Regional Footprint Research Articles

Governance of global value chains after the Covid-19 pandemic: A new wave of regionalization?

The disruption of the trade and investment activities of multinational enterprises as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the debate on the configuration of global value chains (GVCs) as well as the risks and challenges associated with offshoring. This article depicts how the pandemic might affect GVC configuration by driving a trend toward a more regional footprint in industries in which resilience and reliability are critical. Such a shift would create new opportunities for reshoring, and affect both the types of upgrading trajectories and the governance systems in value chains. The article also draws from the intersection of the global-strategy and value-chain fields to propose potential topics and avenues for further research related to these trends. JEL Classification: M16, M21, M14

Shelf-derived mass-transport deposits: origin and significance in the stratigraphic development of trench-slope basins

ABSTRACT Continental shelves generally supply large-scale mass-wasting events. Yet, the origin and significance of shelf-derived mass-transport deposits (MTDs) for the tectonostratigraphic evolution of subduction complexes and their trench-slope basins have not been extensively studied. Here, we present high-resolution, outcrop-scale insights on both the nature of the reworked sediments, and their mechanisms of development and emplacement along tectonically active margins, by examining the Middle Miocene shelf-derived MTDs outcropping in the exhumed southern portion of the Hikurangi subduction margin. Results show that periods of repeated tectonic activity (thrust propagation, uplift) in such compressional settings not only affect and control the development of shelfal environments but also drive the recurrent generation and destruction of oversteepened slopes, which in turn, favour the destabilisation and collapses of the shelves and their substratum. Here, these events produced both large-scale, shelf-derived sediment mass-failures and local debris flows, which eventually broke down into a series of coalescing, erosive, genetically linked surging flows downslope. The associated MTDs have a regional footprint, being deposited across several trench-slope basins. Recognition of tectonic activity as another causal mechanism for large-scale shelf failure (in addition to sea-level changes, high-sedimentation fluxes) has implications for both stratigraphic predictions and understanding the tectonostratigraphic evolution of deep-marine fold-and-thrust belts.

Spatial effect of innovation efficiency on ecological footprint: City-level empirical evidence from China

Abstract Improving the level of innovation is a driving force for the sustainable development of urban economy, ecology and society. Improved data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used herein to investigate 280 cities in China and measure their innovation efficiency during 2012–2018, and a spatial measurement model is applied to analyse the impact of innovation efficiency on ecological footprint. In addition, this paper further discusses the impact of innovation efficiency on ecological footprint of different regions, comparing innovative and non-innovative cities, and eastern, central and western cities. The major findings are as follows: (1) A significant positive spatial relationship exists in the ecological footprint of Chinese cities as a whole, including eastern and central cities. (2) Promoting innovation efficiency significantly inhibits the ecological footprint of not only local region, but also neighbouring regions, with coefficients of −0.2488 and −0.1638 respectively. (3) The inhibitory effect of the increase in innovation efficiency in innovative cities on ecological footprint is stronger in local and neighbouring regions than non-innovative cities. In eastern and central Chinese cities, local ecological footprint is subject to a potent inhibitory effect from the progress in innovation efficiency, while the improvement in innovation efficiency has shown a significant promoting effect in the western region; and the ecological footprint of neighbouring regions only in the eastern cities is inhibited by the improvement of innovation efficiency of local regions.

Regional waste footprint and waste treatments analysis

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the waste footprint and waste treatments at subnational level, for Brussels, Flanders, and Wallonia. The paper details the waste footprint components into direct waste from households (disposed in bins), indirect waste generated upstream in the supply chains and induced by household consumption and waste materials from the degradation of in-use stocks. For each component, we analysed the contribution of waste types, products consumed and location where the waste was generated, as well as the associated treatments.The results show that Flanders had the highest total waste footprint in absolute terms; Brussels the highest direct waste in capita terms and Wallonia the highest indirect waste and stock depletion in capita terms. In each region, almost 78 ± 2% of the regional waste footprints were attributed to the consumption of food products, manufactured products and restaurants and accommodation services. For each region, around 45 ± 4% of the indirect waste was generated within its boundaries, 16 ± 9% in other regions and 39 ± 5% out of Belgium. Incineration was the predominant waste treatment type of the regional waste footprint, followed by recycling. Landfill was the second widely applied treatment for indirect waste. Results constitute key information relevant to enhance the waste data monitoring practices at regional level with effects at national level. We unveiled the waste footprint and associated treatments inherent to the interregional and international linkages. Results are also useful resources to substantiate waste management and circular economy policies, enacting on waste prevention and reduction, ecodesign and product lifetime extension.

Extended carbon footprint and emission transfer of world regions: With both primary and intermediate inputs into account

By combining the latest statistics for the global economy in 2015, this study as a continuation of our previous work (Wu et al., 2020) investigates the extended carbon footprint of world regions and the emission transfer via commodity trade, by including both primary and intermediate inputs into consideration. The extended carbon footprint of the United States is revealed to be one and a half times as much as that of China, while this ratio is accounted as three quarters in our previous work, due to that final consumption takes a much larger share of the gross domestic product in the United States compared to the situation in China. CO2 emissions embodied in the primary inputs of the world economy are calculated to be equivalent to 42% of the emissions embodied in the genuine final consumption, highlighting the key role of capital goods in reallocating global carbon emissions. Moreover, emission transfer related with international commodity trade is explored, and the carbon trade links between major economies such as the United States, China, European Union, Russia, India and Japan are discussed in detail. In particular, the geographic and sectoral profiles for the carbon trade of the United States and China as two distinct economies are illustrated. It is revealed that Asia Pacific holds responsible for approximately half of the United States' carbon imports as well as China's carbon exports. Meanwhile, transport industry is taking up around one third of the United States' carbon exports while heavy and light industries totally dominate China's carbon exports. The outcome of this work may be supportive for providing more inclusive information regarding the establishment of global warming regimes, and may help us seek more informed policy choices and trade measures in global trade negotiations.

The scale and drivers of carbon footprints in households, cities and regions across India

The carbon footprint (CF) has emerged as an important yardstick to understand the total contribution of countries, sectors and individuals to climate change. In contrast to conventional emissions accounting which captures only territorial or local production activities, the CF includes the emissions imposed by consumption across global supply chains for goods and services. Recent interest has grown in the application of CF assessment for municipalities owing to their large contribution to global carbon emissions and the limited coverage of existing data to monitor their climate pledges. By linking household-level consumer surveys to a global supply chain database, spatially-explicit CF assessment is possible at a district and household scale. To date, such technique has exposed otherwise unforeseen differences in consumer carbon footprints in developed countries. Within this study we calculate and compare the household carbon footprints 623 districts in India, based on micro consumption data from 203,313 households and explain their variation by economic, cultural and demographic factors. We show the eradication of extreme poverty does not conflict with ambitious climate change mitigation in India. However, our analysis suggests CF reduction policies within India need to target high-expenditure households which are responsible for nearly seven times the carbon emissions than low-expenditure households (living on $1.9 consumption a day). These vast disparities between the carbon footprint of citizens in India highlights the need to differentiate individual responsibilities for climate change in national and global climate policy.

Multi-pollutant based grey water footprint of Chinese regions

Grey water footprint (GWF) is an essential indicator describing the effects of aquatic pollutants on water quantity, which is significantly influenced by interregional trade. Existing studies on the impacts of interregional trade on GWF in China have deviations. That is, traditional GWF is determined by the pollutant with the highest pollutant-specific GWF, but overlooks the influences of coexisting compounds. Coexisting compounds have large influences on GWF quantification. However, the impacts of interregional trade on the improved GWF in China have not been well characterized. This study integrates the multi-regional input-output analysis and an improved GWF quantification method considering multiple pollutants, to investigate the impacts of interregional trade on the GWF in China. Compared with traditional GWF, the improved GWF of Chinese regions decreases by 19-35%. Up to 35% of China's improved GWF is related to commodities that are produced outside of regions where they are finally consumed. Beijing-Tianjin and coastal regions outsource GWF to the central and northern regions. Sectors contributing the most to GWF outsourcing include corn, cattle, swine, poultry, and other animal husbandry. This study provides more accurate region-specific and sector-specific results for policy decisions on water resource conservation in China.

Assessment of Virtual Water Flows in Iran Using a Multi-Regional Input-Output Analysis

The growth of Iran’s agricultural sector in the past few decades has exerted enormous pressure on its aquifers. There is a strong disparity between economic development and natural resource endowments, which threatens water and food security. In this paper, we used a multiregional input–output (MRIO) framework to assess the virtual water flows in Iran. We also estimate the internal and external water footprint of regions compared to their water availability. The results show that the northern part of the country, with no water scarcity, imported virtual water through the trade of goods and services, while severely water-scarce regions were net virtual water exporters. Iran had a net export of 1811 Mm3 per annum. While blue water resources (surface and groundwater) accounted for 92.2% of the national water footprint, 89.1% of total exports were related to the agriculture sector, contributing to only 10.5% of the national income. The results suggest that policy-makers should reconsider the current trade policy regarding food production liberalization in order to make Iran’s limited water resources available for producing industrial goods, which can contribute more to the economy.

Translation Initiation Site Profiling Reveals Widespread Synthesis of Non-AUG-Initiated Protein Isoforms in Yeast.

Genomic analyses in budding yeast have helped define the foundational principles of eukaryotic gene expression. However, in the absence of empirical methods for defining coding regions, these analyses have historically excluded specific classes of possible coding regions, such as those initiating at non-AUG start codons. Here, we applied an experimental approach to globally annotate translation initiation sites in yeast and identified 149 genes with alternative N-terminally extended protein isoforms initiating from near-cognate codons upstream of annotated AUG start codons. These isoforms are produced in concert with canonical isoforms and translated with high specificity, resulting from initiation at only a small subset of possible start codons. The non-AUG initiation driving their production is enriched during meiosis and induced by low eIF5A, which is seen in this context. These findings reveal widespread production of non-canonical protein isoforms and unexpected complexity to the rules by which even a simple eukaryotic genome is decoded.

Optimising US regional footprints: China and the Indo-Pacific

‘In this timely Adelphi book, Jonathan Stevenson reminds us of the size and complexity of the American global footprint, and how foreign-policy imperatives have tended to override pressures to cut back on the number of overseas bases. In today’s tense strategic environment, this will most likely remain the case.’ Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King’s College London ‘Jonathan Stevenson offers an indispensable look at the United States’ overseas bases in 2022 and persuasively explains why they remain critical to American strategy today and for the foreseeable future.’ Stacie L. Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security Overseas military bases have been the bedrock of the United States’ ability to project military power, exert political influence and deter potential adversaries since the Second World War. But fatigue with America’s ‘forever wars’, as well as more nuanced financial and strategic reasons, have inclined the public and policy community to favour reducing US global military activities and overseas presence. In this Adelphi book, Jonathan Stevenson argues that this desire does not necessarily translate into sound strategy. Overseas bases are a key element of the reassurance required to resurrect and bolster America’s reputation among its allies and adversaries. Meanwhile, strategic imperatives and geopolitical realities impose restraints in every theatre. The fluidity prevailing in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific counsels maintaining forward-deployed forces there at roughly the current level. Russia’s confrontational posture towards NATO and invasion of Ukraine, as well as NATO’s short- and medium-term reliance on US capabilities, require the American presence in Europe to increase and expand eastward. The US should not commit itself to a foreign policy that is heavy on forward-deployed military power and light on diplomacy. But paradoxically, reducing forward military presence may not be consistent with a policy that is less focused on military power as a means of achieving stability and security.

Optimising US regional footprints: the Middle East

‘In this timely Adelphi book, Jonathan Stevenson reminds us of the size and complexity of the American global footprint, and how foreign-policy imperatives have tended to override pressures to cut back on the number of overseas bases. In today’s tense strategic environment, this will most likely remain the case.’ Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King’s College London ‘Jonathan Stevenson offers an indispensable look at the United States’ overseas bases in 2022 and persuasively explains why they remain critical to American strategy today and for the foreseeable future.’ Stacie L. Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security Overseas military bases have been the bedrock of the United States’ ability to project military power, exert political influence and deter potential adversaries since the Second World War. But fatigue with America’s ‘forever wars’, as well as more nuanced financial and strategic reasons, have inclined the public and policy community to favour reducing US global military activities and overseas presence. In this Adelphi book, Jonathan Stevenson argues that this desire does not necessarily translate into sound strategy. Overseas bases are a key element of the reassurance required to resurrect and bolster America’s reputation among its allies and adversaries. Meanwhile, strategic imperatives and geopolitical realities impose restraints in every theatre. The fluidity prevailing in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific counsels maintaining forward-deployed forces there at roughly the current level. Russia’s confrontational posture towards NATO and invasion of Ukraine, as well as NATO’s short- and medium-term reliance on US capabilities, require the American presence in Europe to increase and expand eastward. The US should not commit itself to a foreign policy that is heavy on forward-deployed military power and light on diplomacy. But paradoxically, reducing forward military presence may not be consistent with a policy that is less focused on military power as a means of achieving stability and security.

Optimising US regional footprints: Europe

‘In this timely Adelphi book, Jonathan Stevenson reminds us of the size and complexity of the American global footprint, and how foreign-policy imperatives have tended to override pressures to cut back on the number of overseas bases. In today’s tense strategic environment, this will most likely remain the case.’ Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King’s College London ‘Jonathan Stevenson offers an indispensable look at the United States’ overseas bases in 2022 and persuasively explains why they remain critical to American strategy today and for the foreseeable future.’ Stacie L. Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security Overseas military bases have been the bedrock of the United States’ ability to project military power, exert political influence and deter potential adversaries since the Second World War. But fatigue with America’s ‘forever wars’, as well as more nuanced financial and strategic reasons, have inclined the public and policy community to favour reducing US global military activities and overseas presence. In this Adelphi book, Jonathan Stevenson argues that this desire does not necessarily translate into sound strategy. Overseas bases are a key element of the reassurance required to resurrect and bolster America’s reputation among its allies and adversaries. Meanwhile, strategic imperatives and geopolitical realities impose restraints in every theatre. The fluidity prevailing in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific counsels maintaining forward-deployed forces there at roughly the current level. Russia’s confrontational posture towards NATO and invasion of Ukraine, as well as NATO’s short- and medium-term reliance on US capabilities, require the American presence in Europe to increase and expand eastward. The US should not commit itself to a foreign policy that is heavy on forward-deployed military power and light on diplomacy. But paradoxically, reducing forward military presence may not be consistent with a policy that is less focused on military power as a means of achieving stability and security.

Repeatability of plantar pressure assessment during barefoot walking in people with stroke

PurposeStroke-related changes in foot structure and function affect balance and mobility and quantifying foot function following stroke could offer clinically useful information to inform rehabilitation. The aim of this work was to explore the feasibility of undertaking plantar pressure assessment during barefoot walking in people with stroke, and evaluate the repeatability of the assessment protocol and regional footprint analysis as a measure of dynamic foot characteristics.Materials & methodsPlantar pressure analysis was undertaken using a pressure platform (Tekscan HR Mat) on two test sessions, approximately two weeks apart (mean = 15.64 ± 11.64 days). Peak plantar pressure (kPa) and contact area (cm2) for foot regions were extracted and repeatability analysis undertaken. Descriptive evaluation of field notes and experiences of the participants was undertaken to inform the feasibility of the data collection protocol.ResultsTwenty-one participants (61.8 ± 9.2 years; 11 male, 10 female; 8 right-sided, 13 left-sided stroke) were recruited and 18 returned for retesting. Full data capture was achieved from 14 participants. Peak pressure and contact area demonstrated moderate to good repeatability for at the toes (ICC 0.76 and 0.58 respectively) and good to excellent repeatability for the other foot regions (ICC ≥ 0.82).ConclusionThe protocol adopted in this study was feasible and yielded good to excellent repeatability for the foot regions, except the toes. The challenges with data collection in our study cohort could help inform future studies adopting similar protocols. This work also has relevance for use of pressure technology in clinical practice for assessing and monitoring foot function following stroke.

Does energy consumption, financial development, and investment contribute to ecological footprints in BRI regions?

This study applies augmented mean group (AMG) along with common correlated effect mean group (CCEMG) estimator and panel heterogeneous causality to examine the interrelationship between GDP, energy consumption, financial development, foreign investment, and ecological footprints for five Belt and Road initiative (BRI) regions and in aggregated panel of BRI over the time 1990-2016. Using a multivariate framework, this study examines four alternative and conceivable hypotheses, including Pollution haven hypothesis, environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, energy push emission hypothesis, and finance push emission hypothesis. The empirical results supported all four hypotheses for the panel of BRI and partially supported the existence of these hypotheses across the regions. Moreover, a variety of causal nexuses has been discussed in the study. Based on these results, the current research has proposed policy implications to combat the ecological footprints of BRI countries and across the regions.

Migration Histories, National Memory, and Regional Collections

Migration Histories, National Memory, and Regional Collections

Contrasting changes in the sea surface temperature and upper ocean heat content in the South China Sea during recent decades

Understanding the variability of upper ocean thermal conditions is key to regional climate prediction. In recent decades, the sea surface temperature and upper ocean heat content in the South China Sea (SCS SST and SCS OHC) have exhibited contrasting changes. In-situ observations and reanalysis data reveal a linear warming trend in SCS SST during 1975–2010 but a regime shift of SCS OHC during the late 1990s. Mixed layer heat budget analysis shows that the decreasing latent heat flux associated with a weakening surface wind contributes to SCS SST warming trend. The increasing SCS SST reflects a regional footprint of global warming. A simplified upper layer budget diagnosis reveals that more than half of OHC change results from the advection effect, which is caused by an anomalous SCS anticyclonic gyre associated with an anomalous negative wind stress curl. Then, the anomalous anticyclonic circulation deepens thermocline depth at the basin-scale, and result in the regime shift of SCS OHC. Changes in the ocean circulation are found to be related to the enhanced trade wind and a Matsuno-Gill response to cooling in the tropical central Pacific. Further analyses show that the regime shift process is attributed to a phase transition of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) from positive to negative. Our results indicate that although the IPO is the sea surface low-frequency climate pattern, it could impact on the subsurface thermal variability in the SCS through the oceanic process.

Assessing regional and global environmental footprints and value added of the largest food producers in the world

This research aims to provide important insights regarding the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the world’s largest food producing countries based on four sustainability metrics: energy use, carbon footprint, value-added and compensation of employees by low, medium and high-skill groups. World Input-Output Database is used as a detailed and intercountry and sector economic database. To compare the results between global databases, Eora and EXIOBASE are also used for comparative analysis. Three statistical analysis techniques such as Mann-Kendal trend test, matching index and k-means clustering algorithm are applied to provide a further insight from the analysis. The results are presented for three categories: regional on-site, regional supply chain, and global supply chain. The agriculture industry has the largest environmental footprints in food supply chains. Based on the Mann-Kendall trend test, there is a statistically significant trend in carbon, energy, and employment indicators. The maximum value of the matching–index of the overall impact (0.92) is achieved between the EXIOBASE and WIOD databases. China and USA are positioned in different clusters based on total sustainability performance when using different MRIO databases.

A Framework for Estimating Regional Footprint of Companies towards Absolute Sustainability

Global warming and water scarcity are two endangered environmental indicators of environmental boundaries. The Industrial sector is an intensive greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter and water consumer, and has a strong potential for improvement. The combination of the Planetary Boundary concept and Life Cycle Assessment offers an analytical basis for a target-driven life cycle engineering in a move towards absolute sustainability on the company level. The aim of this paper is to provide a framework for quantifying the current environmental footprints of companies throughout their value-chains with respect to the regional distribution of emissions between involved countries and companies. The framework helps companies to estimate their regional footprint, and accordingly set the goal for reducing their environmental footprints to stay within their regionally determined share of the space within the planetary boundaries. In addition, it helps companies to understand the water stress of their products throughout their value chains.

The Grand Strategy of Militant Clients: Iran’s Way of War

This article argues that militant clients should be understood as a pillar of Iran's grand strategy and an extension of its military power. The article examines why Iran has relied on militant clients since the 1979 revolution and the benefits and costs of its client approach. In evaluating these issues, it identifies five main areas where Iran has gained from its client strategy: 1) maintaining independence from the West; 2) successfully exporting its religio-political worldview; 3) extending its military reach and power; 4) reducing political costs of its foreign activities; and 5) establishing needed regional allies. It further identifies five main dangers that Iran faces by continuing its strategic behavior: 1) increased pressure from the United States and a broader US military regional footprint; 2) more unified regional adversaries; 3) the risk of unintended escalation with the United States and regional adversarial states; and 4) enduring regional instability and insecurity

Bottom trawl fishing footprints on the world’s continental shelves

Bottom trawlers land around 19 million tons of fish and invertebrates annually, almost one-quarter of wild marine landings. The extent of bottom trawling footprint (seabed area trawled at least once in a specified region and time period) is often contested but poorly described. We quantify footprints using high-resolution satellite vessel monitoring system (VMS) and logbook data on 24 continental shelves and slopes to 1,000-m depth over at least 2 years. Trawling footprint varied markedly among regions: from <10% of seabed area in Australian and New Zealand waters, the Aleutian Islands, East Bering Sea, South Chile, and Gulf of Alaska to >50% in some European seas. Overall, 14% of the 7.8 million-km2 study area was trawled, and 86% was not trawled. Trawling activity was aggregated; the most intensively trawled areas accounting for 90% of activity comprised 77% of footprint on average. Regional swept area ratio (SAR; ratio of total swept area trawled annually to total area of region, a metric of trawling intensity) and footprint area were related, providing an approach to estimate regional trawling footprints when high-resolution spatial data are unavailable. If SAR was ≤0.1, as in 8 of 24 regions, there was >95% probability that >90% of seabed was not trawled. If SAR was 7.9, equal to the highest SAR recorded, there was >95% probability that >70% of seabed was trawled. Footprints were smaller and SAR was ≤0.25 in regions where fishing rates consistently met international sustainability benchmarks for fish stocks, implying collateral environmental benefits from sustainable fishing.