Structural Adjustment Research Articles

Where do we go from here? Reconciling implementation failure of PrEP for Black women in the South. Leveraging critical realism to identify unaddressed barriers as we move forward.

PrEP, a highly effective HIV prevention measure, provides autonomy to individuals in managing their HIV acquisition vulnerability. Despite its availability in tenofovir-based oral pills and injectable cabotegravir formulations, PrEP uptake among Black cisgender women in the U.S. South, a region with a high HIV burden, remains critically low. This demographic faces a disproportionately high rate of new HIV diagnoses, yet fewer than 10% of women in the US who could benefit from PrEP are currently receiving it. Utilizing a critical realism interpretative framework, this narrative review employed a tri-level analysis strategy to examine the empirical, actual, and real domains influencing PrEP implementation among Black women in the Southern U.S. The empirical level refers to observable events and data (e.g., PrEP uptake rates), the actual level encompasses experiences and actions that may not always be directly observed (e.g., healthcare interactions and community engagement), and the real level involves the deeper structures and mechanisms (e.g., systemic racism and cultural narratives) that shape these outcomes. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed literature from PubMed and other sources was conducted to identify barriers and facilitators to PrEP uptake in this population. The analysis revealed significant barriers, including structural violence, socioeconomic disparities, medical mistrust, stigma, and inadequate healthcare policies. Empirical data showed variability in PrEP awareness and interest among Black women, while actual experiences highlighted misaligned marketing strategies, financial constraints, and interpersonal dynamics. At the real level, underlying mechanisms such as systemic racism and cultural narratives were identified as critical impediments to PrEP uptake. Addressing these multifaceted barriers requires a comprehensive, multi-level approach that integrates personalized, community-centric strategies. Emphasizing the need for healthcare providers, community leaders, researchers, and policymakers to collaborate, the review proposes actionable strategies to enhance PrEP implementation, focusing on education, structural reforms, and policy changes to improve access and acceptability among Black women in the South.

Labor productivity growth effects of structural reforms: evidence from developing countries

Labor productivity growth effects of structural reforms: evidence from developing countries

Speed of capital structure adjustment to the target in Latin American firms

Speed of capital structure adjustment to the target in Latin American firms

Exploration of Building an Interdisciplinary Graduate Supervisor Team

With the deepening of the structural reform of the supply side of education, the quality and efficiency of higher education have become the focus of social attention. It has become imperative for higher education to adapt to social needs and to cultivate graduate students with innovative ability and interdisciplinary background. In the context of reform, the traditional model of discipline-specific tutors has disciplinary limitations and cannot meet the cultivation needs of interdisciplinary graduate students, so the construction of interdisciplinary graduate student tutor teams has become an important initiative to improve the quality of graduate student cultivation and innovation ability. In this paper, we will explore the disadvantages of the single system of postgraduate tutors in the context of the structural reform of the supply side of education, and explore the necessity of the construction of interdisciplinary postgraduate tutor teams and better strategies and methods to cultivate high-quality talents to meet the needs of the new era of a strong education country.

KONFLIK WADAS DALAM PERSPEKTIF KONFLIK SOSIAL STRUKTURALISME

This study investigates social conflict in Wadas Village from the perspective of Structuralist social conflict, focusing on interactions between the government and local communities in the context of andesite mining development plans. A qualitative approach with case studies was used to explore the dynamics of this conflict, collecting data from literature studies and involving in-depth interviews with various related parties. Research subjects include the Wadas Village community as a group directly affected and the government as the force that initiates and regulates the development process. This research reveals that these conflicts do not simply stem from individual or local disputes, but more deeply from structural inequalities in access to and control over resources and development decisions. The government, in its role as the highest structure, dominates the development process without adequately considering the interests and aspirations of local communities who are often marginalized. This creates significant tension between the bourgeois class who have greater economic and political access and the proletarian class who rely on local resources for their livelihood. The results of this research highlight the need for structural reforms in development policies that are more inclusive and equitable, as well as increasing community participation in decision making regarding natural resources. The implications of these findings can help in designing policies that are more responsive to local needs, reduce social tensions, and promote economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable development in the region.

Oil prices and exchange rates causality: New evidences from decomposed oil prices shocks and parametric in quantile analysis

In this paper, the researchers reassess the causality between oil prices and exchange rates by applying the parametric quantile analysis to decomposed oil prices shocks and exchange rates returns data of both low income, emerging and developed oil exporting countries from 1993.11 to 2021.10. Unlike the existing researches using the causality in quantile analysis, our study outcomes support the causal relationship from exchange rates to oil prices shocks at upper and lower quantiles in developed oil exporting countries; this is also true regarding the bidirectional causality observed in low income and emerging oil exporting countries .These findings imply that, important positive and negative oil shocks cause extremes changes in the exchange rate returns of low income and emerging oil exporting countries and reciprocally. However only extreme fluctuations of exchange rate returns of developed oil exporting countries such as Norway and Canada can cause oil prices variations. The results of non-causality at middle quantiles also suggest that the monetary authorities in both developing and developed oil exporting countries resist the exchange rates adjustments when oil prices fluctuations are significant. From these results we recommend sound policies in order to mitigate internal and external shocks during crisis, structural reforms that support diversification of energy production by developing other energy sources and reduce crude oil dependence, as well as the whole economy diversification mostly for developing countries and finally, multiple exchange rates to diversify portfolio and hedge the risks associated to oil prices fluctuations for investors. Keywords: Exchange Rates, Oil Prices Shocks, Quantile Causality.

The Dynamics of FPI and FDI in Indian Economy : A Correlational Study

Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) play distinct yet complementary roles in India's economic development. FPI is short-term and volatile, enhancing liquidity in financial markets, while FDI is long-term and supports sustainable growth through capital formation, technology transfer, and employment generation. Despite their individual contributions, FPI and FDI operate independently, driven by different factors. Policymakers must adopt differentiated approaches: FPI can be promoted through market stability and regulatory transparency, whereas FDI requires structural reforms and an investment-friendly environment. This paper also suggests directions for future research, focusing on sector-specific impacts, the influence of policy changes, and the role of macroeconomic conditions in shaping these investment inflows.

Exploring Systemic and Behavioral Factors Influencing Corruption in Public Procurement: A Global Comparative Study

Public procurement is particularly vulnerable to corruption due to the substantial financial transactions and discretionary powers involved. Inadequate governance structures and cultural norms often exacerbate this vulnerability. This study explores the systemic and behavioral factors contributing to corruption in public procurement through a global comparative lens, focusing on regions including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. Systemic factors, such as weak legal frameworks, lack of transparency, and institutional weaknesses, are analyzed alongside behavioral influences, such as cultural norms, individual ethical considerations, and moral disengagement. By conducting a comprehensive literature review, this study consolidates existing knowledge to pinpoint areas for improvement and emerging trends concerning procurement corruption. The research reveals that corruption in public procurement is deeply ingrained in both institutional frameworks and the cultural context in which procurement occurs. It recommends an integrated anti-corruption strategy combining structural reforms, such as bolstering regulatory oversight, with behavioral interventions to reshape cultural norms and foster ethical behavior. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and academics, emphasizing the necessity of tailored and multifaceted approaches to combat procurement corruption effectively. The study's results enrich the theoretical understanding of corruption by connecting structural and behavioral strategies, guiding policymakers and international organizations striving to promote transparency and accountability in public procurement.

A reputational perspective on structural reforms: how media reputations are related to the structural reform likelihood of public agencies

Abstract Despite recurrent observations that media reputations of agencies matter to understand their reform experiences, no studies have theorized and tested the role of sentiment. This study uses novel and advanced BERT language models to detect attributions of responsibility for positive/negative outcomes in media coverage towards 14 Flemish (Belgian) agencies between 2000 and 2015 through supervised machine learning, and connects these data to the Belgian State Administration Database on the structural reforms these agencies experienced. Our results reflect an inverted U-shaped relationship: more negative reputations increase the reform likelihood of agencies, yet up to a certain point at which the reform likelihood drops again. Variations in positive and neutral reputational signals do not impact the reform likelihood of agencies. Our study contributes to understanding the role of reputation as an antecedent of structural reforms. Complementing and enriching existing perspectives, the paper shows how the sentiment in reputational signals accumulates and informs political–administrative decision-makers to engage in structural reforms.

Prussian Blue Analogue‐Based Materials: Synthesis and Their Application in Peroxymonosulfate Activation for Wastewater Treatment

AbstractPeroxymonosulfate‐(PMS) based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are effective in degrading refractory organic pollutants in water. The unique internal chemical tunability of Prussian blue analogues (PBAs), a type of metal–organic framework materials (MOFs), makes them promising catalysts for PMS‐AOPs. However, the pristine PBA is limited in practical application due to its structural instability and easy leaching of metal ions. To this end, various methods have been developed to enhance the recycling and catalytic performance of PBAs. In this paper, the recent advances in the modification and composite strategies of PBA catalysts are systematically reviewed. PBA modification by the regulation of synthesis conditions and postsynthesis treatment, along with composite strategy involving metal and nonmetal‐based materials are introduced. The structural morphology improvement, physical and chemical property adjustment, vacancy design, and crystal surface modulation of PBAs induced by these modification and composite strategies are discussed in depth. In addition, the performance of the modified and composite catalysts to activate PMS for organic pollutant degradation is demonstrated. The radical pathway via SO4•−, •OH, and O2•−, nonradical pathway through 1O2, electron transfer process and high‐valent metal–oxo species, or a combination of radical and nonradical pathways are revealed in PMS‐AOPs with PBAs and their derivatives as catalysts.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Policy Under MBS: Transition from Defensive Realism to Offensive Realism (2016-2023)

This study seeks to elucidate the underlying factors driving Saudi Arabia’s shift from defense realism to offensive realism, focusing on MBS’s authoritarian rule and structural reforms aimed at minimizing bureaucratic hurdles in security and defense decision-making. The research examines the kingdom’s transition from conservative foreign policies to a more activist stance, illustrated by its support for Palestine and its adoption of non-conventional approaches to address emerging challenges. Adopting the John Scott document analysis model and utilizing secondary data, this study delves into the nuances of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy shift under MBS’s leadership. It examines how his leadership style, combined with Vision 2030 goals and objectives, reflects a post-ideologically motivated transition that seeks to assert power and influence in the Middle East. The research explores the potential implications of this shift on regional security, including the Yemen civil war, balance of power realignment, and Saudi Arabia’s relationships with Western partners.

The Impact of International Monetary Fund Arrangements on the Jordanian Economy: 1989-2022: An Empirical Study

Objectives: This study explores the statistical and qualitative impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrangements on key structural variables in the Jordanian economy (1989-2022), including economic growth, balance of payments, external debt, unemployment, and Jordan's foreign investment attractiveness. It addresses the central question: What is the impact of the IMF arrangements on these variables of the Jordanian economy, and what are the reasons for the success or failure of these arrangements? Methods: The study used both the descriptive quantitative statistical method and the case study method, as a test of its basic hypothesis that there are negative correlation relationships between the IMF arrangements and the variables of the Jordanian economy. Results: The study found that the IMF arrangements have a negative impact on many variables in the Jordanian economy, such as unemployment, external debt, balance of payments, and economic growth. The study also found that the arrangements have had a weak positive impact on Jordan's attractiveness to FDI. The study found that corruption in Jordan plays a major role in the continued cooperation between Jordan and the IMF, despite the failure of its arrangements to achieve their objectives for more than three decades. Conclusions: The study found that the IMF arrangements have failed to achieve most of their economic targets with Jordan, and, therefore, there is no justification for continuing with more arrangements and programs of structural and economic reform without seriously reconsidering the various conditions that accompany them and that are demanded by the IMF from the Jordanian side

Creating Industrial Ecosystems as a Tool for Anti-Crisis Management

In the current economic climate, the Russian industrial sector needs significant structural reform to facilitate its transition to a new, more advanced technological level. To achieve this goal, it is recommended to introduce new management tools, one of which is the establishment of industrial ecosystems.The purpose of the article is to prove that industrial ecosystems have a positive effect on the sustainable development of the Russian economy, especially during economic crises.The subject of the study includes industrial ecosystems as a crucial tool for managing economic crises. It also explores the historical context of industrial collaboration and the formation of clusters during economic downturns. This paper explores two industries that have been significantly affected by recent economic crises: pharmaceutical and automobile manufacturing. It is shown that during times of crisis, some industries develop characteristics similar to ecosystems. The authors propose a method for analysing and evaluating the performance of industrial ecosystems.The theoretical and practical significance of the study of this study lies in identifying the key factors that contribute to the development of effective industrial ecosystems. Furthermore, it aims to develop a trustworthy tool for evaluating their influence on socio-economic processes. The establishment of industrial symbioses is seen not only as a way to overcome economic crises but also as the foundation for the strategic long-term development of the Russian economy.

SPEED OF ADJUSTMENT OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE IN LISTED COMPANIES ON THE INDONESIA STOCK EXCHANGE

This study aims to analyze the speed of adjustment of capital structure in companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) by considering key variables such as SoA, Distance, Profitability (RoA), Growth, and Tangibility. SoA refers to the speed at which companies adjust to their target capital structure, and the results indicate that companies in Indonesia have not yet reached an optimal capital structure target. Distance reflects the difference between the actual and target capital structure, while profitability reflects the financial performance of the company. Growth and Tangibility refer to company growth and the level of tangible assets that can be pledged as collateral. This study involved 717 companies listed on the BEI from 2020 to 2022, with 2020 as the estimation period and 2021-2022 as the research period. The One Sample t-test with a test value of 1 and multiple linear regression analysis with classical assumption testing were employed to examine the relationship between these variables and SoA. Each variable that has been used in this study shows that the speed of adjustment of capital structure in companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange is not at the optimal target. Of the five hypotheses made, it turns out that only three hypotheses were accepted while the other two hypotheses were rejected.

The Construction of a Socialized Service Platform and System for “Internet + Agriculture” in China

The mismatch between supply and demand and inefficient supply in China’s agricultural product market is quite severe, making agricultural supply-side structural reform an important topic and task for rural economic work in China. The successful implementation of agricultural supply-side reform requires a comprehensive agricultural social service platform and system to support it. However, the current agricultural social service platform system in China faces issues such as a lack of coordination among service entities and poor information communication, making it difficult to meet the demands of supply-side reform. To address this issue, under the new circumstances of supply-side reform, this paper proposes the idea of reorganizing the agricultural social service platform and system through industrial chain collaboration theory, and applying “internet +” for technological reengineering of the agricultural social service platform system. Based on this, a new agricultural social service platform system architecture is constructed, which includes service entities, service platforms, service content, and operational models. The research findings provide guidance for agricultural product producers, distributors, sellers, and related service entities along the agricultural industry chain on how to use “internet +” for collaborative decision-making. This approach is beneficial for addressing the supply-demand imbalance and low resource allocation efficiency in China’s agricultural product market, thereby advancing the structural reform of China’s agricultural supply side.

Spatial Remodeling of Industrial Heritage from the Perspective of Urban Renewal: A Case Study of Coal Mine Site in Jiaozuo City

Resource-oriented cities are faced with the problems of the decline of traditional industries, exhaustion of resources, and wastage of space. Faced with these problems, urban renewal has become an important role and is widely used in the reuse of old and abandoned spaces. As a historical witness of the industrial revolution and urbanization process, coal mine industrial heritage not only has the value of material heritage but also carries rich historical and cultural information. However, with the adjustment of industrial structure, much coal mine industrial heritage has gradually lost its original production function and become neglected idle space in cities, and industrial buildings and equipment in these spaces have been abandoned or dismantled. The study takes the Wangfeng Mine site in Jiaozuo City, Henan Province as an example, combined with the urban development history and current situation of Jiaozuo city, it discusses the remodeling strategy of industrial heritage space from the perspective of urban renewal. Firstly, through case analysis, historical data sorting, and field research, the study integrated the historical development context of the Jiaozuo coal mine site and its impact on the urban spatial pattern, secondly, discussed the practical problems in the reuse process of industrial sites, and finally proposed specific spatial remodeling strategies based on the conjugation theory. This included determining how to deal with the three pairs of conjugated relations between protection and development, function and ecology, and history and modernity so as to make the spatial remodeling strategy of industrial sites more scientific and sustainable. To promote the sustainable and healthy development of urban industrial heritage space.

The diffusion of industrial robots in Europe: regional or country effect?

Abstract The paper investigates whether the penetration of advanced manufacturing technologies can be better explained at the regional or national level. If regional effects prevail, policy actions would focus on local investments, while if country effects make regional covariates redundant, they should be redirected to more structural reform of the national systems of innovation. In this respect, the contribution is 2-fold. First, data on acquisitions of industrial robots in the five largest European economies are rescaled at regional levels to draw a clear picture of winners and losers in the robotics race after the 2008 financial crisis. Second, we explain differential of growth rates in robot adoption with (1) traditional measures of industrial variety, (2) an unsupervised machine learning approach classifying a region’s industry profile (3) usual determinants of innovation and, thereafter test the robustness of the results when country effects are added. As the main result, we highlight a process of regional convergence in which country-fixed effects hold greater explanatory power, although related variety and the number of skilled people are statistically significant regional explanatory factors. We do not discover a specific industry mix associated with the rise of adoption, but we highlight the one associated with its decline.

(Mis)Governing World Football? Agency and (Non)Accountability in FIFA

Abstract —We identify the variables that have enabled the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to evade internal and external legal and juridical rules and processes, allowing it to prioritise the interests of its leaders and staff rather than its stakeholders. An interdisciplinary theoretical framework highlights the weaknesses of the legal systems, democratic processes, market mechanisms and regulatory regimes governing FIFA’s activities since its foundation. The historical processes transforming FIFA into a wealthy enterprise whose leaders could abuse their power with impunity are reviewed. An evaluation of the structural reforms introduced in 2016 following the exposure of FIFA corruption by US authorities in 2015 then shows how they have strengthened the internal and external rules and procedures enabling stakeholders to hold FIFA to account, whilst arguing that the reforms have not eliminated the leadership’s ability to ‘capture’ its democratic processes, exploit its monopolistic controls over lucrative contracts and evade regulatory controls.

Has Trade Liberalization Promoted Energy Efficiency in Enterprises?

Improving energy efficiency is a way for China’s economy to achieve sustainable development. Using data on listed industrial enterprises in China from 2000 to 2022, we investigate the impact of trade liberalization on the energy efficiency of Chinese firms and its mechanism of action at the micro-firm level. Our findings suggest that trade liberalization has greatly contributed to firms’ energy efficiency and the main conclusions in this paper still hold after a series of robustness tests. Further research shows that two channels that contribute to the improvement of firms’ energy efficiency are the expansion of the firm’s size and the improvement of production efficiency induced by trade liberalization. Another significant route according to which trade liberalization influences energy efficiency improvements by firms is the dynamic decomposition of industrial energy efficiency, which shows that 70.07% of industrial energy efficiency enhancement is due to structural adjustments. The heterogeneity analysis results show that the energy saving impact of trade liberalization is stronger for non-exporting, foreign-funded, growth-oriented enterprises that are based in the eastern region. Our study presents new ideas for the realization of energy conservation and emissions reduction from the perspective of trade liberalization, which is instructive in regard to the improvement of sustainable development of enterprises.

Research on the Impact of Green Credit on Corporate ESG Performance

Green credit, a policy innovation, guides enterprises to engage in environmental governance, promoting economic transformation and structural adjustment. Using Chinese A-share listed companies (2009-2019) and the 2012 Green Credit Guidelines as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper examines the policy's impact on corporate ESG performance via a continuous double-difference model. Green credit is positively associated with ESG performance, improving levels after robustness tests. It forces firms to enhance ESG performance by increasing financing constraints. Heterogeneity analysis shows a significant effect in financially developed, highly regulated, and low-marketization regions. The findings suggest improving the green credit policy system, considering regional and internal factors. They provide crucial implications for promoting green credit and sustainable development.