Self-sustaining Growth Research Articles

Finance–growth nexus and sustainable development in West Africa

PurposeWith the rising global emphasis on sustainable development (SD) and the attendant race to attain the sustainable development goals (SDGs), this study empirically examines the effect of the finance–economic growth nexus on SD in West Africa for the period 1970 to 2020.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted the panel autoregressive distributive lag (PARDL) and rests on the estimates of the pooled mean group (PMG) model in line with the outcome of the Hausman test.FindingsThe result indicates that financial development reinforces the positive influence of economic growth on SD in addition to the direct incremental impact they wield on SD. This suggests that financial development is one of the “influencing factors” and is positioned to potentially improve the relationship between economic growth and SD in West Africa. Findings further reveal that foreign direct investment (FDI) enhances the achievement of SD in West Africa whereas carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and natural resource rent (NRR) are found to exert a deteriorating impact.Practical implicationsSince financial development is found to enhance the growth–SD relationship, it is crucial to pursue domesticated, inclusive and self-sustaining growth policies as well as promote financial inclusion, remove bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the financial system and adopt the principles of the 3 Rs - “reduce, reuse and recycle.”Originality/valueCompared to previous studies that examined the effect of financial development and growth on SD separately, the present study interacted both to see how financial development can influence the economic growth–SD nexus.

ASSESSMENT OF THE SPATIAL APPROPRIATENESS OF THE FUTURE URBANIZATION OF THE CITY OF (AIN BEIDA, ALGERIA) USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, THE ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS, AND THE DELPHI METHOD

Spatial adequacy evaluation is a valuable tool for planning land use strategies. It provides planners with data and outcomes that can help them make informed decisions to ensure effective and secure utilization of land in future urbanization processes. The objective of this study is to analyze the urbanization patterns in the city of Ain El Beida to determine the most appropriate areas for urban development. The aim is to create self-sustaining growth centers that effectively support the city, while also helping decision-makers address current expansions and protect agricultural lands. The study utilized spatial analysis methodology to evaluate and map the suitability of expanding the city's future space. It proposed an integration strategy that combined modern methods and techniques of the Delphi methodology to establish criteria for appropriate land use. The influence of these criteria will be analyzed spatially by administering a questionnaire to a sample of specialists in urban planning and city geography, followed by the application of spatial analyst techniques. The user's text is straightforward and precise. within the GIS framework, integrated via the analytic hierarchy approach. The user's text is straightforward and precise. To evaluate the suitability of the spatial location, to determine the significance of the factors influencing the expansion process based on their relative importance, to ensure that the desired goals are achieved in a way that reflects the priority of the decision-making criteria, and to identify the most favorable options for urban development in the study area. The findings indicated that the optimal locations for the urban growth of Ein El-Baida were determined to be 239.57 hectares, which accounts for 26.31 per cent of the entire land area under investigation. These areas are situated on the northern side of the city along National Road 80 (Ain Beida Presh) and on the western side along National Road 10 (Oum el-Bouaghi Ain Beida). These locations have been identified as the most suitable areas for spatial expansion due to their numerous incentives for urban attraction. Firstly, there is a considerable distance from the fertile and generously compensated agricultural areas, which offer unoccupied and level terrain, as well as its proximity to the central area of the pristine city of Ein. The study also determined that integrating GIS with hierarchy is crucial for constructing spatial models that accurately represent physical reality through mathematical means. This integration aids planners in selecting the most appropriate alternatives for urbanization and achieving comprehensive development of the city.

AQUICULTURA NA AMAZÔNIA: ENTRAVES E POSSIBILIDADES DO DESENVOLVIMENTO ENDÓGENO NA ATIVIDADE

The endogenous models of economic exploration observed in the Brazilian Amazon reflect a scenario of inequality and poverty. Rural aquaculture activity is being promoted, as a good source of protein and income diversification to try to reduce these disparities. Thus, the present work intends to address the difficulties and potentialities to achieve endogenous development through aquaculture. It is known that local development is dedicated to seeking self-sustainable growth in backward regions, which should occur based on the intensive use of science and appropriate technologies. Institutions are fundamental, as they allow for the incorporation of innovations that lead to the diversification of productive activities. Local actors need to be involved in strategies and goals, while communities need to participate in the management and control of development initiatives. In the Amazon, it is observed that endogenous development is generally involved in a slow process, which requires specific initiatives for the reality of each territory.

Pakistan's Development — The Role of Government and Private Enterprise

In the 1960's Pakistan's economy started generating rates of growth of over 5 per cent per year—higher than those observed in many other underdeveloped countries including its neighbours. Industry is growing rapidly. Exports are increasing by over 7 per cent per year. Perhaps more significant, many believe, an agricultural revolution is underway. Some observers consider this to be remarkable and a model of development in the non-socialist world. However, the brief growth experience of the 1960's, after the long stagnation during the 1950's, can hardly be a basis for definitive conclusions about long-run development. Observation of a longer period and evidence of certain basic conditions are necessary for such extrapolation. The dependence on foreign aid continues to be large and the domestic saving rate is relatively low. It is too early to talk of self-sustaining growth. How and why Pakistan could achieve this development and what it signifies for the country's future growth is surely of interest. Yet apart from some spotty reviews of progress, mainly from official sources, no systematic and comprehensive study of Pakistan's development process explaining its mechanism had been available. Dr. Papanek's book on Pakistan's development [13] is an important contribution in this field. The author analyses the factors that led to development in the past, and drawing upon that experience, suggests policies that would accelerate future development. He tries to explain how the saving rate was raised in a poor country of traditional agriculture, where industrial investors came from, how agricultural output could be increased at a high rate, and what role government and private initiative played in this development. Any analysis of the role of government and private enterprise has ideological overtones, and the reader of Dr. Papanek's book is definitely aware of his in¬dividual predilections. This does not, however, reduce the worth of the book.

Arrested Development: A Brief Economic History of Northern Ontario, 1870 to 2020

ABSTRACT Northern Ontario’s economy began as a booming nineteenth-century resource frontier because of international market demand for natural resource commodities, private sector business investment, and government initiatives in transportation and protectionism. During northern Ontario’s development, economic growth was most robust during eras when these engines came together to provide economic growth and employment creation. Export-led growth approaches to development suggest that such a growth process ultimately expands population and market size and creates self-sustaining economic growth. However, northern Ontario never made that transition because of the inability to retain more linkages from resource extraction because of decision-making external to the region. As a result, the latter part of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century became an era of arrested development. Economic decline since the 1970s caused by less labor-intensive transportation and resource sectors was met with ineffective and essentially palliative government attempts to counter the decline.

Geração de valor econômico e sustentabilidade financeira em instituições do ensino superior brasileiro

Objective: The article aims to analyze the creation of economic value, as well as the value vectors and the impacts caused by the number of students, value of tuition and costs on the economic results achieved in a higher education institution (HEI).Methodology/approach: This is a case study with adaptation of the EVA (Economic Value Added) model and the use of multivariate econometric analysis.Relevance/originality: Despite the representativeness of private organizations in the educational sector in the Brazilian economy, academic articles were not identified dealing with their capacity to create value, which is one of the necessary conditions for self-sustained growth of an organization.The main results: The University Center was able to generate value in the recent period. The disaggregated analysis showed the good performance of engineering and that most courses in the business area have destroyed the organization's value.Theoretical/methodological contributions: An incursion into the theory of corporate finance made it possible to adapt methods and procedures that led to an adequate application to the study of value generation in a HEI. The study can be replicated and contributes for HEIs to incorporate the dimension of value generation in their management model. Social contributions to management: Two segments were identified that demand differentiated strategies to improve the IES' market position. In the business area, given the competition, a policy of low prices is imposed, with revision/consolidation of the offer of courses. In the healthcare and engineering segment, the strategy to be followed is not price competition, but differentiation, with the pursuit of excellence being crucial.

The Australian Indigenous-led bush products sector: Insights from the literature and recommendations for the future.

The development of an Australian Indigenous-led bush products sector presents opportunities for Indigenous Australians to create new livelihoods, and build on existing enterprises, based on their unique knowledge systems and long established socio-cultural and environmental management practices. This review draws on Australian literature from 2005 to 2018 to establish a better understanding of the benefits that could result from the development of this sector in northern Australia; identify the key challenges that need to be addressed to facilitate sector development; and identify possible solutions. Insights reveal that while there are significant, and potentially self-sustaining opportunities offered by the development of the sector, these are unlikely to be realised without appropriate actions to resolve knowledge and skills gaps and address significant social, cultural and legal challenges. We propose a conceptual framework for the appropriate, sustainable and self-sustaining growth of the sector and end with policy and research recommendations to support growth.

Abstract 17233: Clock Modulating Small Molecule SR9011 Enhances Cell Cycle Arrest in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rapidly progressing disease of the lung vasculature, characterized by the remodeling of small pulmonary arteries in which pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) exhibit a cancer-like phenotype, with uncontrolled replication, self-sustaining growth signals, evasion of growth suppressors and resistance to apoptosis. In healthy cells, cell division is controlled by the circadian clock resulting in timed mitosis and rhythmic DNA replication. This suggests that impaired circadian clock might be involved in the cell cycle disorders seen in PAH. Especially, impaired function of the nuclear receptor Rev-Erbα (a core clock protein) has been associated with circadian clock impairment and cell cycle disorders in cancer. Hypothesis: Rev-Erbα impairment is involved in PAH pathogenesis. Methods & Results: We synchronized (Zeitgeber method using 50% horse serum for 2 hours) human PASMCs isolated from 4 PAH patients and 4 controls, and demonstrated a reduced (p=0.0192) (immunoblot) expression of Rev-Erbα 12 hours post synchronization in PAH-PASMCs compared to controls, associated with increased proliferation (Ki67 assay) and resistance to apoptosis (annexin V assay) (p<0.05), which were reversed by the Rev-Erbα agonist SR9011 (10μM for 24h). RNAseq (n=4/group) demonstrated that most of the downregulated (2-fold cut-off) genes following SR9011 treatments were involved in cytokinesis, meiosis, mitotic processes, cell cycle progression, chromosome segregation and recombination (p<0.05). In vivo , Rev-Erbα was also significantly decreased in male and female monocrotaline rats. SR9011 treatments (n=15/group) for 2 weeks (50mg/kg, i.p.) improved PA hemodynamics ( RVSP:47.80mmHg vs 75.29mmHg \mPAP:26.69mmHg vs 44.36mmHg, p<0.0001); vascular remodeling, decreased proliferation(p=0.0001), increased apoptosis(p=0.0002)) and decreased RV hypertrophy (Fulton Index:0.3869 vs 0.5093 p=0.0006) compare to vehicle treated rats. These results were also repeated in the Fawn Hooded rats model. Conclusion: Our results suggest the involvement of Clock pathways in PAH etiology and thus open new avenue of investigation in PAH and new therapeutic options using clock-modulating small molecules.

Critical Mass for Two-sided Platforms and the Strength of the Externalities

Whether a two-sided platform faces a critical-mass problem in its start-up phase depends on how difficult it is to get each of the sides on board when the other side is not yet there – the so-called chicken-and-egg problem. If there is no chicken-and-egg problem, there is no critical-mass problem either. But having both sides on board is not enough to get the platform off the ground. The mutual encouragement between the sides must be sufficiently strong to trigger a self-sustained growth and this depends on the strength of the externalities. In this paper, we propose a measure for the strength of the externalities and define critical mass for two-sided platforms in terms of that parameter. Our definition is different from that proposed by Evans and Schmalensee (2010), but more in line with the way critical mass is defined for one-sided networks. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for the occurrence of critical mass.

Competitiveness of the Textile Industry of the Republic of Serbia on the EU Market

Abstract The focus of research interest on the analysis of the competitiveness of the textile industry of the Republic of Serbia stems from the fact that, despite many years of negative indicators of development and objectively unsatisfactory status, the industry has maintained a recognizable and pronounced export potential. Namely, despite the marginal share in the production of gross domestic product, the textile industry is continuously, in terms of its export, among the top five most important exporters. The research should point to the trend and dynamics of changes in the competitiveness of the industry and the stability of the economic flows. For the purpose of complex analysis of the phenomena related to the competitiveness of this part of the national economy, the paper uses the methodology developed by the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC), and in particular the Trade Performance Index group of indicators. The results of the research provide a basis for the conclusion that the textile industry can still be one of the stable pillars of self-sustainable growth, but also of the long-term production and trade integration of the Republic of Serbia with the European Union.

Crusoe's Absence

Crusoe's Absence Barbara Fuchs (bio) Robinson Crusoe appears so firmly planted on his island, and that island so abundantly rendered, that it is hard for the reader to think of where he is not. Yet Crusoe's absence is as significant as his presence, enabling the reinsertion of his narrative into broader contexts of interimperial rivalry, Atlantic sugar, and a more nuanced history of the novel. If, as postcolonial criticism has shown, Crusoe's experience is part of the longue durée of race and empire in the West, it must be considered in light of the earlier Iberian as well as the subsequent Dutch, French, and English imperial projects, transcending our standard disciplinary arrangements of Renaissance versus Enlightenment or English versus foreign literature. Reading Robinson Crusoe in relation to the layered and entangled history of colonialism in the Atlantic world reveals the partiality of viewing the protagonist on his island as an English exemplar. My study has a curious phenomenological history, which I offer to suggest how rarely our readings are jostled beyond our usual lines of inquiry. Scheduled to teach Robinson Crusoe immediately after a family driving trip, I subjected everyone to the audiobook as we drove among the national parks of Utah. Aside from confirming the novel's archetypal status—"when will Friday show up?" my children wanted to know, even though they had never read the book—listening to the entire text along hundreds of miles had a remarkable leveling effect. Instead of focusing on what I had already decided was important, as I would have on rereading it, I heard all of it and discovered much that complicated what I already thought I knew. In [End Page 27] particular, I was struck by the protagonist's lengthy account near the end of the narrative of what had occurred to his investment in "the Brasils" while he spent twenty-eight years on the island. This Brazilian experience—not merely before or after but during Crusoe's time on the island, as he becomes, in essence, an absentee planter—seemed to me newly significant given the remarkable amount of detail that attends this moment in the text. What happens in Brazil while Crusoe is away? Suspended in an indeterminate state, given the lack of any word that its owner is alive or proof that he is dead, his capital nonetheless grows significantly in the care of his partner, the appointed trustees, and their heirs after their deaths.,1 As Crusoe learns from his old friend, "the Captain of the Ship, who first took me up at Sea, off the shore of Africk" (RC, 201), a complex set of legal and economic mechanisms set in motion by Crusoe's absence has shepherded his estate through the entire period that he has been missing from his plantation: … upon the general Belief of my being cast away, and drown'd, my Trustees had given in the Account of the Produce of my Part of the Plantation, to the Procurator Fiscal, who had appropriated it, in Case I never came to claim it; one Third to the King, and two Thirds to the Monastery of St. Augustine, to be expended for the Benefit of the Poor, and for the Conversion of the Indians to the Catholick Faith; but that if I appear'd, or any one for me, to claim the Inheritance, it should be restor'd; only that the Improvement, or Annual Production, being distributed to charitable Uses, could not be restor'd; but he assur'd me, that the Steward of the King's Revenue (from Lands) and the Proviedore, or Steward of the Monastery, had taken great Care all along, that the Incumbent, that is to say my Partner, gave every Year a faithful Account of the Produce, of which they receiv'd duly my Moeity. (RC, 201–2) This glimpse of "capital's power for self-sustaining growth," as Marxist economist Stephen Hymer perceptively put it long ago, is only the beginning of Crusoe's account of how his Brazilian plantations have fared, which continues for several pages in the text.2 The extraordinary amount of detail about the road not taken is almost disorienting. Yet...

Implications of Quality of Schooling on Economic Growth and Convergence – A System Dynamics Perspective

ABSTRACTThis paper formulates a growth model to study the interlinkages among quality of schooling, human capital and technical progress of a stylised developing economy such as India. The simulation results reveal that under the technology regimes of innovation and imitation, the quality of schooling triggers a child quantity–quality trade-off wherein parents invest in educating their children and bear lesser number of children when schooling quality exceeds an endogenously determined threshold. Consequently, the stylised economy reaches a self-sustaining growth path under both the regimes by investing in human capital of the young generation in the long run.

Factors and Steps for Successful Transition from a State of Making to One of Innovating

Other than serving as the introduction to this special issue, this paper looks at the question of how an underdeveloped or a developing economic entity can manage to acquire the knowledge and ability to overcome various barriers, be they social, cultural, or institutional, to establish its desired momentum of self-sustained growth. It addresses the question by surveying relevant literatures, first, about what factors, both internal and external, positively determine the innovativeness of an economic entity; and second, regarding what steps are necessary for an underdeveloped or a developing entity to engineer its momentum of self-sustained growth and for an established entity to maintain its existing momentum. By doing so, we demonstrate the theoretical significance and practical importance of this issue and the works contained in this issue.

Exploring the nature, motives, and implications of foreign capital in Africa

Africa, like many developing regions, has long suffered from savings and foreign exchange gaps. This has contributed to its low rate of capital accumulation, and lagging development. In search of ways to boost the domestic capital stock, a number of scholars have recommended increasing financial flow from external sources. For example, some scholars have advocated for a reasonable and sustained flow of development aid in order to help these countries meet and surpass that threshold necessary for the takeoff into self-sustained growth. Others have embraced the debt relief programs as an additional policy tool for tackling the poverty problem in these countries and consequently, increasing the domestic savings rate. Moreover, proponents of the free market system have strongly pushed for integrating Africa into the global financial system in order to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and other portfolio-type investments. In some countries in the region, such efforts have only resulted into greater volatility, with consequences for exchange rate instability and capital outflows. It is against the aforementioned that this paper evaluates the influence of foreign capital in Africa. Its novel contribution lies in its multifaceted analysis and exploring some of the nuances that are often ignored in the traditional econometric analysis.

Secretion of Acetylxylan Esterase From Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Enables Utilization of Lignocellulosic Biomass as a Carbon Source.

Microalgae offer a promising biological platform for sustainable biomanufacturing of a wide range of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and fuels. The model microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is thus far the most versatile algal chassis for bioengineering and can grow using atmospheric CO2 and organic carbons (e.g., acetate and pure cellulose). Ability to utilize renewable feedstock like lignocellulosic biomass as a carbon source could significantly accelerate microalgae-based productions, but this is yet to be demonstrated. We observed that C. reinhardtii was not able to heterotrophically grow using wheat straw, a common type of lignocellulosic biomass, likely due to the recalcitrant nature of the biomass. When the biomass was pretreated with alkaline, C. reinhardtii was able to grow using acetate that was released from the biomass. To establish an eco-friendly and self-sustained growth system, we engineered C. reinhardtii to secrete a fungal acetylxylan esterase (AXE) for hydrolysis of acetylesters in the lignocellulosic biomass. Two transgenic strains (CrAXE03 and CrAXE23) secreting an active AXE into culture media were isolated. Incubation of CrAXE03 with wheat straw resulted in an eight-fold increase in the algal cell counts with a concomitant decrease of biomass acetylester contents by 96%. The transgenic lines showed minor growth defects compared to the parental strain, indicating that secretion of the AXE protein imposes limited metabolic burden. The results presented here would open new opportunities for applying low-cost renewable feedstock, available in large amounts as agricultural and manufacturing by-products, for microalgal cultivation. Furthermore, acetylesters and acetate released from them, are well-known inhibitors in lignocellulosic biofuel productions; thus, direct application of the bioengineered microalga could be exploited for improving renewable biofuel productions.

Conservation of severely fragmented populations: lessons from the transformation of uncoordinated reintroductions of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) into a managed metapopulation with self-sustained growth

We document and evaluate the use of metapopulation management to conserve a declining population of 217 cheetahs in 40 subpopulations. Metapopulation management resembles a natural metapopulation, but dispersal success, demographic rescue effects and genetic viability are enhanced by moving suitable individuals to selected habitat fragments. Unfortunately, history and results of metapopulation management are rarely published. Cheetahs, extirpated from 85% of South Africa, were reintroduced from Namibian and South African ranches into fenced reserves. During 1965–2009 343 cheetahs were reintroduced, yet reserves held only 289 in 2009. Then translocations of free-roaming cheetahs were halted, and numbers dropped to 217 on 40 reserves by 2012. A metapopulation project was launched, and key conservation problems indentified from interviews and records. Thirty-five percent of reserves had no breeding cheetahs, 13% were inbreeding, fence quality was erratic, 3% of cheetahs were sold into captivity annually, and 28% of cheetah mortalities were anthropogenic. Lions accounted for 31% of mortality, perhaps elevated by lion-inexperienced cheetahs and high lion densities. These problems were addressed, and cheetahs were translocated between reserves. Although the median reserve size was only 125 km2 holding four cheetahs, and 80% of reserves were privately owned, in 6 years the metapopulation grew by 51% to 328 cheetahs on 51 reserves, while genetic diversity was managed and monitored. Thus, using metapopulation management, low density species and associated key processes, including carnivory or mega-herbivory, can be conserved in relatively small reserves in regions with dense human populations precluding natural gene flow.

Evolution, Strategies and Problems of Poverty-Alleviating Agricultural Policies and Programmes in Nigeria

According to the UNDP (2001) report, Nigeria started its independent nationhood in 1960 with poverty level of only 15% of population, but it is today struggling to reduce it from about 70% of its current population of about 190 million. This is in spite of the fact that the country is richly endowed with numerous natural, especially agricultural and mineral resources. Nigeria’s rising extreme poverty numbers are a direct result of years of negligent and ineffective government policies. Over-dependence on oil for years and an inability to generate non-oil revenue has led it to this. The country’s agricultural policy aims at reaching self-sustaining growth in the agricultural sector as well as the structural transformation required for the overall socio-economic development and improvement in the quality of life of Nigerians. The key feature of the policy is the evolution of strategies for ensuring self-sufficiency and the improvement of the technical and economic efficiency in food production. This is to be achieved through the introduction and adoption of improved seeds and seed stock, husbandry and appropriate machinery and equipment, efficient utilization of resources, encouragement of ecological specialization and recognition of the roles and potentials of small-scale farmers as the main drivers of food production in the country. Nigeria’s agricultural policy framework has evolved in a way that reflected, in a historical perspective, the changing character of agricultural development problems and the roles which different segments of the society were expected to play in addressing these problems. The form and direction of agricultural policy were dictated by the philosophical stance of government on the content of agricultural development and the role of government in the development process. Here, we examined Nigeria’s agricultural policy evolution from the colonial to the contemporary period. The very survival of Nigeria is tied to the ability of its economy to meet the material demands of its citizens since welfare constitutes a third objective of modern government. Food is an essential component of welfarism. The Nigerian Government and public policy makers must therefore see food as a component of welfarism and as such develop and sustain sufficient political will to achieve increased food production, a credible food policy and ultimately degrade poverty significantly.

Are Indigenous land and sea management programs a pathway to Indigenous economic independence?

This paper focuses on Indigenous business development, an under-researched co-benefit associated with investment in Indigenous land and sea management programs (ILSMPs) in northern Australia. More than 65% of ILSMPs undertake commercial activities that generate revenue and create jobs. In addition to generating environmental benefits, ILSMPs thus also generate economic benefits (co-benefits) that support Indigenous aspirations and help to deliver multiple government objectives. We outline key features of northern Australian economies, identifying factors that differentiate them from Western urbanised economies. We discuss literature highlighting that, if the aim is to stimulate (short-term) economic development in northern Indigenous economies, then the requirement is to stimulate demand for goods and services that are produced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (herein referred to as Indigenous people), and which generate benefits that align with the goals and aspirations of Indigenous people. We also discuss literature demonstrating the importance of promoting a socio-cultural environment that stimulates creativity, which is a core driver of innovation, business development and long-term development. ILSMPs have characteristics suggestive of an ability to kick-start self-sustaining growth cycles, but previous research has not investigated this. Using 8 years of data relating to Indigenous businesses that are registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (a subset of all Indigenous businesses), we use statistical tests (Granger causality tests) to check whether ILSMP expenditure in the first year has a positive impact on Indigenous business activity in subsequent years. This analysis (of admittedly imperfect data) produces evidence to support the proposition that expenditure on ILSMPs generates positive spillovers for Indigenous businesses (even those not engaged in land management), albeit with a 3-year lag. ILSMPs have been shown to be an appropriate mechanism for achieving a wide range of short-term benefits; our research suggests they may also work as catalysts for Indigenous business development, fostering sustainable economic independence.

Dynamic data-driven prediction of instability in a swirl-stabilized combustor

Combustion instability poses a negative impact on the performance and structural durability of both land-based and aircraft gas turbine engines, and early detection of combustion instabilities is of paramount importance not only for performance monitoring and fault diagnosis, but also for initiating efficient decision and control of such engines. Combustion instability is, in general, characterized by self-sustained growth of large-amplitude pressure tones that are caused by a positive feedback arising from complex coupling of localized hydrodynamic perturbations, heat energy release, and acoustics of the combustor. This paper proposes a fast dynamic data-driven method for detecting early onsets of thermo-acoustic instabilities, where the underlying algorithms are built upon the concepts of symbolic time series analysis (STSA) via generalization of D-Markov machine construction. The proposed method captures the spatiotemporal co-dependence among time series from heterogeneous sensors (e.g. pressure and chemiluminescence) to generate an information-theoretic precursor, which is uniformly applicable across multiple operating regimes of the combustion process. The proposed method is experimentally validated on the time-series data, generated from a laboratory-scale swirl-stabilized combustor, while inducing thermo-acoustic instabilities for various protocols (e.g. increasing Reynolds number ( Re) at a constant fuel flow rate and reducing equivalence ratio at a constant air flow rate) at varying air-fuel premixing levels. The underlying algorithms are developed based on D-Markov entropy rates, and the resulting instability precursor measure is rigorously compared with the state-of-the-art techniques in terms of its performance of instability prediction, computational complexity, and robustness to sensor noise.

State of the Developing World: PPP Income, Catching-Up/Falling Behind, and No Growth

Short AbstractUsing the new PWT, that for the first time permit income comparisons overtime too, and defining growth for followers as catching-up, the developing world (excluding China and one or two countries) consisting of 99/100 countries with 3.9/4.0b. population has not shown any growth since either 1951 or 1971.Long AbstractThis paper takes the view country of residence matters. It distinguishes the catch up of a country’s income to the frontier from studies of absolute poverty and of global inter-personal distribution of income. It uses the real GDP estimates from the new generation of PWT that for the first time permit real GDP comparisons not only across countries but also over time. There has been no assessment of catch-up either in the past decade or using the new PWT. Following the neo-classical “advantage of backwardness,” i.e., the advantage followers have to simply bring in ideas to create value already in use in the leaders, it defines growth for developing countries as catching up. It defines a catch up index, and computes it for all developing countries since 1951; or since the country became independent - if it became independent after 1951. It suggests growth should be examined over a period longer than 20 years due to unusual events that may last a decade or more. More than half the developing countries have fallen behind since their base year. To assess catch-up of developing countries as a group, it prefers using the population weighted geometric mean (GM). It uses 1971 and 1991 as alternative base years. It shows the developing world (excluding China and one or two countries) consisting of 99/100 countries with 3.9/4.0b. population in 2010 has not achieved any growth since either 1951 or 1971. At the same time, divergence of their incomes has increased continuously. If usable data for 12 countries excluded due to lack of data were available, the developing world’s overall catch-up would decrease and their divergence of incomes would increase. Of the 30 best performers during 1991-2010, ten fell-behind and six did not catch-up faster than 0.5 annually when their performance is examined over either 1971-2010 or 1951-2010 periods. Fast catch-up for 20 years does not mean take-off to self-sustained growth over the long-term. Citing recent estimate of more than a trillion dollars of illicit capital outflows from developing and emerging markets each year, it suggests institutions and structural factors may matter the most.