Member Countries Research Articles

СУЧАСНИЙ СТАН, ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВА УКРАЇНИ З КРАЇНАМИ-УЧАСНИЦЯМИ АСЕАН

The purpose of the article is to analyze the main areas of foreign economic cooperation of Ukraine with ASEAN member countries and to determine the future prospects of their interaction. The article examines the trade and economic relations of Ukraine with ASEAN member countries during 2014-2022. An analysis of the volume of trade in goods between the parties is presented, which indicates a gradual increase in trade turnover from 2015 to 2021 and its further reduction in 2022 due to the start of a full-scale war The main categories of export and import of goods between Ukraine and ASEAN member countries in 2022 have been determined, which include grain crops, vegetable fats and oils, telecommunications equipment, metal products, etc. The geographical structure of trade operations was analyzed and the most popular export and import destinations for Ukraine, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, were determined. It is proven that, despite the gradual increase in trade volumes, the level of investment activity between the parties remains low, which is determined by a number of negative factors, including the war with Russia, corruption and the uncertainty of the legal environment in Ukraine. Positive factors that increase the investment attractiveness of Ukraine for the countries of Southeast Asia are considered, in particular, the geopolitical position and the presence of a highly qualified workforce. Based on the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, it was determined that the largest number of investments in Ukraine comes from Singapore, in particular, in enterprises in the fields of industry, trade and agriculture. The existence of significant potential for the development of trade and economic relations between Ukraine and ASEAN member countries has been proven. Ways of intensifying bilateral cooperation were proposed, such as the implementation of joint projects in the field of information technology and infrastructure, increasing the volume of Ukrainian exports and the creation of special economic zones. The need to sign trade agreements and expand business ties for the further development of cooperation between Ukraine and ASEAN member countries is highlighted.

From policy stringency to environmental resilience: Unraveling the dose-response dynamics of environmental parameters in OECD countries

In the pursuit of sustainable development and the mitigation of negative externalities arising from environmental stressors, a multitude of member countries within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have embraced various environmental policies. Nevertheless, previous empirical research has largely overlooked investigating the causal relationship between the Environmental Policy Stringency (EPS) and environmental indicators. To bridge this gap, we conduct an empirical study to examine the dose-response relationship between EPS, as a continuous treatment variable, and selected environmental indicators. Our findings reveal evidence of a mixed treatment effect of policy stringency on the environment. Notably, the implementation of EPS leads to a reduction in carbon emissions per capita and an overall decline in ecological footprint. However, despite OECD countries moving towards a negative trajectory to preserve the environment, carbon intensity remains steadfastly on a positive path. Moreover, the intensification of policy stringency demonstrates positive effects on total renewable energy production, encompassing solar, wind, and eco-innovation. Building upon these empirical results, we offer several policy implications for the adoption and implementation of environmental policies within OECD countries.

Impact of a consortium-based student mobility programme: The case of AIMS (Asian International Mobility for students)

PurposeThis paper discusses the effectiveness of a consortium-based student mobility programme by investigating the impact of the Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme. AIMS is a regional multilateral large-scale student mobility programme based on a consortium of 10 member countries and 87 member universities with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED) as a facilitator. Over 6,000 students have participated in a semester-long intra-regional student exchange under AIMS since 2010.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews to investigate the impact of AIMS and its advantages as a consortium-based student mobility programme.FindingsIt was found that AIMS significantly impacted member universities by accelerating their internationalisation processes through increasing the number of inbound and outbound students and courses offered in English and so on. AIMS has promoted harmonisation among the members by developing common procedures and guidelines, providing platforms for mutual sharing of experiences and good practices and capacity building of international relations offices. AIMS has also had a significant impact on students by enhancing their regional identity and knowledge about the region of Asia, contributing to their development as future regional and global citizens. As advantages of AIMS, member universities efficiently built a foundation for international collaboration with common procedures and guidelines and shared their experiences through such venues as Annual Review Meetings. Students also feel supported by having clear guidance and find programmes prepared by host universities and SEAMEO RIHED useful.Originality/valueThis study is unique in that it empirically studies the impact of one of Asia’s largest student mobility programmes for the first time by analysing large-scale qualitative and quantitative data.

Challenges and Obstacles in the Standardization and Harmonization of Fatwa in Islamic Finance Industry and Way Forward

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential benefit, challenge and obstacles in the standardization and harmonization of fatwa in Islamic finance industry. This paper is also intended to formulate strategies to release the standardization and harmonization of fatwa. This study employs qualitative approach and reviews literatures that are relevant to the research objective. The finding indicates that the potential benefit of harmonization of fatwa are efficient and manageable regulation and control, IFIs will have a set of reporting and guideline standards, contribute to IFIs’s growth, enhance public and IFI’s confidence, and lead to greater transparency. Meanwhile, the challenges to harmonize the fatwa can be divided into four main problems, technical, governance, human resource, and regulation. Technical problems comprise difference of opinion in ijtihad and fatwas, the absence of consensus (ijma’), and national cultural specificities. Governance consist of international fatwa bodies are only followed by selected member countries, difference in sharia compliance governance model among countries, and difference level of Islamic finance industry growth among countries. Human resource involves lack of inclusivity, lack of professionals, personal/group interest. Finally, regulation be made up of lack of support from regulators, enforcement problem, and lack of legal system. This study also purposes some important strategies to release the standardization of fatwa and some recommendations for future studies.

The Relationship between Financial Development and Economic Growth in EU Member Countries: Sub-group estimation based on the Countries’ Level of development

The Relationship between Financial Development and Economic Growth in EU Member Countries: Sub-group estimation based on the Countries’ Level of development

The politics of tariff cooperation in the presence of trade costs

AbstractThis study explores how income inequality among individuals in each country and trade costs depicting geographic distance between countries impact economic welfare and regime choice under representative democracy, comparing three trading regimes: most favored nation, customs union, and free trade agreement. We examine two cases: one in which trade costs are incurred symmetrically among all countries, and the other in which no trade costs are incurred among the potential member countries, but only between them and nonmembers. In each case, we identify the political feasibility of each regime as well as the impact on the average welfare levels.

Influence of environmental technologies and income on the environment in OECD member countries transitioning to low carbon societies.

This paper focuses on examining the effects of per capita environmental technology development on the load capacity factor (LCF) within the context of OECD member countries during the period spanning 1990 to 2021. To investigate these relationships, we employ the AMG estimator and FM-LS estimator. Additionally, we explore the validity of the load capacity curve for these countries and estimate the inflection points in the income per capita-environmental sustainability relationship. Our findings lead us to the conclusion that there is no significant impact of environmental technologies on environmental sustainability. Furthermore, we observe a negative influence on the development of environmental technologies, which can be attributed to the negative externalities associated with their implementation and the lack of societal adoption. Moreover, our estimations reveal an inflection point at $45,251.90 in terms of GDP per capita, beyond which the sustainability condition of the studied countries improves.

Why are non-wood forest products still the poor relative in Global Forest Resources Assessments?

To conserve and use forests sustainably, it is helpful to have accurate and regular assessments of their health and status. A key tool in this regard is the regular global overview provided by the Food and Agriculture Programme (FAO) in their Global Forest Resources Assessments (GFRA), now issued every five years. As of 2000, the GFRA required member countries to report statistics related to non-wood forest products (NWFPs). However, the NWFP statistics in the country appendices to the GFRA bear little resemblance to the situation on the ground, as shown by our assessment of entries for India, Nigeria, and South Africa against verified in-country studies. Our analysis shows that GFRAs often inaccurately report NWFP quantities, lack consistency between reports, omit data on amounts or values even when in-country studies exist, list the top ten NWFPs inaccurately, and fail to cite sources. Taken together, these shortcomings mean that the NWFP country statistics in the GFRA cannot be used to make comparisons between countries, regions or globally, track trends, or make policy or management decisions. The underlying reasons for these shortcomings are considered. Lastly, we suggest nine steps that need to be implemented to make the NWFP section of the GFRA reports a reliable and valued source of data and global analysis, that can be used by policy- and decision-makers and researchers globally.

Quantifying the reduction in coal and increase in renewables in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries: Proposal for a coal-renewable energy index and map

Reducing coal use and increasing renewable energy use are two major policies that have been recommended in many countries and regions to address climate change. However, the progress toward meeting these policy goals is unclear. Therefore, this study proposes the “C–R map”, which is a correlation map between the share of coal-fired plants and renewable energy in terms of annual consumption, and the “CR index”, which is an index composed of the above two indicators. The proposed methods objectively visualise and quantitatively analyse statistical data on global climate change associated with “reducing coal and increasing renewables”, whose trends or tendencies could only be obtained through fragmented statistical data and documents. Using the proposed C–R map and CR index, an international comparative analysis was conducted on the share of coal and renewables from 1990 to 2020 in 37 Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development member countries. The results quantitatively showed that 31 member countries clearly exhibited a trend of decreasing their share of coal and increasing their share of renewables, while only five countries, i.e. Chile, Turkey, Mexico, Japan, and Korea, showed unique and inconsistent trends relative to that of the other member countries. By using the highly transparent and simple map and index proposed here based on published statistical information and objective methods, the global trend of “reducing coal and increasing renewables” can be quantitatively visualised in graphs and numerical values, which are easily understood and interpretable, even for laymen.

Legal regulation of the budget process in the EU

The experience of the most influential interstate formation in Europe – the European Union, which occupies the second place in terms of GDP and the third in terms of population. is instructive in all its spheres of functioning, in particular in the field of budget law. Given the accelerated movement of Ukraine to the European community, the «budget experience» of the European Union is certainly the most indicative and instructive, since it was formed on the basis of a generalization of best practices of all member countries of the European continent. The article deals with a set of the main EU budget regulations: the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; Treaty on European Union; EU financial regulations; Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU, EURATOM) 2018/1046 of 18 July 2018 on financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union on amendments to the regulations (EU) № 1296/2013, (EU) № 1301/2013, (EU) № 1303/2013, (EU) № 1304/2013, (EC) № 1309/2013, (EC) № 1316/2013, (EC) № 223/2014, (EC) № 283/2014 and Decision № 541/2014/ЄS and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) № 966/2012. On the basis of a detailed analysis of these documents, the fundamental positions of the EU budget process in general and the principles of the EU budget in particular are ordered, structured and described (they include the principles: unity, reliability of the budget, annuity, balance, unit of account, universality, detail, prudent financial management and productivity, transparency). Proposals for the implementation of the principles of the EU budget to the domestic budget law are carried out.

Biovigilance systems: Cells, tissues, and organs donation and transplantation

Objective: to describe Biovigilance Systems and their associated management tools among member countries of the World Health Organization. Method: overview conducted following the population, concept, and context strategy to develop the research question and objective. Structured searches were conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus. Snowballing procedure in Google Scholar and health authorities’ websites as World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization during the first semester of 2023. Language and time restrictions were not applied. Results: we examined more than 70 studies and non-scientific works. Biovigilance systems were identified in 12 countries members of WHO in 3 of 6 regions: Pan-American Region (Brazil and Colombia, Canada), Europe (England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain), and Western Pacific Region (Australia). Conclusion: This overview achieved its objective by describing biovigilance systems and their management tools among World Health Organization member countries. This research, designed as an overview, refrains from generalizing results but holds significance for countries and health authorities developing biovigilance systems, offering benchmark opportunities and supporting system improvement. The study contributes directly to the biovigilance discourse, guiding efforts to enhance safety and quality globally.

ICC Jurisdiction: Against Israeli War and Humanitarian Crimes Targeting Palestinian Civilians 2023

The article explains the jurisdictional policy of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Israeli war crimes targeting Palestinian civilians, during the attack on Gaza on October 7, 2023. The article shows that based on articles of the Rome Statute, Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity that occurred on October 7, 2023. therefore, the ICC has authority in this matter. ICC policy towards conflict 7 October 2023, ICC jurisdiction took action to continue the investigative process and will accelerate investigations related to the conflict, while Israel in 2024 and the latest update is not part of the non-member states of the ICC. However, given the jurisdiction of the ICC, it has jurisdiction regarding its investigations in countries that are not parties to the ICC. This is influenced by several factors in upholding the ICC's jurisdictional investigation law against Israeli criminals even though Israel is not an ICC member state: First, Palestine is a state party to the ICC which is supposed to provide justice for civil society. Second, there is pressure and encouragement from member countries and non-member countries of the ICC to carry out investigations regarding the conflict attack in October 2023.

Mapping economic and social effects of Covid-19 in ASEAN economies

The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm of crises in ASEAN member countries (AMCs). Before the Covid-19 crisis, economic inequalities were prevalent all across AMCs at domestic and regional levels and the majority of the population was confined to surviving on low and insecure incomes. The main objective of this study is to explore the economic and social effects among AMCs and how Covid-19 interacted with these effects. Our study indicates that stark and myriad economic inequalities persist among low-income and rural poor societies of high-income countries in the ASEAN ranging from wealth, access to healthcare and education services, gender-based inequalities, deprivation of basic resources and services, and asymmetry in employment and migration opportunities for certain groups. We predict that Covid-19 will exacerbate these inequalities consequently pushing marginalised and vulnerable people into extreme poverty and may further escalate health and economic risks. AMCs governments need to focus on developing an inclusive economic recovery process to strengthen the poorly protected social safety nets, address the gender-based issues and consider the inclusion of marginalised and vulnerable communities while developing health and economic recovery policies to mitigate Covid-19 impacts. Our findings provide a roadmap to the governments and policymakers scrambling for resources to combat the Covid-19 social and economic impacts.

Employment Perspectives and Current Trends in the Mining and Quarrying Industry in the European Union

Employment represents a comprehensive field in the mining and quarrying sector. It is related to many aspects of the macroeconomic situation. The two fundamental indicators explored in the analysis are in the forms of the production value and the value added at factor cost. The main employed methodology is a regression analysis technique, where the explained variable is represented by the value added in the mining and quarrying sector. The explanatory variables are the following ones: employment, labour productivity, wage, labour input in industry, and turnover. The examined area includes all the 27 European Union member countries with the other selected European countries. The data set covers the time period from 2011 to the year 2020. The Discussion section offers a comparison with the other research studies. The elementary findings are confirmed in the outcomes related to the research hypotheses and the research questions. All the research hypotheses are rejected, so all the five explored indicators are proved to be statistically significant. Moreover, the research questions demonstrate the potential indicators that will play a key role in future development of the mining and quarrying industry. They will serve as a basement for policymakers in order to create the policies for enhancement macroeconomic area of the examined industrial sector.

Brexit and foreign students in gravity

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of Brexit on international student migration. In a structural gravity model, we estimate student migration between 69 countries for counterfactual scenarios in which the United Kingdom leaves the European Union one year before the referendum. This exercise reveals a decrease in exchange students studying in the UK of around 3.8% to 4.9%. While the number of non‐EU students to the UK rises, a drop in EU student numbers drives this result. Similarly, 30% to 38% fewer UK students choose to study abroad. The estimated changes in international student stocks show that most other member countries lose international students and non‐EU countries host more than without Brexit. Our findings provide evidence that there may be hidden costs to Brexit affecting global student exchanges that we have yet to see.

Cohort Profile: the European Unified Registries On Heart care Evaluation and Randomised Trials (EuroHeart) - Acute Coronary Syndrome and Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

The European Unified Registries On Heart care Evaluation And Randomized Trials (EuroHeart) aims to improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease. The collaboration of acute coronary syndrome/percutaneous coronary intervention (ACS/PCI) registries is operational in seven vanguard European Society of Cardiology member countries. Adults admitted to hospitals with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) are included, and individual patient-level data collected and aligned according to the internationally agreed EuroHeart data standards for ACS/PCI. The registries provide up to 155 variables spanning patient demographics and clinical characteristics, in-hospital care, in-hospital outcomes, and discharge medications. After performing statistical analyses on patient data, participating countries transfer aggregated data to EuroHeart for international reporting.Between 1st January 2022 and 31st December 2022, 40021 admissions (STEMI 46.7%, NSTEMI 53.3%) were recorded from 192 hospitals in the seven vanguard countries: Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, and Sweden. The mean age for the cohort was 67.9 (standard deviation 12.6) years, and it included 12628 (31.6%) women. The EuroHeart collaboration of ACS/PCI registries prospectively collects and analyses individual data for ACS and PCI at a national level, after which aggregated results are transferred to the EuroHeart Data Science Centre. The collaboration will expand to other countries and provide continuous insights into the provision of clinical care and outcomes for patients with ACS and undergoing PCI. It will serve as a unique international platform for quality improvement, observational research, and registry-based clinical trials.

Sectoral Performance Trends and Differences in the Balkan and Eastern European Region

This article provides an empirical analysis aimed at evaluating the financial trends and disparities at the sector level within the Balkan and Eastern European region. The dataset encompasses a period of nine years and comprises more than 20 million firm-year observations from 24 industries in 21 countries. It uses 19 financial ratios to assess sectoral performance. In the empirical investigation, trend analysis and the two-step cluster analysis methods were used. Following the global financial crisis, a significant proportion of financial ratios exhibited favorable trends, indicating robust business and economic circumstances. Nevertheless, this trajectory was temporarily disrupted in 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2021, the financial ratios had reverted back to their historical patterns. Country membership, margin, liquidity, trade turnover, profitability, and leverage ratios are the most effective variables for explaining differences in sectoral performance. Sector membership is a comparatively less influential factor. Although this study effectively identified significant disparities in financial ratio profiles, it does not suggest that companies in the most developed countries in the region attain the most favorable financial performance. Stakeholders who have a vested interest in this region should carefully contemplate the ramifications of the findings from this study.

Investigation of the hospital pharmacy profession in Europe

ObjectiveFrom 1995, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) has regularly investigated the progress of the hospital pharmacy profession in Europe, and identified key barriers and drivers of this. The...

Metabolic Bariatric Surgery Across the IFSO Chapters: Key Insights on the Baseline Patient Demographics, Procedure Types, and Mortality from the Eighth IFSO Global Registry Report

IntroductionThe International Federation for Surgery for Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) Global Registry aims to provide descriptive data about the caseload and penetrance of surgery for metabolic disease and obesity in member countries. The data presented in this report represent the key findings of the eighth report of the IFSO Global Registry.MethodsAll existing Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (MBS) registries known to IFSO were invited to contribute to the eighth report. Aggregated data was provided by each MBS registry to the team at the Australia and New Zealand Bariatric Surgery Registry (ANZBSR) and was securely stored on a Redcap™ database housed at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Data was checked for completeness and analyzed by the IFSO Global Registry Committee. Prior to the finalization of the report, all graphs were circulated to contributors and to the global registry committee of IFSO to ensure data accuracy.ResultsData was received from 24 national and 2 regional registries, providing information on 502,150 procedures. The most performed primary MBS procedure was sleeve gastrectomy, whereas the most performed revisional MBS procedure was Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Asian countries reported people with lower BMI undergoing MBS along with higher rates of diabetes. Mortality was a rare event.ConclusionRegistries enable meaningful comparisons between countries on the demographics, characteristics, operation types and approaches, and trends in MBS procedures. Reported outcomes can be seen as flags of potential issues or relationships that could be studied in more detail in specific research studies.

A novel multi-criteria approach for evaluating social discrimination in OECD countries

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was established to unite countries from different geographical regions to achieve prosperity and economic progress. Different geographical regions have different cultures. The sociological perspective on gender varies in these cultures. As a result, gaps occur in terms of gender discrimination and its dimensions between countries. While social progress is a prerequisite for economic progress, society must be in harmony for social progress. The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) was developed to measure progress in different countries. This study proposes a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model over the SIGI index to measure gender discrimination levels in OECD countries. However, since the differences in gender discrimination resulting from the multicultural structure of OECD lead to significant variability in terms of countries, countries are first clustered. Then, SIGI criteria significance levels are evaluated with a novel Importance of Criteria’s Indifference to Normalization (ICIN) method based on the differences between the two normalization approaches. Subsequently, a novel Modified Extended Alternative Ranking Order Method Accounting for Two-Step Normalization (ME-AROMAN) approach is employed to rank the member countries. While discrimination in the family is the most prominent factor for countries better at social equality and access to productive and financial assets is the major factor that separates the countries worse at social equality, the sensitivity and comparative analysis demonstrate the applicability and validity of ICIN and ME-AROMAN in MCDM literature.