Productivity Gap Research Articles

Assessment of Potential, Opportunities, Challenges, and Gaps of Fodder for Sustainable Livestock Production in Bardhere District, Somalia.

Fodder refers particularly to feed of a vegetative nature given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), for Sustainable farm animal raising of sufficient quantities and quality of forages and fodder, rather than that which they forage for themselves. It includes hay, straw and silage. Therefore, the purpose of this review paper was to explore the potential, opportunities, challenges and gaps in fodder production in arid and semiarid regions at the Bardhere district of Gedo, Somalia. For describing the evaluation of potential, opportunities, challenges and gaps in fodder production, descriptive survey designs were used. The information was gathered between November 2022 and June 2023. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The total number of respondents was 80 across various fields (livestock farmers and forage producers in bardhere district). The data was arranged and analysed by using SPSS. The researchers met all of their study objectives and came up with a beneficial: The researchers met all of their study objectives and came up with a beneficial conclusion. The majority of the respondent 65% answer 18 and 45 between ages. The majority of the respondents (81.25%) were male, while only 18.75% percent were female, according to the study. The researcher discovered that 63.75% percent of the respondents were married, while 6.25% were widow and divorced. However, 18.75% of the respondents were single, and 11.25% were just window. According to the educational background, 33.75%were illiterates, 30% were primary school, 30%had secondary education and 16.25% had of university. The bulk of the respondents were farmers, with 57.75%being farmers, 21.25 percent being livestock keepers, 11.25% being fodder traders and 10% prevented then others specific tread according to the study. The majority of respondents main challenge of fodder production answered 50.5% disagree. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that forage should be promoted into the sustainable livestock production and the environment, particularly in the country’s arid and semiarid regions.

Allocative Efficiency, Plant Dynamics and Regional Productivity: Evidence from Germany

The productivity gap between East and West Germany is a long ongoing discussion among the public and policy makers. Regional disparities still appear to be substantial. In this paper, we shed light on the role of allocative efficiency as a region’s driver of productivity disparities. We show that over 50 percent of the East-West productivity gap is associated with a less efficient labor allocation in former East Germany. Controlling for the heterogeneity among German federal states, we perform spatial regression on official firm-level data (AFiD), revealing that the regional differences in allocative efficiency are significantly associated with trade openness, competitive intensity, economies of scale and labor mobility.

Hybrid ARIMA-IIS Approach for Wheat Yield Forecasting: An Integrated Approach

This study explores the application of a hybrid approach, combining the Impulse Indicator Saturation (IIS) method with an ARIMA(x) model, to forecast wheat yield. The IIS method is employed to find potential impulse responses, which are then integrated into the ARIMA(x) framework. The IIS method captures the potential joint effects of the weather, climate and other inputs on the data generating process of the wheat yield time series. The performance of the hybrid ARIMA(x) model is compared with that of the standalone ARIMA model using various error metrics, including Mean Squared Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD). Additionally, model selection criteria such as the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Schwarz Bayesian Information Criterion (SBIC), and Hannan-Quinn Criterion (HQ) are used to identify the optimal model for forecasting. The training data of wheat yield from 1948-2018 was used to fit both the ARIMA and ARIMA(x) models, while the remaining observations until 2023 are used for model validation. The results of the study reveal that the hybrid ARIMA(x) model exhibits superior forecasting ability, demonstrating lower error metrics compared to the standalone ARIMA model. Notably, the ex-ante forecasts for the 2023-24 period predict a wheat production of 29.916 million tons using the ARIMA(x) model and 29.656 million tons using the ARIMA (2,1,2) model. These findings underscore the efficacy of the hybrid approach in enhancing production forecasting accuracy, thereby serving as a valuable basis for early warning systems to address potential demand and supply gaps in wheat production.

Boosting propane dehydrogenation performance over the highly dispersed Co(Ⅱ) sites on ultra-high silica ZSM-5 zeolite

Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) has emerged as an effective way to address the problem of propylene production gap in recent years. However, industrial catalysts are challenged by the scarcity of Pt and toxicity of CrOx. Herein, a series of Co-based catalysts supported on MFI type zeolites with various Si/Al ratios were synthesized by regulating the acid sites to alleviate side reactions. The catalyst Co/ZSM-5-1500 exhibits the superior PDH performance due to the highest proportion of Co(Ⅱ) active sites. The initial C3H6 formation rate is 6.5 mmol g−1cat h−1, along with good long-term stability across three cycles. The Brønsted acid sites over ZSM-5-40 are prone to catalyzing side reactions of cracking and coke deposition to decrease propylene selectivity and stability. This work demonstrates that Co species supported on high silica ZSM-5 zeolite via impregnation method is favorable to generate the highly dispersed Co(Ⅱ) species on the surface of zeolites, and the Co(Ⅱ) species are responsible for excellent PDH performance.

Gender and Age Wage–Productivity Gaps in Intangible and Non-Intangible Work Occupations

Gender and Age Wage–Productivity Gaps in Intangible and Non-Intangible Work Occupations

Evaluation of frontline demonstration of new technology on chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Dang district of Gujarat

In majority of the area of Dang district of Gujarat, chickpea is grown under rainfed condition with neither improved varieties nor with recommended practices. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari Agricultural University, Dang has organized 323 numbers of FLDs. This programme is with the objective to demonstrate the improved variety of chickpea (GG 5) for production potential. The demonstrated variety GG 5 performed better in all years compare to farmer’s variety (2018-19 to 2020-21). In the FLDs, the results revealed that seed yield (1102 kg/ha) of improved technology was higher as compared to farmers’ practice (825 kg/ha). Higher gross returns, net returns and benefit cost ratio were also recorded in FLDs plots as compared to farmer’s practice. The average technology gap, extension gap and technology index were calculated as 1398 kg/ha, 227 kg/ha and 55.93 per cent, respectively. Every year, extension gap was lower than technology gap indicating the need to educate farmers in adoption of improved technologies. Thus, it is suggested that location-specific approaches would be needed to bridge the productivity gap of chickpea crop in the region.

Understanding the gender gap in productivity in agricultural production among smallholder cereal growers in rural Ghana

Understanding the gender gap in productivity in agricultural production among smallholder cereal growers in rural Ghana

Why Do Real Wages Stagnate in Japan and Korea?

Abstract This study investigates the reasons behind the slowdown in real wages for Japan and Korea based on the aggregate and industry-level data for the respective countries. The findings suggest the following. First, both at the aggregate and industry level, there is a significant slowdown in both countries in the post-1995 period regarding labor productivity, which explains the overall slowdown in real wages. Second, the main reason for the gap between the growths in real wages and labor productivity is found to be the changes in the labor's terms of trade, which is defined as the consumer price index to GDP deflator ratio. Thus, the wage–labor productivity gap is not systematically connected to changes in labor income shares. Finally, the fall in the labor's terms of trade may be potentially related to an emphasis on exports and strong technological upgrading toward higher productivity growth products in both countries’ economic development.

Determinants of Management Practices among Manufacturing Firms in Pakistan

A strong case for looking at management quality as a source of productivity has been assembled in recent years by studies showing that variations in management quality account for a big part of the productivity gap across firms and countries. In this paper, we investigate the determinants of management quality among Pakistani manufacturing firms, using a new World Bank Enterprise Survey that provides firm-level information on the use of modern management practices. Our findings suggest that the adoption of good management practices is influenced by such characteristics as firm size, product market competition, ownership type, and the information available to staff and managers. We also find that such considerations are more relevant for medium and large firms than for small firms. Finally, we find that the link between management practices and productivity is not uniform and varies from practice to practice.

THE COST OF TRADE DISRUPTIONS AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

AbstractWe study trade disruptions at different stages of development in a two‐country, three‐sector model of Spain and United Kingdom from 1850 to 2000. The impact of trade disruptions depends on trade openness and the productivity gap between countries. A trade collapse today (more openness, less gap) comparable to the Inter‐War Trade Collapse (IWTC) decreases the capital stock threefold (12% instead of 4%) and lifetime consumption fourfold (1.58% instead of 0.37%). Capital accumulation amplifies the cost of trade disruptions. The IWTC promoted Spanish industrialization, while the opposite would be true today.

The chasing dragon: to what extent and how does China catch up with USA under global value chains?

ABSTRACT An indisputable fact in Global Value Chains (GVCs) is the rapid catching-up of China with U.S.A.; however, the convergence speed and depth have yet remained to be explored. On the one hand, the heterogeneity of different business functional activities, i.e. management, R&D, marketing and fabrication, is barely discussed. On the other hand, the international income transfers further complicate catching-up issue, since wedge between value-added and national income exists. Taking account of both them in a global multi-country input-output setting enables us to better understand the speed and depth of catching-up for China vis-à-vis U.S.A. China has made progress on narrowing the gap, albeit slowing down in the mid-2010s, but far from complete. This convergence speed is unevenly proceeded across business functions/industries. Similar catching-up finding holds for our new national income approach, but to a lesser extent. GVC participation scale enlarging and productivity improvement jointly lead to this catching-up, wherein scale contributes more than does productivity. We also find that the scale role is quite heterogeneous across business functions and industries. Despite catching-up in productivity at all levels, but starting from an extremely low level, a major lagging productivity gap remains. Also, the increasingly important role of productivity is observed.

Female managers and firm performance: Evidence from the non-agricultural sectors in caribbean countries

This paper investigates whether female-led firms in the Caribbean region are less productive than their male-led counterparts. Whereas previous literature focused on female ownership as a measure of female entrepreneurship overlooking the limited involvement of female owners in the decision-making process, we focus on the gender of the top manager to re-examine the existence of a productivity gap in developing countries, for which evidence is still scarce. Using survey data with gender-related information for firms in non-agricultural private sectors, we apply regression analysis and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. We find that female-managed firms in the services sector are on average around 18 per cent less productive than male-managed firms. The main results underscore the role of business constraints in explaining heterogeneous productivity gaps, indicating that female-managed firms encounter greater constraints than their male-managed counterparts. We find that poor access to finance, improper political environment and limited access to electricity mostly affect firms led by women.

Assessing the potential of ICT to increase land and labour productivity in agriculture: Global and regional perspectives

AbstractIncreasing agricultural productivity in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) is an important channel for reducing poverty and food insecurity. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to boost agricultural productivity by lowering transaction costs and enhancing access to information. Even though there are several micro‐level studies analysing the effects of ICT on agricultural productivity, there is scant research addressing the role of ICT in agricultural productivity at the global and regional levels. Using data from 86 countries for the period 2000 to 2019 and utilising a fixed effect panel regression with a feasible generalised least square approach, we find that globally there is a positive and significant association between ICT uptake and both land and labour productivity in agriculture. In each case, however, the magnitude of the effect is much smaller than other important determinants, such as human capital, access to inputs or environmental factors. At the regional level, the relationship between ICT uptake and land productivity is not significant in Africa and Asia, while we find a significant effect on labour productivity. This finding indicates that while ICT can provide valuable information and tools for land management, the effect on land productivity might be less immediate in these regions. Finally, we revisit the question of whether ICT expansion increases agricultural productivity gaps between high‐income nations and LMICs. In contrast to previous research, this study does not find significant differences in the effects of ICT on land and labour productivity between higher‐income and lower‐income countries.

Analyzing gender gap in agricultural productivity: Evidence from Ethiopia

Women make up more than 50% of the agricultural labor force but contribute less than 30% to agricultural productivity. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in Ethiopia but by contributes more than 35% to GDP, 90% to forex earnings, and 70% to employment sources. So Improving economic well-being ensuring sustainable development, and reducing poverty is impossible by ignoring the role of women. Consequently, the main objective of the study is to investigate the gender gap in agricultural productivity using national Panel data of 3474 households which were collected in 2017 and 2019 by the Policy Studies Institute for AGP II baseline study and midline evaluation. Among these, 69% (2404) were male-headed and 31% (1070) were female-headed households. The panel data were combined with DID, Oaxaca Decomposition, and the Random effect Tobit model to investigate the gender gap. The result from the DID Method of Impact Evaluation shows that female-headed households were less productive by 3.7% and 2.05 quintals per hectare when measured in terms of value in birr and quintals per hectare compared to male-headed households. In contrast, male-headed households were more productive by 4% and 2.05 quintals compared to female-headed households. Additionally, the results from the pooled and random effect Tobit model showed that soil fertility, sex of the household head, slope of the land, total livestock holding in TLU, extension contact, use of inorganic fertilizer, credit use, machinery use, and plantation method are among the determinants of the gender gap in agricultural productivity. Furthermore, results from the Oaxaca decomposition show that a gender productivity difference between male and female-headed households was roughly 11.2% when measured by value and 5% when measured by an area-weighted formula. The main finding of the study is that endowment effects were less likely to have a significant impact on the productivity gap than structural effects did. Differences in the unexplained characteristics of men and women may also contribute to the considerable productivity gap between male-headed and female-headed households. Therefore, working on women's empowerment to improve their structural disadvantages through various training programs that favor women or gender-mainstreamed extension training programs for lowering gender productivity differentials is a possible policy option.

Advances in Studies on Psychological Symptoms in Patients Surviving Covid-19: A Bibliometric Analysis

Backgrounds: Currently, more than 700 million people who have acquired the COVID-19 may develop the Post COVID Condition, especially women and people with a history of mental illness, who after the acute phase of the disease will experience physical and psychological symptoms which significantly affect their quality of life. The main objective of this study was to analyze and describe the trends of published research on psychological symptoms in survivors of COVID-19 from 2019 to 2023. Method: A bibliographic search was carried out using the Scopus database, where 370 original articles published up to February 9, 2023, were identified, analyzing characteristics such as the country with the highest production, the institution with the highest number of publications, scientific journals and works with the highest number of citations and impact. Results: The leading country in the number of publications was the United States with 83 articles (22.43%). The institution with the highest production was Rey Juan Carlos University. The journal with the highest number of articles published was the International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health from Switzerland, the total number of citations for all publications was 7,525, of which 10 papers had more than 100 citations. Conclusions: An analysis of the scientific production on psychological symptoms in patients surviving COVID-19 was carried out, finding a total of 370 published articles evidencing trends and gaps in scientific production in this field. Limitations: The continuous increase in publications and the change in statistics represent a limitation for the present study because the number of publications continues to increase daily.
 
 Received: 7 September 2023 / Accepted: 24 December 2023 / Published: 5 January 2024

Yield and Production Gaps in Wheat in Parsabad Moghan, northwest of Iran

Yield and Production Gaps in Wheat in Parsabad Moghan, northwest of Iran

TENTATIVA DE SUICÍDIO EM MULHERES PRIVADAS DE LIBERDADE EM UNIDADE PRISIONAL

ABSTRACT Objective: to describe the occurrences and factors associated with attempted suicide among women deprived of their freedom in a prison unit. Method: a cross-sectional study conducted at a detention facility in Paraná - Brazil, with 30 women, with data collected in 2022 using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale instrument and another one prepared by the authors and analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Results: during their lifetime, 16 (53.3%) women presented suicidal behavior; 14 (46.7%) made actual suicide attempts; 14 (46.7%) had physical damage; and 10 (33.3%) preparatory acts. An actual suicide attempt was associated with suicidal thoughts before arrest (p<0.01) and with thoughts during arrest (p<0.02). Conclusion: previous history of ideation influenced the suicide attempt. Therefore, it is important to evaluate suicidal behavior in the admission and permanence of women deprived of their freedom. This study contributes to reducing the gap in the Brazilian scientific production on this topic with this population segment.

Closing the Productivity Gap with the Us: Causes and Consequences of the Productivity Program in Western Europe

Closing the Productivity Gap with the Us: Causes and Consequences of the Productivity Program in Western Europe

Socio-Economic and Educational Challenges to Improve Potential Productivity of Youth in Albania

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the factors contributing to a significant productivity gap among children born in Albania. Some international reports show that a child born in Albania will achieve only about 63% of his potential productivity in his lifetime. The child will lose about 37% of the productivity they could have if they could live a healthy life and benefit from high-quality and relevant education that would equip them with the skills that will be needed in the work environment. Additionally, high unemployment rates, low skills, and socio-economic disparities further add the challenges faced by Albanian youth. This paper calls for a multi-dimensional approach, emphasizing healthcare, education reform, and socio-economic support, to unlock the untapped potential of Albania’s young generation.

Determinants of Uganda’s Debt Sustainability: The Public Debt Dynamics Model in Perspective

To investigate Uganda's debt sustainability determinants. The fundamental framework for this study is the public debt dynamics model, which looks at connections between changes in public debt and important macroeconomic factors such as real GDP, primary balance, currency rate, real interest rate, and trade openness. While acknowledging the significance of the primary variables identified by Mupunga and Le Roux, our empirical analysis of a country's debt dynamics extends beyond these factors. Additional considerations include the incorporation of controls such as the production gap and the non-interest current account balance. Tailored to Uganda's economic context, our comprehensive empirical model aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the diverse determinants influencing debt dynamics in the region. The major conclusions indicate that the Primary Balance, Real Interest Rate, and Real Effective Exchange Rate all positively and significantly affect the debt ratio, suggesting that fiscal surplus, low-interest rates, and currency appreciation are favorable to debt reduction and sustainability. The paper also finds that the debt ratio is negatively and significantly influenced by the Current Account Balance, indicating that trade surplus is beneficial for debt management. The paper further finds that the debt ratio is not significantly influenced by GDP growth, suggesting that economic growth may not have a strong effect on debt dynamics in Uganda. Given the significant impact of the "Primary Balance" on the "Debt-to-GDP ratio in the long run, policymakers should prioritize maintaining a fiscal surplus and prudent fiscal management. Implementing measures to enhance revenue generation, control government expenditures, and reduce budget deficits can contribute to reducing the debt burden and ensuring long-term debt sustainability. To keep the debt-to-GDP ratio in good shape, fiscal policies and long-term restraint are crucial.