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The major crises that hit the world economy in the last 15 years caused a growing presence of the state in the economy. Deep crises almost inevitably give rise to growing public interventions to avoid the collapse of the economic and social system. However, the demand for more state interventions does not make it less important to be concerned about the extension and quality of these interventions in order to contain their possible negative effects on the economy as a whole. The paper is an attempt at dealing with these issues by using a simple growth model inspired by Domar's contributions. The main result is that state interventions can produce positive effects on the economy by not simply increasing aggregate demand but, most of all, by contributing to raise the productivity and the rate of growth of the economy. An objective that can be realized by mainly devoting public outlays to investment in physical and human capital (defined as productive public expenditures). • The crises that recently hit the world economy caused a growing presence of the state in the economy. • The issue is dealt with by focusing on the effects of public spending on the economy's growth rate. • Public spending can positively affect the growth rate by raising the economy's productivity. • Productivity is raised by concentrating outlays on investment in physical and human capital. • At higher growth rates the ratio Public Debt/GDP can be stabilized in spite of primary deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we review the theories of business cycles in the 20th century after the work of John Maynard Keynes. Fluctuations in economic activity have been observed with considerable regularity since the beginning of the last century, motivating empirical efforts to, identify, measure, and understand business cycles, contributing to the identification of stylized facts on business cycles, facts the business cycle theories should try to explain. Theories however have been very distinct through the years. Despite the different explanations for the sources of cycles, in mainstream economics, there was the underlying hypothesis of stability and equilibrium as a main characteristic of the economic system. The heterodox view on business cycles, in contrast, starts with Keynes pre-dynamic theory, considering the intrinsic instability of the system and extends through several other authors and theories. In this paper, we use the concepts of equilibrium and instability as a demarcating guide to separate theories in two groups: the mainstream view and the heterodox view. We notice however that, even though different authors and theories might share similar views on the self-equilibrating property of the economic system, there is no coherent integration between similar theories. We conclude the paper with some methodological insights that might lead to a coherent and integrated approach to explain business cycles in the heterodox view, requiring new and complex methods and tools. • Equilibrium and instability as demarcating guide to Business Cycles theories. • Empirical stylized facts on Cycles are to be explained by theories. • In mainstream, cycles are external shocks damped by internal response mechanisms. • The heterodox view instead assumes endogenous instability. • Despite common assumptions, cycle theories have been very distinct. • We propose an integrated heterodox approach under some guiding principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A grid-connected solar PV-based multigeneration energy system is presented. • Economic, energy, environmental assessment for the proposed system is carried out. • Single objective/multi-objective optimization scenarios are analyzed and compared. • Sensitivity analysis is conducted to point out the effect on system performances. Solar photovoltaic-based multigeneration energy systems (SPVMES) which can use the excess energy of photovoltaic (PV) systems for heating and hydrogen production to improve the self-consumption of solar PV, have gained wide attention as a promising solution for clean and efficient production. To reliably meet diverse energy demands, gird system is integrated into a SPVMES as a backup energy source. In this paper, a grid-connected SPVMES is established to meet the electricity, heating and hydrogen loads, including PV, electrolysis, solid oxide fuel cell, electric heater for small-scale centralized heating and energy storage devices for electricity, heating and hydrogen storage, respectively. The emphasis to focus on when designing and dispatching the SPVMES lies in system performance evaluation. The innovation of this paper is to design and dispatch such a grid-connected SPVMES in a preliminary design stage through economic, energy and environmental assessment by considering cost of energy (COE), energy rate (ER) and renewable fraction (RF). Simultaneously, to explore which single objective/multi-objective optimization has better performance in comprehensive system evaluation, four different scenarios named COE optimization, RF optimization, ER optimization and multi-objective optimization are analyzed and compared. The specific application processes of component sizing and system dispatching with different optimization objectives are presented in detail. The results show that the proposed system has the COE of 0.0343$ in COE optimization scenario, the ER of 0.9128 in ER optimization scenario and the RF of 0.8811 in RF optimization scenario, which shows its significant potential in economic, energy efficiency and environmental performance. By comprehensively scoring the four optimization scenarios, it can be found that the multi-objective optimization scenario has better performance in system performance evaluation compared to the other three single objective optimization scenarios. Additionally, the multi-objective optimization could balance the tradeoff of COE, RF and ER and compromise the results of the single objective optimization scenarios. Potentially, sensitivity analysis is conducted to point out the effect of discharging depth of battery, PV subsidy, linear increasement of loads and seasonality effect on system performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper elaborates on the complexity of Pasinetti's structural dynamics. • The movement of an economic system towards the natural growth path may require institutional changes. • The movement towards a natural growth path involves historical considerations and attention to the medium term. The paper elaborates on the complexity of Pasinetti's structural dynamics with particular reference to natural full employment growth. The movement of an actual economic system towards the path of natural growth may require institutional changes. A few examples are provided for the changes required to revive an economic system fallen in deep depression. It is argued that those changes may concern not only economic institutions but also political, sociological, and bureaucratic organisations. The analysis, which also involves historical considerations, gains in realism, and directs attention to the possible paths in the medium run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper explores the Newtonian roots of Adam Smith's thinking as a contribution to explaining the structural dynamics of the economic system. • Smith proposes an explanation of "social physics", where the intentionality of actors is the main distinction from Newton's natural dynamics. • In Smith's account, the sources of structural economic dynamics lie in the actors' capacity to organise production within the market. • This conceptual framework highlights a possible avenue along which to investigate Pasinetti's separation theorem. • The literature on industrial policy has moved in the last twenty years towards Pasinetti's insights, to which explicitly reference should be made. This paper explores the Newtonian roots of Adam Smith's thinking in the structural dynamics of the production system and of social organization at large. Newton's Principia Mathematica inspired a philosophical movement in Scotland that looked for principles that could explain the dynamics of social and economic bodies with the same scientific rigour. In Smith's account, the sources of structural economic dynamics lie in the actors' capacity to organise production within that domain of interaction of competing forces that he defines as the market. Against this background, Smith analyses the role of the institutional setup. This conceptual framework is central to the theory of structural dynamics in classical political economy. It highlights a possible avenue along which to investigate Pasinetti's distinction between the 'natural' (production-based) and the 'institutional' levels of analysis (Pasinetti's separation theorem) by exploring the dynamic interdependence of technological and institutional drives in the emerging new industrial revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • 2010-2018: Ecological-economic coordination was highest in Hebei and lowest in Tianjin. • The ecological-economic coordination degree of various regions has obvious spatial spillover effects. • Improved functional and development tactics and policy reforms can strengthen ecological-economic development relations. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is an integral part of the ecology and economy of northern China. Unique geographical factors closely interlink the regions; however, limited attention has been paid to urban clusters' ecological and economic spatial linkages. Therefore, this paper introduces Ecosystem service value and Ecological-economic coordination degree, considering extensive spatial spillover effects within the region under study. This paper adopts spatial autocorrelation and the spatial Durbin model to detect the coordination relationship. Moreover, examine the influence of population growth, sales of consumer goods, health facilities, green areas, and Tertiary Industry on Ecological-economic coordination. The relationship is tested economic growth, using the internal and external Thus, it determines that the change of coordination degree shows a "V"-shaped development in time and space and gradually realizes the overall coordinated development. It affirmed the judgment that the Ecological-economic coordination degree of each region has an obvious spatial spillover effect. Policy reforms, improved functions, and development mechanisms can enable the balanced and healthy development of the region's ecological and economic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the tight articulation between Pasinetti's natural economic system and measurable inter-industry magnitudes, contributions inspired by his framework of structural economic dynamics have either focused on analytical developments or empirically implemented some of its features in isolation. To bridge the gap between theory and empirics, this paper introduces a computable formulation of Pasinetti's dual system of prices and quantities, including its natural configuration, starting from a set of inter-industry accounting identities. The analytical properties of the computable framework are discussed, using the logical structure of a closed Input–Output model. By articulating a dataset collating different OECD databases, the scheme is empirically implemented to explore the structural dynamics of six advanced industrial economies between 1995 and 2015. In particular, we quantify the required injection to close a country's unemployment gap via a public intervention, use the natural configuration of the economy to relate the evolution of demand, productivity, wages and the general price level, and compare the emerging trends of job creation and displacement across countries and hyper-integrated sectors. • Computable formulation of Pasinetti's dual system of prices and quantities. • Empirical application to six advanced industrial economies between 1995 and 2015. • Quantify required injection to close unemployment gap via a public intervention. • Relate demand, productivity, wages and price dynamics via natural configuration. • Manufacturing hyper-integrated sectors expel jobs and service subsystems absorb them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Paper complements deep transition (DT) framework by Schot and Kanger with ideas from international relations literature. • Explores the role of the EU in developing and diffusing circular economy rules. • Circular economy is considered an emerging meta-regime with the potential to transform the global economic model. • We emphasise the importance of an actor focussed research strategy in deep transitions complementing the focus on rules. The recently developed Deep Transitions framework has so far been mainly used to explore the first deep transition towards industrial modernity. This paper looks at a potential second deep transition towards a circular economy, which is hoped to lead to a more sustainable global economic system. Our focus is on exploring the role of the EU in developing and diffusing this emerging set of rules. We draw on ideas from the international relations literature to explain why and how the EU adopted the idea of a circular economy, helped formulate it into a set of rules and how it promoted its international diffusion. The paper concludes with lessons about the case and critical reflections about the Deep Transitions framework. In particular, we argue for taking a more actor-based approach when researching the unfolding second deep transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parabolic dish solar collector system has capability to gain higher efficiency by converting solar radiations to thermal heat due to its higher concentration ratio. This paper examines the exergo-economic analysis, net work and hydrogen production rate by integrating the parabolic dish solar collector with two high temperature supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO 2) recompression Brayton cycles. Pressurized water (H 2 O) is used as a working fluid in the solar collector loop. The various input parameters (direct normal irradiance, ambient temperature, inlet temperature, turbine inlet temperature and minimum cycle temperature) are varied to analyze the effect on net power output, hydrogen production rate, integrated system energetic and exergetic efficiencies. The simulations has been carried out using engineering equation solver (EES). The outputs demonstrate that the net power output of the integrated reheat recompression s-CO 2 Brayton system is 3177 kW, whereas, without reheat integrated system has almost 1800 kW net work output. The overall energetic and exergetic efficiencies of former system is 30.37% and 32.7%, respectively and almost 11.6% higher than the later system. The hydrogen production rate of the solarized reheat and without reheat integrated systems is 0.0125 g/sec and 0.007 g/sec, accordingly and it increases with rise in direct normal irradiance and ambient temperature. The receiver has the highest exergy destruction rate (nearly 44%) among the system components. The levelized electricity cost (LEC) of 0.2831 $/kWh with payback period of 9.5 years has proved the economic feasibility of the system design. The increase in plant life from 10 to 32 years with 8% interest rate will decrease the LEC from (0.434-0.266) $/kWh. Recuperators have more potential for improvement and their cost rate of exergy is higher as compared to the other components. • Two different Brayton cycles with and without reheat are being analyzed in this paper. • The HTF used is pressurized water for solar collector and s-CO 2 for Brayton cycles. • The reheat Brayton cycle has 11.6% higher efficiency as compared to its counterpart. • The reduction in LEC proves the economic feasibility of the system design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of grazing in dairy farming has become increasingly contentious. Dairy farming is still widely identified with imagery of cows grazing on grass, but grazing is a declining practice in Europe. The UK and Ireland make for interesting case studies to explore the politics of grazing as both countries are seen to have suitable conditions for supporting grazing but their dairy systems are very different. This paper explores the sociotechnical imaginaries of a high welfare, environmentally sustainable and economically viable dairy farming in the UK and Ireland, as described by key industry, academic, non-governmental organisation and government stakeholders in both countries. Document analysis and interviews with key UK and Irish stakeholders revealed different sociotechnical imaginaries within and between countries. The dominant imaginary in Ireland was of a unified low cost grass based production system seen as high welfare because animals have access to pasture and inherently natural and environmentally sustainable. The dominant sociotechnical imaginary in the UK by contrast is that no system is better, but the success of a system depends on quality management and stock keeping. The paper shows how the sociotechnical imaginaries are co-created by policy, market conditions and commitments to particular conceptions of economic viability, high welfare and sustainability. The different sociotechnical imaginaries can also be seen to pose a challenge to the other to the extent that science is held up as producing objective and value free truths about the best form of dairy production. • Grazing is increasingly contentious in debates about dairy farming. • Visions of sustainable, high welfare and economic systems differ in UK and Ireland. • The dominant imaginary in Ireland is of a low cost grass based grazing system. • The dominant imaginary in the UK eschews system differences. • Imaginaries are based on current systems but also conflicting scientific claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain effectiveness and general societal prosperity, as well as economic and ecological productivity will be highly affected in the next decades, entailing challenges for the supply chain and logistics sector. Thereby this sector plays a significant role within the transformation process of economic systems, yet the capacities of it remain up till now underestimated. This paper suggests a holistic approach to assess transformation potential of the supply chain and logistics sector towards more sustainable economic systems while defining innovative business strategies to meet future macroeconomic developments. This is achieved through an integrated assessment of production and consumption systems, considering the interests of the key stakeholders. Moreover, the paper combines advanced methods to develop future macroeconomic scenarios and to assess the strategic business opportunities of the supply chain and logistics sector addressing societal developments, e.g. new consumption patterns. The analysis relies on modern theories of Environmental and Ecological Economics, contributing to transformation theories. Moreover, the innovative role of supply chain and logistics management in achieving sustainable macroeconomic goals at regional and international levels is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifting from a traditional linear to an alternative circular paradigm can foster economic growth and support sustainable capital renewal in the European Union. This topic has attracted growing academic interest in recent years. However, the evaluation of case studies regarding Circular Economy implementation, strategies, and practices (at all levels) is still in its infancy. With the aim of bridging this gap, this paper analyses, through a systematic review of case studies, the implementation of circular practices in all economic sectors and industries of the European Union (from 2015 until April 2023). To this end, this research uses a framework of circular strategies built considering the European Union political framework. Based on this analysis, it can be deduced that recycling was the most used circular strategy (24.2%) to reintegrate materials into the economic system and reduce the use of raw materials (18.9%), demonstrating the existence of virtuous circles in the European Union's economic sectors. The results show that the best performing industry, in terms of circular strategies, is Food and Beverage (17.92%), within the Agri-food economic sector. While the economic sector with the least number of circular strategies (7.86%) is Capital Equipment. This paper proposes several tools for Circular Economy implementation that could lead to future research and support business, policymakers, and the scientific community. [Display omitted] • Circularity implementation in the European Union's economic sectors is evaluated. • The most important barriers and challenges are outlined and discussed. • Circular strategies are obtained from the European Union political framework. • The main performing economic sectors and industries are listed. • Food and Beverage was found to be the most circular industry in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uncertainty of renewable energy necessitates reliable demand response (DR) resources for power system auxiliary regulation. Meanwhile, the widespread deployment of energy-consuming 5G base stations (gNBs) drives internet service providers (ISPs) to seek energy expenses reduction. This paper intelligently addresses these two complementary needs by integrating gNBs into the power system dynamic economic dispatch (DED). To achieve this, a combined DED model that incorporates both the power system and 5G communication network is developed, where numerous distributed gNBs and their backup energy storage systems (BESSs) are integrated as a virtual power plant (VPP) to offer power support and obtain economic incentives. Instead of traditional optimization methods, the combined DED model is solved by a cooperative game-based solution method in a benefit-balanced manner, facilitating the power system and 5G network to achieve a win-win DED solution. This method comprises a two-stage game model and a solution algorithm based on improved random drift particle swarm optimization (RDPSO). The improved RDPSO constructs an uncertainty set in each iteration, facilitating its solution of stochastic optimization involving power system uncertainties. Lastly, a VPP management function is developed within the 5G core network (5GC) to efficiently evaluate the VPP's dispatchable capacity and formulate optimal control policies that can minimize control costs. Simulations based on the IEEE 118-bus system and real device data demonstrate that the proposed method can simultaneously reduce the power system's operating costs and increase the ISP's economic revenue. • Addressing complementary needs by integrating gNBs into power system DED. • Game-based solution for DED balancing supply and demand sides benefits. • Improved RDPSO algorithm for power system DED considering uncertainties. • VPP function efficiently evaluating dispatchable capacity and formulating optimal control policy. • Economic and technical win-win results in simulation based on real data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a joint optimization framework for the demand response-capacity configuration design of the integrated energy system (IES), in which both the economic cost and closed-loop dynamic regulation performance under source-load fluctuations are considered. The joint optimization consists of two layers. The upper layer optimizes the time of use electricity price to adjust the demand response of electric load; while the lower layer optimizes the capacity configuration, scheduling instructions and incentive-based thermal load demand response under typical scenarios. To fairly evaluate the impact of equipment capacity and demand response on the dynamic control performance of the IES, multi-parameter programming-based predictive control approach is applied to develop an offline design and scheduling-perceptive control system. A closed-loop dynamic scheduler is then developed based on the control system, which can optimize the operating instruction of each equipment considering their dynamic operating practice. Simulation studies on a typical off-grid combined heat and power IES show that the proposed approach can effectively match the demand response to the capacity configuration of the IES, helping the system achieve a dynamically flexible and economic energy supply. • Joint capacity configuration and demand response optimization is proposed for IES. • Dynamic control performance is considered in the optimization. • Design and scheduling-perceptive controller is developed to bridge gap between design and operation. • Dynamic scheduling is proposed to consider IES operating practice in the optimization. • Both economic and dynamic control performance of IES is improved by the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration and promotion of new energy constitute a significant initiative for numerous countries in their pursuit of sustainable development and efforts to alleviate climate change. However, the influence of a multitude of uncertain factors on the evolutionary path of new energy is currently poorly studied. By establishing a dynamic evolution model for new energy under polymorphic uncertainty, this paper analyses the complex interaction between new energy, economic growth, and carbon trading over the period 2020–2060, using China as a case study. We employ numerical simulation and sensitivity analysis to investigate the evolutionary trajectories of the new energy system under various parameter value scenarios. We show that the evolutionary trajectories will undergo substantial fluctuations before 2030, subsequently stabilizing from 2030 onwards. The study highlights that an excessively rapid pace of new energy development is detrimental to new energy systems, whereas energy storage system deployment has the opposite effect. There exists a significant risk of the system collapsing as a result of slow new energy development, over-building energy storage facilities, or over-intervening in carbon trading. We also find that overdevelopment of energy storage system may have greater negative impacts on the economic system than underdevelopment. [Display omitted] • Dynamic evolution model of new energy under polymorphic uncertainty is constructed. • New energy production elasticity and energy ratio are innovatively constructed. • Excessive intervention in carbon market can lead to the collapse of new energy system. • Overdeveloped energy storage hinder the synergy of new energy and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are being deployed all around the World as a technically feasible solution to decreasing users' dependence on fossil fuels. Several demonstration facilities have shown their potential to provide final consumers with clean energy and all associated environmental benefits. However, the economic evaluation of these systems as a whole set is more complex than evaluating generation technologies individually, which can be considered a barrier, and it may be more complicated to calculate its uncertainty with precision. This paper deals with this challenge and adapts a model for the evaluation of the global Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of a polygeneration microgrid to the characteristics of a typical REC, allowing the assessment of the distribution of the LCOE depending on the uncertainty of the input parameters. Thanks to its simple analytical formulation, the proposed model, that can be used for any combination of technologies (both renewable and conventional), provides relevant information on uncertainty propagation in a symbolic way that avoids the need to run numerical simulations or make assumptions on the distribution of the random input parameters. A case study has been presented, considering a typical small electrical REC with photovoltaic plants and micro wind turbines. Although the model can be defined to any market, as a representative example, it has been evaluated according to the current Spanish and Italian regulations, which are analyzed in depth with reference to the scientific literature. Results show that uncertainties in parameter estimates give rise to a very large scatter in the LCOE, pointing out a set of quantities whose role is crucial for a reliable estimate, among which electricity purchase and selling prices, yearly power load, and self-consumption / virtually-shared energy rates stand out. [Display omitted] • The global LCOE for a typical REC has been defined. • The uncertainty propagation in the LCOE formulation has been studied. • The proposed model has been applied to an electrical polygeneration REC. • As an example, the Spanish and Italian regulatory frameworks have been considered. • The LCOE of RECs is mainly sensitive to the electricity price and the power load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Polish coal-based power system faces the necessity of a pressing transition. Partially, the challenge may be addressed by floating photovoltaics. Since there is no analysis covering the implementation of this technology in Polish conditions, in this paper the design process of a 1 MWp floating photovoltaic system and its technical and economic assessment were performed. To find the best solution different floating assemblies were considered. Floating systems were compared with the reference ground mounted system and, based on simulations conducted in PVsyst, economic study with sensitivity analysis was carried out. The results revealed that even in case of the best performing floating system the extra yield cannot compensate the higher CAPEX. Currently, in Polish market conditions, this technology is not as profitable as the ground-mounted systems and higher product maturity stage need to be achieved for it to be considered as competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global society faces an existential threat if it fails to meet current and future material needs of its populations, while staying within the carrying capacity of our planet. An approach that has been put forwards to address this complex challenge is to aim to close our society's material flows through introduction of a Circular Economy (CE). This paper provides an extensive literature review to understand the evolution of material circularity concepts and strategies, and their potential for increasing material efficiency and reduce environmental impacts towards meeting the material needs of our societies in an environmentally sustainable manner. Based on the review it can be concluded that CE may have a strong potential to help address the challenge. However, this requires broadening the focus of CE from technical and economical to political and socio-cultural dimensions, adopting a whole-systems approach, aiming to redesign economic and social relations to not just reduce the impact humanity has on the environment but actually achieve a balance in human-nature relations with a planetary boundary thinking. Pursuing purely technical and economic avenues to implement CE for increasing material circulation and sustainable growth on the foundation of our current linear economic system, will not achieve its full potential. It will not be sustainable but continue to produce the challenges that we currently have. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract An increasing number of cities are engaging with the sharing economy, exploring how it may be integrated into the urban agenda, fostering its positive aspects whilst avoiding its negative externalities. The paper focuses on two cities, Milan and Seoul, that are internationally considered to have a conscious and tailored approach that lies in the vanguard of this effort. The paper seeks to understand how local authorities govern the sharing economy in order to shape a real sharing city , taking insights from the sharing paradigm concept and looking to the collaborative version of the urban governance paradigm. The paper uses a mixed method approach to develop case studies of the governance models employed. The analysis shows that both cities work along the three dimensions (economic, technological and human) of the sharing paradigm to create a sharing city, with slightly different governance approaches, but both lack institutionalized mechanisms of collaboration. Nevertheless, both are pioneering examples of engagement with the sharing economy. The paper proposes a graphic conceptualization of the two governance models to better highlight their contribution to knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a pressing issue that is disrupting the economic systems through financial and monetary impairment. The extent is more severe in the frontiers markets and compliance with the COP26 agenda is the only recourse for low-income economies. The banks play a critical role in such countries to finance business operations and incorporating sustainability practices in asset liability management can ensure financial resilience. In this paper, we assess if climate change has any impact on the mortgage portfolio and deposit mobilization of the banking sector. Using a comprehensive sample of 175 banks across twenty-three frontier markets and employing data between 2011 and 2021, we found that climate risk is negatively associated with mortgage exposure and deposit growth. We argue that the impact on mortgages is via physical risk while for deposit mobilization the pressure emanates from transitional factors. The results remained robust even after differentiating the banks into big and small categories suggesting that climate change is bringing in risks that will impact the financial sector without any discrimination. The paper has important implications for both transitional and physical risks related to climate change. • Climate risk is negatively associated with mortgage exposure and deposit growth. • The mortgage growth is constrained due to physical risks. • The transitional pressures impede deposit mobilization. • Compliance with COP26 declarations is the way forward for frontier economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new evidence on the behavior of saving in the world, by extending previous empirical research in several dimensions. After extensively surveying the relevant theoretical and empirical literature, the paper reports estimates of saving determinants relying on the newly constructed and largest available database covering 165 countries over 1981–2012. The empirical specification includes determinants not considered in the literature, explores differences in saving behavior nesting the 2008–10 crisis period and four different country groups, searches for commonalities across key saving aggregates (national, private, household, and corporate saving rates), and is subject to a robustness analysis based on different estimation techniques. The results confirm in part existing research, but also shed light on some ambiguous or contradictory findings and highlight the role of neglected determinants. Compared to the literature, we find a larger number of significant determinants, changes across periods and country groups, and similarities across different saving aggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighbourhood is widely recognised as a fundamental building block of a city, and a good starting point to create a truly sustainable community. Green neighbourhood is also broadly defined as being moderately dense, mixed-use, designed at a human scale, active and public transportation oriented and literally “green”. A green neighbourhood assessment system is a tool that evaluates sustainability performance of a given neighbourhood against a set of criteria. This paper evaluates 20 major international green neighbourhood assessment systems in according to their sustainability coverage and features. Sustainability aspects used in this paper include transportation, infrastructure, ecology, resources, energy, community, location, economy and building. The results of this study show that community, resources and ecology are the three major sustainability aspects that applied in 18, 17 and 16 out of 20 assessment systems respectively. However, after assessing the sustainability aspects by their weightings in the assessment systems, the differences among them are reduced and their rate of importance in all the assessment systems became closer. Ecology, energy, transportation, resources and economy receive the highest weightings after affecting by their weightings and incredibly community dropped to the very low importance of weightings. Regarding regional distribution of the systems around the world, initiative of green neighbourhood assessment system was first started in United Kingdom and European Union in 2000 and 2004 respectively and this trend reached to United States in 2005. Meanwhile, LEED (ND) with 184 certificates/projects is the main well-known systems in the world followed by Envirodevelopment in Australia and SPeAR in the United Kingdom with 100 certificates/projects each. It is also found that the highest certification fee (minimum) is LEED (ND) with US$30,000 followed by Green Star (Communities) and CASSBEE and the highest evaluation fee (maximum) goes back to DGNB followed by LEED (ND) and Green Star (Communities). Future research can be conducted on the implementation of several green neighbourhood assessment systems on actual projects and compare their capabilities in measuring the rate of greening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), buildings consume almost 90% of the total electricity used in the country. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of recent trends in energy consumption in the building sector as well as current efforts in promoting energy efficiency within UAE. Moreover, the paper explores available opportunities to improve energy efficiency of the UAE building sector. In particular, the impacts of three levels of energy retrofits are quantified based on results from existing literature and an optimization-based bottom-up analysis for residential, commercial, and governmental buildings. The analysis indicates that any level of energy retrofit for the existing building stock can be effective in reducing energy consumption and peak power demand as well as in lowering carbon emissions for UAE. It is estimated that a basic energy retrofit program applied to existing UAE building stock could achieve savings of 7550 GWh/year in electricity consumption, 1400 MW in peak electricity demand and reduce carbon emissions by 4.5 million tons/year per year. The program would have an average payback period of less than six months for the UAE government and would generate almost 9000 job-years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing renewable reservoirs as a primary source of energy in power systems significantly mitigates environmental concerns. This approach, coupled with the integration of various subsystems, yields multiple products, thereby enhancing economic benefits. This paper introduces an innovative multi-generation system based on a gasifier-fed solid oxide fuel cell. In this system, waste heat recovery is achieved through a bespoke transcritical CO 2 cycle, combined with a Kalina cycle and an organic Rankine cycle subsystem. Additionally, a proton membrane electrolyzer is employed to supply a reactor for ammonia production. A comprehensive analysis of this configuration is performed, employing thermodynamic, economic, and environmental assessment methodologies. Moreover, two multi-objective optimization strategies are implemented to determine the system's optimal operating conditions. The results demonstrate that the proposed system generates a net power output of 293.1 kW, provides cooling of 40.8 kW, produces hydrogen at a rate of 2.689 kg/h, and ammonia at a rate of 15.14 kg/h. The environmental and economic impacts of these products are quantified as an exergoenvironmental impact rate of 111.89 Pt/h and a cost rate of 11.77 $/h, resulting in an exergy efficiency of 27.59%. Furthermore, the system's financial feasibility is evident from its payback period of approximately 3.42 years and a net present value of 1.64 M$. The study also identifies that variations in the fuel cell's current density significantly influence the system's exergy performance and environmental footprint. • Design of a novel multi-generation based on the gasifier-SOFC integration. • Application of exergoenvironmental approach. • Producing 2.689 kg/h of hydrogen and 15.14 kg/h ammonia. • Assessing 27.59% exergy efficiency and 111.89 Pt/h exergoenvironmental impact rate. • Achieving a payback period of 3.42 years and 1.64 M$ net profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the energy management of smart distribution network including integrated system of hydrogen storage and renewable sources. Objective is to assess economic, operation, flexibility, and reliability goals of the distribution system operator. Objective function minimizes costs of operation, reliability, energy losses, and network flexibility. Scheme is constrained by AC optimal power flow equations, network reliability limitation, and integrated system model. Scheme utilizes scenario-based stochastic optimization to model of uncertainties, such as load, parameters of renewable resources, energy prices, and the availability of network equipment. Novelty is modeling and performance evaluation of the proposed integrated system as a type of flexibility resource in the operation of distribution systems proportional to the economic, operation, flexibility, and reliability objectives of the network operator. Numerical results demonstrate energy management capabilities of the discussed integrated energy system, which contribute to enhancing economic and technical conditions of distribution network. The inclusion of hydrogen storage in the renewable integrated energy system has been found to enhance the economic viability, operational efficiency, and reliability of the distribution network by around 46.8%, 41%–53%, and 95%, respectively, when compared to network power flow. Aforementioned integrated system demonstrates 100% flexibility through the utilization of hydrogen storage. • Developing a model for assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of hydrogen storage and bio-waste units farm. • Considering an integrated energy system to evaluate the economic and technical objectives of the DSO. • The utilization of an integrated hydrogen storage and RESs system as a means to enhance the network flexibility. • Simultaneous modeling of economic, operation, reliability, and flexibility objectives of the DSO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-regional energy sharing is a promising way to alleviate the imbalance in energy distribution. However, there is a risk that the uncertain fluctuations of intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) could be transmitted across regional transmissions, resulting in large-scale system economic inefficiency and security concerns. To this end, a unified spatial-temporal cooperative framework for the integrated energy system, which considers the coordination between intra-regional multi-energy coupling and cross-regional multi-agent-system energy sharing, is proposed in this paper. First, in the temporal dimension, a multi-time-scale stochastic decision-making model is established based on stochastic model predictive control (SMPC). Thus, slow-response units are arranged to gain economic goals in day-ahead stage and the closed-loop rolling adjustment is implemented on fast-response units to achieve accuracy supply-demand balance in real-time stage. Second, in the spatial dimension, a fully distributed dispatch approach is adopted to address the information sharing barriers, which only requires neighboring information and considers consistency of boundary control variables on border lines. Finally, to improve the computational efficiency, the established complex time sequential model is decomposed into a set of time-discrete parallel sub-problems, using the optimal condition decomposition (OCD) technique. Simulation results on a cross-regional test system demonstrate that proposed framework can increase the wind power consumption capacity and reduce operation cost through cross-regional cooperation, while the parallel decomposition can save 67.25 % of the computation time relative to the serial computation. • A novel unified spatial-temporal cooperative dispatching framework is proposed for the cross-regional IES. • A multi-time-scale rolling stochastic decision-making model is established to handle RES uncertainties. • The ADMM is implemented to achieve cross-regional rapid interactions iteration with only neighboring information. • The OCD is applied to decompose the complex spatial-temporal problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability and Industry 4.0 have been emerging topics in recent years, in theory as well as in practice. Related technological topics like 5G technology, blockchain, artificial intelligence and digital twins among others, are gaining importance. In addition, these themes are becoming increasingly merged with a discussion on I4.0 from societal and organizational perspectives. As a background to this paper, we discuss recent research in this area as covered in this Special Issue. We identify accepted submissions covering four conceptual themes and three methodological themes in the SI. Finally, we outline opportunities for future research: these include human interaction with I4.0 technology-enabled workspaces as well as societal aspects of I4.0 in relation to sustainability efforts. Last, but not least, interaction of I4.0 with other disciplines, such as sustainable manufacturing, reliability, maintenance and disaster management are proposed. • Sustainability and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) are emerging topics from societal and organizational perspectives. • Related technological topics like blockchain, artificial intelligence, digital twins among others, are gaining importance. • This SI outlines opportunities for: human interaction with technology-enabled workspaces and societal aspects of I4.0. • Interaction of I4.0 with other disciplines, such as sustainable manufacturing, disaster management, are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We reconstructed a complex wetland with nature-based solutions. • This eco-economic system was driven by renewable emergy flows and high exergy. • The mulberry-related industry provided good economic benefits. • The stable equilibria of the eco-economic coupling mode represented a state of synergistic symbiosis. Nature-based solutions (NBS) are effective approaches for solving ecological and economic problems related to wetland reconstruction, while emergy and exergy are well suited for evaluating reconstructed eco-economic systems. In this paper, we executed a wetland reconstruction project involving a mulberry-fir woodland and dike-pond complex (MFWDPC) with NBS in the water-level fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), China. We evaluated the coupling mode of this eco-economic system by using emergy and exergy theories. After wetland reconstruction, the emergy density that entered the MFWDPC was 1.48E + 18 sej yr−1 hm−2, in which the naturally renewable flow accounted for 96.31 % of the emergy inflows, and the emergy sustainability index (ESI) for the eco-economic system was 708.88. The exergy and specific exergy were 2.41E + 14 j yr−1 and 2.08E + 08 j yr−1 kg−1, respectively, and the emergy/exergy ratio was 1.55E + 03 for the MFWDPC. In addition, mulberry trees with strong flooding tolerance provided good economic benefits due to the use of these plants in reconstructed eco-economic systems. Our study of NBS for wetland reconstruction helps in understanding the synergistic symbiosis between ecosystems and economic systems, thereby promoting the reconstruction of degraded wetlands in China and other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A composite index named GLCDES is developed to dynamically assess the level of Green Low-carbon Circular Development. • The combined-assignment VIKOR model based on game theory is developed to thoroughly estimate the construction level of GLCDES. • Southwest China's Green Low-carbon Circular Development Economic System construction level is examined from 2012 to 2021, showing how the long-side principle governs each region's value. • Selecting and strengthening the long side in combination with its reality is an effective way to improve the construction level of GLCDES. Emission peak and carbon neutrality are critical components of China's overall ecological civilization, and the establishment of a sound Green Low-carbon Circular Development Economic System (GLCDES) is a fundamental countermeasure for solving China's resource, environmental, and ecological problems. This paper used the new development concept as entry points to establish a comprehensive evaluation index system encompassing six subsystems: development dynamics, production and living systems, green benefits, low-carbon benefits, circularity benefits and socio-economic benefits. The combined-assignment VIKOR model, based on game theory, was used to thoroughly estimate the construction level of GLCDES by combining panel data from four southwestern provinces, including Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, from 2012 to 2021. The study discovered that: the construction level of GLCDES in all four southwestern provinces increased over the past ten years, but the increase was not significant, the four development effectiveness indices, including green, low-carbon, circularity and socio-economic, were significantly improved, the development dynamics index was not significantly enhanced, and the index of production and living systems declined in fluctuation from year to year. The construction level of GLCDES between regions was very uneven and can be divided into two echelons, with the gap between Chongqing and Guizhou being particularly obvious. Regions can be categorized into three major categories based on the number of dominant subsystems. According to the above results, the total value of the dynamic comprehensive evaluation of each region is governed by the principle of the long side, which is an effective way to improve the construction level of GLCDES by selecting and strengthening the long side in combination with its reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Monte Carlo method is used to construct the charging load of EV in the planning area divided into four different vehicles type. • The Prim algorithm is adopted to search for the optimal network layout of energy transmission pipelines. • Proposed collaborative planning modeling promotes the time-of-use electricity price scheme to change the temporal and spatial characteristics of EV charging load. • The growth of EV charging load in the planning area has not increased the investment and operation-maintenance costs of DES equipment, and reduced carbon transaction costs as well as improved economic of system operation. • Simulations are conducted to verify the effeteness of proposed method. Under the dual-carbon goal, the number of electric vehicle (EV) has surged, and the uncertainty of the temporal and spatial characteristics of the load has become prominent, which brings the challenge for higher requirements to the equipment composition of distributed energy station (DES) and performance of station-network. This paper proposes a collaborative planning method for low-carbon DES with networks, which is focusing on the characteristics of EV charging behavior. First of all, based on the quantitative analysis of the temporal and spatial distribution of charging load of four typical types of EV, including private vehicle, public vehicle, taxi and bus, the Monte Carlo method is used to construct the charging load modeling of EV in the region area. In addition, the low-carbon DES is modeled equipped with photovoltaic (PV) and power to gas (P2G) devices, and the Prim algorithm is adopted to search for the optimal network layout of energy transmission pipelines in the region area. Under carbon trading mechanism, aiming at the lowest annualized total cost of the regional station-network, a station-network collaborative planning modeling strategy for the capacity allocation of low-carbon DES with networks is established. Finally, the case study for a project in Beijing China is implemented on MATLAB, to prove the effectiveness of the method proposed in the paper. The time-of-use electricity price scheme changes the temporal and spatial characteristics of EV load. For example, more than 2 MW the EV load can be brought into the valley price range, which reduces the carbon transaction cost and energy purchase cost of DES by 50 thousand yuan almost when peak-valley electricity price difference is close to 1.2 yuan. At the same time, the growth of EV charging load(the penetration rate of EV can reach up to 20%) in the planning area has not increased the investment and operation-maintenance costs of DES equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compartmental models are widely used in epidemiology, engineering, and physics to describe the temporal behavior of complex systems. This paper presents how compartmental models may be applied to the digital economy—more specifically, how the Bass model can be extended to more complex economics systems such as markets with customer churning, competition, multisided platforms, and online games. It is demonstrated that it is straightforward to establish the equations describing the various economic systems under study, however, the equations are often too complex to be solved analytically in the general case. Though the paper presents simple and idealized cases, the solutions may, nevertheless, uncover important strategic aspects that otherwise may be hidden by complexity in the general case, for example, the reasons for slow initial market growth. The paper also discusses how the developed models may be used to evaluate digital economic market evolution and business policy. • Analytical models that capture competition and churning in digital markets. • How complex digital economic system may be modelled using compartmental models. • How the strength of the network effects impacts market evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a contribution to the understanding of the interactions between finance, instability and inequality. We investigate the ways income and wealth inequality may have influenced the development of modern financial systems in those advanced economies (such as the US) in which securitization (emblematic of the more general class of complex structured financial products) has played an important role, and how those financial systems have in turn affected income and wealth distribution. We do this by elaborating on a hybrid Agent-Based Stock-Flow-Consistent (AB-SFC) macroeconomic model, encompassing heterogeneous (i.e. households) and aggregate sectors. Our findings suggest that while higher levels of credit supply coming with securitization may lead in the short run to higher economic growth, it comes at a price: a more unequal and financially and economically unstable economic system. The model is able to reproduce some stylized facts related to credit cycles, including the relationship between non-performing loans (NPLs) and GDP growth and the evolution of income inequality during crises. Moreover, we perform a battery of policy experiments and find that a lower and more progressive taxation on households' income combined with a tax on financial profits may reduce inequality, preserve financial stability, and boost economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the development of the blue economy is considered from the perspectives of integrity, relevance, and operability. First, to further expand blue living space and achieve blue growth, development thinking must shift from supporting the development of a single agent to supporting the coordinated development of multiple agents. Thus, we set a list of 116 blue products. Second, we construct a conceptual model of the national blue economic system space. Taking China as an example, the product data, firm data and province data in China's blue economic system are collected and processed based on the needs of the study, and the basic dataset for constructing China's blue economic system space is obtained. Third, based on the blue product space, the blue firm network and the blue province network of China, as well as the mapping relationship that existed among them in 2010, China's blue economic system space in 2010 is constructed. Finally, evolutionary maps of China's blue economic system space from 1985 to 2018 are drawn to identify the spatial structure and characteristics of China's blue economic development. We use application examples to verify that the national blue economic system space can play an important role in assisting countries in conducting systematic multicriteria assessments of blue growth strategies, and the use of such a complex network makes countries more likely to formulate evidence-based policies without being influenced by vested sectoral interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current coronavirus pandemic has produced severe consequences on economic and health systems all over the world, with the governments being challenged in searching for containment solutions balancing virus diffusion and limitations to social and work activities. In this paper, we propose a framework for the real-time optimization of restrictions in epidemics, based on the use of a time-varying SIRD model. Despite their simplicity, this class of models is able to capture the essential features of the epidemic spread, with the inherent parameter variation allowing accurate adaptation to real data. An optimization problem is formulated, properly balancing health and economic costs, and is solved parametrically by following a receding-horizon approach, resulting in an optimal sequence of social contact restrictions, which are assumed to be actuated via governmental containment measures. Numerical simulations based on the real data of the Italian COVID-19 emergency highlight the potential of the proposed approach and can be possibly helpful for the decision makers in present and future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal scheduling of power systems with a high penetration of wind power integration has always been a hot research topic due to their dramatic uncertainty. Furthermore, it is increasingly aware that the economic benefits should not be the sole optimal benchmark. A more dynamic low-carbon operation mechanism is needed to build an environment-friendly power system. In this paper, a Two-stage Stochastic Energy and Reserve Scheduling (TSERS) model with low-carbon operation constraints is proposed, which can effectively hedge against the worst-case distribution of wind power. First, a copula-based Worst-case Conditional Value-at-Risk (WCVaR) model is developed to quantify the operational risk of economic dispatch under uncertain wind power. Then, a carbon quota optimization (CQO) model is presented, taking into account both generation and carbon costs. Numerical experiments are conducted on the modified IEEE systems. Simulation results exhibit the ability of the WCVaR method, as is evident from a 44.8% reduction in the extreme loss with respect to Distributionally Robust Optimization (DRO). the proposed CQO model achieves 37.27% more profit compared to the conventional model at an average carbon price growth rate of 36.1%. This demonstrates the model's ability to adjust to carbon cost fluctuations and provide a sensible optimization proposal. • A copula-based WCVaR method is provided under wind uncertainty. • A carbon quota optimization model is established for economic benefits. • Carbon emission and system economic cost are considered comprehensively. • A multivariate copulas set is constructed for characterizing uncertainty [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with national targets, sub-national governments – including cities – are introducing targets to reduce the emissions associated with economic activity within or associated with a particular geography. Cities are important drivers of not only emissions but also economic activity and are embedded into complex economic systems which reach beyond their boundaries, which can raise major issues in identifying whether a city is assisting in promoting sustainability across a wider spatial level. This paper sets out a methodology to downscale global Input Output tables to city-level and use these to calculate production- (territorial) and consumption-based carbon accounts at the city level simultaneously. Illustrating this for the case of Glasgow, Scotland, we show that the city's territorial emissions are significantly lower than its consumption-based carbon footprint (considering both the Areal and Personal Carbon Footprint), but that both metrics are sensitive to assumptions about the emissions intensity of individual sectors. Our results highlight the importance of data quality and accuracy, and the benefits of local knowledge, rather than the unquestioned use of national metrics. [Display omitted] • Extending Multi Regional Input Output accounts can produce cities emissions metrics. • Framework derives Production- and Consumption-based metrics from global accounts. • Application to Glasgow reveals city as net importer of carbon emissions. • Sensitivity of results to key assumptions shows value of local knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public rental housing (PRH) projects are the mainstream of China's new affordable housing policies, and their integrated sustainability has a far-reaching effect on medium-low income families' well-being and social stability. However, there are few quantitative researches on the integrated sustainability of PRH projects. Our study tries to fill this gap through proposing an assessment model of the integrated sustainability for PRH projects. First, this paper defines what the sustainability of a PRH project is. Second, after constructing the sustainable system of a PRH project from the perspective of complex eco-system, the paper explores the internal operation mechanism and the coupling mechanism among the ecological, economic and social subsystems. Third, it identifies fourteen indices to represent the sustainability system of a PRH project, including six indices of ecological subsystem, five of economic subsystem and three of social subsystem. Fourth, it qualifies the weights of three subsystems and their internal representative indices. In addition, an assessment model is established through expert surveys and analytic network process (ANP). Finally, the paper carries out an empirical research on a PRH project in Nanjing city of China, followed by suggestions to enhance the integrated sustainability. The sustainability system and its evaluation model proposed in this paper are concise and easy to understand and can provide a theoretical foundation and a scientific basis for the evaluation and optimization of PRH projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diffusion of COVID-19 represents a real threat for the health and economic system of a country. Therefore the governments have to adopt fast containment measures in order to stop its spread and to prevent the related devastating consequences. In this paper, a technique is proposed to optimally design the lock-down and reopening policies so as to minimize an aggregate cost function accounting for the number of individuals that decease due to the spread of COVID-19. A constraint on the maximal number of concomitant infected patients is also taken into account in order to prevent the collapse of the health system. The optimal procedure is built on the basis of a simple SIR model that describes the outbreak of a generic disease, without attempting to accurately reproduce all the COVID-19 epidemic features. This modeling choice is motivated by the fact that the containing measurements are actuated during the very first period of the outbreak, when the characteristics of the new emergent disease are not known but timely containment actions are required. In fact, as a consequence of dealing with poor preliminary data, the simplest modeling choice is able to reduce unidentifiability problems. Further, the relative simplicity of this model allows to compute explicitly its solutions and to derive closed-form expressions for the maximum number of infected and for the steady-state value of deceased individuals. These expressions can be then used to design static optimization problems so to determine the (open-loop) optimal lock-down and reopening policies for early-stage epidemics accounting for both the health and economic costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania has recently modified its legislation concerning energy production using photovoltaic systems to support the use of renewable resources. A program which offers subsidies for the procurement and installation of solar photovoltaic systems is in progress. This paper presents the economic assessment of residential solar photovoltaic systems connected to the grid in Romania under the new regulation. The valuations were conducted for six photovoltaic systems with different capacities that can be included in the legislation concerning prosumers; eighteen cities were chosen for a nationwide investigation and five types of household annual electricity demand. The capabilities and efficiency of the photovoltaic systems were simulated using PVSOL, while Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Profitability Index and Discounted Payback Period were used to determine the feasibility of the systems. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to examine the effect of injected energy price on the system's efficiency. The results showed the systems were economically feasible when subsidies were available, especially those with a smaller energy production capacity. In Romania, the photovoltaic systems can be economically competitive in certain situations, like it is recommended to increase the subsidies, especially in the Northern part of the country to compensate for lower irradiance. • Economic analysis of 6 grid-connected residential rooftop PVs in Romania. • Assessment based on recently adopted regulation that supports PVs deployment. • NPV, IRR, PI and DPP calculation to determine PV systems economic feasibility. • Sensitivity analysis studied the effect of injected energy price on PVs viability. • 3.3 kW and 5.5 kW PV are profitable in all cities and annual consumptions studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This model uses volumetric and global efficiency curve from commercial compressors. • This model uses commercial diameters to design both the evaporator and condenser. • Environmental performance is evaluated by total equivalent warming impact. • Exergy performance of the refrigeration system is evaluated by exergy efficiency. • Economic performance of the system is evaluated by total plant cost rate. In recent years, the international community has been continuously encouraged the development of new vapor compression refrigeration systems, that operate with ecological refrigerants, to replace systems with non-ecological refrigerants. In view of this need, this paper presents a mathematical model of a small cooling capacity vapor compression refrigeration system. This model was used to design an energy-efficient system, with low cost, that operates with the most appropriate ecological refrigerant in terms of overall environmental impact, focusing the refrigerants R290, R600a, and R1234yf. The environmental analysis was performed based on TEWI (Total Equivalent Warming Impact), while the thermo-economic analysis was performed based on COP (Coefficient of Performance), η exergy (Exergy Efficiency), and C ˙ total (Total plant cost rate). Also, the contribution of each individual cost rate related to C ˙ total was identified. A similar procedure was also carried out on the total exergy destruction. The thermo-economic and environmental analysis indicated that the system with R290 has higher energy, exergy, environmental, and economic performance among the evaluated systems for the studied thermodynamic conditions. Thus, the system with R290 is the most suitable to replace systems with R134a. Finally, analyzing the three cost rates related to C ˙ total in each system, it was noted that the operational cost rate was the most relevant cost, and it corresponds to more than 73% of the C ˙ total value, while the penalty cost rate due to carbon dioxide emission was the least relevant cost, corresponding to less than 2.60% of the C ˙ total value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evacuated annulus tube collector (EATC) recommendations in association with solar desaltification systems have a wide scope and lead with remarkable performance to reduce the scarcity of potable water in the subsequent regions among the population, especially in solar rich remote areas. This paper covers the review of the performance of EATC assisted solar desaltification systems with its responsible analytical parameters. An emphasized study on the performance and status of EATC solar desaltification systems has been reviewed thoroughly. Advancements of EATC integrated solar desaltification systems with the effectiveness of EATCs over other collectors have also been discussed. Moreover, thermosiphon EATC solar desaltification systems present a much smarter, self-sustainable, and economic system which does not require any external power to run the system and quite suitable for the remote areas with better self-sustainability rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a condition-based maintenance policy for continuously monitored multi-component systems subject to stochastic dependence through load sharing and economic dependence through maintenance set-up costs. Stochastic dependence provides an incentive to replace failed components as soon as possible, since component failures increase the load, and hence the deterioration rates, of the remaining components. In contrast, economic dependence encourages the clustering of component replacements to reduce maintenance frequency, resulting in less downtime and fewer maintenance set-up costs. In this paper, we propose a novel, condition-based maintenance policy to obtain the optimal replacement decisions at maintenance opportunities. Through numerical studies we see the importance of a policy that incorporates both types of system dependence. The policy incorporates a utility/reward function that is a combination of interpretable penalties that encapsulate the costs of stochastic and economic dependence. The utility function trades off the rewards of clustering components with the loss due to load sharing. The policy minimizes the overall cost of the system by choosing actions that minimize the total long-term penalty. We show that the proposed policy outperforms various alternative policies by reducing system life-cycle costs. • A CBM policy for systems subject to economic and stochastic dependence is proposed. • We define penalties that encapsulate the costs of stochastic and economic dependence. • A Bayesian sequential decision framework incorporates the proposed penalties. • The proposed policy suggests a way to coherently incorporate uncertainty. • We model component failure times using a random degradation threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present economic system is geared towards increasing specialization and infinite growth. This orientation may have led to efficiency and new ways of increasing wealth but it has also led to unsustainable practices and, in some cases, loss of traditional knowledge. Many a systems thinker like the Limits to Growth's Club of Rome have suggested ways to avoid the negative consequences of the current economic system but these entail radical changes that cannot be afforded by deeply-entrenched practices of the worldwide economy. In this paper, another alternative is proposed, which may not only be desirable to an envisioned ecological society but also may also be logical to the unsustainable society of today. Looking at rural indigenous livelihoods may show us how an ecological society should be like. Exemplifying collectivism, indigenous peoples continue to cultivate empathy while at the same time inculcating sense of responsibility. Before "multi-hyphenated" became fashionable, indigenous peoples were already engaged in different occupations that, in turn, result to a diversified livelihood portfolio similar to what banks today advise clients on their investments. However, the difference lies in the indigenous tradition of only having enough for what is needed and rarely hoarding to the point of exhausting resources. This paper proposes that the diverse indigenous livelihood portfolio can be a valuable economic framework for an ecological society. It does not limit growth, but it makes sure growth happens in a sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the problem of periodic optimal control of nonlinear systems subject to online changing and periodically time-varying economic performance measures using model predictive control (MPC). The proposed economic MPC scheme uses an online optimized artificial periodic orbit to ensure recursive feasibility and constraint satisfaction despite unpredictable changes in the economic performance index. We demonstrate that the direct extension of existing methods to periodic orbits does not necessarily yield the desirable closed-loop economic performance. Instead, we carefully revise the constraints on the artificial trajectory, which ensures that the closed-loop average performance is no worse than a locally optimal periodic orbit. In the special case that the prediction horizon is set to zero, the proposed scheme is a modified version of recent publications using periodicity constraints, with the important difference that the resulting closed loop has more degrees of freedom which are vital to ensure convergence to an optimal periodic orbit. In addition, we detail a tailored offline computation of suitable terminal ingredients, which are both theoretically and practically beneficial for closed-loop performance improvement. Finally, we demonstrate the practicality and performance improvements of the proposed approach on benchmark examples. • We provide a novel MPC design with guaranteed economic performance for dynamic/periodic nonlinear constrained problems. • Naive/Alternative formulations for dynamic/periodic case do not yield desirable performance guarantees. • A novel design procedure for terminal ingredients for economic dynamic operation is presented. • We demonstrate performance benefits for a periodic time-varying HVAC system and a time-invariant nonlinear CSTR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of economic systems has produced a new vision of the spatial and localization models in which transport and logistics are deemed to play a major role in generating value to economic areas. Different methods of parametric and nonparametric analysis are applied to deal with the issue of the efficiency and competitiveness of territories. Using an original dataset, we set out to estimate productivity differentials between companies or industries located in different Italian regions. Unlike previous works aimed at investigating logistics productivity, this paper focuses on the main variables affecting Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in the transport and logistics sectors. The findings of this study contribute to filling the gap in transport related literature on the issue of 'Total Factor Regional Logistics Productivity' (TFRLP), identifying the most important elements able to improve the TFP level using an econometric estimate. In a second step, we carry out a comparison among the different Italian regions with a view to testing the relationship between the logistics and economic activities of a territory. The results of this latter analysis show that, in the different Italian regions, the logistics sector is characterised by a high resilience capacity, so innovation in the logistics industry is a strong element in driving regional exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The main hypothesis is that productivity differentials across firms/sectors should be higher in developing countries. • Panel estimations test the relationship between per capita income and some measures of sectoral productivity diversification in manufacturing. • Several alternative forms of the dependent variable, and control variables, are considered. • Results suggest a negative and robust relationship between productivity differentials and per capita income. "Firms are different", and everyone knows it by direct experience. From the point of view of productivity differentials, we know that their intensity depends on the interaction of forces acting in the opposite direction, some increasing and others limiting productivity differentials. It is possible to imagine that those forces act with different intensity in developed and developing countries: the catching up process, coupled with a weaker firm selection process, could reinforce productivity differentials in the economic system of less advanced economies. Empirical indications suggest that productivity differential among firms/sectors is effectively higher in poorer countries. This paper is a step to deep this question in more general terms: it proposes and empirically tests a "development" perspective to analyze productivity differentials, and this seems a substantial novelty. Results, with a few limits, support the hypothesis that inter-industry productivity differentials are negatively associated with the level of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Japanese health evaluation system is characterized by policy implication. • Efficacy and cost for cancer treatment increased annually. • Incremental cost-effective ratio (ICER) for breast cancer increased annually. • Molecular-targeting drugs had a positive effect on the ICER for breast cancer. • Molecular-targeting drugs had higher ICERs than those of conventional drugs. Japan officially introduced cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in 2019, whereas some countries, such as England, Sweden, Canada, and Australia, have experience with health technology assessment (HTA). Therefore, there are few reports that comprehensively examine the situation of health economic evaluation in Japan. In this paper, we review the health economic evaluation systems among those countries. We also conducted a case study that investigated the time-trend of cost, effectiveness, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for anticancer drug regimens in Japan. We found a time-trend ICER for breast cancer (BC). Additionally, molecular targeting drugs for BC had a positive effect on the ICER, and both small molecular-targeting drugs and monoclonal antibodies (mAb) had a higher ICER for BC compared with conventional drugs. Finally, we discuss a possible way to implement a health economic evaluation system in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The approach links value chain analysis with the relational market perspective. • NMA systematically analyses configurations in economic systems through SNA. • Identified key markets serve as leverage points in system interventions. • The German bioeconomy is comprehensively depicted as a complex economic system. This paper discusses a method for the identification of leverage points for the transformation of complex economic systems by combining value chain analysis and a relational perspective on markets. We introduce the Network of Markets Approach and show that it is central in bridging the two concepts and apply social network analysis in order to do so. The case of the German bioeconomy, the transition from a fossil to a bio-based economy, is chosen to exemplify the application of the method. Here, we provide the specific rationales behind our approach and identify possible key markets for governance interventions in the transformation toward a bio-based economy in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]