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Many regional and national development questions involve the interaction of external and internal evolutions and can be conceived macroeconomically in balance-of-payments terms. In this light, China's engagement in international trade, outward and inward foreign direct investment, accumulation of reserves, development cooperation, aid and international finance initiatives are examined and related to evolving domestic and international conditions. After joining the Western-centred international economic and political order, while protecting its economic and political sovereignty and defining itself as part of the Global South, China emerged as a very large semi-peripheral upper-middle-income country. In the new millennium China and other emerging economies started to upgrade into higher value-added sectors and to reshape international governance arrangements in ways that reflect the civilisational values and colonial and semi-colonial experience of the Global South. Although these steps do challenge the unequal and unfair 'liberal rules-based order' and US hegemony, they also help create a more equitable and peaceful multipolar world system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a monetary perspective on capital flows and the Eurozone's north-south divide. It argues that finance-centric narratives in comparative political economy rightly emphasize financial instability in the periphery, but that the role of capital flows therein requires clarification. The article draws on post-Keynesian monetary theory, coherent accounting, and balance-of-payments data to make three points. First, the focus on the financial account as a driver of current accounts should be abandoned in favor of an analysis of gross capital flows. Gross flows need not stem from excess savings in core countries and can be independent from trade flows. Second, explanations of financial instability in the periphery should go beyond bank flows and consider speculative portfolio flows into bond markets and foreign direct investment into real estate. Third, rising spreads in the periphery during the Eurozone crisis and the outbreak of the pandemic were not triggered by balance-of-payments problems but by a reversal of speculative bond flows. Comparative political economy should thus dedicate more attention to institutions that render peripheral countries susceptible to speculative flows into asset markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do we punish negligence? Some current accounts raise the possibility that it can be explained by the kinds of processes that lead us to punish ordinary harmful acts, such as outcome bias, character inference, or antecedent deliberative choices. Although they capture many important cases, these explanations fail to account for others. We argue that, in addition to these phenomena, there is something unique to the punishment of negligence itself: People hold others directly responsible for the basic fact of failing to bring to mind information that would help them to avoid important risks. In other words, we propose that at its heart negligence is a failure of thought. Drawing on the current literature in moral psychology, we suggest that people find it natural to punish such failures, even when they do not arise from conscious, volitional choice. This raises a question: Why punish somebody for a mental event they did not exercise deliberative control over? Drawing on the literature on how thoughts come to mind, we argue that punishing a person for such failures will help prevent their future occurrence, even without the involvement of volitional choice. This provides new insight on the structure and function of our tendency to punish negligent actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provision of person-centered dignity-conserving care is central to palliative care. It is important to reevaluate current methods of assessing dignity as the concept of dignity is multifaceted. The aim of this study is to understand the tools which are used to assess a patient's dignity and the elements of dignity evaluated in these tools. Two independent and concurrent Systematic Evidence-Based Approach guided systematic scoping reviews (SSR in SEBA) on existing dignity assessment tools and on accounts of assessments of dignity were carried out. The SSR in SEBA on dignity assessment tools involving PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, and CINAHL databases saw 22 full-text articles included from the 645 articles reviewed. The SSR in SEBA on accounts of assessments of dignity featured in the PubMed database identified 102 full-text articles which saw 46 articles included. The domains identified were factors affecting patients' definition of dignity; elements of dignity-conserving care; and components of effective tools. Current accounts to assess dignity and assessment tools fail to capture shifting self-concepts of dignity holistically. A portfolio-like appraisal of dignity is proposed to achieve assessments that are timely, longitudinal, and patient-specific. Portfolio-based assessments by members of the multidisciplinary team will better direct timely evaluations of relevant aspects of changing concepts of dignity, without losing the patient's holistic perception of dignity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of aesthetics in film-theoretical discourse today is split between, on the one hand, a film-phenomenological or "filmosophical" approach that values the putatively immanent relation between film and the mind and, on the other, the naturalizing epistemology of post-theory, which reduces the question of film aesthetics to one of poetics. What unites these otherwise disparate projects is the consideration of aesthetics divorced from the question of politics; in both cases, the social or political significance of the film–spectator relationship has been summarily purged. In this article, I will offer an alternative account of film aesthetics that draws on Jacques Rancière's theory concerning the mutually determining relationship between aesthetics and politics. In particular, I will consider the relevance of Rancière's thesis concerning what he calls the distribution of sensible to current accounts, as well as taking up his novel consideration of aesthetic distance and the "emancipated" spectator. With respect to film phenomenology, I will examine how its film-theoretical program rests on the flawed concept of a de-politicized spectator enchained by the film image. With respect to post-theory, I will examine how its appropriation from cognitive science of the rational agent model of meaning making inappropriately limits the political potential of film aesthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that Croatia's growth over the past two decades is deeply related to the dynamics of international trade. Under the premise that what is bought and sold in global markets reflects the economy's fundamentals, we show that the rate of growth compatible with equilibrium in the balance-of-payments, i.e. the dynamic Harrod trade multiplier, is a good predictor of the country's actual long-run growth rate. For this purpose, we apply a state–space model and the Kalman smoother to obtain time-varying parameter estimates of the exports and imports functions. We use these estimates to investigate the determinants of international non-price competitiveness. Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) and Weighted Average Least Squares (WALS) techniques are combined to tackle model selection uncertainty. It is shown that R&D investments and human capital accumulation are the most important explanatory variables. The success of the European Union's (EU) integration process depends on the capacity of its new members to achieve a balanced-growth path. Being the last country to join the union, the experience of this single country is particularly relevant to understand possible development alternatives for the region. We conclude by highlighting the policy relevance of our findings to the evaluation of Croatia's catching-up performance as part of the EU. • Croatia's growth is deeply related to the dynamics of international trade. • We apply a state–space model to estimate the trade-multiplier for this country. • We show it is a good predictor of the actual long-run growth rate. • Estimates are used to investigate the determinants of international non-price competitiveness. • R&D, human capital, and demography are the most important explanatory variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current accounts of the production effect suggest that production leads to the encoding of additional production-associated features and/or better feature encoding. Thus, if it is the act of production that leads to the storage and/or enhanced encoding of these features, then less of this act should reduce the resulting production effect. In two experiments, we provide a direct test of this idea by manipulating how much of a given item is produced within a single mode of production (typing). Results demonstrate that such partial production can yield a significant production effect that is smaller than the effect that emerges from producing the entire item. These results suggest that how much of an item is produced can moderate the size of the production effect and are considered in the context of recent modelling efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the sustainability of the current account deficit (CAD) and validity of the intertemporal budget constraint of India for the period of 1980 to 2019. The cointegration results show that exports and imports are not cointegrated and the current account (CA) series is not mean reverting during the study period. Therefore, the results refute the sustainability of CAD and the validity of the intertemporal budget constraint in the Indian context. Furthermore, the study also emphasised the testing of the disaggregated CA and found that while the goods account is not sustainable, the services account found to be sustainable in the long run. Our findings thus indicate the potential for aggregation bias to have an impact on the overall CA sustainability results. Therefore, policies that help in achieving self‐sufficiency on the one hand and export promotion in goods on the other may eventually contribute to CA sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explain what it means that bodily expressions are perceivable per se, as Direct Perception (DP) accounts seem to assume. They claim that we have direct access to the mentality of others through the perception of their expressions (§§1-2). And yet, a few issues might render DP's grounds unsteady (§3). To avoid such risk, a more detailed account of how bodily expressions are perceivable can be of help. Our goal is not that of proposing an alternative to the current accounts of DP, but to explore an element of the latter that has been taken for granted: the perceptibility of expressions per se. Our thesis is that bodily expressions are a subset of gestalt structures. To account for this, we deal with what gestalts are (§4.1) and we investigate whether their features can be found in bodily expressions (§4.2). If bodily expressions are a subset of gestalt structures, then they are directly perceived and not inferred from their elements. We claim that conceiving bodily expressions as gestalt structures can give a steadier ground to DP's accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the long-term impact of Chinese RMB exchange rate movements on the trade balance between China and the Eastern African Belt and Road Initiative countries. The Pedroni cointegration analysis and the fully modified and dynamic OLS techniques are applied to the dataset from UNComtrade and China Statistical Yearbook 2019. Some specification novelties are the use of imports and exports as independent variables. By so doing, the paper proposes an alternative measure of the trade balance. We find that the RMB exchange rate movements are stable during the sample period and slightly affect the trade balance between China and the Eastern African BRI countries. Additionally, the study does not find evidence supporting the J-curve effect in China-East Africa trade balance. The empirical results suggest that the Eastern African BRI countries would gain much more trading collectively with China than individually. Therefore, the study strongly recommends that the East African Community accelerate its integration process and establish Export Quotas for trade outside the bloc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present the legitimization process of macroprudential capital flow management policies as a tool for economic stability after 2009, when such policies started to have the support of multilateral institutions such as the IMF. To this end, we conducted extensive bibliographical research, bringing together several academic strands to present how this process of transformation and acceptance developed and the motivations, impacts, and effective results of these policies. As a result, we verified that the use and effectiveness of these management strategies must follow an arrangement in which their scope must involve several other policies of the fiscal, macroprudential, monetary, exchange rate, and capital control, mainly in emerging economies and in these cases, reduce financial fragility and maintain the macroeconomic stability of these countries in the face of adverse shocks to the balance of payments caused by excessive capital inflows or outflows, mitigating the resulting externalities in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roundtable, convened to celebrate the 25th ESHET conference, asked how the history of economic thought can become relevant for actual economic policy. Schefold begins with methodological remarks and illustrates the general theme by showing how the policies of ordoliberalism involve a dialogue between postulates formulated in the past and revaluations made necessary by new conditions. Von Weizsäcker proposes an economic policy based on a new Hicksian reconstruction and extension of Böhm-Bawerks theory. Maes shows how modern central banks do historical research which may induce them to take some distance from ongoing research and to avoid a "this time is different" view. Boianovsky provides highlights of the history of development economics and its policy implications. Feldman uses history of economic thought to find solutions for recurrent balance-of-payments crises affecting peripheral economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging literature on demand-led structural transformation and structuralist macroeconomics finds that demand-growth can positively complement industrial policy and drive structural transformation but there is no firm consensus which policies can achieve a sustained virtuous circle of demand-, output- and productivity growth. Looking at evidence from manufacturing companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), this paper supports the view that demand-growth can effectively complement industrial policy but only if demand problems of different nature are addressed simultaneously. Increases in government spending need to be combined with distributional policies favouring the disposable income of workers and subsistence communities and with policies that can address country-specific and historically formed supply-side problems in vertically linked sectors to counteract external demand problems manifesting through the balance of payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What happens when intuition becomes algorithmic? This article explores how approaching intuition as recursively trained sheds light on what is at stake affectively, politically, and ethically in the entanglements of sensorial, cognitive, computational and corporate processes and (infra)structures that characterise algorithmic life. Bringing affect theory and speculative philosophies to bear on computational histories and cultures, I tease out the continuing implications of post-war efforts to make intuition a measurable and indexable mode of anticipatory knowledge. If digital computing pioneers tended to elide the more ambivalent implications of quantifying intuition, this article asks what computational myths are at play in current accounts of machine learning-enabled sensing, thinking, and speculating and what complexities or chaos are disavowed. I argue that an understanding of more-than-human intuition which grapples meaningfully with the indeterminacy central to digitally mediated social life must recognise that visceral response is recursively trained in multiple ways with diverse, and often contradictory, effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international monetary system currently suffers from three structural flaws that disproportionately affect developing nations: an asymmetric balance of payments adjustment mechanism, the Triffin Paradox, and an inequity bias against developing nations. Thus, as currently constituted, this global monetary framework is biased against the development prospects of developing nations and is antagonistic to their development efforts. However, the author's contention is that developing countries can use a Job Guarantee (JG) to address these shortcomings because it offers five significant international macroeconomic benefits that involve presenting developing nations with an enhanced degree of domestic policy options, altering how global liquidity is provisioned and the need for acquiring it, and inciting a direct challenge to the neoliberal conventional wisdom of global political economy. As a result, developing nations can use a JG as a cornerstone in any development strategy that seeks to sustainably mobilize underemployed labor resources and increase productive capacity and utilization rates while remaining free of the structural constraints imposed by the international monetary system. JEL Classification: B52, O11, F40 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper is a review essay of Daniel Larsen's Plotting for Peace. It begins with a brief overview of the book, which highlights its seminal insights on the financial quandaries of the Anglo-American international trade relationship during the First World War, and their galvanising effect on British strategy and American peace mediation symbolised by the House-Grey memorandum. It then traces the wide-ranging historiographical significance of Larsen's placement of British strategy in the context of the balance of payments. Finally, the review offers some general criticisms of the book. In particular, the shortcomings of its American diplomatic and political history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Second Gamma-ray Burst Catalogue (2FLGC) was announced by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) Collaboration. It includes 29 bursts with photon energy higher than 10 GeV. Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow observations have been adequately explained by the classic synchrotron forward-shock model, however, photon energies greater than 10 GeV from these transient events are challenging, if not impossible, to characterize using this afterglow model. Recently, the closure relations (CRs) of the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) forward-shock model evolving in a stellar wind and homogeneous medium was presented to analyse the evolution of the spectral and temporal indexes of those bursts reported in 2FLGC. In this work, we provide the CRs of the same afterglow model, but evolving in an intermediate density profile (∝r−k) with 0 ≤ k ≤ 2.5, taking into account the adiabatic/radiative regime and with/without energy injection for any value of the electron spectral index. The results show that the current model accounts for a considerable subset of GRBs that cannot be interpreted in either stellar-wind or homogeneous afterglow SSC model. The analysis indicates that the best-stratified scenario is most consistent with k = 0.5 for no-energy injection and k = 2.5 for energy injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviewing Marc Lavoie's comprehensive and well-structured discussion of open-economy macroeconomics allows us to revisit some key Post-Keynesian contributions and confirm their continued relevance to our understanding of international economic, financial and monetary relations. In the process Lavoie draws a consistently sharp contrast with standard-theory concepts and models, much of it organized around his elaboration of endogenous money in an international context and modern trade flows embedded in a highly globalized and financialized world economy which have little to do with comparative advantage. He thereby provides us with a conceptual road map for a meta-economic revolution which recognizes that the world economy has a growth dynamic all of its own rather than being just the sum of its parts, the two-hundred or so national economies connected to each other through their balance of payments and exchange rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that Lucas (1972. 'Expectations and the Neutrality of Money.' Journal of Economic Theory 4 (2): 103–124) played a significant role in changing Friedman's theoretical propositions of the 1970s, and that his restatement of Friedman's (1968b. Dollars and Deficits. Inflation, Monetary Policy and the Balance of Payments. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall International) address on monetarism helped Friedman refine his argument, regarding both theory and policy-making, in a consistent manner. First, the adoption of the rational expectations hypothesis eventually led to a confrontation with Friedman, whose own approach to probability, based on subjective uncertainty, originated in his early joint work with Savage. Second, Lucas' modelling of the aggregate supply function undermined Friedman's earlier approach to the interrelationships between prices and quantities, but also helped remind Friedman of his Marshallian lineage. Lastly, Lucas's monetary cycle theory, based on an extraction signal problem that was quickly criticized and abandoned, compelled Friedman to give a firmer theoretical foundation to his monetary policy rule based on a constant rate of growth in money supply, thanks to his earlier approach of subjective uncertainty and personal probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The balance of payments is defined as systematic and statistical tables that record a country's financial transactions with the rest of the world, influencing the economic performance of both developed and developing countries. Transportation activities are in a very important position in order to continue the exchange of goods and services in the international arena without any disruption, one of the main factors affecting the development of the world economy. In this study, the income and expenditure items related to transportation activities in Türkiye's balance of payments between 2012 and 2021 were analyzed using the CRITIC, ARAS and WASPAS techniques, which are Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods. According to the CRITIC Analysis, the criterion with the highest level of significance in measuring the performance of transportation activities in Türkiye's balance of payments was passenger expenditures (0.2167), while the criterion with the least significance was freight income (0.1328). The CRITIC, ARAS and WASPAS Analyses revealed that the year 2013 had the highest performance, while the year 2012 had the lowest performance in the 10-year performance ranking of transportation activities in Türkiye's balance of payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I propose new or relatively new steps in the construction of New Developmentalism: the existence of current account policies, the policy of growth with current account deficit, besides the current and the industrial equilibriums, the equilibrium with current account deficit, and the extended Dutch disease. The three equilibriums are depicted in a new figure. A new form of neutralizing the Dutch disease using import tariffs and export subsidies on manufactured goods is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether native Chinese speakers' comprehension of ironic criticism is constrained by relationship closeness in two experiments. In Experiment One, participants read conversations in which speakers were close or distant in relationships and made ironic or literal remarks, and then rated the degree of sarcasm, humor, and the appropriateness of each conversation. In Experiment Two, another group of participants read those conversations and answered questions by pressing the keyboard at their own pace. Ironic criticism made by close acquaintances was less sarcastic as well as more humorous and appropriate than that made by distant ones. Besides, close relationships facilitated the processing of the target sentences of ironies, and ironic target sentences were processed at a slower pace than literal ones only in the distant-relationship condition. To conclude, relationship closeness influences the comprehension of Chinese ironic criticism both in terms of its pragmatic dimensions and the costs in reading. • Relationship closeness is an effective cue in the comprehension of Chinese ironic criticism. • Rating tasks and self-paced reading tasks were used to examine the comprehension of Chinese ironic criticism. • Close relationship increases the degree of appropriateness and humor and decreases the degree of sarcasm. • Close relationship facilitates the processing of Chinese ironic criticism by reducing its reading time duration. • Insights are provided for the current theoretical accounts of figurative language processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abilities, in contrast to mere dispositions, propensities, or tendencies, abilities seem to be features of agents that put the agent herself in control. But what is the distinguishing feature of abilities vis‐à‐vis other kinds of powers? Our aim in this paper is to point, in answer to this question, to a crucial feature of abilities that existing accounts have tended to neglect: their adaptivity. Adaptivity is a feature of how abilities are exercised. The main reason for its relative neglect has been that most extant accounts have focused solely on whether abilities are exercised successfully in certain possible situations and have mostly understood the exercise of an ability in terms of complete successful performance. We begin by pointing out two aspects of abilities with regard to which current accounts seem (at best) incomplete: control and exercise. We then introduce adaptivity as we understand it, and end by putting it to work in developing a fuller understanding of abilities that does better than current accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the compound aquaculture model of red tilapia (O. mossambicus albina × O. urolepis hornorum) and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) was used to investigate the effect of water spinach rafts on the water quality, antioxidant system, non-specific immune response, and growth performance of red tilapia and the carbon balance of payments. Red tilapia is characterized by its high adaptability to different production environments and food sources, as one of the most productive fish in aquaculture, and is well accepted in the market due to its nutritional and organoleptic characteristics. The experiment lasted for nine weeks and included two systems: the red tilapia-water spinach raft aquaponics (AP) system with 10% cover ratio with water spinach floating beds, and the aquatic monoculture (AM) system with only red tilapia. The total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and nitrate nitrogen (NO−3-N) in the AM were higher than those in AP from the fifth to ninth week. On the second, third, fifth, and sixth weeks, the ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), in the AM was higher than those in the AP. From the seventh week, the pH of the AM was significantly lower than the AP, while the nitrite nitrogen (NO−2-N) was significantly higher than the AP. The water quality index of the AP was better than that of the AM, indicating that water spinach can remove the nutrients from aquaculture water bodies. The average daily gain and specific growth rate (SGR) of fish in AP were higher than those in the AM. The acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), and catalase (CAT) activities in the hepatopancreas of red tilapia in the AP were also significantly higher than those in the AM, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) in the AP was lower than the AM. The serum ACP and CAT of red tilapia in the AP were also higher than those in the AM, while the MDA of fish in the AP was lower than the AM. The results showed that both the experimental group and the control group were carbon sources and released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but the total carbon emissions of the red tilapia and the water spinach symbiotic system in the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.05). These results demonstrated that the application of water spinach rafts in aquaponics can not only improve the water quality, but also improve the growth performance, antioxidant system and non-specific immune responses of red tilapia, while promoting the utilization of organic matter in the aquaculture system, improving the ecological benefits in terms of the carbon income and expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a submerged breakwater has become one of the preferred options of shore protection structures because of its lower impact on the coastal landscape and environment, it causes complicated hydrodynamic characteristics and sometimes fails to meet the expected coastal protection functions. Accurate prediction of wave and current around the structure is therefore essential for appropriate design of a submerged breakwater. This study focused on the influence of the permeability of the submerged breakwater and newly conducted laboratory experiments using permeable and impermeable breakwaters. The model, Simulate WAves till SHore (SWASH), was then applied to these laboratory experiments and the difference of measured and computed wave and current field around the structure was investigated. It was found that the model qualitatively well represented the horizontal distribution of wave heights and phase-averaged current velocities although it overestimated the shoreward volume flux over the impermeable breakwater, but not over the permeable breakwater. Comparison of these contrasting results between permeable and impermeable breakwaters revealed that the phase-averaged bottom shear stress was underestimated on the crest of the impermeable breakwater. This feature highlighted the importance of the bottom friction forces accounting for the wave current coexisting field for better predictions of wave-induced current field around the submerged breakwaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article responds to Raphael Sassower's critique of my recent A Player's Guide to the Post-Truth Condition. It addresses his concerns that I do not align myself sufficiently with Foucault and Critical Theory more generally. The article points out that notwithstanding my indebtedness to these sources, one cannot properly understand the post-truth condition without taking seriously the robust sense of freedom that today's two dominant ideologies—Neoliberalism and Neo-Populism—presuppose in their various political-economic-social struggles. The article relates this point to several of the key concepts underwriting my conception of post-truth, including Modal Power and the Symmetry Principle. The article ends with an account of the current "reparationist" discourse (i.e., repairing the intergenerational damage of transatlantic slavery) that makes it exemplary of the post-truth condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explains the non-linear relationship between total public debt and twin imbalances, across a panel of 15 countries in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region from 2003 to 2019. A panel data threshold model with fixed effects proposed by Hansen (1999) estimates two debt-to-GDP thresholds (36.71% and 72.99%), which determine three debt-to-GDP intervals in the twin relationship. Our findings show two interesting results. First, if the level of public debt to GDP is less than 36.71%, the model determines a negative relationship between the budget balance and the current account. Twin deficits are confirmed exclusively if debt-to-GDP is in the interval between 36.71% and 72.99%. A twin divergence is also confirmed if public debt-to-GDP is more than 72.99% (e.g. as in Egypt and Lebanon). The results of this study show that there is not a single debt threshold applicable to all MENA countries, and the regression results are robust for different specifications and estimation techniques. As a result, policymakers may be able to adjust the current account deficit by lowering the public-debt ratio, reducing government-funded sterile programs, and implementing appropriate austerity measures to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant approach of international organizations and financial institutions to development finance focuses on incentivizing and mobilizing private capital to achieve the international community's goals in terms of economic, social and environmental development while the public sector's financial capacity is supposedly restricted. Yet, this approach dismisses the nature of money as being endogenous, which implies that domestic banking systems can accommodate the demand for finance. The essential constraint, notably from the perspective of low-income countries, is not finance per se but the lack of foreign exchange. To distinguish true from false finance gaps, it is necessary for a country to know whether its investment plans rely on foreign currency. This analysis develops a guide to public investment based on the balance-of-payments-constrained growth model. It helps policymakers develop investment plans by assessing reliance on foreign exchange and the space available to make public investments via the domestic banking system. To illustrate its practical use, the guide is applied to a simple stylized example of a national investment plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of high short-circuit currents (200–300 kA) in autonomous and generator power systems of low and medium voltage classes, causing a decrease in the switching resource of switching facilities, necessitates the search for ways of limiting the current. The paper proposes a solution to this problem: a semiconductor current-limiting device based on a DC chopper, a DC-to-DC converter. This devices' features are its low dimensions and losses during typical operation. Semiconductor elements can be arranged quite compactly due to the lack of radiators for cooling, since the cooling process—taking into account the short duration of the current limitation process—is not efficient. The choice of semiconductor devices takes into account the short duration of the current load, as a result of which the temperature of the semiconductor structure does not exceed its permissible value. This paper presents a method for calculating the parameters of semiconductor devices, taking into account the current load as well as adjusting the magnitude of current limitation to a value that can be disconnected by switching devices. The short-term mode of operation of the power semiconductor device with current regulated by the frequency and duty cycle of its operation makes it possible to facilitate the required current limitation in the circuit for the subsequent fault clearance with a typical electrical device. The problem of overcurrent of one of the elements of the limiter is noted, which requires special attention to ensure that the semiconductor device is not overheated. This paper also presents the principle of current limitation, summarizes the results of experimental studies, and analyzes the presented capabilities of a semiconductor current limiter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of shale gas reservoirs often involves the utilization of horizontal well segmental multi-stage fracturing techniques. However, these reservoirs face challenges, such as rapid initial wellhead pressure and production decline, leading to extended periods of low-pressure production. To address these issues and enhance the production during the low-pressure stage, pressurized mining is considered as an effective measure. Determining the appropriate pressurization target and method for the shale gas wells is of great practical significance for ensuring stable production in shale gas fields. This study takes into account the current development status of shale gas fields and proposes a three-stage pressurization process. The process involves primary supercharging at the center station of the block, secondary supercharging at the gas collecting station, and the introduction of a small booster device located behind the platform separator and in front of the outbound valve group. By incorporating a compressor, the wellhead pressure can be reduced to 0.4 MPa, resulting in a daily output of 12,000 to 14,000 cubic meters from the platform. Using a critical liquid-carrying model for shale gas horizontal wells, this study demonstrates that reducing the wellhead pressure decreases the critical flow of liquid, thereby facilitating the discharge of the accumulated fluid from the gas well. Additionally, the formation pressure of shale gas wells is estimated using the mass balance method. This study calculates the cumulative production of different IPR curves based on the formation pressure. It develops a dynamic production decline model for gas outlet wells and establishes a relationship between the pressure depletion of gas reservoirs and the cumulative gas production before and after pressurization of H10 −2 and H10 −3 wells. The final estimated ultimate recovery of two wells is calculated. In conclusion, the implementation of multi-stage pressurization, as proposed in this study, effectively enhances the production of, and holds practical significance for, stable development of shale gas fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both symbolic (digits) and non-symbolic (dots) numerals are spatially coded, with relatively small numbers being responded faster with a left key and large numbers being responded faster with a right key (spatial–numerical association of response codes [SNARC]). The idea of format independent SNARC seems to support the existence of a common system for symbolic and non-symbolic numerical representations, although evidence in the field is still mixed. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether symbolic and non-symbolic numerals interact in the SNARC effect when both information is simultaneously displayed. To do so, participants were presented with dice-like patterns, with digits being used instead of dots. In two separate magnitude classification tasks, participants had to respond either to the number of digits presented on the screen or to their numerical size. In the non-symbolic task, they had to judge whether the digits on the screen were more or less than three, irrespective of the numerical value of the digits. In the symbolic task, participants had to judge whether the digits on the screen were numerically smaller or larger than three, irrespective of the number of digits being present. The results show a consistent SNARC effect in the symbolic task and no effect in the non-symbolic one. Furthermore, congruency between symbolic and non-symbolic numerals did not modulate the response patterns, thus supporting the idea of independent representations and questioning some propositions of current theoretical accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve current account deficit, exchange rate policy has been frequently used by policymakers. Therefore, the effect of exchange rate on exports has been well-studied in literature. This paper aims to estimate real exchange rate elasticities of export outcomes (unit value, quantity, and value) using six-digit HS product level data for Turkey and selected countries. Our results show that price elasticity of exports is low, but quantity elasticity is high in most selected countries. This indicates that the exchange rate is affected by export amount. On the other hand, these results vary among different sub-sectors and destination country groups. These findings imply that exchange rate policy should be cautiously designed to avoid unexpected consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade or so, Tanzania's economy has registered a significant growth in the rate of financial inclusion. The level of financial exclusion has consistently declined from 55% to 28% between 2009 and 2017 respectively. Moreover, the percentage of the adult population using formal financial services has almost quadrupled between 2009 and 2017. However, available statistics also illustrate that the participation of youth population in the formal banking, insurance, credit and savings products and services remain abysmally low. Furthermore, less than 50 percent of youth borrow from formal financial institutions. Indeed, lack of access to finance is frequently singled out as the major obstacle among youth to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Although much has been done to address financial inclusion, relatively little is known about the determinants of youth financial inclusion as well as the impact of financial inclusion on youth's willingness to engage in entrepreneurship in Tanzania. This study uses World Bank Financial Inclusion Index, (2018) to examine both the determinants of financial inclusion and the effects of financial inclusion on youth willingness to engage in entrepreneurial activities in Tanzania. In doing so, we employ propensity scores matching (PSM) and the treatment effects models. Financial inclusion is measured by using three indicators namely; "formal account", "formal savings" and "formal credit". The results from the logit PSM regression indicate that being employed increases the likelihood of having a current account or a savings account in a formal financial institution amongst the young people. In the case of formal account and formal saving, attaining a secondary education level increases the probability of having a formal account and a formal saving account relative to those with primary education. The estimated results from the Average Treatment Effect, whose computation is built on the propensity scores and the kernel matching algorithm show that having a formal current account, formal saving account and access to formal credit services positively affect the willingness of youths to engage into entrepreneurship. The policy implication is that government policy that enhances expansion of credit to youth remains paramount as a panacea to engage youth in entrepreneurial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research estimates the weight of surcharges that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects to levy on middle-income borrowing countries during the 2023-2033 period. The evidence indicates that surcharges do not achieve their alleged objective of encouraging early debt repayment; rather, they increase debt burdens for those middle-income borrowers facing the most acute balance of payment problems, while the IMF profits from these crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Atmospheric vapor‐pressure deficit (VPD) is increasing in many regions and has a large impact on plant productivity. A VPD increase leads to raising transpiration rate (TR) and soil‐water demand, risking productivity penalties. Like water, nitrogen is critical to productivity, but the effect of VPD on legume nitrogen fixation is undocumented.To address this, we developed a portable system for quantifying nitrogen fixation noninvasively and at a high temporal resolution by tracking the rate of hydrogen gas evolution by root nodules. Combining field and controlled‐environment experiments where we measured leaf gas exchange and H2 production by nodules, we confirmed the ability of the system to track nitrogen fixation dynamics.Raising VPD from 0.5 to 3 kPa within c. 2.5 h under well‐watered conditions increased nitrogen fixation by up to 25% in addition to TR, consistent with the hypothesis that raising VPD in that range might have alleviated nitrogenase feedback inhibition. Genotypic differences were found in this response, indicating a potential for breeding.Our study provides evidence for an important environmental effect on nitrogen fixation that is not taken into account in current crop and vegetation models, pointing to untapped avenues for better understanding climate change effects on legumes and nitrogen cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the long run sustainability of a growth path led by multiple non-creating capacity autonomous expenditures in a demand led-supermultiplier model for a small open economy. Using two different models the results show that it is impossible to have in the same model long-term economic growth driven by the non-capacity creating component of domestic demand, exogenous income distribution, long-run balance between productive capacity and aggregate demand and balance of payments equilibrium. Economic viability of the balanced-growth path demands growth to be led by exports, at least for small open economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explain how the current account balance of the Turkish economy is affected by high technology product imports and this trade within the framework of causality analysis. One of the most important factors affecting the current account balance of a country is the import item. As a result of the lower export revenues of the country in return for the imports, the current account balance is adversely affected. The factor that provides the highest return in the production process of the country is the production of high-tech products. While some countries are at the top in the production of high-tech products, others are in the position of importers. Countries that are importers of high-tech products generally have current account deficit problems. However, all countries are trying to build their production structures to produce high-tech products. In this study, the relationship between high technology product imports and current account deficit in the Turkish economy was tested with Granger Causality Analysis. The current account deficit data obtained from the CBRT and the import level of high technology products obtained from TURKSTAT are used monthly between 2013-2021. As a result of the analysis carried out, no causal relationship could be determined between the import of high technology products and the current account deficit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) have been widely studied by virtue of their ability to regulate many essential cellular activities, including proliferation, survival, migration, differentiation and metabolism. Recently, these molecules have emerged as the key components in forming the intricate connections within the nervous system. FGF and FGF receptor (FGFR) signaling pathways play important roles in axon guidance as axons navigate toward their synaptic targets. This review offers a current account of axonal navigation functions performed by FGFs, which operate as chemoattractants and/or chemorepellents in different circumstances. Meanwhile, detailed mechanisms behind the axon guidance process are elaborated, which are related to intracellular signaling integration and cytoskeleton dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the static bending, buckling, and free vibration behaviors of two-dimensional functionally graded (2D-FG) tapered micro/nanobeams are modelled and analyzed. For the first time, the nonclassical equations of motion and corresponding boundary conditions of 2D-FG beam are simultaneously derived in the framework of the modified couple stress and Gurtin-Murdoch surface elasticity theories in conjunction with the Timoshenko beam theory. Here, all the material properties of the beam are graded along the thickness and length directions according to the power-law. Both thickness and width of the beam are considered to vary linearly along the length direction. Unlike existing Timoshenko beam models, the current formulation accounts for the axial and bending deformations, Poisson's effect, and exact position of the physical neutral plane. Differential quadrature method is employed to estimate the variable coefficients of the derived equations. The bending deflection, critical buckling load, and free vibration frequency of simply supported 2D-FG Timoshenko nanobeam are obtained employing the Navier's method. A parametric study is accompanied to investigate the effects of the different material and geometrical parameters on the mechanics of 2D-FG micro/nanobeams. It is observed that these parameters are very important in investigating the static and dynamic responses of 2D-FG micro/nanobeam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bu çalışmada, son 20-30 yılda Türkiye ekonomisinin en kronik sorunlarından biri haline gelen cari açık ile, yine bu dönemde genel olarak ekonomi yönetimlerinin bilinçli tercihi olan finansal dışa açıklık arasındaki ilişki ampirik olarak incelenmiştir. Ampirik analiz için, cari açık ve finansal dışa açıklıkla birlikte reel efektif döviz kuru değişkeninin 1998:1-2019:1 dönemi çeyreklik verileri ve Granger nedensellik testi kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonuçlarına göre, söz konusu dönemde cari açık ile reel efektif döviz kuru ve cari açık ile finansal dışa açıklık arasında çift yönlü nedensellik ilişkisi tespit edilmiştir. Bu bağlamda, çalışmada Türkiye'de başta doğrudan yabancı yatırımlar olmak üzere uzun vadeli yabancı sermaye girişini teşvik edici politikalar ve gerçekçi kur politikaları uygulanarak cari açığın azaltılması gerektiği vurgulanmıştır. In this study, the relationship between the current account deficit, which has become one of the most chronic problems of the Turkish economy in the last 20-30 years, and financial openness, which is the conscious choice of the economy managements in this period is empirically examined. Quarterly data of the current account deficit, financial openness and real effective exchange rate variables for the period 1998:1-2019:1 and the Granger causality test is used for empirical analysis. According to the results of the analysis, a bidirectional causality relationship is found between the current account deficit and the real effective exchange rate, and between the current account deficit and financial openness. In this context, it is emphasized that the current account deficit should be reduced by implementing policies that encourage long-term foreign capital inflows, especially foreign direct investments, and realistic exchange rate policies in Türkiye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the dynamic impact of the functional distribution of income on the demand for imports in developed and developing countries. Drawing upon a motivating accounting structure suggesting a potentially causal effect of the functional distribution of income in an extended version of a standard import function, we find evidence that a fall in the wage share has a statistically significant positive (negative) impact on the volume of imports in developing (developed) countries and the entire sample of countries. Therefore, the neglect of such income distribution effects in import demand functions represents the omission of both an empirically relevant variable and a further theoretically significant structural channel through which the functional distribution of income affects output growth. A key implication is that the impact of the functional distribution of income on the demand for imports has to be considered in growth empirics based on either a binding balance-of-payments constraint in the Kaldor–Thirlwall tradition or a demand-led regime approach or a competitive real exchange rate. • We investigate the impacts of the functional distribution of income on imports in developed and developing countries. • GMM estimation techniques are used to deal with the dynamic nature of the issue. • A fall in the wage share has a significant positive (negative) effect on imports in developing (developed) countries. • Structural features of countries matter for the macroeconomic implications of distributional changes. • Neglecting distributional effects in import functions means omitting an important variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that the stories told about the histories and nature of places, are vehicles for narrating race. Drawing on interviews with professionals and community workers in Butetown in Cardiff and Govanhill in Glasgow, we explore how they negotiated – and contested – racialized histories of place, constructing different versions or claims to belong. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre's spatial concepts we explore this conceptualization through examination of the two areas that have distinct histories, and present experiences, of migration and racialization. In discussion of the accounts from the two distinct areas, we show that narratives of the past have a political resonance that shape accounts of current experiences of migration. Accounts of place are often related in relationship to comparisons with and narratives of other places and to global processes of trade and migration. Whilst these racialized narratives are contested, they also shape responses to social problems faced by communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering annual data from 1980 to 2020, this study attempts to investigate major factors determining Current Account Deficits (CADs) for five South Asian economies (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka) in the South Asian Region. Using VAR estimation framework on a basic model of CAD, it is observed that exchange rate depreciation majorly helps to improve the Current Account Balances (CABs), whereas increased per capita income, trade openness, net foreign capital inflows don't pose major threats to deterioration in their CABs of countries. While fiscal deficit doesn't have substantial effect on CAB except for Bangladesh and Nepal, increased savings have an unfavourable effect on CAB, which is a major policy concern for almost all the countries in the region. Given the trends of liberalisation which is intensifying over time along with sustained growth of per capita incomes across economies, we conclude that unless some sectoral import restrictions are imposed along with ensuring the stability of exchange rates and productive allocation of external credits, the economies are likely to experience deterioration in their CABs and macro policy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]