Negative Growth Effects Research Articles

The Governance-Growth Nexus and Its Environmental Implications in South Asia

This research delves into the correlation between economic growth, governance quality, and CO2 emissions within a cohort of seven nations in South Asia: Between 1996 and 2020, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Using dynamic panel data models and fixed effects, this research documents the role of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and the capacity of governance to affect carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It finds a direct correlation to CO2 emissions and economic growth and hence associate increase GDP per capita to increase in environmental degradation. Yet, enhanced governance is shown to significantly lower CO2 emissions in countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, and contributes to increasing CO2 emissions in others. In addition, economic growth and governance quality interaction led to the finding that good governance can moderate the negative environmental effects of economic growth. The uncovering of these findings underscores the importance of governance in meeting environmental sustainability and economic growth objectives in South Asia. The findings provide important policy guidance on improving governance structures to deal more efficiently with the environmental problems facing the region.

Modification of xylan in secondary walls alters cell wall biosynthesis and wood formation programs and improves saccharification.

Wood of broad-leaf tree species is a valued source of renewable biomass for biorefinery and a target for genetic improvement efforts to reduce its recalcitrance. Glucuronoxylan (GX) plays a key role in recalcitrance through its interactions with cellulose and lignin. To reduce recalcitrance, we modified wood GX by expressing GH10 and GH11 endoxylanases from Aspergillus nidulans in hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L. × tremuloides Michx.) and targeting the enzymes to cell wall. The xylanases reduced tree height, modified cambial activity by increasing phloem and reducing xylem production, and reduced secondary wall deposition. Xylan molecular weight was decreased, and the spacing between acetyl and MeGlcA side chains was reduced in transgenic lines. The transgenic trees produced hypolignified xylem having thin secondary walls and deformed vessels. Glucose yields of enzymatic saccharification without pretreatment almost doubled indicating decreased recalcitrance. The transcriptomics, hormonomics and metabolomics data provided evidence for activation of cytokinin and ethylene signalling pathways, decrease in ABA levels, transcriptional suppression of lignification and a subset of secondary wall biosynthetic program, including xylan glucuronidation and acetylation machinery. Several candidate genes for perception of impairment in xylan integrity were detected. These candidates could provide a new target for uncoupling negative growth effects from reduced recalcitrance. In conclusion, our study supports the hypothesis that xylan modification generates intrinsic signals and evokes novel pathways regulating tree growth and secondary wall biosynthesis.

IncC plasmid genome rearrangements influence the vertical and horizontal transmission tradeoff in Escherichia coli.

It has been shown that an evolutionary tradeoff between vertical (host growth rate) and horizontal (plasmid conjugation) transmissions contributes to global plasmid fitness. As conjugative IncC plasmids are important for the spread of multidrug resistance (MDR), in a broad range of bacterial hosts, we investigated vertical and horizontal transmissions of two multidrug-resistant IncC plasmids according to their backbones and MDR-region rearrangements, upon plasmid entry into a new host. We observed plasmid genome deletions after conjugation in three diverse natural Escherichia coli clinical strains, varying from null to high number depending on the plasmid, all occurring in the MDR region. The plasmid burden on bacterial fitness depended more on the strain background than on the structure of the MDR region, with deletions appearing to have no impact. Besides, we observed an increase in plasmid transfer rate, from ancestral host to new clinical recipient strains, when the IncC plasmid was rearranged. Finally, using a second set of conjugation experiments, we investigated the evolutionary tradeoff of the IncC plasmid during the critical period of plasmid establishment in E. coli K-12, by correlating the transfer rates of deleted or non-deleted IncC plasmids and their costs on the recipient strain. Plasmid deletions strongly improved conjugation efficiency with no negative growth effect. Our findings indicate that the flexibility of the MDR-region of the IncC plasmids can promote their dissemination, and provide diverse opportunities to capture new resistance genes. In a broader view, they suggest that the vertical-horizontal transmission tradeoff can be manipulated by the plasmid to improve its fitness.

Ghrelin alleviated TiO2 NPs-induced inhibition of endochondral osteogenesis and promoted longitudinal growth of long bones in juvenile rats via Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are widely used in children’s daily necessities and foods, and their health hazards to children have attracted particular attention. Childhood is a critical time for accelerated bone growth and development. Current studies revealed that TiO2 NPs exposure causes bone damage in juvenile rats; however, the underlying mechanism is unknown. Ghrelin is a polypeptide hormone that is considered to be a candidate factor for regulating bone growth and development. In this research, 3-week-old juvenile male rats were administered 0, 100 or 200 mg/kg TiO2 NPs and 50 μg/kg ghrelin for 4 weeks to explore the underlying mechanism of TiO2 NPs-induced bone damage, and the protective effect of ghrelin. Our results revealed that TiO2 NPs resulted in decreased synthesis of bone growth-related hormones, disturbed bone metabolism, and destruction of bone structure. Further mechanism studies showed that TiO2 NPs inhibited Wnt/β-catenin pathway, reduced collagen synthesis, inhibited chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, promoted chondrocyte apoptosis, and inhibited endochondral osteogenesis, ultimately leading to long bone longitudinal growth retardation and osteoporosis. Ghrelin alleviated the negative effects of TiO2 NPs-induced bone growth in juvenile rats by upregulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. This study provided a reference for the clinical treatment of growth retardation and idiopathic short stature in juvenile children caused by environmental pollutants.

Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and economic complexity in the middle East and North Africa: A panel data analysis

This paper aims to investigate how economic complexity and structural transformation affect energy security. This study differs from previous research by focusing on energy efficiency and renewable energy transition as indicators of energy security. The employed methods include econometric techniques such as Panel-Corrected Standard Errors, Driscoll and Kraay's Spatial Correlation Consistent (SCC) method, and Generalized Least Squares, covering data from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries between 1990 and 2017. The results show that economic complexity has a negative effect on energy efficiency but a positive impact on renewable energy. However, economic growth positively affects energy efficiency but negatively influences renewable energy. These results imply that economic complexity is energy-intensive but green, whereas economic growth is energy-saving but brown. The comparative analysis reveals that the negative effects of economic complexity and growth are larger than their positive effects, highlighting the necessity of restructuring economic activities and sectors. Accordingly, decision-makers should encourage the utilization of more energy-efficient technologies in economic activities and production, while promoting renewable energy consumption to enhance energy security in the MENA region.

Demographic change, secular stagnation, and inequality: automation as a blessing?

Abstract We study whether the increased adoption of available automation technologies allows economies to avoid the negative effect of aging on per capita output. We develop a quantitative theory in which firms choose to which extent they automate in response to a declining workforce and rising old-age dependency. An important element in our model is the integration of two capital types: automation capital that acts as a substitute to human labor, and traditional capital that is a complement to labor. Empirically, our model's predictions largely match data regarding automation (robotization) density across OECD countries. Simulating the model, we find that aging-induced automation only partially compensates the negative growth effect of aging in the absence of technical progress in automation technology. One reason is that automated tasks are no perfect substitutes for non-automated tasks. A second reason is that automation raises the interest rate and thus inhibits positive behavioral reactions to aging (later retirement and investment in human capital). Moreover, increased automation generates a falling net labor share of income and rising welfare inequality. We evaluate alternative policy responses to cope with this inequality.

Financial inclusion in Morocco: the impact of financial development, financial innovation and economic growth

The relationship between financial inclusion, social development, particularly poverty reduction, financial innovation and economic growth has been endorsed by a number of studies. Indeed, the development policies pursued by countries such as Morocco often define financial inclusion, growth, financial development, financial innovation, monetary policy and investment as fields of action for economic and social development. The aim of this study is to assess this choice by examining the short- and long-term relationship between financial inclusion, financial development, financial innovation, growth, inflation and the interest rate. Using the ARDL (AutoRegressive Distributed Lag) model and the Granger causality test, the results show the positive short- and long-term effect of financial development and financial innovation on financial inclusion, and the positive short- and negative long-term effect of economic growth on financial inclusion. The inflation and the interest rate that represents monetary policy influence financial inclusion in the short and long term positively and negatively respectively. In terms of causality, the granger test shows that economic growth has an effect on inclusion in only one direction and that financial inclusion has an effect on financial development in only one direction. On the other hand, innovation, inflation and the interest rate have a bidirectional relationship with financial inclusion.

The role of environmental innovation on ecological footprint in nations with high technology exports concentrations in international trade

This study focuses on four major high-technology exporting countries––the USA, Germany, France, and China––to explore the long and short-run associations among ecological footprint, environmental technology patents, high-technology exports, and economic growth. The sample covering 1988–2019 is subject to a set of structural breaks, including 2009 Global Recession in addition to uncertainty in the order of integration captured by unit root tests, which provide basis for novel Fourier ARDL and Fourier Toda-Yamamoto causality methods. The Fourier ARDL findings reveal the importance of environmental technology innovations in dampening the level of ecological footprints and promoting a more sustainable environment in the USA, Germany, and France, whereas more high-technology exports in international trade worsen the ecological footprints in these countries in addition to the negative effects of economic growth in all countries including China. In contrast, high-technology exports appear to mitigate ecological footprint in China, however, eco-friendly technologies fail to reduce ecological footprints as in other analysed nations. The causality tests indicate bidirectional and unidirectional causal relationships among variables with the exception of China where the neutrality hypothesis holds between economic growth and ecological patents and also high-technology exports and ecological patents. These findings provide important insights in achieving sustainable development.

Long-run economic growth despite population decline

When economic growth is driven by the discovery of new ideas and physical labor is the input in ideas production, population decline inevitably leads to the stagnation of living standards. Here, I reconsider the problem of declining population when ideas are produced by an educated workforce and show that steady positive growth of ideas and income is a plausible outcome. The reason is that the accumulation of human capital offsets the negative effects of population growth. In a general equilibrium model with diminishing returns to education, I show that households generate the constant education effort needed to sustain high economic growth.

Intersecting Dynamics: The Influence of Macroeconomic Factors and Financial Development on Interest Rate Spreads in Uganda

The study investigates the factors influencing interest rate spreads in Uganda's banking sector, focusing on inflation, GDP, Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), private sector credit, and financial development. Using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model on data from 2001 to 2022, it examines short and long-term dynamics between these variables and interest rate spreads, within the liquidity preference theory framework. In the short run, inflation and GDP have marginally significant positive impacts on interest rate spreads, indicating that initial increases may widen spreads due to heightened liquidity demand and economic activity. Conversely, in the long run, these factors exhibit significant negative effects, suggesting a stabilizing influence of monetary policy and increased market efficiency. The REER's short-term impact reflects currency value fluctuations affecting risk premium adjustments, which diminish in the long run as markets adapt. The study also explores the interaction between inflation and financial development, represented by private sector credit, on interest rate spreads. Short-term results show a non-significant negative moderation by financial development, while long-term analysis suggests a potential amplification of inflation's effects as the financial sector matures, requiring nuanced financial development policies. Policy recommendations stress the importance of stabilizing inflation and exchange rates to control interest rate spreads in the short term. Long-term strategies include enhancing banking sector efficiency and promoting competitive practices to mitigate the negative effects of economic growth on interest rate spreads.

Winter and spring frost events delay leaf-out, hamper growth and increase mortality in European beech seedlings, with weaker effects of subsequent frosts.

The persistence of plant populations depends crucially on successful regeneration. Yet, little is known about the effects of consecutive winter and spring frost events on the regeneration stage of trees from different seed sources, although this will partly determine the success of climate warming-driven poleward range shifts. In a common garden experiment with European beech (Fagus sylvatica) seedlings from winter 2015/2016 to autumn 2017, we studied how simulated successive spring and winter frost events affect leaf-out dates, growth performance, and survival rates of 1- to 2-year-old seedlings from provenances differing in climate at origin. We further investigated the combined effects of successive frost events. The first spring frost after germination led to a mortality rate up to 75%, resulting in reduced seedling numbers but better frost tolerance of the survivors, as reflected in a weaker impact of the following winter frost event in the survivors compared to the non-acclimated control. Final plant height was most strongly reduced by the spring frost in the second year. The winter frost event delayed leaf-out by up to 40 days, leading to severe growth impairment in 2017. Our results indicate partly successful frost acclimation and/or the selection of frost-hardier individuals, because the negative growth effects of consecutive frost events did not add up after exposure to more than one event. Both mechanisms may help to increase the frost tolerance of beech offspring. Nevertheless, mortality after the first spring frost was high, and frost exposure generally caused growth reductions. Thus, achieving higher frost tolerance may not be sufficient for beech seedlings to overcome frost-induced reductions in competitive strength caused by winter frost damage and delayed leaf enfolding.

Travel for health as a type of niche tourism and economic growth: A cross‐country panel data analysis

AbstractAlthough the potential of the health tourism to support economic growth can be based on strong theoretical foundations, it is also argued that this tourism type may hinder economic growth by weakening labor productivity. On this basis, the present study aims to examine the effect of health tourism on economic growth. The study uses panel data fixed effects method with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors and dataset of 72 countries. The findings strongly supported that health tourism boosts economic growth. To be more precise, it was estimated that a one‐point increase in health tourism revenues, expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) of personal health travel exports, causes an increase of 4.9345 in GDP growth rate and 4.2558 in per capita GDP growth rate. Furthermore, the negative growth effect of health tourism through labor productivity, which is theoretically proposed and expressed as crowding‐out effect, was not supported by the findings.

Revisiting the resource curse: Does volatility matter?

AbstractCountries with abundant natural resources often possess greater wealth, yet the impact of these resources on economic growth remains unclear. This paper examines how natural‐resource abundance and its volatility impact economic growth. It questions whether natural resources themselves are a curse or if the negative growth effects are due to the volatility of natural‐resource revenues. The study also investigates how volatility of natural resources affects key economic growth channels, such as investment, human capital, and institutional quality. Using the standard panel model and panel smooth transition regression (PSTR), the paper analyzes data from 125 countries (1988–2020). Results show that natural‐resource abundance boosts economic growth, contradicting the resource‐curse theory. However, the growth impact is non‐linear and varies with natural‐resource volatility. Countries with high volatility face up to a 22 percentage point annual GDP growth loss compared with those with low volatility, suggesting that volatility and poor government responses drive the resource‐curse paradox, not the abundance of resources per se.

The effect of company growth on sustainable performance: A moderating perspective of stock mispricing in Indonesia and Japan

The adoption of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures to realize socially responsible companies continues to accelerate, becoming a trend amid global uncertainty due to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine the effect of company growth on sustainable performance, moderated by company stock mispricing in Indonesia and Japan, representing a developing and a developed country, respectively. This study uses panel data regression, namely the Common Effect Model (CEM), Fixed Effect Model (FEM), and Random Effect Model (REM), to test hypotheses. With a total of 42 observations from companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and 112 observations from companies listed on the Japan Stock Exchange (JPX) during 2019–2020, the results show that a company’s growth has a negative effect on sustainable performance in Indonesia, while in Japan it has no effect. Stock mispricing strengthens the negative effect of company growth on sustainable performance in Indonesia but has no effect in Japan. This study found that companies in Indonesia place more emphasis on internal growth than on ESG implementation compared to companies in Japan. The implication of this study is that the implementation of ESG shows different dynamics when comparing two countries. Indonesia needs to evaluate the regulations governing socially responsible businesses in order to encourage further improvement of ESG performance. Meanwhile, in Japan, ESG practices have been running voluntarily, so enforcement from regulators is relatively less necessary.

Moderating roles of technological innovation and economic complexity in financial development-environmental quality nexus of the BRICS economies

The aspects of globalization are certainly not without economic-related opportunities especially in the developing countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS). By employing the cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag among other empirical approaches over the period 1995–2017, the following critical results are presented by the investigation. Economic complexity, technological innovation, and financial development all yield desirable outlook toward carbon emission mitigation in the countries while economic growth further shows short- and long-run detrimental effect on environmental quality. Moreover, the combined effect of financial development and economic complexity has no significant effect on carbon emission in the short- and long-run while also neutralizing the direct environmental effect of financial development. Additionally, technological innovation moderate financial development to further mitigate carbon emission, thus justifying the direct and indirect environmental effects of technological innovation. Meanwhile, negative environmental effect of economic growth remained unabated in the entire scenario. This result emphasizes the role of environmental-related technologies transfer in improving the bloc's environmental sustainability.

Effect of vermicompost on rhizobiome and the growth of wheat on Martian regolith simulant

As humanity embarks on the journey to establish permanent colonies on Mars, ensuring a reliable source of sustenance will be crucial. Therefore, detailed studies regarding crop cultivation using Martian simulants are of great importance. This study aimed to grow wheat on substrates based on soil and Martian simulants, with the addition of vermicompost, to investigate the differences in wheat development. Basic physical and chemical properties of substrates were examined, including determination of macro- and microelements as well as their microbiological properties. Plant growth parameters were also determined. The addition of vermicompost positively affected wheat grown on soil, but the effect on plants grown on substrate with Martian simulants was negligible. Comparing the microbiological and chemical components, it was observed that plants can defend themselves against the negative effects of growth on the Martian simulants, but their success depends on having the PGPR (Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria) present, which can provide the plant with additional nitrogen. The presence of beneficial symbiotic microbiota will allow the wheat to wait out the negative growth time rather than adapt to the regolith environment.

Economic Growth Vs. Poverty in Indonesia: What has Happened?

West Java is one of Indonesia’s three biggest contributors to GDP. The rate of economic growth in the province is also the highest on the island of Java, but it does not make West Java free from poverty. The fact, this smart province is the second poorest province nationally. The purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship and influence between economic growth, inequality, and poverty in West Java province using panel data. This study also analyses the characteristics of West Java’s economic growth using the Growth Incidence Curve (GIC). The panel data consists of combination of time series and cross section data from 2013-2022 period, based on information from 27 districts in West Java province. The estimation model employed in this study is panel regression model utilizing Random Effect Model (REM). The results of the study reveal a negative and significant effect of the economic growth on poverty. Furthermore, the inequality variable has a positive and significant impact on poverty. Based on GIC, West Java’s economic growth has not been pro-poor yet from the 2012-2022 period.

Single and combined toxic effects of nCu and nSiO2 on Dunaliella salina.

There are many studies on the toxic effects of single nanoparticles on microalgae; however, many types of nanoparticles are present in the ocean, and more studies on the combined toxic effects of multiple nanoparticles on microalgae are needed. The single and combined toxic effects of nCu and nSiO2 on Dunaliella salina were investigated through changes in instantaneous fluorescence rate (Ft) and antioxidant parameters during 96-h growth inhibition tests. It was found that the toxic effect of nCu on D. salina was greater than that of nSiO2, and both showed time and were dose-dependent with the greatest growth inhibition at 96h. A total of 0.5mg/L nCu somewhat promoted the growth of microalgae, but 4.5 and 5.5mg/L nCu showed negative growth effects on microalgae. The Ft of D. salina was also inhibited by increasing concentrations of nanoparticles and exposure time. nCu suppressed the synthesis of TP and elevated the MDA content of D. salina, which indicated the lipid peroxidation of algal cells. The activities of SOD and CAT showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing with the increase of nCu concentration, suggesting that the enzyme activity first increased and then decreased. The toxic effect of a high concentration of nCu was reduced after the addition of nSiO2. SEM and EDS images showed that nSiO2 could adsorb nCu in seawater. nSiO2 also adsorbed Cu2+ in the cultures, thus reducing the toxic effect of nCu on D. salina to a certain extent. TEM image was used to observe the morphology of algal cells exposed to nCu.

Africa's resource curse: The key role of property rights

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether property rights can change the curse of natural resources into a blessing in African countries. To examine the above question, this study uses the Fraser Institute's and V-dem's index of property rights. Using data from 47 African countries over the period 2000–2020, the system GMM estimates suggest that the negative growth effects of resource rents may turn positive in countries with greater property rights. Furthermore, the quality of the judicial system as a proxy measure of property rights indicates that independence, impartiality, accountability, and the absence of corruption in judicial decisions also mitigate the negative effect of resources on growth. In addition, entrepreneurship, labor productivity, industrialization, and unemployment reduction are the main transmission channels. Strengthening property rights in Africa is therefore an effective policy to reverse the curse related to natural resources.

Legal origin and bank lending behavior in developing countries: The mediating role of revenue diversification

AbstractThis paper explores the relationship between legal origin, revenue diversification, and bank lending behavior. The analysis is based on a sample of 2590 commercial banks operating in 139 developing countries from 2004 to 2022. Using various panel data estimation techniques and alternative measures of bank lending behavior, the results indicate that banks in common law countries experience lower levels of loan growth compared to their counterparts in civil law countries. The study results also show that revenue diversification indirectly alleviates the negative effect of loan growth in banks originating from a common law legal origin. Notably, this effect is not observed in banks within low‐income and African countries, highlighting the importance of policies aimed at enhancing institutional capacity within their legal and judicial systems. Overall, the results of this study underscore the significance of legal origins in shaping the lending dynamics of banks in developing countries.