance to guide higher education spending and identify areas where universities may have a bigger impact. A unified conceptual framework that accounts for universities’ varied economic contributions is needed to monitor and identify their impacts. Higher education spending, employment, and other economic metrics must be accurate. Understanding the economic impact of institutions such as AME University can aid in communicating their worth to the community and informing sustainable development policies. Similar studies for other colleges or institutions might be conducted to assess their economic consequences and gain a more comprehensive knowledge of higher education’s function in local economies or Liberia as a whole. This could influence future educational policy and investment decisions.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF AME UNIVERSITY TO THE ECONOMY OF ITS ENVIRONMENT

The African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) lies on Camp Johnson Road in Monrovia, Liberia. Liberia’s second-largest institution has 5,000 students. The African Methodist Episcopal Church founded the school in 1995 and the Liberian Legislature sanctioned it in 1996. Since then, the university has thrived in the Liberian economy, expanding admissions every other semester and attracting acquisitions and improving its surroundings. Governments and university administrators fail to make informed higher education investment decisions and effectively communicate the value of institutions to their people because schools’ economic influence is rarely recorded. The economic impact of AME university was studied because policymakers, university administrators, and other stakeholders need a detailed and structured study of how colleges contribute to economic growth and development. This study could consider other ways AME University supports its local economy, such as direct spending on goods and services and human development. A Google Forms survey questionnaire was prepared to obtain data from people or groups about AME University’s economic impact on Camp Johnson Road and its surroundings. The questionnaire questions about the respondent’s gender, status, income, education, spending habits, and camp Johnson community’s businesses and university. The poll also asks on the university’s economic benefits, such as increased activity. The responses were used to identify trends and relationships between AME University and economic outcomes on Camp Johnson Road and neighboring areas. The analysis indicated that 85.6% of AMEU residents are familiar with the study region, 18.8% between 10 and 5 years ago, 17.7% over 10 years ago, and 10.4% before the institution. The report indicated that 85.6% of AMEU residents believe the institution has increased commercial activity and 13.5% believe it has had little influence. According to 93.1%, AME University recruited environmental businesses and boosted economic activity. The study found that African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) impacts its surroundings. Most Non-AMEU residents—62 business owners and 37 residents—have lived there 10–5 years. Most claim AME University boosted Camp Johnson Road’s business. 78.20% of non-AMEU residents think the institution boosted local economic activity by attracting new customers. 39.80% said the area’s major business is used and new American goods. Most business owners chose Camp Johnson Road for traffic and AME University. The figure reveals AMEU members spend $10, $10–20, and $50–100. If the institution exits Camp Johnson Road, 45.5% agree somewhat and 37.6% strongly that commercial activities will suffer. 26.7% of firms are disadvantaged by the institution’s pause, 52.5% are unaffected, and 21.8% are moderately affected. AMEU has impacted its local economy and Montserrado. Based on this knowledge, educational institutions should partner with local businesses and groups. Educational institutions must show community benefit to succeed. Policymakers, university administrators, and other stakeholders must assess institutions’ economic significance to guide higher education spending and identify areas where universities may have a bigger impact. A unified conceptual framework that accounts for universities’ varied economic contributions is needed to monitor and identify their impacts. Higher education spending, employment, and other economic metrics must be accurate. Understanding the economic impact of institutions such as AME University can aid in communicating their worth to the community and informing sustainable development policies. Similar studies for other colleges or institutions might be conducted to assess their economic consequences and gain a more comprehensive knowledge of higher education’s function in local economies or Liberia as a whole. This could influence future educational policy and investment decisions.

Proven Impact of an Advanced Air Purification System in the Reduction of Infectious Airborne and Surface Pathogens, Concomitant Reduction of Hospital-acquired Infections and Length of Stay, and Improvement in Health-care Economics.

Proven Impact of an Advanced Air Purification System in the Reduction of Infectious Airborne and Surface Pathogens, Concomitant Reduction of Hospital-acquired Infections and Length of Stay, and Improvement in Health-care Economics.

Identifying Financial and Non-Financial Metrics Affecting Companies' Sustainability Performance: A Thematic Analysis Approach

Objective: The aim of this research is to identify financial and non-financial metrics that affect companies' sustainability performance, which can be utilized to develop current financial reporting in order to provide comprehensive information on companies' performance to assist in better decision-making. Method: The present study was conducted using the thematic analysis method and MAXQDA 2020 software. The research population consisted of experts (university faculty members, students, and doctoral graduates in finance, economics, accounting, and management), selected through snowball sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with experts until theoretical saturation was achieved. In this study, theoretical saturation was confirmed after conducting 26 interviews. Findings: In these interviews, experts suggested various financial and non-financial metrics in economic, social, and environmental dimensions for measuring and reporting companies' sustainability performance. Economic metrics include sales growth, research and development, liquidity growth, financial leverage, company growth opportunities, industry competition, intangible assets, gross domestic product, company age, financial incentives, CEO duality, stock liquidity, board independence, corporate governance, ownership structure, company size, return on equity, economic value added, earnings per share, and return on assets. Social metrics include ethical conduct, job security for employees, and corporate social responsibility, while environmental metrics mentioned by most experts include waste and effluent management and clean (green) production. Conclusion: It can be concluded that considering globalization and attention to social and environmental issues and responsibilities alongside corporate profitability goals, and the necessity of considering stakeholders' interests in the new corporate governance doctrine, reporting on companies' sustainability performance is not only a need but a necessity for companies in the global competitive arena and as a strategic advantage.

Economic, Environmental, and Social Impacts of Renewable Energies: What have We Learned by Now?

Renewable energy is an essential driver of the energy transition towards a more sustainable world. However, sustainability requires the coordination of the economic, environmental, and social dimensions, turning it into a complex objective. The aim of this study is to review the state of the art of the articles that analyze economic, environmental, and social metrics that can be used to evaluate the impact of renewable. In addition, this work also classifies metrics into two main approaches: macro-studies, corresponding to those that evaluate based on global and aggregated impacts, and micro-studies, corresponding to those that focus on regional and local impacts. A systematic literature review was used to identify and define these main metrics, based on common research databases. Seven metrics were found and described for the environmental impact, four for the economic impact and five for the social impact. The main finding revealed that micro-studies are more prevalent in comparison to macro-studies. Moreover, the systematic literature review allows achieving the objective and highlighting the proposed sustainability assessment framework as crucial for gauging and evaluating impact metrics across the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The difficulty in isolating and measuring each metric may be attributed to the challenges involved in studying the corresponding impact, whether at the micro or macro level. More targeted studies can help in a more efficient energy transition.

Comparative Study of ASEAN Research Productivity

Research productivity has become one of the main indicators used by higher education institutions (HEIs) as well as the country to support their innovation capability. This study purposely describes the research productivity among ASEAN countries, which is considered to be the world’s current economic hotspot. By using SciVal database to examine the literature over the last 10 years, we describe productivity, citation impact, and economic impact metrics. The findings indicate that Singapore is superior in terms of publication quality (citation) and patents while Malaysia is leading in terms of the number of scientific research. Interestingly, Indonesia’s scientific publication growth has the highest percentage. Furthermore, Engineering & Technology and Life Sciences & Medicine are the two major contributors to ASEAN research productivity. These subjects could be the major locomotives for ASEAN countries to use to sustain their competitiveness if the leaders can transform it into successful commercialization.

Solvent based dissolution–precipitation of waste polyethylene terephthalate: economic and environmental performance metrics

Evaluating six economic and two environmental performance metrics for recycling of waste PET via solvent-based dissolution–precipitation processes.

A Novel Doubly-Green Stand-Alone Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Saudi Arabia: An Overview and a Comprehensive Feasibility Study

In Saudi Arabia, the energy sector is presently the most significant contributor to carbon emissions, followed by the transportation sector, which contributes about 26% of the gross greenhouse gas emissions. The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the transportation sector worldwide is one way to bring about a global green solution that can support the decarbonization of the environment, which now constitutes a new electric power demand for the utility grid network. To preserve the environment, and reduce the pressure on the existing grid network, we propose the utilization of EV charging stations (EVCSs) in off-grid locations. It is essential to have an alternative stand-alone renewables-based electrification framework to secure the charging demand needed for the electric vehicles. The present study performs a techno-economic investigation of a novel off-grid scheme that combines renewable energy resources to provide clean electricity for EV charging stations. The optimized system for the EVCS is compared with the alternative option of grid extension using economic criteria evaluation metrics and distance limitations. The optimization and comparative analysis results reveal that the option of an optimum stand-alone hybrid charging station is an economical, sustainable, and eco-friendly alternative to the option of grid expansion.

Design, Technical and Economic Optimization of Renewable Energy-Based Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Africa: The Case of Nigeria

The transportation sector accounts for more than 70% of Nigeria’s energy consumption. This sector has been the major consumer of fossil fuels in the past 20 years. In this study, the technical and economic feasibility of an electrical vehicle (EV) charging scheme is investigated based on the availability of renewable energy (RE) sources in six sites representing diverse geographic and climatic conditions in Nigeria. The HOMER Pro® microgrid software with the grid-search and proprietary derivative-free optimization techniques is used to assess the viability of the proposed EV charging scheme. The PV/WT/battery charging station with a quantity of two WT, 174 kW of PV panels, a quantity of 380 batteries storage, and a converter of 109 kW located in Sokoto provide the best economic metrics with the lowest NPC, electricity cost, and initial costs of USD547,717, USD0.211/kWh, and USD449,134, respectively. The optimal charging scheme is able to reliably satisfy most of the EV charging demand as it presents a small percentage of the unmet load, which is the lowest when compared with the corresponding values of the other charging stations. Moreover, the optimal charging system in all six locations is able to sufficiently meet the EV charge requirement with maximum uptime. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to check the robustness of the optimum charging scheme. This sensitivity analysis reveals that the technical and economic performance indicators of the optimum charging station are sensitive to the changes in the sensitivity variables. Furthermore, the outcomes ensure that the hybrid system of RE sources and EVs can minimize carbon and other pollutant emissions. The results and findings in this study can be implemented by all relevant parties involved to accelerate the development of EVs not only in Nigeria but also in other parts of the African continent and the rest of the world.

Nuclear energy system modelling application package: functional overview and examples

The paper provides a brief description of the functionality of the nuclear energy system modelling application package (NESAPP), including a list of modelling objects, key assumptions and areas of application. NESAPP consists of the following main modules: NUDAPS (a module for calculating thermal neutron cross-sections, resonance integrals and one-group neutron cross-sections, and associated uncertainties), NUCLEX (a module for calculating the evolution of the nuclide composition and characteristics of nuclear fuel in reactors and at the nuclear fuel cycle front-end and back-end steps), NUCAB (a module for adjusting isotopic composition and blending), FANES (a module for analysing material flows and integrating data in nuclear energy evolution scenarios), ECNES (a module for assessing economic performance metrics for the nuclear energy evolution scenarios). Each of the modules is a calculation tool that can be used as independent or integrated into the software for technical and economic modelling of nuclear energy systems. Various calculation models are implemented in the modules, allowing users to evaluate the methodological component of the calculation uncertainty in scenario modelling studies and the functionality for assessing the impact of initial data uncertainties on the resulting indicators. The authors also provide some examples of applying NESAPP.

Optimization and sensitivity analysis of a multi-product solar grade silicon refinery: Considering environmental and economic metrics

Today, one of the main lines of solar energy development is the creation of environmentally friendly, waste-free and inexpensive solar grade silicon production technologies. Presently, the main solar grade silicon production technologies are based on the reduction of silicon hydrogen chloride compounds (trichlorosilane, tetrachlorosilane and silane). This paper will examine the results of the optimization of a multi-product silicon refinery, where the objective functions are Profit and Eco-indicator99. Seven scenarios are considered for the work. The best scenario (S4) showed a tendency to maintain a balance between Profit (98.66 M$/y) and the environmental indicator Eco99 (6.04 MP/y). Similarly, a sensitivity analysis was carried out by varying the market prices of each of the products obtained (solar grade silicon, TEOS at different purities, and chlorosilanes) with an increase of 10% and a decrease of 10%, resulting in multiple production scenarios depending on what the market dictates. By increasing the cost of solar grade silicon by 10%, the multi-product refinery achieves the highest profit (151.84 [M$/y] with an environmental impact of 9.8 [MP/y]), and by decreasing the cost of the same silicon by 10%, the lowest environmental impact is achieved (36 [M$/y] with an environmental impact of 3 [MP/y]).

Fuzzy set scoring methodology for multi-objective sustainability assessment of algal biofuel pathways

This work implements a multi-objective scoring methodology based on fuzzy set theory to evaluate and compare the sustainability metrics of microalgal biorefining concepts. Fuzzy membership functions are developed for three key metrics: minimum fuel selling price, global warming potential, and net energy ratio. Membership functions yield satisfaction scores ( λ ) between 0 and 1 for each objective; achieving λ = 1 indicates a sustainability metric has fully met its target, while λ = 0 is unacceptable for the standards of that metric. The individual λ are combined into an overall satisfaction score, λ o , also ranging from 0 to 1, which is used here to simplify the comparison of sustainability metrics. In addition to baseline biorefining conditions, uncertainties across the algal biofuel production system are assessed through a Monte Carlo analysis of λ o . A case study is developed to compare Combined Algal Processing (a biochemical conversion pathway) against hydrothermal liquefaction (a thermochemical conversion pathway). Baseline results show that lipids are always heavily favored for fuel production, but no practical cultivation operations would be able to achieve such lipid-heavy biomass. The Monte Carlo analysis reveals that current algal fuel conversion technologies cannot simultaneously satisfy all key sustainability objectives. If biomass productivity is doubled and the feedstock is high in lipids, hydrothermal liquefaction can achieve a mean λ o = 0.53 ± 0.12 , still well below a desirable λ o of 1. Combined Algal Processing struggles to achieve high satisfaction scores even in optimistic scenarios and requires a high-lipid feedstock to achieve a mean λ o = 0.10 ± 0.03 . Hydrothermal liquefaction can be integrated downstream of Combined Algal Processing to increase fuel yield and optimistically can achieve a mean λ o = 0.48 ± 0.07 . A combination of system improvements, including biomass productivity, feed composition, fuel yield, and implementation of co-product pathways must work together to satisfy all the relevant sustainability metrics for algal biofuels. The scoring methodology developed here can be readily applied to other microalgal biorefinery concepts and, more broadly, to sustainable fuel development and production. • Holistic evaluation of algal based biofuel systems. • Sustainability assessed through economic and environmental metrics. • Fuzzy set scoring system is applied to holistically assess algae fuel pathways. • Overall satisfaction of sustainability targets depends on algae composition. • Thermochemical pathway outscores biochemical pathway when biofuels are sole product.

The Effects of Foreign Direct Investments on Major Economic Metrics: A Case Study of Post-Colonialism Republic of Korea

This study gives an overview of the origins, development, and measured effects of foreign direct investments (FDI). This paper briefly covers the economic impact of Japan's rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945, but it mainly focuses on the time period between South Korea’s post-imperialism economy and the pre-pandemic market: roughly a 75-year time period from 1945 to 2020. This paper finds that foreign direct investment is strongly correlated with major economic metrics such as GDP, imports/exports, and consumer price indexes, especially in the most recent 20 years (2000-2020). These conclusions are based on data analysis using secondary data from the World Bank and supported by past literature. This study further theorizes that the recent economic success of South Korea is partially due to the major influence foreign direct investment has on economic prosperity through technology transfer. South Korea, a current powerhouse in the electronics industry through the early establishments of chaebols, a group of large family-owned conglomerates that dictated the early economic success of South Korea, would have significantly benefited from increased technological transfers. Therefore this paper’s data analysis focuses mainly on the 20 most recently available yearly data; however other periods are also briefly investigated.

Establishment of Performance Metrics for Batteries in Large‐Scale Energy Storage Systems from Perspective of Technique, Economics, Environment, and Safety

The battery is the core of large‐scale battery energy storage systems (LBESS). It is important to develop high‐performance batteries that can meet the requirements of LBESS for different application scenarios. However, large gaps exist between studies and practical applications because there are no uniform metrics for evaluating the performance of batteries. Herein, based on the fundamental requirements of LBESS, this perspective establishes the performance metrics of batteries for scenarios of load leveling, frequency regulation, and reserve application, respectively. Performance metrics include the technical metrics (e.g., the energy density, cycling performance, rate performance), economic metrics (levelized cost of energy), environmental metrics (sustainability of the material, recyclability of batteries, etc.), and safety metrics. The relationship between the proposed metrics and the application of the LBESS are discussed to guide the future studies.