Poor Economic Performance Research Articles

Estimation of a censored food demand system and nutrient elasticities: a cross-sectional analysis of Sri Lanka

A nutritional transition is occurring in Sri Lanka, which steers people away from nutrient-rich diets, contributing to diet-related disease and poor economic performance. This study examines demographic impacts on consumption of major food commodities and estimates price and expenditure elasticities for major food groups and nutrients. Data from the Sri Lankan Department of Census and Statistics Household Income and Expenditure survey are used to estimate price and expenditure elasticities for food commodities and nutrients using the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS). The zero-expenditure problem is circumvented by employing a Tobit model. Results demonstrate the impact of price and income changes on dietary intake of households, and income and nutrition policy recommendations are presented.

Economic Optimization Analysis of Condensate System Operation

In view of the high power consumption of the condensate pump in a power plant, based on the historical operation data, this paper uses the field test to adjust the operation mode of the condensate system, improves the control logic of the condensate system, and optimizes the fitting curve of the pressure of the condensate main pipe and the internal pressure of the deaerator, effectively solves the problems of poor economic performance of the condensate system.

Impact of Market Concentration on Employment and Wages: a Look at the Insurance Industry

The falling share of labor in national income is a global concern. This study examined the impact of changes in market concentration ratios in the insurance industry on employment, the share of wages, sales (premiums), and annual wages. Panel data were analyzed for the period 2001 to 2012 for the life, property, and health insurance industries, available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and SNL Financial Analysis database. Using a fixed effects model, we found that higher market concentration was associated with lower employment in the industry and a lower share of wages. However, there was no statistically significant association between concentration and average annual wage. Moreover, there was evidence that market concentration is positively associated with higher total sales (premiums received by the companies). Thus, we conclude that lower employment is not driven by the poor economic performance of the industry.

Independence referendums and nationalist rhetoric: the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Using the case study of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and the 2017 independence referendum, this article examines the nexus between independence referendums, nationalism and political power. It argues that the referendum in the KRI was held due to internal political competition and growing rebellion from the population against the poor economic performance and political situation rather than because the time was right for independence referendum. Focusing on the poor political and financial dynamics, as well as the lack of regional and international support for Kurdish independence, the article argues that independence was not a realistic goal and was rather used as a distraction amid internal turmoil. The example of the referendum in the KRI poses questions about the democratic credibility of such referenda, as the population were voting for an unachievable result and the referendum itself became a tool of internal political competition.

Institutions, Macroeconomic Policies and Economic Growth in Africa: Evidence from Panel Data

This study investigates the effects of institution and macroeconomic policy on economic growth in Africa, using panel Cointegration technique to analysed data obtained from a panel of 50 African Countries covering a period of 25years (1990-2014). The results confirm that declining growth rate in Africa is due to poor management of macroeconomic policies. A weak turning point is also confirmed to exist for government size in the short run; in the long run it becomes more pronounce. The Wald restrictions tests of causality ascertain that institutions lead economic growth performance in the short run, while poor economic growth performance impaired the capacity required in building strong institutions which in turn stunts growth in the long run. Therefore, African leaders should tilt their expenditure in favour of human capital development and strong institution, ensure intra-regional trade and adopt private sector led – economic growth strategy.

Effective Management of Education for National Security and Sustainable Development in Nigeria.

The situation of Nigerian educational system and quality is becoming worrisome as her policy is more focused on the quantitative than qualitative aspect of institutional development. The Nigerian educational system has undoubtedly encountered a number of significant impediments in the last few decades and it continues to struggle with the implementation and assurance of educational and teaching quality because of lack of effective management and planning. A shortage of accurate statistical data, poor financing, lack of qualified planners, poor national economic performance, unsuitable governing structures, political interference, and general instability have all contributed to low quality education in the country. Thus, this paper sought to examine the effective management of education for national security and sustainable development in Nigeria. The study adopted secondary sources of data and a review of other scholars‟ views. The paper shall conceptualize quality education, national development, national security, factors militating against quality education in Nigeria, and seeks for ways of enhancing the quality of education in Nigeria. The study is aimed at improving the quality of education and enhancing security and sustainable development of the nation.

A remote sensing look at the economy of a Russian region (Rostov) adjacent to the Ukrainian crisis

Satellite data used in combination with a stochastic production function method reveal an inefficient formal economy in rural Rostov Oblast 2013–2015 embedded in an overall (formal and informal) relatively efficient economy with the measurement of both important to better understand non-economic impacts of sanctions. Increased military activity may have insulated the formal economy of the border area from poor economic performance and the deindustrialization that characterizes adjacent areas. The current Oblast Administration’s grant program to localities does not reward relatively efficient economic performance with a model suggested here to change the policy. The region’s economy has the ability to absorb many Ukrainian refugees though non-economic issues support the current assistance from other Russian regions in helping relocate refugees beyond Rostov region. Like other conflict zones, urban areas experience less of an impact relative to rural areas.

English

Donor funding has irreplaceable role in alleviating multilayered problems of developing countries, especially sub-Sahara Africa. Meanwhile, it is so paradoxical to see researches remarking “after half a century of channeling resources to the Third World, little development has taken place”. It is not as such difficult to note, in almost all of sub-Saharan Africa, there is a high degree of indebtedness, high unemployment, absolute poverty and poor economic performance. The average per capita income in the region has fallen since 1970 despite the high aid flows. The researcher attempted to indicate possible challenges for the occurrence of such a paradox by taking United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Ethiopia as a case for the research. The study tried to look at factors affecting donor fund allocation and utilization at UNICEF. Meanwhile, the finding might be a great input to many such organizations as there is highly similar trend and phenomena in other donor based NGOs. Key words: UNICEF, NGO, donor fund allocation and utilization, Samuel Tilahun, Ethiopia.

English

Medicinal plants play important roles in human and animals disease treatment. 1000 medicinal plant species are identified and reported in the Ethiopian Flora. They contribute and is more preferable for new drug development. Ethiopia has the potential to become an important source country, given the diversity of plants and the rich traditional knowledge regarding their use. The main sources of medicinal plants for utilizers are the wild forests. There is also cultivation practice of medicinal plants in home garden. About 80% of human and 90% of livestock population in Ethiopia depends on utilization of medicinal plants for primary health care. The knowledge transfer of medicinal plants in Ethiopia is largely oral. Most parts of medicinal plants commonly used are leaves and roots. Utilization of leaves for drug preparation is important for conservation of medicinal plants since harvesting leaves may not cause detrimental effect on the plants compared to the root or whole plant collections. Medicinal plants play a crucial role in health care needs in Ethiopia, because modern health care do not have adequate and equitable health service. Moreover, they depend on medicinal plants due to financial limitations related to rapid population growth and poor economic performance. In Ethiopia the market for essential oils of medicinal plants is very high and increasing in alarming rate. In the year 2011, 1,596.5 tons of essential oils of medicinal plants was imported and more than 30 million USD spent. Through increasing production potential and modernizing the sector of medicinal plants, they play a great role to substitute import and export. Medicinal plants have great potential to contribute to economic development and poverty alleviation in Ethiopia. Environmental degradation, deforestation, agricultural expansion over exploitation and population growth is the principal threats to medicinal plants in Ethiopia. Key words: Medicinal plants, utilization, economic role.

Comparison of techno-economic performance and environmental impacts between shale gas and coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) in China

Energy supply-demand contradiction and air pollution become thorny problems in China, great efforts have been made to develop shale gas and coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) as optimal energy suppliers. However, how to trade off and balance shale gas and SNG industries become a great concern. This paper comprehensively compares shale gas and SNG via techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment. Techno-economic analysis indicates that only a small part of shale gas projects with shallow burial depth and low drilling & completion (D&C) costs are now in the black. SNG in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia has large profit space, but other regions exhibit a poor economic performance. Furthermore, cradle-to-gate life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water consumption of shale gas are 19.1 gCO2-eq/MJ and 38.8 g/MJ, which are much lower than those of SNG, 162.2 gCO2-eq/MJ and 343.6 g/MJ. Shale gas and SNG should be parallel development currently considering strategic and environmental needs. Taking domestic demand, technical innovation, environmental control, and policy support into further consideration, shale gas will outperform SNG in the long run. China should give strong supports to shale gas, slow down the expansion speed of SNG gradually until phase out its production capacity.

Economic performance and center-periphery conflicts in party competition

The reasons pushing parties to politicize noneconomic dimensions of competition, and the consequences of this for the representation of public opinion, are badly understood in the party competition literature. This is a pressing research gap, especially given the recent and significant reactivation of territorial or center-periphery conflicts in Western Europe. In this article, we first argue that bad macroeconomic performance increases the incentives of incumbent parties to deviate the attention toward territorial conflicts in order to avoid electoral punishment. Second, we also argue that the opposite is true for public opinion: it is precisely during periods of bad economic performance and high economic concern, when the electorate moves away from territorial interests. The dynamic emerging from our findings is thus far from an ideal bottom-up representation: elites divert the attention toward territorial conflicts to mask periods of poor economic performance, which is precisely when public opinion is less interested in center-periphery issues. We validate our claims using text analysis of party attention in Spain and time series models covering four electoral cycles (1996–2011).

Economic benefits assessments of “coal-to-electricity” project in rural residents heating based on life cycle cost

In recent years, with the gradual deterioration of atmospheric environment in China, the "coal to electricity" project is being implemented by the government vigorously. Even though “coal to electricity” project has a positive impact on eliminating serious pollution and promoting clean energy, in the rural areas, the power grid enterprises have less interest in implementing this project. Aimed at this background, the present paper explored the economic benefits generated by the implementation of "coal to electricity" project of grid enterprises. The results indicate that the project carried out by grid company has poor economic performance during its life cycle, which could attributable to its large investment, irrational electricity price mechanism and the big seasonal difference between peak and valley power demand. Finally, based on the conclusion, this paper gives some specific suggestions for grid corporation to increase the economic efficiency of "coal to electricity" project, including reforming the existing irrational price mechanism, taking full advantage of distributed renewable energy and so on.

Armenia’s possible issues with respect to applying Common Customs Tariff and Prospects on the Amounts of Transferred Customs Duties upon Accession to the Eurasian Economic Union

Purpose: to identify the possible issues with respect to applying Common Customs Tariff (CCT) and prospects on the amounts of the transferred Customs Duties upon Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Design/Methodological approach: Based on the literature review, analysis of the statistical data to identify those factors that would explain the growth reported in the amounts of transferred customs duties from the authorized authorities of Member states of the EAEU and what are the possible issues related to switching to the CCT. Findings: Armenia attempted to substitute imported goods from third counties with products originating within EAEU borders during the period 2015-2017. However, the strong growth of the economy could result in an increase in imports as well, especially from third countries. Therefore, Armenian companies could somehow suffer from applying of CCT over the medium term and in the long run. Applying CCT “is not likely to create problems for Armenian commitments to the WTO” (Tarr, 2016:7-8). The pattern of the transferred customs duties over the period 2015-2017 pinpointed the vulnerability of amounts received to currency crises in other member states, thus leading to poor economic performance and decline in imports from third countries. Conclusion: There is some uncertainty on how soon the progress in integrating the EAEU markets could be made, and specialization would take place to allow Armenian companies to fully substitute the supplies of third country origin with products originating within the EAEU markets. Meanwhile, Armenian companies would either opt for new suppliers or cooperate with old suppliers from third countries at least in the medium term. If Russia is successful and reports huge progress in implementing import substitution policies, Russian imports from third countries could drastically decrease, thus entailing a decline in amounts transferred as customs duties in the long-run. The vulnerability of the economies of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia to currency crises would affect the amounts received as customs duties by Armenia. Practical Implications: The findings could be used by the Ministries of Finance, and Economic Development and Investments of Armenia in making their forecasts and building scenarios on budget revenues, economic growth, and in assisting Armenian companies to find new suppliers, especially in the EAEU member-states in the long-run.

The Hidden Costs of Mental Depression: Implications on Social Trust and Life Satisfaction

Mental health conditions such as depression is a rapidly rising epidemic and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. In addition to the direct medical costs and indirect economic costs that falls into the traditional boundary of disease burden estimation, many social costs associated with depression are hidden yet important. This paper provides empirical evidence on the existence of two hidden costs associated with depression: negative impact on social trust and life satisfaction. Based on the data obtained from 2012 China Family Panel Studies, our estimated results indicate that individuals who have a high tendency for depression or depressive symptoms are less likely to trust other people, and they also have significantly lower life satisfaction than their counterparts who are relatively mentally healthy. Given that trust is an important component of social capital, which in turn is an important input to foster economic growth in general and innovation in particular, the reduction in trust induced by the increasing prevalence of depression imposes a significant cost to the society in terms of poor economic performance. Similarly, as life satisfaction has been widely recognized as an important measure of well‐being, our study also highlights that the increase in the prevalence of depression leads to a reduction in the well‐being that individual can enjoy. All these costs are real, but did not receive sufficient attention in the previous research. The contribution of our research is to shed light on the existence of these hidden costs and to quantify the magnitude of such costs in the context of China.

Availability of adequately iodized salt at household level in Dessie and Combolcha Towns, South Wollo, Ethiopia

BackgroundIodine deficiency disorder is the leading cause of mental retardation and poor economic performance in developing countries. Worldwide, universal salt iodization has been implemented to eliminate iodine deficiency. However, the adequacy of iodine in salts needs close monitoring to meet its intended goal and this study was aimed at investigating the adequacy of iodine in dietary salt at household level in Dessie and Combolcha Towns.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was employed at household level in Dessie and Combolcha towns from January to February, 2017. Data were collected from 753 households using systematic sampling technique. The adequacy of iodine in salt was analyzed using rapid testing kit. Socio-demographic and economic, dietary sources, labeling, packaging, storage and cooking methods of household’s characteristics were collected via questionnaire developed using open data kit tool and STATA version 12 was used for further statistical analysis. Ordinal Logistic regression was performed to assess associations between explanatory variables and the response variable.ResultsNearly one-thrid (31.2%) of the households used inadequate iodized salt, which was below the World Health Organization recommendation level (≥15 ppm at the household level). Most of the respondents from Combolcha town (64.6%) were affected by inadequate use of iodized salt as compared to Dessie Town residents (22.2%). Being Dessie resident (OR = 2.53; 95% CI: 1.31–4.90), households with better socioeconomic status (OR = 2.54; 95% CI:1.10–5.87), site of labeling and packing (salt from open market (OR = 0.10; 95% CI: 0.04–0.23) and no exposure to sunlight (OR = 2.54; 95% CI:1.31–4.91) were the predictors of adequacy of iodized salt at household level.ConclusionsAvailability of adequately iodized salt at the household level in the study area was low. There should be regular quality control and regulatory enforcement of salt iodization at production, labeling and packaging sites of small scale industries and at household level.

Latin America’s Decentred Economic Regionalism: From the FTAA to the Pacific Alliance

Abstract In this article, I examine Latin American regionalism from the collapse of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) to the emergence and development of the Pacific Alliance (PA) in the period 2005 to 2015. For most of the research, I use the main economic blocs in the region, Mercosur as well as the PA, as the units of analysis. The main findings are that since the FTAA’s collapse, integration processes have become more heterogeneous; that Mercosur and the PA contrast with one another in political-economic terms; that the Brazilian project of establishing a post-liberal/post-hegemonic regionalism in South America has not succeeded; and that regional demand for Brazilian products is at risk of shifting to other markets in the medium to long term, thus further undermining its aspirations towards regional leadership. All of this is evidence of a decentred economic regionalism – that is, a form of regionalism in which no single state is in central command, or has enough followers to assume leadership and establish a dominant conception of integration and regional cooperation. Other factors contributing to this decentralisation are the poor economic performance of Brazil and Mexico, and the US government’s changed attitude towards trade relations with Latin America. Despite this, I argue that Latin American countries do need to strengthen cooperation within and among these regional blocs, aimed at promoting their joint global competitiveness. This will require cooperation rather than coercion, and networks and connectivity rather than hierarchies.

Elite city-deals for economic growth? Problematizing the complexities of devolution, city-region building, and the (re)positioning of civil society

ABSTRACTThe concept of localism and spatial delineation of the ‘city region’ have seen a renaissance as the de facto spatial political units of governance for economic development. One articulation of this has seen the creation of Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) to potentially enhance Wales’s poor economic performance and secure democratic forms of social cohesion. City regions have been vaunted as the ‘spatial imaginary’ for engendering economic development, but there are considerable state spatial restructuring tensions. The paper discusses these by following the development of city-regionalism in Wales and specifically the unfolding of the ‘elite-led’ CCR City-Deal.

The Economic Reality of Underutilised Crops for Climate Resilience, Food Security and Nutrition: Assessing Finger Millet Productivity in India

In spite of the considerable potential contribution of neglected and underutilised crops to climate resilience, food security and nutrition; widespread adoption of these crops remains a challenge. Uptake is inhibited by poor economic performance due to low yields, compounded further by various social factors. Using farm survey data and aggregated time-series data from four states in southern India, this study examines factors influencing productivity in finger millet cultivation. A farm-level yield gap analysis is complemented by an analysis of total factor productivity (TFP) growth between 1999 and 2014 to better understand the role of research and innovation. Results suggest that there is considerable potential for improved growing practices to achieve better yields, but also education levels and technical support emerge as crucial factors for boosting finger millet productivity. The TFP analysis indicates a moderate level of growth, with a high variability and conflicting trends between states, suggesting a need to invest more in research and development, extension and infrastructure. Sustained productivity gains will require research efforts that respond to the needs expressed by farmers and that finger millet forms part of an overall strategy for sustainable intensification.

Democratic skepticism and support for terrorism in the Palestinian Territories

Research has found that, among other factors, skepticism about democracy and its suitability as a form of government helps to drive public support for violent extremism in the Muslim World. According to scholars, Muslim skeptics of democracy resent it as the product of Western political and cultural intrusion and reflexively support violent extremism as an expression of cultural resistance. Using public opinion data on support for various forms of terrorism among survey respondents in the Palestinian Territories, I find evidence for a more complex explanation. Respondents that support terrorism are indeed more likely to be skeptical of democracy because they regard it to be incompatible with Islam. However, terrorism supporters also reject democratic rule because they associate it with poor economic performance. The results suggest that democratic skepticism is associated with support for terrorism in Muslim societies, but point to both religious-cultural and socioeconomic factors as important components of the relationship.

Systematic assessment of triticale‐based biorefinery strategies: sustainability assessment using multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM)

AbstractTriticale – a hybrid of rye and wheat – is a man‐made crop that has the potential to be a preferred feedstock for the biorefinery in Canada because of its ability to grow on marginal land, its high yields, and its non‐competition with food‐based crops. However, it is challenging to identify sustainable investment options among the many possible triticale‐based biorefinery pathways. Several product‐process combinations for the production of polylactic acid (PLA) were defined in this study, each involving different degrees of technology and market risk. The different biorefinery configurations had conflicting rankings considering different criteria, making a trade‐off analysis essential to assess the most sustainable biorefinery strategies. Economic, competitive, and environmental dimensions of the biorefinery alternatives were thus evaluated in a multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) panel, so that the triticale‐based biorefinery strategies could be ranked using a sustainability perspective.In this study, a set of ten criteria determined as the most important through previously‐conducted MCDMs were presented to a decision‐making panel. They determined that for PLA production, maximizing electricity production through a straw‐dedicated CHP unit was the least sustainable investment option, due to poor economic and competitiveness performance associated with its capital‐intensiveness and its failure to include a value‐added product portfolio. Therefore, this investment option was screened out from the list of strategies to be further analyzed. On the other hand, options featuring higher technology risk including energy‐efficient separation processes (ultra‐filtration) and integrated fermentation processes (SSCF) attained significantly better sustainability scores due mainly to their low energy and raw materials consumption values. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd