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Most of the other chapters, however, come from scholars specialising in economic history, rather than the history of economics. Bielschowsky is a development economist who authored a classic work on the history of developmental ideology in Brazil (Bielschowsky 1988), while Boianovsky and Coutinho are two of the longest-standing and most prolific Brazilian historians of economics. A history of Brazilian economic thought: From colonial times through the early 21st century,: edited by Ricardo Bielschowsky, Mauro Boianovsky and Mauricio C. Coutinho, Routledge, Abingdon, 2023, 268 pp., £108, ISBN 978-1-032-02930-6. [Extracted from the article]

This paper analyses the industrial operations performed in the 1930s by Italy's former state-holding company, Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (Institute for the Industrial Reconstruction — IRI). It is argued that in those years IRI represented a policy-oriented system of state-owned enterprises with 'entrepreneurial' characteristics: reorganising sectors and industrial productions, diversifying into new activities, investing in underdeveloped areas, promoting technical and managerial training as well as scientific research. IRI's historical model of an entrepreneurial state-holding company could suggest relevant policy lessons for 21st century national systems of state-owned enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the rise of a "scientific" historiography in the nineteenth century, the role of ideas in history versus that of material forces has been a key philosophical problem. Thomas Piketty's Capital and Ideology (2019), read as a work of global history, offers a provocative rehearsal of this question. On the one hand, the book is an attempt to provide a narrative historical frame for the hard data of the World Inequality Database. On the other, paradoxically, it offers a defiant conclusion that ideology is, or at least could be, the key driver in social and institutional change towards universal progress. St Simon, Comte and Spencer have found their twenty‐first century heir. How can we historicize Piketty's impetus, both understanding its provenance and making sense of its limitations? One key issue is its roots in the traditions of National Accounts, which leads to an approach to the global which is stresses comparison over connection, and to an uncritical reproduction of the portrait of an egalitarian non‐capitalist Twentieth century painted by Kuznets during the Cold War. Another is its presentism, with the historical argument driven by an attempt to understand the c.1980–2020 conjuncture and its alternatives, and a connected overdependence on the support of a few historians. A third, a consequence in part of the inequalities between the quality of data we have for different parts of the world, and of Piketty's provenance and imagined audience, is a Eurocentric, even Gallocentric approach. A fourth is a very French republican refusal to address how class is complicated by identities of race and nation so that neither egalitarian policies nor ideologies provide remedies for the populist politics of right. None of these criticisms are in contradiction with our view that Capital and Ideology is a work of social theory of world historical importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of pencil-making on several levels. Firstly it deals with the development of graphite pencils, influenced by the discovery of natural graphite near Borrowdale in England in 1564. Secondly, it addresses the discoveries of artificial graphite by Nicolas-Jacques Conté (patented in 1795) and Joseph Hardtmuth (patented 1804 - the Viennese method), aft er which pencil production grew extensively as it was much cheaper compared to the "true" graphite. Thirdly, the paper describes Nuremberg and its surroundings in relation to the historical roots of pencil production - this natural junction of trade had a great influence on the development of craft and later industrial pencil production. Four of the local companies - Faber-Castell, Staedtler, Schwan-Stabilo, and Lyra have remained world leaders in the industry. Lastly, the paper presents a case study of the brief history of Schwan-Stabilo, placing an emphasis on the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. In spite of being the youngest of the four companies mentioned above, Schwan-Stabilo has seen multiple innovations and continues to thrive as a family business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The twentieth century displays changing patterns of income growth volatility. • The distribution of income growth rates is persistently asymmetry and fat-tailed. • There is a negative scale relation between growth volatility and GDP per capita after the 1950s. • The scale relation is not significant during most of the first half of the twentieth century. • The evidence highlights the complex evolution of the growth process. This paper analyses the international distribution of GDP per capita growth rates and its dynamics during the twentieth century. We show that the century is characterized by a changing distribution of GDP per capita growth rates, which is reflected in different shapes and a persistent asymmetry at the regional level and for countries of different development levels. Interestingly, the well-known negative scaling relation between growth volatility and country size that characterizes the second half of the century is not observed before the 1950s, period dominated by severe global shocks. We discuss possible explanations to the disruption of the scaling relationship. We argue that in a turbulent context, the functioning and interdependence of economic components of countries of different size can be altered, also affecting the scaling relation between growth volatility and country size. Our results contribute with evidence of the underlying complexity of the growth process and its historical evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do international lenders of last resort create financial instability by generating moral hazard? The evidence is thin and plagued with measurement error. We use the number of American troops hosted by third countries to measure the strength of American commitment to ensuring the countries' economic health. We test several hypotheses against a dataset covering about sixty-eight countries between 1960 and 2009. Using evidence from fixed-effects and instrumental-variable models, we find that increasing the number of US troops by one standard deviation above the mean raises the probability of a financial crisis in the host country by up to 13 percentage points. We also investigate the channels through which moral hazard materializes. Countries with more US troops conduct more expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, implement riskier financial regulations, and receive more capital, especially from US banks. While many scholars of international relations view the American overseas military presence as a source of stability, we identify an underexplored mechanism by which it generates instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper examines the Zipf's law for the size distribution of Pakistani cities using the five census data from 1951 to 1998. We observe that Zipf's law does not hold in any of the five census years at national level. Next, we consider the city size distribution of four Pakistani provinces and find that Zipf's law is more likely to hold for cities at province-level. We attribute these findings to the coherence property of the urban system. In Pakistan the urban systems within provinces are more coherent in terms of common language, common culture and common rules as compared to the urban system as a whole at national-level. Highlights • Zipf's law is examined at national and four provinces-level for Pakistani cities. • City size distribution does not follow Zipf's law at national-level. • City size distribution is more likely to follow Zipf's law at four provinces-level. • Findings are explained based on the coherence property of the urban system. • Urban systems are more coherent in terms of common language, culture and rules at province-level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prenatal and early childhood lead exposures impair cognitive development. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) among pregnant women in rural Bangladesh and to identify sources of lead exposure. We analyzed the BLLs of 430 pregnant women randomly selected from rural communities in central Bangladesh. Fifty-seven cases were selected with the highest BLLs, ≥ 7 μg/dL, and 59 controls were selected with the lowest BLLs, < 2 μg/dL. An exposure questionnaire was administered and soil, rice, turmeric, water, traditional medicine, agrochemical, and can samples were analyzed for lead contamination. Of all 430 women, 132 (31%) had BLLs > 5 μg/dL. Most women with elevated BLLs were spatially clustered. Cases were 2.6 times more likely than controls to consume food from a can (95% CI 1.0–6.3, p = 0.04); 3.6 times more likely to use Basudin, a specific brand of pesticide (95% CI 1.6–7.9, p = 0.002); 3.6 times more likely to use Rifit, a specific brand of herbicide (95% CI 1.7–7.9, p = 0.001); 2.9 times more likely to report using any herbicides (95% CI 1.2–7.3, p = 0.02); and 3.3 times more likely to grind rice (95% CI 1.3–8.4, p = 0.01). Five out of 28 food storage cans were lead-soldered. However, there was minimal physical evidence of lead contamination from 382 agrochemical samples and 129 ground and unground rice samples. Among 17 turmeric samples, one contained excessive lead (265 μg/g) and chromium (49 μg/g). Overall, we found evidence of elevated BLLs and multiple possible sources of lead exposure in rural Bangladesh. Further research should explicate and develop interventions to interrupt these pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2010 Census showed population increases in urban core neighbourhoods in US shrinking or legacy cities. Influenced by Florida’s creative class theory, municipal leaders in shrinking cities have sought to attract and retain creative and college-educated residents as a revitalisation strategy and implemented amenity-based policy initiatives. Nevertheless, when compared with strong market cities, weak market cities have fewer amenities and less robust job markets. Why college-educated professionals would choose to live in cities with weak job markets and declining services is not well explained. Based on findings from two sets of interviews conducted five years apart with college-educated professionals living and working in New Orleans, we found that a subset of professionals seeking opportunities to assist in the recovery were drawn to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They subsequently stayed because they valued the pace of their life and the ease at which they could maintain professional and personal networks, more than specific amenities. They stayed even though they found professional opportunities to be limited and considered some amenities and services including parks and transit worse than other cities where they had lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Based on extensive fieldwork, this article examines new informality in Pakistan's land market by which vacant plots of land are transacted informally between market actors in rapidly reversed short‐term holdings. The analysis pivots around the changing economic environment in Pakistan with the shift from heavy regulation of money and controlled pricing, to the liberalization of money and markets. The author explores how liquidity is taken up as a microeconomic strategy to protect against new financial risk in this environment, and how this is played out as a preference for informal transactions. These practices inform a case study that contributes to the established literature on the links between globalization and the informal economy by articulating a driver of growing informal transactions that is novel to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We describe a public good experiment, a type of economic experiment commonly used to examine feelings of prosociality—that is, behaviour which is positive, helpful and intended to promote social acceptance and friendship—and community cohesion, carried out in Rwanda. Contributions in different parts of the country are affected by the local intensity of the 1994 genocide, with more generous contributions being made in areas where violence was greater. This supports earlier research indicating that conflict experience leads to greater prosociality. However, we also find that people who have not, themselves, been targets of violence give lower contributions than people who have. The considerable group‐related and regional differences in social behaviour may have implications for the country's policies to deal with social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northern hardwood species display a variety of forms and defects that can reduce stem quality and complicate their timber management. However, for the most part, growth and yield models do not account for the influence of stem form and damage. This study determined the influence of stem form and damage on growth, survival, and projected future sawlog value among several northern commercial hardwood species. To accomplish this, hardwood trees on 112 permanent plots across three long-term research sites in Maine were assigned stem form and risk classes using a tree classification system developed in New Brunswick. A highly significant influence of stem form and risk on annualized individual-tree diameter increment and survival was found. Inclusion of these equations into a regional growth and yield model highlighted the importance of stem form and defects on long-term simulations as projected stand-level future value was significantly reduced by over 17%, on average (range of 13% to 28%), when compared with projections that did not include that tree-level information. The results highlight the importance of stem form and defects, as well as the need to account for them, in growth and yield applications that assess the forecasted value of commercially important hardwood stands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes a close look at La Borda, a housing cooperative being developed in Barcelona. The article encompasses the economic and social context in which the housing initiative emerged, the organisational features that define the cooperative, and its origins in the process of urban renewal of the former industrial site of Can Batlló. The article also analyses its current development and its potential for scalability. Drawing on Moulaert's definition of social innovation, the authors argue that La Borda goes beyond the mere provision of housing to include public participation as a key component of the model. The Andel Model for cooperative housing is presented as the main source of inspiration for La Borda's model, including its roots in the social and cooperative economy and the role of the cession of use housing tenure. The article concludes there are reasons to believe La Borda will succeed in providing long-term affordable housing while engaging its residents in its daily management. The authors consider the suitability of La Borda's model elsewhere to be dependent on the economic, social and political context in which it is implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate whether the impact of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds (EUF) on Member States' regional economic growth depends on the intensity of treatment,measured by the normalized amount of funds distributed in each region.We use an original data set that covers all the main sources of EUFand extend the regression discontinuity design to the case of continuous treatment. The results suggest an average positive effect on regional growth. The estimated conditional intensity-growth function is concave and presents a maximum value. Therefore, the exceeding funds could have been allocated to other lagging regions without reducing the effect on growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the relevance of domestic institutions for export performance of Cambodia. Regulatory quality, control of corruption, rule of law, government effectiveness, and political stability are introduced in an augmented gravity model with a panel data set over 1996-2015. The research is the first application to Cambodia, until 2015 a least developed country which is generally believed to have poorly developed institutions. Due to high multicollinearity among the variables, the institutional variables are introduced in the model one by one. Estimation is by the Hausman-Taylor method, which reduces or removes the correlation between the composite error terms and the included variables. All institutional variables show a highly significant positive relationship with Cambodia's exports, with rule of law having the largest impact. It is concluded that the government should give high priority to the further improvements of the legal environment and to strong enforcement of property rights and contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers often rely on theoretical wisdom and tend to allocate huge resources towards hedging strategies against oil price and exchange rate movements without considering to first test these theories on a context basis. To overcome this limitation, we model both upward and downward movements in oil prices and exchange rates in order to study the oil – exchange rate – growth nexus for a small net-importing country like Liberia. We estimate an unrestricted VAR model and document the following results: First, a rise in the price of oil appears to stimulate Liberian GDP. Second, depreciation in the value of the Liberian dollar causes real GDP to fall while appreciation of the Liberian dollar tends to have no impact on real GDP in Liberia. Third, trade balance has a positive correlation with growth of the Liberian economy. Finally, consumer prices are found to also correlate positively with economic growth in Liberia. Contrary to bulk of the literature, this paper provides general insights that a rise in oil price is sometimes good for net-oil importers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The 21st‐century developmental state is envisaged as implying democratic participation. Rwanda both explicitly aspires to follow the developmental state example and eloquently ascribes to far‐reaching participatory ideals, and a number of development programmes, “home grown initiatives,” have been launched, allegedly reviving traditional participatory practices. Based on original material, this article analyzes local experiences of the participation entailed in some of these programmes. In the conclusion, the poor practice of participation reported is found to point to inherent contradiction of the idea of a democratic and participatory version of the developmental state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With power plants in Saudi Arabia consuming 27% of the kingdom’s oil and 100% of its natural gas, a host of strategic projects are under way to boost the prominence of alterative resources in the overall mix. The nation is targeting 54 GW of renewable energy and 17 GW of nuclear power by 2040. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New growth theory argues that education and human resources is the key variables to promote economic growth. There are several empirical studies on causality between economic growth and education in developed and developing countries. These studies used several approaches to investigate the relationship between two variables. However, the empirical result between growth and education are mixed. Most of finding shows that the education stimulates economic growth. However, some empirical study find that the relation between education and economic growth is weak. Some scholars also argue that there is no causality running from education to economic growth. Despite increasing school enrollment, the percentage of enrollment is still low compared to neighboring countries in Laos. Further, the quality of education is relatively low. Therefore, the relation between education and growth in Laos is a relevant topic for several reasons. Moreover, there is no study related with issue. We investigate the relation between education and economic growth in Laos for the period from 1984 to 2013. For this investigation, we apply the Johansen cointegation and Granger causality approaches. In our study, we choose three indicators of education: primary school enrollment (PRI), secondary school enrollment (SEC), and higher education enrollment (HE) to investigate the their relationship on economic growth. The Johansen cointegration test confirms the existence of a long-term relation between education and economic growth at all levels. The Granger approach indicates the existence of feedback causality between education and economic growth at all levels. Thus, this study recommends more investment in education in order to foster economic growth. In sum, the promotion of education (at all levels) stimulates economic growth, at the same time economic growth also supports education development in Laos. This empirical result is consistent with many studies. For instance, Qazi et al (2014) for Pakistan. In contract, the finding of this study is contradiction with some studies. For instance, Self and Grabowski (2004) for India, Benhabib and Spiegel (1994) for Greece. Lao education is still low in all level. As result, the promotion education development could improve the labor productivity in economic sector. As the quality of education is low in Laos, and it face various challenges. One of the most challenges in education development is lack of funding, facilities and qualified teachers and lecturers. Therefore, policy makers should invest more education at all levels to improve education quality in order to promote the long-term economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we reconsider the defining but often overlooked 'hinge' function of megalopolises by analyzing how megalopolises have articulated national and international urban systems in the context of a globalizing knowledge economy. Taking the case of China's Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, we particularly focus on knowledge circulation within and beyond the YRD region by analyzing the pattern and process of knowledge collaboration at different geographical scales during the 2004-2014 period. Results show that the structure of scientific knowledge collaboration as reflected by co-publications has been strongest at the national scale whereas that of technological knowledge collaboration as measured by co-patents has been strongest at the global scale. Despite this difference, the structure of both scientific and technological knowledge collaboration has been functionally polycentric at the megalopolitan scale but become less so at the national and global scales. The 'globally connected but locally disconnected' pattern of Shanghai's external knowledge collaboration suggests that the gateway role of the YRD megalopolis in promoting knowledge collaboration at different geographical scales will take time before it is fully realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines foreign relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and discusses the impact the relationship has within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It covers the UAE's national security efforts since its creation in 1971 and how Saudi Arabia has viewed the UAE as a competitor within the GCC in both politics and economics.

Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine whether the evolution of Spain's agrarian change, between 1950 and 2005, exhibits any features important enough to differentiate it from the common model of developed countries in Western Europe. On the one hand, the Spanish agrarian transformations share the main features of the changes in Western Europe: technological innovation, increased production and productivity, the diminishing importance of the agricultural sector, close integration with the industrial sector, and a high environmental impact. On the other hand, a series of important peculiarities can be observed in Spain's agrarian change: strong expansion of intensive livestock farming; the role of increased irrigation in explaining the transformation of agriculture; policies that offered very little support to the agricultural sector under a dictatorship that denied a voice to farmers; and the prominent role of agriculture in the economy despite its small contribution to GDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to document Qatar’s recent contribution of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. We consider Qatar as an example of a mini state that relies on its wealth and soft power to further its interests in the Middle East and support a beleaguered Arab-Muslim state. The paper carries out analysis of Arabic newspapers and other documentary evidence to contextualise and estimate Qatar’s financial contribution 2010-2016. Contextualising Qatar’s aid necessitates considering Israel’s military control of the Palestinian Territories, and its ability through hard power to regulate the inflow of aid to Palestine. The paper concludes by calling for adopting the political economy perspective in dealing with humanitarian aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufacturing industry is a key sector in many national economies and is involved in creating sustainable economic growth. At the same time, it is a sector sensitive to internal and external impacts that result in fluctuations in the economic cycle, copying its development or even outstripping the development of economic cycles. The main objective of this contribution was to identify the relationship between manufacturing and GDP, which represents the economic cycle in European Union countries. The time series of selected indicators of the manufacturing industry and GDP from the Eurostat database for Q1 2000-Q4 2016 were used for analysis purposes. An analysis of 296 time series with a quarterly periodicity from 22 EU countries (including the United Kingdom) was performed. The results of analyses indicate that the processing industry is a sector with significant cyclical behavior. In most countries, production and sales in the manufacturing industry behaved as concurrent indicators, changes in production and sales almost immediately reflected in the growth or decline in GDP. Labor market indicators have been shown to be delayed cyclical indicators. Changes in the economic development of the countries have a strong impact on employment, the remuneration of employees and the number of hours worked in the sector. Strong cyclical industries must be constantly monitored, as negative changes in these sectors will automatically exacerbate the economic cycle recession. The results of our analyses represent a valuable platform for economic policy makers and regional strategic plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Libya is facing a rapidly growing epidemic of illicit drug use and HIV. This situation is fueled by a complex array of factors, mainly the consequences of the political and military turmoil of the Arab Spring. Although it is extensively documented in other settings that young people are one of the most vulnerable groups to both HIV and illicit drug use, no study has explored this issue among young people in Libya. The current study addresses this research gap.Methods: This study is a qualitative study using in-depth interviews guided by a semi-structured questionnaire. We used a maximum variation, purposive sampling strategy to recruit male and female participants, aged 14-18 years, from schools, prisons, and community-based informal re-education and rehabilitation centers in Tripoli, Libya.Results: In total, 31 participants were recruited: 6 females and 25 males. Sixteen participants were prisoners and residents of community-based informal re-education and rehabilitation centers, and 15 were recruited in schools. Risk factors for drug use included peer influence, the increased availability and affordability of drugs, disruption of social life and healthy recreational activities, and the distress and casualties of the war. Protective factors were religious beliefs and practices, good parent-child connectedness, and high self-esteem and future aspiration. Risk factors for HIV were insufficient knowledge related to HIV transmission and unsafe injection practices, such as sharing needles and syringes.Conclusion: We found individual, interpersonal, family, and structural-level factors that interplayed to shape the vulnerability of young people to drug use and HIV infection in Tripoli, Libya. Structural factors, including the increased availability and affordability of drugs, provided the frame within which other factors, such as peer influence, insufficient knowledge of substance use, and HIV, operated to increase the vulnerability of young people to drugs and HIV, while religious beliefs and parent-child connectedness acted as protective factors. Multisectoral efforts and studies to quantitatively evaluate the magnitude and distribution of these problems are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to examine the growth impact of foreign aid in Cambodia over the period 1980-2014, using the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The study also incorporates investment and trade openness into the model. The empirical findings show that trade openness has positive effects on growth in both the short run and the long run; investment has positively contributed to growth in the long run while foreign aid has positive impact on growth only for the short run. On the contrary, in the long run, it has negative impact on investment and growth. This can be suggested that dependence on foreign aid for long periods of time does not positively contribute to investment and growth in Cambodia. In order to achieve sustainable growth and enhanced industrialization, policy-makers should move from aid dependence to promote investments through elevating domestic and foreign capital in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2011, the government of British Columbia (BC) has focused on building the Canadian province’s economy through the development of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) sector. In service of this endeavour, the government launched theSkills for Jobs Blueprint, which attempts to more clearly align BC’s education system with resource extraction industries. In this paper, I argue that at the heart of this policy is the idea of education for, through, and as extraction. Conceptually, ‘extraction education’ focuses onsupply(what we can take out of the earth, institutions, and individuals) rather thandemand(what is needed to put into the educational system to meet needs of the land, institutions, communities, and individuals), and is problematic on environmental, economic, employment, equity, and educational fronts. In theorising ‘extraction education’ I extend Freire’s ideas on ‘banking education’ and briefly explore dialogic, problem-posing counters to it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the aftermath of the recent recession, the percentage of households facing rent burden in the USA reached historically high levels, while cost burden for owners has shrunk. This study uses two panels from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to compare the prevalence, distribution and household responses to the phenomenon of rent burden in the USA in the years immediately before and after the Great Recession. Results suggest that rent burden has become more prevalent after the recession and that income, household composition and location are major drivers of this phenomenon, both before and after the recession. Results also indicate that exiting rent burden was more difficult in the years after the recession and that an increasingly common coping mechanism for rent burdened households is to increase their household sizes. These results indicate that renters have experienced increased financial stress related to their housing. This finding is notable given the lack of policy responses that address hardship among renter households in contrast to the privileged status enjoyed by homeowners in the policy domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the economic and political condition in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) as of 2017. Topics discussed include the aspects of its 8th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2016-2020) which aim to tackle illegal logging, corruption, and uncontrolled investment, the issue of corruption and the leadership of Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, and the country's investments, economic development projects, and railway initiatives.

Purpose: This study proposes to map the barriers to scaling the microfinance industry in the U.S., as it pertains to home maintenance and improvement for low-income households. The selected context of analysis is the American city of Baltimore, due to the city's high need for housing repair and large percentage of residents with limited access to finance. Originality/Value: Most research has discarded microfinance as a viable option for a housing market solution in the U.S. This paper discusses how the market of microfinance for housing repair could improve its financial sustainability seizing the smaller dollar value of repair loans, relative to housing purchase, and the high and recurring need for repair. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research was conducted on how microfinance for housing repair works in Baltimore City, leveraging secondary government and private research, along with interviews with lenders and borrowers. Data were analyzed through PESTEL framework, describing the macro-environmental context. Findings: The market for Housing Microfinance (HM) loan products in Baltimore matches the academic literature. Similar market demands exist as they relate to an increasingly aging housing stock. Lender supply of financing seems "healthy", but it is mostly from philanthropic or government sources favoring "affordability" over financial sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This study investigates the link between personal income and smoking among adolescents, and aims to answer the following questions: (i) to what extent is personal income related to smoking, independent of family socio-economic status (SES) and (ii) does the association between personal income and smoking apply to different subpopulations? Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Six cities from European countries (Amersfoort, the Netherlands; Coimbra, Portugal; Hannover, Germany; Latina, Italy; Namur, Belgium; Tampere, Finland) in 2013. Participants A school-based sample of 10 794 adolescents aged 14-17 years. Measurements We modelled smoking experimentation, weekly smoking, daily smoking and (among daily smokers) smoking intensity as function of personal income, adjusting for age, sex, family SES, parental smoking and country. We tested interactions between personal income and covariates. Stratification analyses were performed for the variables for which interactions were significant. Findings Adolescents in the highest income quintile were more likely to be smoking experimenters [odds ratio (OR) = 1.87; P < 0.01], weekly smokers (OR = 3.51; P < 0.01) and daily smokers (OR = 4.55; P < 0.01) than those in the lowest quintile. They also consumed more cigarettes per month (β = 0.79; P < 0.01). Adjusting for family SES did not modify the significance of relationships, and increased the magnitude of the association for daily smoking. None of the interactions between covariates and personal income was significant for smoking measures. For the intensity of smoking, the interaction was significant for SES. The stratified analysis showed a non-significant association between smoking intensity and personal income among the oldest adolescents and those with the lowest SES background, while significant among younger and higher SES backgrounds. Conclusion In the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Finland, adolescents' personal income is related positively to smoking behaviours independent of family socio-economic status (SES). However, among low socio-economic status adolescent daily smokers, the association between the intensity of smoking and personal income is weaker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author shares his experience of knowing about astonishing own goal by the Spanish government. Instead of allowing the referendum on Catalan independence to go ahead, and either accepting the result, or ignoring it on the basis that it was illegitimate, it has handed Catalan nationalists a major public relations coup.

This paper investigates the relationship between economic development and water pressures using a global Multiregional Input-Output model (MRIO) dataset that takes into account the increasingly connected global supply chains underlying the economic systems. In particular, we analyse differences in water indicator outcomes by income level among European Union countries (EU27) from 1995 to 2008, focusing specifically on production and consumption-based water metrics for the member states. We use panel fixed effects regressions to study the dynamics of adjustment of water resources alongside controlling for individual country heterogeneity. Our main results indicate that the effects differ substantially depending on the approach used for measurement, especially when we conditioned on the country economic development, indicating opposite trajectories of water consumption and per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Furthermore, the analysis of the main components associated to water indicators highlight the role of water embodied in trade flows as the transmission mechanisms of the main effects. In particular, our estimates suggest that the growth path followed by the most developed areas in the EU27 is based on the externalisation of the environmental burden over the less developed European partners, and external developing countries. On the policy front, our findings call for the implementation of integrated water resources management, technological specific policies and the corresponding environmental regulation to combine the conservation of water ecosystems and sustainable economic growth at the national, supranational and global levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a statistical picture of the economic well-being of Canadian children. We discuss changes in families, nationally and by province. We outline how Canadian policy in support of children has changed and how it differs across regions. Changes or differences in median incomes, in income distributions and in child poverty both before and after taxes and transfers, at different points of time, in different kinds of families, and in different provinces constitute the core of the article. Finally, the economic well-being of Canadian children in 2010 is compared with that of children in eight other affluent countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) into FDI least recipient regions. Panel data for 20 sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and 11 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are used for the period 2000-12. Findings of the fixed effects estimations suggest that FDI inflows into these regions are influenced by GDP per capita, infrastructure development, trade openness, and control of corruption. Conversely, inflation negatively affects FDI inflows, and rents from natural resources do not significantly influence FDI. Furthermore, the findings show that marginal benefits from any increase in the quantity of FDI determinants (with the exception of control of corruption) will be less for SSA countries. The paper concludes with important policy implications deduced from the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asian welfare states are regarded as a welfare regime that supports 'productivism', in which social policies play a supportive role for economic policies. However, recent dramatic social and economic challenges persist, including ageing and change of labour market structure. Whether welfare states in East Asia can evolve with these changes remains uncertain. The social policies in Singapore, which have been designed to accommodate the political rationale and economic growth strategy in the economic, political and social contexts, are discussed in this article. This research contributes to the literature by interpreting the welfare regime in Singapore from a broad and dynamic political and economic context. Furthermore, this article considers the policy responses in Singapore to the change of the economic and social conditions in evolving welfare states by reviewing recent developments of the country's social policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts to challenge certain occupational licensing schemes as impermissibly driven by naked economic protectionism, federal appellate courts disagree on the legitimacy owed to the protectionist motivations that commonly prompt these regulations. To eliminate the current confusion, this Note advocates for the application of rational-basis-with-judicial-engagement review. The Supreme Court has demonstrated a willingness to engage in such analysis before--in both its animus jurisprudence over the past decades and more recently in its meticulous cost-benefit inquiry in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt--thereby weakening its claims of incompetence in evaluating the motivations of lawmakers. To avoid hindering the economic wellbeing of all Americans, the Court should do its job in order to protect your right to do yours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the performance of the Statutory Derivative Action (SDA) in Hong Kong is investigated for the period 2005 to 2014. Although in this period the SDA and the common law derivative action coexisted under the same regime, the SDA became the preferred remedy. The SDA’s requirement for leave of court proved more benign than expected in terms of the number of applications approved by the courts and indemnity orders granted covering the applicant’s legal costs. But serious shortcomings in the SDA have persisted. No indemnity orders were granted regarding the costs of SDA substantive litigation. Nor was a single case observed where the plaintiff ended up winning the SDA litigation and obtaining relief. These limits cast serious doubt on whether the SDA has thus far meaningfully performed its core functions in regard to compensating corporate harm and deterring future misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Summary This paper addresses one of the major challenges in rural livelihood analysis to quantitatively examine the dynamics of household livelihood strategies. It investigates the interactions between livelihood assets, activities, and outcomes, and captures the dynamics of long-term changes and their underlying factors. The study aims to identify the classification of rural livelihood strategies, their transitions and factors influencing these processes and changes. We employ the dynamic livelihood strategy framework, and use panel data for 2008 and 2012 covering 464 households in 15 villages in Cambodia, for latent class cluster analysis and regression estimation. In this paper, livelihood strategies are quantified based on allocation of available resources, which overcomes the limitations of income-based analysis. Our study identifies five household livelihood strategies pursued in the study areas, and the results show that over 70% of households change livelihood strategies over time in response to evolving pressures, incentives and opportunities. The study identifies covariates that shape the choices of livelihood strategies and affects the households’ access to more remunerative strategies, such as education, ownership of physical assets, and access to infrastructure. These findings suggest policy implications for improving the range of livelihood choices available to lower income groups to move out of poverty trap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines how the population of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) have influenced construction industry employment in Alberta, Canada between 2003 and 2014. It compares employment trends of TFWs to other groups such as women, Indigenous peoples, and permanent immigrants. Particular attention is given to how employee recruitment and retention strategies have been impacted.

Climate change is impacting the human life and allied activities throughout the world. In few regions, the impact is positive while in most of the others, it is negative. Pakistan is among those regions which are experiencing the change in climate in all parts of its territory. The current study is intended to investigate the impact of climate change on rice crop in rice-wheat zone of Pakistan. Data were collected from three districts of Punjab province and two districts of Sindh province. The selection of districts was based on the relative rice production rank of the districts in the country. Multivariate Linear Regression approach was applied to analyze the data. Three different models were used to investigate the impact of climate change on rice crop. The results showed that both rise in temperature and precipitation have positive impacts on rice crop. The present study could not quantify the level of increment in temperature and rainfall and its benefits for rice crop. There is further scope to identify the level beyond which it started impacting the crop negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study's purpose was to determine if youth race/ethnicity, youth age and sex, parent income and education, household wealth, family poverty, and family structure were prospectively associated with youth assets in a community-based sample of racially/ethnically and economically-diverse youth and their parents. Methods: Five waves of data were collected annually (2003 to 2008) from youth (N = 1111; Mean age = 14.4 years, SD = 1.6) and their parents using in-person, computer-assisted interviewing methods. Marginal logistic regression models and generalized estimating equations were conducted to assess prospective associations between the demographic factors and the number of assets the youth possessed (more than or less than the median number of 12 assets). Results: Results indicated that 1-parent families (Odds Ratio = 0.62, 95% CIs = 0.50-0.76) lower parental education, (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.48-0.95 and OR = 0.77, CI = 0.61-0.97), and youth age (OR = 0.70, CI = 0.55-0.88 and OR = 0.59, CI = 0.45–0.77) were the only demographic factors that independently, prospectively, and significantly predicted which youth would possess less than the median number of assets. Conclusions: Youth assets may be 1 mechanism that explains the negative effects of some demographic factors, particularly 1-parent families and low-parent education, on youth risk behaviors and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the thesis of Alexis de Tocqueville (1856) that economic development and increased mobility may generate political discontent not present in more stagnant economies. For many citizens, as they become aware of the potential for improved living standards, their aspirations may increase faster than actual living standards. Expanded opportunity may then paradoxically result in dissatisfaction with government rather than greater confidence. We develop a formal model to capture Tocqueville’s (1856) verbal theory and test its predictions using a 2012–2013 face-to-face survey experiment conducted in Pakistan. The experiment utilizes established treatments to subtly manipulate either a participant’s perceptions of her own economic well-being, her perceptions of society-wide mobility, or both. As predicted by the theory, political discontent rises when declining personal well-being coincides with high mobility to create unrealized aspirations. The results thus identify the conditions under which expanded economic opportunity can lead to political unrest. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]