Search

This research investigates the integration of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) into the Circular Economy (CE) paradigm. DPPs are digital papers that accompany products and contain detailed lifecycle data on materials, manufacturing processes, distribution networks, environmental effects, and end-of-life treatment. They improve industry openness, traceability, and sustainability by closing information gaps and encouraging sustainable product management. Despite the growing interest in DPPs, there is a significant gap in understanding the practical challenges and scalability of DPP adoption across the industry. This paper digs into technology developments and their adoptions for efficient DPP implementation within the CE framework through a systematic literature review (SLR). It investigates how DPPs promote resource efficiency, improve lifecycle assessments, and strengthen end-of-life management techniques. It also looks at the economic and legal consequences of integrating DPP into existing supply chains, stressing potential cost issues and the need for regulatory frameworks. The findings highlight DPPs' significance in facilitating long-term product management decisions by providing openness and accountability across the product lifecycle. This paper also underlines the importance of stakeholder collaboration in realizing DPPs' revolutionary potential for advancing the CE agenda. It proposes a conceptual model illustrating the technical architecture of DPPs, adoption framework, and DPP adoption ecosystem. Finally, this paper discusses the future research directions around DPPs based on the research gap identified through the SLR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • In this study, the PCMs/W-VO 2 intelligent temperature-control coatings and coated packaging paper were prepared. • The packaging paper can combine intelligent phase change and heat reflection to achieve temperature-control function. • The packaging paper has excellent thermal-insulation temperature-control, hydrophobicity and physical properties. • The PCMs/W-VO 2 microcapsules can be used for the protection of chemicals, precision instruments, and other items. Abstract Because of their insufficient temperature-control and waterproof property, traditional thermal-insulation materials cannot accurately control the temperature range and cannot be used for the protection of chemicals, precision instruments, and other items. In this study, waterborne acrylic resin was used as the main film former, and tungsten-doped vanadium dioxide microcapsules (PCMs/W-VO 2) were used as the filler. The PCMs/W-VO 2 intelligent temperature-control waterborne coating was prepared by supplementing with a flatting agent, organosilicon waterproofing agent, and other agents. The PCMs/W-VO 2 intelligent temperature-control packaging paper was made by applying a waterborne coating on an ivory board. The morphology, structure, and phase-change properties of the samples were analyzed using SEM, FTIR, DSC, XRD, EDS and other techniques. And the thermal-insulation temperature difference, contact angle (CA), and mechanical properties were also tested. The results show that the prepared packaging paper had a phase-change temperature at 45 °C, the infrared light reflectance increased by 32%, and the thermal-insulation temperature difference reached 10.7 °C, showing excellent thermal-insulation temperature-control property. The XRD and EDS show that the surface of intelligent temperature-control packaging paper contains PCMs/W-VO 2 microcapsules and organosilicon waterproofing agent. The SEM images show that the microcapsules were evenly distributed on the paper surface. CA analysis shows that the contact angle increased significantly, indicating that the paper sheet had good hydrophobicity. The physical properties of the paper sheet were also improved, and considering the economic factors of intelligent temperature-control coatings, the optimum tensile index, tearing index, burst index and folding index were 6.84 kN/m, 22.69 mN·m2/g, 3.60 kPa·m2 g−1 and 188 times (Resolation: 14.7 N), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dentification of the water intensive industry—pulp and paper industry (PPI) at the firm level. • The partial static equilibrium model was applied to explore the economic effects. • Environmental regulation shows positive impacts on multiple indicators. Whether environmental regulation has negative impact on the economic performances of manufacturers in the real world cannot be concluded without reliable policy evaluations. The regional policy experimentation on raising the wastewater discharge standard in the pulp and paper industry in Shandong Province, China in the early 2000′s has been considered a success and has provided lessons for the crafting and strengthening of water pollution regulation for the whole country at a later stage. There has been, however, long lack of rigorous study that comprehensively evaluates the environmental and economic consequences of the policy experiment. The question about whether cleaner water came at a substantial economic cost remained unanswered. This may hinder cumulative policy learning and development. In this article, we adopt plant-level economic and environmental statistics and a difference-in-differences design to examine the economic effect of the Shandong wastewater policy in the 2000′s. Our results revealed that on average the environmental regulation enhanced the economic performances of pulp and paper plants. The regulation had positive effects on total output, total assets, and total profit, and it did not cause a statistically significant decline in employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the Nordic paper industry the years 2001–2007 were a culmination point as to paper production and deliveries. The study uses plant level empirical time series data from these years from one large integrated Finnish paper mill. The research data covers complete customer data and cost components, and a major supplier for European paper markets. The case company worked actively with a customer base and concentrated on the most profitable markets. However, some unprofitable deliveries, which still covered the variable and fixed costs, also supported the operation of the mill and the continuing of the 24/7 shift. The results indicate that even with matured and bulky products like paper, it is still possible to operate on the basis of separated pricing, some bargaining power, and customized focus. In this respect, the markets do not seem to follow the economic theory expectation entirely, that is, for such a mature and bulky product market price differentiation should not be possible. However, to utilize this, it requires up-to-date information system concerning internal cost accounting, together with an emphasis on the management to have an active role with the customer base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper evaluates system aspects of biorefineries based on biomass gasification integrated with pulp and paper production. As a case the Billerud Karlsborg mill is used. Two biomass gasification concepts are considered: BIGDME (biomass integrated gasification dimethyl ether production) and BIGCC (biomass integrated gasification combined cycle). The systems analysis is made with respect to economic performance, global CO2 emissions and primary energy use. As reference cases, BIGDME and BIGCC integrated with district heating are considered. Biomass gasification is shown to be potentially profitable for the mill. The results are highly dependent on assumed energy market parameters, particularly policy support. With strong policies promoting biofuels or renewable electricity, the calculated opportunity to invest in a gasification-based biorefinery exceeds investment cost estimates from the literature. When integrated with district heating the BIGDME case performs better than the BIGCC case, which shows high sensitivity to heat price and annual operating time. The BIGCC cases show potential to contribute to decreased global CO2 emissions and energy use, which the BIGDME cases do not, mainly due to high biomass demand. As biomass is a limited resource, increased biomass use due to investments in gasification plants will lead to increased use of fossil fuels elsewhere in the system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Qualitative and quantitative methods are applied to assess the impact of CIFOR’s political economy research on the Indonesian pulp and paper sector. Key-informant interviews triangulated by trend-series tests suggest important influence through advocacy intermediaries and counterfactuals of slower adoption of improvements. Effects on conservation set-asides, overcapacity, and plantation establishment are estimated to avert loss of 76,000–212,000hectares of natural forest (135,000 under main assumptions). Application of an economic-surplus framework for environmental benefits of forest conservation and avoided implicit wood subsidies finds benefits of US$19 to US$583 million (US$133 million main estimate), compared with US$500,000 of direct research costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Optimal Fibre Flow Model, a combined optimization and simulationmodel, calculates the optimal combination of energy recovery and recycling of waste paper for paper and board production. In addition, the environmental impact is estimated by using an environment load unit-index (ELU-index). The ELU-index assigns an environmental load valueto emissions and to the use of non-renewable resources such as oil and coal. Given a 'forced' utilization rate for the Scandinavian forest industry, optimization of marginal revenue shows environmental impact to be at a minimum with a utilization rate of about 30% in Scandinavia and 73% (an assumed upper limit) for the rest of Europe. If instead environmental impact is minimized, the utilization rate for Scandinavia is almost the same, while the utilization rate for the rest ofEurope is 53% (a lower assumed level). Given a fixed use of virgin fibres for the rest of Western Europe, a comparison of the environmental load at different 'forced' utilization rates for the Scandinavian forest industry shows no significant differences between the economicand environmental optimizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining access to a broad range of old and new antibiotics is increasingly difficult due to supply, market, and demand issues. Next to immediate negative consequences for individual patients and healthcare systems, antibiotic unavailability can accelerate resistance development due to unmotivated use of suboptimal broad-spectrum antibiotics. Although academics and policymakers agree that lack of access to antibiotics is a major public challenge, there are widely different situations of lack of access that are not always clearly identified. Therefore, this paper aims to clarify potential confusion by delving into four different types of lack of access, their specific causes, consequences, and potential solutions. The paper builds on a narrative review of academic and policy literature about lack of access to antibiotics and potential solutions to address it. We discuss causes as well as economic and clinical consequences of four different types of antibiotic unavailability: short-term shortages, long-term shortages, deregistrations, and lack of registration. The discussion is supported by examples from Norway, Romania, and Ethiopia, three countries characterized by clearly different market sizes and ability to pay. Common causes for all types of lack access include unattractive markets, dependence on few suppliers and insufficient communication, whereas other causes are specific to one type (e.g. insufficient inventories cause short-term shortages or regulatory complexity hinders registration). Longer lack of access entails more serious clinical consequences and higher risk of resistance development, but may not correspondingly increase costs in the long-term if alternatives are identified. It is essential to understand the type of unavailability at hand because no single solution can address all types. For instance, stockpiling addresses short-term shortages, but not long-term ones or deregistrations. However, supply chain transparency and pooled procurement are remedies that support other solutions and can cope with several types of lack of access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the fundamental principles of outer space law is that space be for the benefit of all. This paper demonstrates how the economic implications of this principle are often overlooked, leading to missed opportunities in its interpretation. A more practical and, conveniently, moral interpretation of that principle is explored through considering the value space activities unlock for society. This approach seeks to aid decision makers in space governance whereby examining the net social value of space activities through economic observations offers a re-calibration away from the narrower benefit sharing approach. The paper recommends that a value-oriented interpretation of the "benefit of all" principle better ensures NewSpace activities actually bring the greatest welfare to humankind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current approaches to study the coupling mechanism between economy and environment seem to fall into self-circulation, failed to reveal "economy–environment interdependence". In this context, an exogenous variable is introduced into these models for better understanding the relationship. Benzo[a]pyrene (Bap) environment inventories in different cities in China were estimated by fugacity model based on Bap concentration data collected from previous studies. An extended model, stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence and technology (STIRPAT), generated from original IPAT (a model that expresses the idea that environmental impact (I) is the product of three factors: population (P), affluence (A) and technology (T)) was used to study the relationship between Bap environment inventory and anthropogenic factors including population, vehicle amount, affluence and energy consumption. A ridge regression has been applied to optimize the model parameters. Overall, there exist good relationships between Bap inventories and economic factors. Specifically, population and affluence are the most significant factors that influence Bap inventory. Rise of the scale of population and vehicle amount increases the Bap inventory, as growth of GDP per capita and the efficiency of energy utilization have inhibitory effect on Bap inventory. Apparently, the influences of anthropogenic factors on Bap inventory are different between north and south China. Bap inventory in north China is more sensitive to the change of population and energy consumption, while is highly correlated to GDP per capita in south China. Further, according to social-economic development prediction, with assist of the result from STIRPAT model, we find out that Bap inventory drop 31% from 2001 to 2020 in China. Our estimates are comparable with the published data and confirmed that Bap can be regarded as a chemical indicator of social-economic development in China. Image 1 • An extended STIRPAT model derived from original IPAT was developed. • Population and affluence are the key factors that influence Bap inventory. • Advance of affluence and technology level curbs Bap environmental exposure. • We predict Bap environmental inventory drop 31% from 2001 to 2020 in China. • Bap can be used as an indicator of social-economic development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghana has a long history of engagement with the IMF. Successive governments of Ghana have sought economic bailouts from the IMF due to worsening domestic macroeconomic stability. This paper examines Ghana's historical engagement with the IMF and the associated macroeconomic outcomes, and offers lessons for economic restructuring and growth beyond the bailouts. The paper explores the common patterns of the key macroeconomic variables and possible latent causal effects. The results reveal intermittent and short-term effects of the IMF programs. The bailouts often have a short-term impact on macroeconomic stability and growth, but the effects are unsustainable in the long term, especially after the IMF program ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the basic issues involved in identifying and providing solutions to transport problems. The paper argues that solutions focusing solely on investment in capacity or second-best solutions to pricing such as road pricing and free public transport ignore the essential economic relationships involved in transport. The paper provides a critique of investment and pricing and argues for a more integrated approach in which optimal pricing is a core consideration in any investment decisions. This is seen as particularly important in a post Covid-19 world where many of the fundamental drivers of transport demand have changed, and public authorities face significant constraints on budgets whilst new pressures such as commitments to net zero in the face of global warming threats add additional pressures. The paper offers some thoughts on the principles involved in establishing a more suitable structure for dealing with the transport problem. • Identifies the core elements of the transport problem as pricing and investment. • Reviews problems in implementing first-best pricing. • Critiques investment decisions in the light of wider economic impacts. • Considers changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the move to net-zero. • Offers a set of principles for reforming transport policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the welfare costs of urban traffic by considering its implications on consumer retail prices. Using retail price data for 40 goods and services from 70 cities (covering 47 countries) for multiple years, the estimation results suggest that the elasticity of retail prices with respect to the time spent in urban traffic is about 0.5. This elasticity is further connected to the welfare of consumers by using the implications of an economic model. The corresponding investigation shows that reducing the time spent in urban traffic by one minute improves consumer welfare by about 1.3% for the average city, with a range between 0.8% and 2.3% across cities. Several policy suggestions follow regarding how to reduce the time spent in urban traffic that would improve consumer welfare. • Urban traffic increases consumer retail prices. • Urban traffic reduces consumer welfare. • Policies reducing the time spent in traffic would improve consumer welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Performance of Italian recyclers is correlated to economic and institutional factors. • More specialized and digitized recyclers enjoy higher performances. • Separate collection rates and political ideology also affect performance. • Better performing recycling firms support the green transition. In order to achieve the ambitious goals of the European Union (EU) Green Deal, Member States must implement an efficient and modern recycling industry that can combine high environmental standards with high economic performance. According to Eurostat, the amount of waste recovered, both industrial and urban, increased by 33.9% from 2004 to 2020, and the share of recovery in total waste treatment rose, respectively, from 45.9% to 59.1%. Among the EU countries, Italy exhibits the highest waste recycling rate (83.2% in 2020). This paper empirically investigates the economic, institutional, and social aspects that may be correlated to the performance of firms involved in industrial and urban waste recycling. Better performing firms would definitely provide larger benefits to the recycling industry, since turning waste into resources is crucial for the transition to a cleaner, climate neutral and circular economy. Working on a panel dataset of 3715 Italian companies, it emerges that firms performance is positively influenced by several firm-specific factors, such as age of experience, size, degree of specialization and digitalization, and by territorial factors, such as separate collection rate, regional GDP, and regional political ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global economy's rapid expansion highlights the need for sustainable development in ports. However, existing research has overlooked the crucial aspect of social sustainability. To address this gap, this paper evaluates ports' sustainability using a novel framework that combines cross-hierarchical data envelopment analysis and cross-efficiency. Examining 18 ports in China from 2017 to 2020, we assess their internal and external sustainability dimensions. Results show that most ports demonstrate commendable efficiency in internal sustainability, though room for improvement remains. In terms of external sustainability, some ports excel economically and socially, but environmental indicators require more attention. Overall, sustainability performance shows an encouraging upward trend, with southern ports leading in sustainability practices. However, economic factors pose challenges to port development, emphasizing the need for heightened focus on environmental and social dimensions. By filling a knowledge gap and offering valuable recommendations, this study introduces a fresh perspective on sustainable port development. • The internal sustainability and external sustainability among ports are considered. • A modified CH-DEA approach is used. • We measure the static sustainability of ports during 2017–2020. • The macro and micro influencing factors of sustainability are examined. • Measures to enhance port sustainability are proposed from both internal and external perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is among the advanced technologies driving significant transformations in the manufacturing sector. As a consequence, there has been a substantial increase in scholarly publications focusing on AI applications in manufacturing in recent years. This paper investigates the diverse applications of AI in manufacturing through a comprehensive analysis of scientific literature. The study employs metadata analysis, including titles, keywords, authors, and affiliations, to investigate regional variations and thematic trends in the field. Keywords are first analyzed for significance and categorized into 11 distinct categories. Significant keywords specific to each country are then identified to highlight individual research areas. Topic modeling is utilized to uncover nine key topics and their respective proportions across countries. Finally, clustering based on topic distributions identifies countries with similar research interests within AI applications in manufacturing. The theoretical implications emphasize the need to develop interdisciplinary approaches that reflect AI's transformative role in reshaping manufacturing. As AI drives shifts in technology, economics, and sustainability, it calls for an integration of new concepts like AI-led smart manufacturing and global innovation ecosystems, which are essential for understanding the broader societal and economic impacts. These shifts also underscore the importance of examining global technological convergence and international research collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last-mile delivery challenges and complexity are increasing simultaneously with the e-commerce growth, the e-commerce growth constitutes a threat to urban transport, especially for big cities and developing countries. This paper examines the economic impact of crowd-shipping based on public transport collaborated with the automated parcel locker and the impact of traditional delivery, as two different methods of last-mile delivery under the same circumstances. This paper aims to assess crowd-shipping as an alternative solution for last-mile delivery compared to traditional delivery. Data has been simulated based on Cairo reality, one of the largest cities in the world. The mathematical models were formulated for the problem, where the first model objective function minimizes the costs of vehicle possession and vehicle kilometers traveled, while the second model objective function minimizes the costs of establishing lockers, vehicle possession, and vehicle kilometers traveled. A genetic algorithm has been used due to the complexity of the problem. The results show that the economic impact of the crowd-shipping delivery system is better than the traditional delivery system under the conditions of large-sized and medium-sized demand, while the economic impact of traditional delivery is better than the crowd-shipping delivery system under the conditions of small-sized demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rise in load demand, improving the voltage profile and reducing line loss is vital to ensure reliable power delivery to the customer. However, increasing power plant generation capacity is limited by environmental and economic factors, requiring a careful assessment of locally optimal options. Distributed Generation (DG) installation into the electricity grid is one of the reliable remedial actions to ensure a smooth power delivery. Installation of DG requires an optimization process to identify the appropriate placement and sizing. Inaccurate sizing and placement of the DG installation may result to over-compensation or under-compensation phenomena. This paper proposes a novel approach termed the Integrated Immune Moth Flame Evolutionary Programming technique (IIMFEP) for optimizing the installation of DG sources in distribution systems. It handles various scenarios, including multi-DG single-type and multi-DG multi-type installations, with the main objective of minimizing power loss in the system. This technique employs a hybrid approach that combines elements of immune algorithms, moth flame optimization, and evolutionary programming to achieve more accurate and efficient results. Two cases were considered in this study termed Case 1 and Case 2. Results in Case 1 discovered that the optimal sizing and placement of four Type III DGs exhibit the lowest power loss worth 2.74 kW (98.78 % reduction) for the 69-Bus RDS, while for the 118-Bus RDS the power loss is 319.89 kW (75.36 % reduction). In Case Study 2, the combination of DG Types I and III provided the highest power loss reduction. With one DG Type I and two DG Type III units installed, power loss was reduced by 97.15 % to 6.41 kW for the 69-Bus RDS and by 62.01 % to 493.21 kW for the 118-Bus RDS. The proposed IIMFEP managed to alleviate the setback experienced in the traditional EP, AIS and MFO which found to be stuck at local optimum. The IIMFEP method is compared to Moth Flame Optimization, Artificial Immune System and Evolutionary Programming and validated using the IEEE 69-Bus and 118-Bus Radial Distribution Systems, resulting in outstanding performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) immediately introduced strict public health measures to contain the spread of infection. The economic consequences of these measures were negative and often large in magnitude, necessitating the rapid introduction of economic relief and recovery measures to reinvigorate economic growth and safeguard affected households. Rwanda stands out among other LMICs both for its effective public health policy response and its adaptive economic policy response to COVID-19. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of Rwanda, this paper assesses the economywide and welfare impacts of these policy measures and contextualizes results within the overall policy response to COVID-19. Modeling results generated at an early stage of Rwanda's pandemic experience indicated that relief and recovery measures introduced in 2020 could mitigate COVID-19′s recessionary effects by about 0.8 % points of total GDP, help to recover about 115,000 jobs and, through cash transfers, significantly reduce income losses among poorer households, with total benefits from the measures exceeded their cost by a ratio of 2.2. These results demonstrate the widely replicable value of economywide modeling when used in a timely manner and when positioned within a policymaking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examine industrial trends in six Central American economies, and find that the industrial employment share has declined by an average of 2.5 percentage points over the past two decades. • Decline not due to a trade-driven deindustrialization but rather due to an increase in barriers that restrict the efficient flow of labor across sectors. • Policy interventions targeting these barriers could potentially lead to significant industrial expansion, but the economic impact may be marginal, with aggregate output projected to increase by 3.2 percent or less. • Boosting productivity could be a more prudent growth strategy. This paper analyses industrial trends in six Central American economies by assembling and harmonizing sectoral data from multiple sources. Industrial employment share has declined by an average of 2.5 percentage points over the past two decades. Contrary to a trade-driven deindustrialization hypothesis, which suggests that cheaper imports have replaced domestic production of industrial goods, the findings indicate that this decline is primarily driven by an increase in barriers that restrict the efficient flow of labor across sectors. The paper argues that policy interventions that target these barriers could potentially lead to significant industrial expansion. However, the economic impact of such policies may be marginal, with aggregate output projected to increase by 3.2 percent or less upon eliminating these barriers. Moreover, this approach also carries risks, as it may introduce new distortions that could further hinder economic efficiency. Perhaps a more prudent growth strategy will be to concentrate on boosting productivity, which though challenging, directly affects the output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new index is proposed to quantify the economic impact of COVID-19 on countries. • The index shows an extreme heterogeneity in the economic impact of COVID-19. • The factors behind this heterogeneity are explored using regression techniques. • The analysis includes pandemic-specific factors and structural factors. • Results stress the importance of industrial development for resilience. The socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 has been widely uneven across regions and countries, reflecting underlying differences in their resilience against shocks. This paper tries to explain this heterogeneity by identifying factors of resilience and vulnerability. To fully capture the impact of the crisis on economic activity, we propose a novel index of GDP loss that measures both the initial shock and recovery rate at the country level. With a dataset of 125 countries, we implement cross-sectional regression techniques to estimate the impact of pandemic-specific and structural factors on the index. The focus of the analysis is placed on a dimension that was not sufficiently explored yet in the specialized literature: the role of industrial capabilities. Results show that industrial capabilities were crucial in supporting countries' ability to absorb and resist the global shock. The paper thus provides new empirical evidence on the role played by manufacturing industries in strengthening resilience to face unexpected events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of zooarchaeological data for the principal livestock (i.e., cattle, sheep, goats and pigs) reveals regional and cultural variability in how animals were manipulated, marketed, bred, and utilized over the course of antiquity. This paper focuses upon those developments, as reconstructed through zooarchaeological frequency and morphometric data for the period from c. 1000 BCE to c. 700 CE. Regionally, North Africa encompasses a vast territory, from Egypt, in the East, to Mauretania, in the West. Ecologically, there are variations within each of these zones. Culturally, moreover, these regions witnessed the introduction and influence of different social and economic agents and factors over the timeframe under investigation. This paper examines patterns in these components in a broad synthetic manner, using zooarchaeological data across the entire expanse of Roman North Africa—from Egypt to Mauretania. Focus centers upon the nature and degree of size and shape changes within the principal livestock, modifications that were in part influenced by aspects such as the scale and pattern in trade, dietary appeal for animal products (notably fatty meats), market demands, ecological adaptations, as well as economic and cultural contact among areas. Key similarities and differences in faunal patterns, across time and space within ancient North Africa, and the links these share with changes in animal husbandry schemes are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a concise yet informative overview on future operations in near-Earth space including in-orbit servicing, assembly, manufacturing, and the use of space tugs, in the frame of the space traffic management context. After providing a general definition of these activities, the significant impact that they will have in the space domain from an economic perspective is highlighted. Past achievements in terms of orbital demonstrations are then recalled, leading to the identification of the most critical technological challenges which need to be addressed to improve reliability, frequency, and robustness of servicing operations. A summary of the most critical next steps and recommendations is finally provided. • A general definition and classification of In-Orbit Servicing activities is provided. • The economic and environmental impact of IOS activities is discussed. • Past achievements are reviewed and critical technical challenges are identified. • A summary of the most critical next steps and recommendations is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Crowding-out effect of the public sector on private sector economic activity. • Two sources of financing for the government sector are discussed: government bonds and bank loans. • Contrasts state-owned and non-state-owned corporations. • The role of central government regulation. The local government debt risk has attracted government regulators' attention, and its economic consequences have become a new research topic. Based on data from Chinese prefecture-level cities, this paper empirically examines the impact of local government debt on corporate financing from 2006-2018. The results show that government debt financing reduces total corporate debt financing, increases the cost of corporate debt financing, and has a crowding-out effect on corporate debt financing. Local government financing through the financing platform company injects quality projects and reduces the financing constraints of the financing platform to attract credit resources from banks. Insides, the government provides a guarantee for the financing platform company and reduces the bond risk of the financing platform to attract investors to purchase. Severing the link between local governments and financing platform companies can reduce the crowding-out effect to a certain extent. The results of this paper provide evidence for the micro effects of local government fiscal policy, which are informative for further improving the financing capacity of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is considered one of the promising emerging clean renewable power generation technologies with the potential to replace coal-fired power (CFP). However, the feasibility of CSP as a replacement for CFP has not been systematically and scientifically analyzed, hindering its positioning and future development, and complicating energy transition decision-making by policymakers. To address this issue, this paper proposes a comprehensive framework to thoroughly compare CSP and CFP from multiple perspectives, including industry and technology development status, as well as single and hybrid technology potentials. This framework considers the comprehensive influences of China's geography, policy, and economy, and analyzes land suitability, technical installed capacity and generation capacity, and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) spatial distribution characteristics from geographical, technical, and economic aspects. Comparative results show that, despite CSP having 2.06 million km2 available for construction and a generational potential 7.58 to 18.22 times the current national generation, its economically advantageous and technically feasible areas cover only 237,030 km2 (11.51 % of available land), hindering its widespread adoption as a CFP alternative. To address this, this paper proposes a practical hybrid technology assessment scheme, further comparing promising hybrid CSP-PV and hybrid CFP-Wind systems. Results indicate that hybrid CSP-PV systems increase high-quality regions by 19.79 %, covering 3.5 million km2 with lower LCOE than hybrid CFP-Wind, marking a 226.19 % increase. The economically advantageous and technically feasible areas exceed 585,020 km2, a 146.81 % increase compared to standalone CSP. Overall, the study demonstrates that hybrid CSP-PV systems offer significant economic and technical advantages, making them a competitive option for CFP substitution. However, the costs of standalone CSP systems remain considerably higher than those of CFP generation. To improve the feasibility of CSP as a CFP alternative, this paper provides targeted policy recommendations aimed at advancing CSP industry growth, fostering technological innovation, and enhancing market infrastructure. • Proposing a comprehensive framework to compare CSP and CFP technologies across multiple dimensions. • Evaluating and comparing CSP and CFP potentials in China using geographical, policy, and economic factors. • Comparing the potential of hybrid technologies and assessing the benefits of hybrid CSP-PV over standalone CSP. • Validating the proposed framework with real power station data and conducting sensitivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Part of UN sustainable development goal 9 is upgrading production capabilities. • Increasing economic complexity is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. • Sequential model selection used for robust generalised method of moments estimation. • Chinese FDI evidently shows a positive impact on host countries' economic complexity. • Global policy makers should deepen their relationships with the belt and road. Upgrading the production capabilities in all countries is a target of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 9. Increasing economic complexity, that is, a country's ability to manufacture more sophisticated products and thus moving up the value chain, is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. This paper investigates whether Chinese Belt and Road investments have impacted the economic complexity of host countries — a topic not addressed in the literature to date, using a sequential generalised method of moments model selection approach. The research focuses on the countries whose economic complexities are below that of China. Our empirical results show significant positive effects of Chinese investments on such host countries' economic complexities. The inflows of Chinese investments have thus supported the upgrading of production capabilities in these countries. This is encouraging, especially for the Global South countries, to intensify their interactions with the Belt and Road initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of technology ecosystems in shaping national economies and their impact on economic growth rates. It defines ecosystems as companies organizing multilateral markets across industries and investigates their association with economic growth using econometric analysis. Drawing from literature on multilateral markets and platform economics, the study finds a positive correlation between ecosystem presence and economic growth rates, highlighting their role in fostering innovation and increasing labor efficiency. However, challenges remain in measuring the full extent of ecosystem exports' cross-national effects. The findings emphasize the importance of ecosystem regulation and its potential to drive economic growth and national welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature on inland ports has rarely discussed the regional economic dimension of inland port development. The economic impact of inland ports on host cities and regions is unclear. This paper accordingly seeks to fill this gap by analyzing the economic impact of the Yangtze River inland ports on regional development. To this end, this paper analyses the impact of inland port activities on regional development for a sample of 22 inland ports located in the Yangtze River Basin, observed over the period 2000–2018. The paper uses a spatial econometric model to estimate the direct and spillover effects associated with inland port activities. The results indicate that while Yangtze River inland ports induce a non-negligible economic impact on local economic development, positive and larger spatial spillover effects occur outside the host city where the inland port is located. This paper provides new evidence for the economic impact of inland ports on regional development and provides the basis for the policy of investing in the Yangtze River inland ports. • The spatial spillover effect of Yangtze River inland ports on regional economic development is investigated. • Inland ports tend to promote the economic development of the cities where they are located. • Also inland ports have a large positive indirect (spillover) effect on the economic development of neighboring cities. • The spillover effect on the neighboring cities is far greater than the direct effect on its local cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data of Chinese A-share firms between 2010 and 2021, this paper examines whether and how share pledging affects corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. We find that share pledging by major shareholders reduces corporate ESG performance, and this finding remains robust after various robustness tests, such as addressing endogeneity issues and using alternative measures. We also find that major shareholders' share pledging inhibits ESG performance by exacerbating short-term financial behaviors such as tunneling and earnings management and suppressing sustainable investments such as green innovation, social donations, and internal control. It suggests that firms with share pledging prioritize short-term financial activities and decrease investment in sustainable development. The heterogeneity tests show that investors focusing on long-term development, effective external monitoring, and internal governance could mitigate the negative impact of share pledging on sustainability performance. Furthermore, we find that the negative influence of share pledging on ESG performance occurs mainly in the sample in which the pledged funds are invested in entities other than the focal listed companies. Based on sustainable business development, this paper contributes to the literature on the economic consequences of share pledging. These findings are valuable and motivating for regulators and investors in their decision-making. • Higher proportion of share pledging is associated with worse corporate sustainability performance. • Exacerbating short-term financial behaviors and suppressing sustainable investments are the main mechanisms. • Investors focusing on long-term growth, effective external and internal monitoring could mitigate the negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid advancement of distributed energy resources (DERs), artificial intelligence, and smart meter technologies, traditional consumers are undergoing a paradigm shift towards 'prosumers'. In this context, peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading emerges as an effective approach to enhance local energy utilization. Nevertheless, the inherent intermittency and forecasting challenges associated with renewable energy resources may magnify uncertainties in the markets, and pose a potential threat to destabilize the markets. To address this challenge, this paper presents a method to assess the economic impacts of forecasting errors and introduces a metric, the bill deviation index. Additionally, the consequences of forecasting errors on market outcomes are examined based on the mathematical model of three different pricing mechanisms. Our findings indicate that forecasting errors can lead to significant financial discrepancies, the magnitude of which is closely related to the pricing mechanisms and their dependency on energy quantity. The paper further underscores the role of variability in clearing price, balancing cost, and the supply–demand relationship in determining the economic fallout of forecasting errors. It concludes by providing insights for managing energy trading in markets marked by high forecasting errors and suggests strategies to mitigate the associated economic risks. • An economic impact assessment method considering pricing calculation principles is proposed. • The influence of forecasting errors on market outcomes is analyzed through three pricing mechanisms. • A P2P energy trading model is developed to evaluate crucial variables under various market conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global airport perception levels vary due to natural geographical factors and economic development disparities. Understanding these differences is crucial for assessing regional airport development and its correlation with geographical patterns. However, there are limited methods available to effectively comprehend these disparities. To address this issue, this paper proposes a Salience, Disturbance, and Geographic-knowledge (SDG) approach for the cognitive analysis of global large-scale airport perception differences. Salience is assessed using a two-class deep learning model to evaluate the prominence of known airports. Disturbance is evaluated using an object detection model to measure background interference in large-scale airport perception. Geographic-knowledge analysis considers the correlation between regional airports and their surrounding geographic environment. The results rank perception difficulties for 17 regions worldwide, with Tajikistan exhibiting the highest difficulty at 0.922, while the Jiangsu–Zhejiang–Shanghai region in China has the lowest at 0.102. We also performed correlation analyses to validate the effectiveness of our model. To our knowledge, this paper pioneers the cognitive analysis of target perception difficulty differences across multiple global regions. • A unified model assesses airport perceived difficulty globally. • Main factors affecting regional salience differences are identified. • Factors are quantified for various downstream target calculation frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unimproved land values are produced through the agglomeration of human activity and by public investments, in critical infrastructure, that happen over generations. Following enclosure, those values are captured as rent by private landowners. This paper explores the logic and justice of 'land value recovery' in rural areas, achieved through a transference of tax liability from wages and productivity to land. After introducing relevant aspects of the current tax system in the UK and detailing the challenges faced by rural areas, it offers reflections on how land value recovery might impact on key challenges, centered on housing, farming and wider land-use, before peering into the 'Pandora's box' of broader economic implications of recovering land values. The paper concludes on the benefits for rural areas of socializing the rents produced by broader socio-economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to examine the exploitation of salt and its economic implications in Baden-Württemberg during the Iron Age as well as some wider perspectives on the subject from other areas of Germany. Salt is an important raw material that can have great economic implications and create long-term networks. The salt springs in the area are exploited using the briquetage method. It allows the production not only of salt but also of salt blocks, calibrated objects. The paper presents data on the production and distribution of salt around Schwäbisch Hall, some hypotheses on commercial competition between production centres. It also includes a more general discussion of the impact of the salt economy in the area. • This paper provides an overview of research of production and distribution of salt in Baden-Württemberg during the Iron Ages. • Spatial analysis approach of salt distribution allows to understand economic dynamics of salt. • Emphasis on the role of lowland settlements in the network of salt economy. • It addresses economic archaeology (trade networks, distribution mechanisms, social embeddedness of economic processes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Impacts of export quality on economic progress are examined. • The role of economic complexity for economic growth is investigated. • 28 OECD country's data is utilized from 1990 to 2019. • Export quality and economic complexity induce sustainable growth. • Institutional quality is a significant determinant for economic growth. It is important to unearth the role of structural change factors for sustainable growth in developed economies. Economic complexity, export product quality, and institutional indicators represent the overall structural change and transformation in an economy. This paper probed the influence of export product quality and economics of complexity on economic growth for 28 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries using the data from 1990 to 2019. In doing so, the study employs three-panel data econometric models to investigate the role of economic complexity, export quality, and institutional quality on economic development. The paper performs the empirical tests, including the cross-sectional related dependency methods and cointegration techniques. As per the results emerging from fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and dynamic OLS (DOLS) estimation, export quality and financial development positively and significantly strongly impact growth in the long run. The empirical conclusions report detailed discussion on sustainable growth and discuss novel implications concerning product quality and institutional performance. The conclusions stress the practical implications for sustainable economic growth of OECD economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much recent work on transport and the economy has focused on 'Wider Economic Impacts' (WEIs) of infrastructure investment, the impacts other than time savings benefiting those actually using the transport network. Differential effects of transportation infrastructure by mode such as urban rail and road are relatively well known. However, impacts of other mode such as walking are scarce. This paper estimates wider economic impacts related to productivity from full rail, road and walking transport networks in Hong Kong in 2016. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that makes use of complex network science indicators with spatial cognition-weighted accessibility combining full urban rail network, road network, and pedestrian network in capturing wider economic impacts. We use an instrumental variable approach to identify the causal effect of transport network centralities on productivity measured by gross value added. Our identification strategy largely relies on the exogenous variations from historical planned and existing transport networks. A first specification confirms the significance of urban rail and road. Specification with pedestrian network shows that pedestrian and rail networks can statistically significantly increase productivity in Hong Kong while roads play a less significant but still meaningful role. Our findings are robust to a variety of sensitivity tests such as using night-time light intensity and residential wage as alternative measures for productivity. The research suggests a key planning policy implication: place-based policies in a dense city require improvement in pedestrian and rail network structure that impacts local and global transport accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the economic impact of discretionary fiscal and monetary actions taken in the United States during 2020 and 2021. The fiscal actions are The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the "CARES" Act, passed in March 2020; The Consolidated Appropriations Act, passed in December 2020; and The American Rescue Plan Act, passed in March 2021. The paper focuses on the impact of the "economic impact payments" that underlie these fiscal actions. The paper also examines discretionary monetary policy actions taken during the same period. The overall implication is that there is a need to return to policies that increase economic growth and stability, including rules-based fiscal and monetary policy, rather than to continue with these one-time discretionary actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to estimate the impacts of rapid and accurate tracing of cattle movements during a Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the United States (US). To simulate introduction and spread of FMD we utilized InterSpread Plus, a spatially explicit disease transmission model, and a national livestock population file. The simulations began in one of four regions of the US via beef or dairy cattle as the index infected premises (IP). The first IP was detected 8, 14, or 21 days after introduction. The tracing levels were defined by the probability of a successful trace and the time to trace completion. We evaluated three tracing performance levels, a baseline that represents a mix of paper and electronic interstate shipment records, an estimated partial implementation of electronic identification (EID) tracing, and an estimated full implementation of EID tracing. To evaluate the potential to decrease the size of control areas and surveillance zones with full EID use, we compared the standard size for each to a reduced geographical area for each. The total number of IPs in an outbreak varied with the location of the index farms. Within index farm locations and across tracing performance levels, early detection (day 8) resulted in fewer IPs and a shorter duration of the outbreak. The impact of improving tracing was most evident within introduction region when detection was delayed (day 14 or 21). Full EID use decreased the 95th percentile but had a smaller impact on the median number of IPs. Improved tracing also decreased the number of farms impacted by control efforts in control areas (0–10 km) and surveillance zones (10–20 km) by decreasing outbreak size (total IPs). Decreasing the control area (0–7 km) and surveillance zone (7–14 km) sizes while using full EID tracing further decreased the number of farms under surveillance but increased the number of IPs slightly. Consistent with previous results, this supports the potential value of early detection and improved traceability to control FMD outbreaks. Further development of the EID system in the US is necessary to achieve the modeled results. Further research into the economic impacts of enhanced tracing and decreased zone sizes are needed to determine the full impact of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-innovation refers to developing goods, processes, and services that seek companies' sustainable positioning and permanence in an ever-evolving and demanding market. On the other hand, the cluster approach has proven a successful strategy for companies to accomplish eco-innovation. This paper aims to pinpoint the factors that generate economic effects on the companies of a cluster when they engage in eco-innovation activities. The study was applied to a 40-company cluster in the Colombian metalworking sector, implementing the Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FsQCA) methodology, which identifies the inherent causal relationships between factors having economic impacts on the cluster's companies. Through the FsQCA analysis, we identified those factors that have significant economic effects, to which companies must give special attention to achieve benefits and reduce operative costs while complying with environmental regulations. Moreover, the necessary and sufficient conditions analysis showed different pathways to achieving such benefits. The factors found to have economic effects are the companies' capacity, market demand, and regulatory policies. Finally, the paper shows that by focusing on the correct factors and actions, the cluster approach fosters the companies' competitiveness and leads them to successfully engage in eco-innovation. Thus, this work provides companies with a roadmap to achieve eco-innovation-related results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• One Polish household wasted 0.56 kg of food per day. • In Polish households, fruit, vegetables, bread are wasted the most during the day. • Household characteristics explain food waste more than individual characteristics. • Single-person households waste more food products and semi-products than other. • On a per capita level Polish households with children waste less food. In Poland, to our best knowledge, none of the scientific publications produced to date have addressed the scale of wasted food in households and the impact of sociodemographic and economic factors on this. This study fills this research gap. The study was carried out in 2019 on a nationwide random-quota sample of 500 households, which are representative of all households. The survey was carried out in the respondents' homes for seven consecutive days. It consisted of an interview conducted by an interviewer (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews method) and a paper diary completed by the respondents themselves. The aim of the study was to present the volume of wasted food, taking five groups into account,and to examine the impact of the sociodemographic and economic characteristics of the households and the person responsible for preparing meals on food waste. The results show that one person, on average, wasted 62.6 kg of edible food per year (98.2 kg of edible and inedible parts combined). According to the results, the most discarded food products include fruit and vegetables, bread, dairy products, drinks and juices, and cold cuts. Statistical analysis showed that the level of food waste in Polish households is conditioned by characteristics such as household size (persons), the presence and number of children, monthly income, as well as the characteristics of the person responsible for preparing meals, such as age and employment status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most migration studies and theories focus on understanding the initial migration of people from their home country. Less attention has been paid to the factors influencing immigrants' preferences to either permanently settle in the host country, return to their home country or move onwards to another destination. Understanding the characteristics and motives of those who aspire to leave the host country is, however, valuable for both host and home countries to formulate appropriate and effective policies in order to retain their valued immigrants or citizens and foster their successful (re-)integration. This paper provides a comprehensive global analysis of the characteristics and circumstances that shape first-generation immigrants' aspirations to stay, return or migrate onwards, based on individual-level data from the Gallup World Polls across 138 countries worldwide between 2009 and 2016. Our study reveals that immigrants' stated preferences are strongly influenced by demographics, human and spiritual capital, as well as by soft factors, such as social ties and sociocultural integration, while economic factors have a more feeble influence. Changes in circumstances in the home and host countries are also important determinants of locational aspirations. Some interesting exceptions to our results stand out when we differentiate home and host countries by their economic development levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Child pedestrian injuries in Greater London are studied. • A host of exposure measures, built environment and socio-economic factors are considered. • School enrolment was found to be a better proxy exposure measure compared to number of schools. • Social inequities are found to be strongly associated with child pedestrian safety. Introduction: Child pedestrian safety remains a challenge despite the remarkable progress that has been attained in recent years, particularly, in high income jurisdictions such as London. This study sought to identify and quantify the magnitude of the effects of various explanatory variables, from the domains of transport, built and natural environment, socio-demographic and economic factors, on ward level child pedestrian injury frequencies in Greater London. Method: We adopted a multilevel random parameters model to investigate the factors associated with child pedestrian injuries given the hierarchical nature of the data comprising of wards nested within boroughs. Results: We found that crime, the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population, school enrollment, and the proportion of the population who walk five times a week had an increasing effect on the number of child pedestrian casualties. Conversely, the proportion of the population with a level 4 qualification and the number of cars per household had a decreasing effect. Conclusions: Our study identified high child pedestrian injury frequency wards and boroughs: Stratford and New Town had the highest expected child pedestrian injury frequencies followed by Selhurst, Westend, and Greenford Broadway. Some inner London boroughs are among the highest injury frequency areas; however, a higher number of high child pedestrian injury boroughs are in outer London. Practical Applications: The paper provides recommendations for policy makers for targeted child pedestrian safety improvement interventions and prioritization to optimize the utilization of often constrained resources. The study also highlights the importance of considering social inequities in policies that aim at improving child traffic safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the threshold effect of debt on economic growth in Nigeria, with a view to investigating debt sustainability levels in the country. The analysis included yearly data from 1981 to 2021. To achieve its objectives, the study used two-regime threshold ARDL regression approaches. Findings reveal that the optimal thresholds for total debt as a ratio of GDP (TDB/GDP), GNI (TDB/GNI), total revenue (TDB/REV), and exports of goods and services (TDB/EXP) are 46.1%, 54.5%, 355.3%, and 24.9%, respectively. Findings also indicate that debt ratios below the threshold levels have a significant positive impact on economic growth. This is true for all the debt ratios, except debt-to-export ratio. However, debt ratios above the threshold levels have a negative and significant effect on Nigeria's economic growth. Furthermore, findings reveal that only the level of domestic debt is sustainable over the long and short run, whereas external debt and total debt are only sustainable over the long run. When expressed as ratios of GDP and GNI, evidence indicates that Nigeria's debt is not sustainable by all the five measures of debt adopted in the study, both in the short run and in the long run while total debt to revenue ratio is only sustainable only in the long run. The paper adequately explores the implications of these findings and offers relevant policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wild swings in Bitcoin's valuation keep attracting authorities' and policy-makers interest. Thus at present, many researchers are focus on analyzing and forecasting. The existing studies on Bitcoin price prediction are mainly in two ways: (1) study how economic factors, market and investor sentiment indicators influence Bitcoin price; (2) apply machine learning and artificial neural networks to predict the value of Bitcoin. This paper aims to implement a scenario analysis method to generate various hypothetical events and then determine their effects on the value of Bitcoin price. Scenario analysis is normally used to measure financial risk. In this paper, we propose a method that combines scenario analysis with historical data. We further aim to find the correlations among scenarios and examine the relationship between the significant shocks and Bitcoin prices. Our findings suggest that what-if analysis is a good way to measure the risk exposure of Bitcoin. The method can also be used for worse-scenario analysis to check how Bitcoin performs during crisis periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper assesses international spillovers from a twin demand shock, originating sequentially in two large economies. Using a network-based spillover model, the paper concludes that while the initial shock may be modest, the network effects in shock spillovers can be substantial, comparable, and often exceed the initial shock. Individual countries may amplify, absorb, or block spillovers. To illustrate the model, the paper quantifies the macroeconomic impact of a hypothetical reduction of bilateral trade between the United States and China as a result of mutual trade restriction. • A twin shock to the world economy may originate in two large economies. China-US trade tensions, which led to an increase of the tariff by the United States on its import from China and China's retaliation, is an example of a twin shock. • A network model of trade captures higher round network effects of a twin shock. Such effects can be substantial but have been largely disregarded. • Individual countries may amplify, absorb, or block twin shock spillovers. A twin shock would produce spillover, spillin, and spillback effects. • Potential economic impact from the US-China twin shock would be modest. On average, the shock from mutual tariffs would lead to a drop in bilateral trade by 10 percent (0.1 percent of world GDP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Environmental and economic impacts of e-waste recycling are reviewed. • Non-LCA studies have focused relatively less on the potential to change climate. • Economic impact studies rarely consider social costs. • Barriers from social, technological, and behavioral perspectives are discussed. • Solutions are proposed to encourage proper environmental and economic impact analysis. The surge in information and communication technology devices, along with electronic vehicles, has led to an undesirable output: a considerable amount of electronic waste (e-waste). E-waste poses environmental risks yet also contains recoverable valuable materials, including precious metals and rare earth elements. As such, the recycling of e-waste offers both environmental and economic benefits. Nevertheless, a substantial portion of e-waste remains unprocessed through official recycling channels, even in regions with stringent regulations like the European Union, where approximately 75% of e-waste is not properly managed. Moreover, the economic feasibility of recycling e-waste remains uncertain, necessitating an ongoing assessment to devise effective strategies. While numerous reviews have explored the environmental impacts of e-waste, comprehensive studies examining the economic implications are limited. This paper presents a critical and systematic review of 159 studies that evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of e-waste recycling. A structured search technique was employed, utilizing 216 keyword combinations to identify relevant studies. Research on environmental impacts has shown a lack of methodological diversity. In particular, non-LCA studies show a lack of focus on energy consumption and the potential for climate change. In addition, a significant number of environmental impact studies overlook economic impacts. Within economic analyses, it has been observed that many studies do not consider costs, and social costs are rarely considered. The review discusses barriers to e-waste recycling from social, technological, and behavioral perspectives. Furthermore, the paper discusses policy measures, financial incentives, and technical advancements to address these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Urban energy management by optimization through modified bat algorithm (MBA). • Stochastic framework using unscented transform (UT). • Blockchain integration for data security. This paper introduces an innovative approach to optimizing the allocation of local workforce and resources in the renewable energy sector through the application of the Modified Bat Algorithm (MBA). By leveraging MBA, the study achieves enhanced precision in decision-making, maximizing the positive impact of urban energy transition on local employment while respecting various constraints. To address the inherent uncertainties associated with the energy transition process, the paper employs a stochastic framework grounded in the Unscented Transform (UT). By incorporating UT, the study captures and analyzes the probabilistic nature of factors such as economic growth, energy production, and environmental impact. This framework provides a robust foundation for decision-making under uncertainty, ensuring the reliability of the proposed assessment model. Recognizing the critical importance of data integrity and security in the assessment of local economic and employment effects, this paper integrates blockchain technology to enhance the trustworthiness of the data transaction process. The use of blockchain ensures transparency, immutability, and security of data, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the results and fostering trust in the assessment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the EU's strategy for recovering from the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, of which the NextGenerationEU temporary stimulus package forms part. That strategy is compared to the diametrically opposite approach taken by EU institutions in the crisis of 2008. The most significant elements and economic policy references adopted in the two cases are identified. The paradigm shift in economic policy is evident, and the errors that led to a double dip in European economies in the handling of the earlier crisis have been avoided. In spite of the better discretionary response, it is argued that there is a need for a permanent, amply endowed, well-designed European stabilisation mechanism free from complexes in regard to the mutualisation of debt, so as to simplify procedures and reduce reaction times in the face of further crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usefulness of transportation project evaluation depends on the completeness of its benefit measures. Since transportation networks are intrinsically spatial, transportation improvement projects have spatial access and location characteristics that can lead to a variety of non-user economic benefits. Recent research has enabled us to better understand how spatial context and spatial heterogeneity play further roles in generating efficiency gains for non-users, in the form of productivity, income, and cost savings for both private and public sectors of the economy. This paper draws upon that body of research to expand our understanding of the means by which transportation projects can generate economic efficiency gains, and approaches needed to measure them. It covers topics beyond those captured by current definitions of "wider economic benefits," including additional sources of scale economies associated with freight distribution and connectivity, and further public and private sector economic gains enabled by environmental and social inclusion improvement. It points to ways that non-user economic benefits can be more comprehensively defined and better measured by recognizing their spatial scale, context, and threshold effects. It also identifies ways that current benefit measurement methods introduce unintended bias into transportation investment decision-making through omission and mismeasurement. The result is a case for a refresh of thinking about how we classify and recognize non-user economic benefits in transportation evaluation, and how we apply transportation planning and economic models to support their measurement. • Transport decisions biased when non-user benefits are ignored or mis-measured. • Non-user economic benefits depend on spatial access, proximity, or connectivity. • Spatial scale, context, and heterogeneity affect measurement of non-user benefit. • Benefits from freight density, virtual density, effective density, non-user cost. • Rigid travel modeling standards hold back non-user benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]