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In China, the regional economic development model affected by government competition is an important factor leading to the income inequality of urban and rural residents. This paper aims to study the influence mechanism of tax competition among local governments on urban-rural income gap from the perspective of government intervention and tries to explain the reasons for the gradual narrowing of urban-rural income disparity since 2010. Using a dynamic panel data of 30 provinces, this study reveals that tax competition has alleviated the urban-rural income gap, and this effect shows temporal extensibility and spatial correlation. It is more obvious in eastern and central China and consistent in different local tax categories. Although tax competition has narrowed the overall income gap, the wage income inequality has been exacerbated. In addition, local fiscal autonomy, urbanization, public service provision and industrial structure are the important influencing channels of the mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the foundations of the economic development–contraception nexus, focusing on the pathways through which economic factors drive contraceptive adoption and change. We investigate the channels through which the relationship between economic development and contraceptive dynamics is mediated. Using global data, we document the correlations between economic development and contraception transitions over time and across geographies. We briefly examine the evidence of the role of fertility, both desired and realized, as a central pathway through which the relationship has been historically theorized and empirically verified. We also discuss a range of mechanisms through which economic development drives contraceptive use independently from fertility decline. Finally, we assess the state and quality of evidence of these relationships and propose directions for future inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) for destination therapy (DT) are used in many countries but in some, like the UK, LVADs are not commissioned due to uncertainty around their cost-effectiveness. Existing economic evaluations of LVADs for these patients have limitations. This study aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of LVADs as destination therapy, compared to optimal medical therapy, in the UK. Methods: A cost-utility analysis from a UK healthcare perspective was conducted, using a Markov model. The model incorporated the impact of major events and complications. Sub-group analyses considered different severities of heart failure on cost-effectiveness. Uncertainty was measured in deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Results: LVAD produced additional 2.78 (95% CI 2.46–3.14) QALYs at an incremental cost of £152,329 (95% CI £125,665 - £181,812) compared to medical management, giving an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £54,748 per QALY. The ICER remained above the accepted thresholds of cost-effectiveness in the UK if a small proportion of patients receiving LVAD becomes eligible for a heart transplant and for all subgroups based on heart failure severity. The deterministic sensitivity analysis showed that the ongoing outpatient costs had a significant impact on the results. Conclusions: Our analysis found that LVADs are not cost-effective as destination therapy in the UK if a willingness to pay threshold of £50,000 per QALY gained or disease severity modifiers, were applied. Robust data on ongoing costs for LVAD and medical management are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work assesses this economic actor in the programmatic documents of the last three Party Congresses. It starts with some data that characterise the Cuban entrepreneurial system at the end of 2023. After this, it very briefly looks at the document Economic and Social Guidelines of the Party and the Revolution (hereafter, Guidelines) that came out of the VI Party Congress, the foundational document of the so-called process of updating the Cuban economic model. The next two sections open with a balance of the contributions and limitations of the Conceptualization of the Cuban Economic and Social Model of Socialist Development (hereafter Conceptualization) related to state-owned enterprises. Subsequently, other documents related to the 'implementation' of the Conceptualization are discussed. Finally it includes some ideas, the result of collective work, for transforming the management and the performance of this economic actor, in the midst of a critical situation that requires increasing the country's entrepreneurial capacity, stabilising the macroeconomy, and embarking on the necessary and difficult path towards a productive reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective was to design and develop an open-source model capable of simulating interventions for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) that incorporated the cumulative effects of risk factors (eg, cholesterol years or blood-pressure years) to enhance health economic modeling in settings which clinical trials are not possible. We reviewed the literature to design the model structure by selecting the most important causal risk factors for CVD—low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), systolic blood pressure (SBP), smoking, diabetes, and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a))—and most common CVDs—myocardial infarction and stroke. The epidemiological basis of the model involves the simulation of risk factor trajectories, which are used to modify CVD risk via causal effect estimates derived from Mendelian randomization. LDL-C, SBP, Lp(a), and smoking all have cumulative impacts on CVD risk, which were incorporated into the health economic model. The data for the model were primarily sourced from the UK Biobank study. We calibrated the model using clinical trial data and validated the model against the observed UK Biobank data. Finally, we performed an example health economic analysis to demonstrate the utility of the model. The model is open source. The model performed well in all validation tests. It was able to produce interpretable and plausible (consistent with expectations of the existing literature) results from an example health economic analysis. We have constructed an open-source health economic model capable of incorporating the cumulative effect of LDL-C (ie, cholesterol years), SBP (SBP-years), Lp(a), and smoking on lifetime CVD risk. • Many health economic models for cardiovascular disease (CVD) are based on randomized clinical trials; however, because they do not incorporate the cumulative effect of changes in risk factors, they may underestimate the benefit of therapies as the time horizon of the studies increases. No health economic models have incorporated the cumulative effect of risk factors on the risk for incident CVD. • Herein, we outline the construction of a health economic model that incorporates the cumulative and causal effects of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) on the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. We describe the rationale behind the novel model structure, how we incorporated causal effects of key cardiovascular risk factors, and calibrated and tested the model against real-world data. We also provide all syntax necessary for model construction. • This model has potential in public health and clinical decision making when a clinical trial for the intervention simulated is not possible or practical, which is the case for most long-term studies on the primary prevention of CVD. It can assess the cost-effectiveness of complex interventions for CVD prevention and identify individuals in whom long-term targeted CVD prevention is cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various social science literatures suggest that the general character of macroeconomic models reflects their assumptive base. A more specialist literature in the Weintraub-Boumans-Morgan tradition shows how the mathematics of those models moulds together logical implications of particular starting assumptions, insights from generally accepted theoretical propositions, and professionalised common-sense about how the world works. I go one step further in arguing that a process of narrative moulding operates in tandem with this mathematical moulding. A naming strategy provides the mathematical properties of macroeconomic models with economic labels to create the feeling that they are something more than a merely mathematical structure. A storytelling strategy then informs policy-makers of where the solution to the system of equations positions the outer limits of both political desirability and political possibility. Future dedicated research programmes into the narrative dimensions of macroeconomic models can be expected to shed further light on how theory models can masquerade as policy models and substitute models as surrogate models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cent cinquante ans après la naissance du mot dans le lexique anglais, comment, aujourd'hui encore, parler de « psychothérapie » ? Si les objectifs et les méthodes originels du concept de « psychothérapie » apparaissaient simples et génériques, à savoir « soigner par l'esprit », notre psychiatrie et notre psychologie contemporaines ont développé une multitude de « psychothérapies » qui se présentent en général comme distinctes. Difficile pour les patients et leurs familles de s'y retrouver, difficile pour nos internes de psychiatrie et nos mastérisants en psychologie de s'y orienter, difficile pour nos autorités administratives de s'y investir. Comme elles nous apparaissent fondamentales à l'essence-même et à l'avenir de la notion de « psychothérapie », afin d'en approcher sa définition, nous convoquons les sciences du langage : (i) lexico-bibliographique en analysant la littérature scientifique des bases de données internationales et, plus globalement, le langage spécialisé psychologique et psychiatrique ; (ii) psycholinguistique en référence aux sciences cliniques du langage ; (iii) linguistique informatisée comme nous y invite le déploiement récent de l'intelligence artificielle pour l'espace de la santé mentale autant sur les plans diagnostiques que thérapeutiques, avec l'émergence des psybots. Notre objectif final sera de proposer une synthèse, une redéfinition de la notion de psychothérapie pour la psychiatrie et la psychologie clinique contemporaines. La majorité des sources retiennent une large indication aux psychothérapies, à la fois destinées à apaiser les maladies psychiatriques, les troubles psychologiques et psychosomatiques, les souffrances existentielles. Les notions d'inconscient et de prise de conscience, la place des langages verbaux et non verbaux, l'importance de la relation patient–praticien sont en majorité retenues. L'approche corporelle et les psychothérapies collectives ne sont mentionnées que plus aléatoirement. L'organisation des séances n'est évoquée que rarement, tout comme le statut du thérapeute ou l'idée que la singularité de celui-ci s'avère un élément central du traitement. La mention d'une nécessité de formation spécifique du praticien est davantage abordée, tout comme la possibilité d'association de la psychothérapie à des thérapeutiques pharmacologiques ou environnementales. Concernant l'évaluation du traitement, la définition d'objectif (global ou focal) n'est mentionnée que plus incidemment, tout comme l'intérêt d'une validité scientifique avec notamment, la prise en compte du risque d'effets indésirables. La notion dynamique de processus ou de mécanismes thérapeutiques n'est que peu évoquée or, l'étude des processus de changement pourrait participer à la définition des psychothérapies. L'évaluation des pratiques psychothérapeutiques serait à même de fédérer « la psychothérapie » à partir d'un socle commun et, s'appuyant sur celui-ci, d'ouvrir aux spécificités éventuelles « des psychothérapies » en fonction de leurs indications et/ou de leurs méthodes. Si de considérables investissements ont été placés dans l'évaluation des psychothérapies et dans les neurosciences, ils n'ont en 25 ans guère modifié la pratique psychothérapeutique de terrain et n'ont pas identifié, dans ce champ, de biomarqueurs spécifiques. Or parallèlement, depuis trois ans, des linguomarqueurs se développent à vitesse vertigineuse pour l'espace de la santé psychique, invitant les sciences du langage à mieux saisir la notion de psychothérapie, en particulier par l'analyse interlocutoire. Le développement des modèles logiciens, les méthodes d'intelligence artificielle, le tout doublé de l'augmentation exponentielle de la force de calcul d'ordinateurs personnels, ouvre la voie à un traitement automatisé du langage appliqué à la psychothérapie. Les intelligences artificielles commencent à identifier des linguomarquers en santé mentale tout en se donnant pour objectif de créer des soins scientifiquement évalués par des psybots. Qu'est-ce que la psychothérapie aujourd'hui ? Avec l'objectif d'un mieux-être, la psychothérapie est un ensemble de méthodes qui peuvent diversement s'associer dans le but d'apaiser les maladies psychiatriques, et/ou les troubles psychologiques, et/ou les souffrances existentielles. Les objectifs thérapeutiques et les moyens construits pour « faire aller mieux » sont le plus souvent concertés entre le patient avec sa demande de soins (ou nécessitant des soins sans consentement le cas échéant), d'une part, et le praticien qui y répond, d'autre part. Les thérapies peuvent être collectives en réunissant plusieurs patients (thérapies de couple, familiales, de groupe comme dans un débriefing par exemple) et, un ou plusieurs praticiens (co-thérapeute, psychothérapie institutionnelle). L'évaluation diagnostique médicopsychologique reste interdépendante des soins. Si les psychothérapies sont majoritairement efficaces, dans l'état actuel des connaissances scientifiques, les concepts théoriques sur lesquels se basent les psychothérapies (courants psychanalytiques, cognitifs, humanistes, existentiels, etc.) ne semblent pas strictement en adéquation avec les pratiques connues sous le même vocable et qui peuvent s'associer voire s'intégrer entre-elles, spontanément ou de manière formalisée. Une tendance actuelle consiste à considérer les domaines thérapeutiques existants comme des outils thérapeutiques. L'expression et l'association verbale, l'exposition, la prise de conscience corrélative à la reconstruction de représentations, la mise en pratique des volontés de changement, apparaissent comme de grands cadres structurants les psychothérapies. En d'autres termes, les psychothérapies possèdent des facteurs d'efficacité communs à toutes, et des facteurs spécifiques à chacune, ces derniers méritant d'être mieux axiomatisés. Le risque d'effets indésirables doit être pris en compte (aggravation de comportements d'évitement, re-traumatisation, majoration de traits de personnalité passifs-dépendants, etc.). Pour toute psychothérapie, la place du langage verbal apparaît prédominante, y compris en l'absence de langage vocalisé, comme lors de l'association à d'autres formes d'expression tels les arts picturaux, l'expression corporelle ou théâtrale, la relation avec un animal. Une psychothérapie est principalement constituée par une interaction monologique (avec soi-même) et dialogique (avec un clinicien) qui apaise les souffrances humaines grâce à des actions verbales permettant d'harmoniser les réseaux de représentations. Elle est scientifiquement caractérisable (et donc évaluable) par des linguomarqueurs lexico-sémantiques, syntaxiques et pragmatiques. Mais dans le même temps, la pratique de tout thérapeute lui est singulière autant qu'elle cherche à s'adapter à la singularité du patient et donc, ne s'inscrit pas uniquement dans une logique de normativité, au contraire. Les psychothérapeutes (médecins et psychologues pour la plupart) sont spécialement formés à la pratique psychothérapeutique et respectent les cadres réglementaires et déontologiques de leur profession. Dans l'idéal, ils devraient bénéficier d'une supervision, particulièrement dans les situations où le patient ne peut guère choisir son praticien (dans un camp de personnes réfugiées, en milieu militaire opérationnel, etc.). Le traitement est habituellement organisé en séances dont la durée et le rythme sont adaptées à la problématique. Les séances de thérapie peuvent, selon les modèles médico-économiques de chaque pays, être remboursées partiellement ou totalement. Une psychothérapie peut s'associer à d'autres dimensions thérapeutiques, notamment pharmacologiques (médicaments antidépresseurs, régulateurs de l'humeur, etc.), neuropsychologiques (remédiation cognitive essentiellement), environnementales (règles hygiénodiététiques, congé de maladie, etc.). De plus en plus, des robots conversationnels ou psybots proposent une offre de soin basique et complémentaire destinée à la régulation émotionnelle, la sophrologie, l'observance thérapeutique, etc. La psychothérapie reste une notion anthropologique, difficilement définissable en quelques phrases, autant qu'elle vise à apaiser les tourments issus de la nature humaine, dans son entièreté philosophique, mais également les tourments singuliers intimes à chaque être dont le cerveau et les réseaux de représentations demeurent uniques. Les tensions issues de nos réseaux de représentations les caractérisent au point de pouvoir être considérées comme homéostatiques, si elles ne font pas souffrir. La psychothérapie nécessite ainsi cette adaptation permanente, cette intelligence co-constructive avec le patient, et dont l'explicitation avancée des résultats ne sera jamais totalement certaine car c'est par cette création continue-même, toujours instable, toujours en devenir, y compris les soins parachevés, que se construit la psychothérapie. One hundred and fifty years after the word first appeared in the English lexicon, how can we still talk about "psychotherapy" today? While the original aims and methods of the concept of "psychotherapy" appeared simple and generic, namely "to heal through the mind," our contemporary psychiatry and psychology have developed a multitude of "psychotherapies", which generally present themselves as distinct. This makes it difficult for patients and their families to find their way around, difficult for our psychiatric interns and psychology master's students to orient themselves, and difficult for our administrative authorities to get involved. As they appear to us to be fundamental to the very essence and future of the notion of "psychotherapy," in order to approach its definition, we call upon the language sciences: (i) lexico-bibliographical, by analyzing the scientific literature in international databases and, more generally, specialized psychological and psychiatric language; (ii) psycholinguistics, with reference to the clinical sciences of language; (iii) computerized linguistics, as the recent deployment of artificial intelligence in the field of mental health invites us to do, at both diagnostic and therapeutic levels, with the emergence of psybots. Our final objective will be to propose a synthesis and redefinition of the notion of psychotherapy for contemporary psychiatry and clinical psychology. The majority of sources indicate that psychotherapy is widely used to treat psychiatric illnesses, psychological and psychosomatic disorders, and existential suffering. The notions of the unconscious and awareness, the place of verbal and non-verbal languages, and the importance of the patient–practitioner relationship are the most widely accepted. The somatic approach and group psychotherapy are mentioned less frequently. The organization of sessions is rarely mentioned, as is the status of the therapist or the idea that the therapist's uniqueness is a central element of the treatment. The need for specific training for the practitioner was mentioned more often, as was the possibility of combining psychotherapy with pharmacological or environmental therapies. With regard to the evaluation of treatment, the notion of defining an objective (global or focal) is mentioned only incidentally, as is the importance of scientific validity, in particular taking into account the risk of undesirable effects. The dynamic notion of therapeutic processes or mechanisms is rarely mentioned, yet the study of change processes could help to define psychotherapies. The evaluation of psychotherapeutic practices would be capable of federating "psychotherapy" on the basis of a common foundation and, building on this, opening up to the possible specificities of "psychotherapies" according to their indications and/or methods. Although considerable investment has been made in the evaluation of psychotherapies and in neuroscience, over the last 25 years there has been little change in psychotherapeutic practice in the field, and no specific biomarkers have been identified. At the same time, over the last three years, linguomarkers have been developing at breakneck speed in the field of psychological health, inviting the language sciences to gain a better grasp of the notion of psychotherapy, in particular through interlocutory analysis. The development of logician models and artificial intelligence methods, coupled with the exponential increase in the computing power of personal computers, is paving the way for automated language processing applied to psychotherapy. Artificial intelligences are beginning to identify biomarkers in mental health, with the aim of creating scientifically evaluated care by psybots. What is psychotherapy today? With the aim of improving well-being, psychotherapy is a set of methods that can be combined in various ways to alleviate psychiatric illnesses and/or psychological disorders and/or existential suffering. The therapeutic objectives and the means devised to "make people feel better" are most often agreed between the patient requesting treatment (or requiring treatment without consent when legally applicable) and the practitioner who responds. Therapies may be collective, bringing together several patients (couples therapy, family therapy, group therapy such as debriefing, for example) and one or more practitioners (co-therapist, institutional psychotherapy). Medical diagnosis and psychological assessment remain interdependent with care. While most psychotherapies are effective, given the current state of scientific knowledge, the theoretical concepts on which psychotherapies are based (psychoanalytical, cognitive, humanist, existential, etc.) do not seem to be strictly in line with the practices known under the same name, which may be associated or even integrated with each other, either spontaneously or in a formalized way. A current trend is to consider existing therapeutic areas as therapeutic tools. Expression and verbal association, exposure, awareness correlating with the reconstruction of representations, and putting into practice the will to change, appear to be the main frameworks structuring psychotherapies. In other words, psychotherapies have factors of efficacy that are common to all of them, and factors that are specific to each, the latter deserving to be better axiomatized. The risk of undesirable effects must be taken into account (aggravation of avoidance behavior, re-traumatization, increase in passive-dependent personality traits, etc.). In all psychotherapy, the role of verbal language appears to be predominant, even in the absence of vocalized language, such as when associated with other forms of expression such as the pictorial arts, bodily or theatrical expression, or a relationship with an animal. Psychotherapy consists mainly of monological interaction (with oneself) and dialogical interaction (with a clinician) that alleviates human suffering through verbal actions that harmonize networks of representations. It can be scientifically characterized (and therefore evaluated) using lexical-semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic linguomarkers. But at the same time, every therapist's practice is singular in that it seeks to adapt to the patient's uniqueness, and therefore does not fit solely into a logic of normativity, on the contrary. Psychotherapists (mostly doctors and psychologists) are specially trained in psychotherapeutic practice and respect the regulatory and ethical framework of their profession. Ideally, they should benefit from supervision, particularly in situations where the patient has little choice of practitioner (in a refugee camp, in an operational military environment, etc.). Treatment is usually organized in sessions, the length and pace of which are adapted to the problem. Depending on the medical and economic model in each country, therapy sessions may be partially or fully reimbursed. Psychotherapy can be combined with other therapeutic approaches, particularly pharmacological (antidepressants, mood regulators, etc.), neuropsychological (mainly cognitive remediation) and environmental (dietary hygiene rules, sick leave, etc.). Increasingly, conversational robots or psybots are offering basic and complementary care for emotional regulation, sophrology, therapeutic compliance, etc. Psychotherapy remains an anthropological notion, difficult to define in a few sentences, in as much as it aims to soothe the torments arising from human nature, in its philosophical entirety, but also the singular, intimate torments of each being whose brain and networks of representations remain unique. The tensions arising from our networks of representations characterize them to such an extent that they can be considered homeostatic, if they do not cause suffering. Psychotherapy therefore requires this permanent adaptation, this co-constructive intelligence with the patient, the results of which can never be totally certain, because it is through this very continuous creation, which is always unstable, always in the process of becoming, even when the treatment has been completed, that psychotherapy is constructed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The goal of this economic model is to estimate an economically justifiable price (EJP) for using donanemab for the treatment of early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the United States based on clinical data from the phase 3 TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 trial (NCT04437511). Methods: We adapted an AD Markov state-transition model developed by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review to estimate the EJP for donanemab at different willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds from the health care system perspective and the societal perspective as co-base cases. Results: Assuming a WTP threshold of $150,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained, the model estimates a 1-year (13-dose) EJP for donanemab of $80,538 from the health care system perspective and $91,126 from the societal perspective; at a WTP threshold of $100,000 per QALY gained, the model estimates a 1-year (13-dose) EJP for donanemab of $44,691 from the health care system perspective and $55,419 from the societal perspective. Mean total treatment costs per patient at the $150,000 per QALY gained EJP derived from the health care system perspective were estimated at $77,812 based on the average number of doses of donanemab patients received in the co-base case analysis. One-way sensitivity analysis (OWSA) indicated that treatment efficacy, disease severity at the time of treatment initiation, and duration of treatment effect were the main drivers of the potential EJP. Conclusions: Results from this modeling simulation informed by the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 study support an EJP for limited-duration treatment with donanemab that exceeds per-dose list prices for currently available amyloid-targeting therapies, implying potentially lower lifetime costs and better value for money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration method to study the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on Turkey-US trade, considering the third country effect. We estimated bilateral exports and imports of 10 industries between Turkey and the US, collected trade data between Turkey and the US and related exchange rate fluctuation indicators, and established economic models. The results show a two-way interaction effect of exchange rate fluctuations on bilateral trade. At the same time, we find that the third-country effect plays a vital role in Turkey-US trade, and changes in demand and supply from other countries indirectly impact bilateral trade. This study helps to understand the complexity and volatility of trade between Turkey and the US and provides reference for relevant economic policies. These insights help not only address challenges posed by exchange rate fluctuations and third-country effects but also promote stable and sustainable bilateral trade in an evolving global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of high-yielding, early maturing and drought-resistant varieties is a good adaptation strategy to cope with the adverse effects of climatic events like frequent occurrence of drought and heat stress. Kufri Pukhraj, an early bulking cultivar that is, drought tolerant and moderately resistant to late blight, is the most popular potato variety in India, covering 33% of total potato area. This paper assesses the gross returns from the investment in Kufri Pukhraj using the economic surplus method in a closed economy condition at all-India level. Time-series published data from various sources have been used in this study. A total of 41-year period (1978–2018) is considered to estimate the benefits in an ex-post framework using actual data. The analysis of varietal diversity of potato revealed that 11 out of 66 varieties are most popular and share about 75% of total potato area in India. These varieties are early-to-medium maturing and medium-to-high tolerant to drought. The findings show that R&D investment on Kufri Pukhraj has led to enormous benefits to both consumers and producers. The total surplus accrued to economy is estimated as Rs 540,840 million during 1978 to 2018. The net present value of returns was Rs 157,720 million and Rs 63,600 million at 5% and 8%, respectively. The study has found internal rates of return of 48%, which is a good rate of returns. Sensitivity analyses also showed good returns, with total economic surplus ranging from Rs 293,220 million to Rs 814,950 and internal rates of return ranging between 45 and 50%. Results imply that the investment in R&D of Kufri Pukhraj has proven to be successful and beneficial in India. The study recommends that other popular varieties equipped with other traits should be evaluated for shaping future research policies of potato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food systems face significant environmental challenges, necessitating a shift towards sustainability and resource efficiency. Implementing circular economy principles and adopting new business models can significantly contribute to more sustainable food systems. These approaches address major issues in the linear economic model, such as excessive food loss and waste, resource depletion, and market volatility. However, due to various barriers, adopting new circular food systems confronts sluggish progress. This study identifies the hierarchical structure and cause-and-effect relationships of these barriers using the example of selected food systems in Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany. Employing the Fuzzy-DEMATEL analysis approach, this research identifies four primary causal barriers and four effect barriers classified across market development, finance, technological availability, knowledge management, as well as institutional domains. Furthermore, the study ranks these barriers based on their significance. It reveals that the top barriers are poor product design and waste management infrastructure, insufficient quantity and quality of material flow, and a lack of collaboration in the supply chain. In addition, weak policies, along with their inadequate evaluation and monitoring, act as the most influential causal barriers. These findings hold significant implications for practitioners and policymakers striving to promote the transition to circular food systems through innovative business models. Practitioners are advised to prioritize collaborations with different stakeholders to ensure proper waste management, by-product valorization, and resource efficiency. Concurrently, policymakers should enact supportive policies and effective governance structures based on the needs of the businesses and its stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel Principal-Weighted Penalized (PWP) regression model, designed for dimensionality reduction in large datasets without sacrificing essential information. This new model retains the favorable features of the principal component analysis (PCA) technique and penalized regression models. It weighs the variables in a large data set based on their contributions to principal components identified by PCA, enhancing its capacity to uncover crucial hidden variables. The PWP model also efficiently performs variable selection and estimates regression coefficients through regularization. An application of the proposed model on high-dimensional economic data is studied. The results of comparative studies in simulations and a real example in economic modeling demonstrate its superior fitting and predictive abilities. The resulting model excels in accuracy and interpretability, outperforming existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the vast research about discrimination, there is little evidence about how space interacts with it. Our main hypothesis is that a discriminated group could have incentives to stay together, even if the location is less dynamic—avoiding areas where firms do not usually hire workers of their group. A virtuous and/or vicious circle emerges for each group, even in the long run. Using USA as an example, this article introduces a theoretical economic model to explain the incentives of ethnic groups in terms of location. We extend the well-known model of discrimination with imperfect information to a spatial framework. The results seem to indicate that the initial population distribution and the barriers to agglomerate activity (transport costs), as well as the behavior of employees, are key elements to determine the equilibrium. As a general conclusion, discrimination processes could clearly modify the location pattern of the population. Hence, the discriminated group could suffer from lower incentives to move from non-agglomerated areas to dynamic areas. These processes could help to explain why some populations prefer to maintain their traditional location in poor areas even if there are places with higher wages or better quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Income inequalities between women and men often constitute an important area of research related to social inequalities. Differences in incomes between genders are frequently analyzed in the context of gender equality, social justice, and economic equity. Disparities in wages between women and men are observed in many societies. A key tool in studying wage and income distributions, as well as income inequalities, is the approximation of theoretical models to empirical data. Another important tool is the use of income inequality measures. Research on income distributions between women and men is significant for various reasons, including facilitating an understanding of social and economic inequalities. In Europe, there is diversity in economic models, with individual countries adopting different approaches to organizing their economic systems. The paper considers four European countries representing diverse economic approaches. A comparative analysis of income inequality between men and women was conducted in the countries under consideration. The study used data from the Central European Bank from 2017. All analyzes were based on the Dagum model. The maximum likelihood method was used to estimate the model parameters. The Theil coefficient decomposition was also applied. The analysis reveals that men earn the highest incomes in all countries. Visualization of the Lorenz and Zenga curves, along with calculated inequality indices, showed that the greatest income inequalities occur in women's incomes in all cases. Interestingly, it was found that men's incomes make the largest contribution to the overall income inequalities. The paper explores the topic of income inequality, which is a significant and contemporary socioeconomic challenge. It utilizes statistical information from the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption (HFCS) to examine and assess the financial status of households, focusing on both genders, in Finland, Germany, Poland, and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic made hotels around the world to experience a huge drop in revenues as lockdowns restricted mobility. For many hotel operators, the rent of the building is one of the most important fixed costs. The Rebus Sic Stantibus clause allows judges to rule that changes can be made to the economic conditions of contracts when a supervening event, not foreseen by the parties, causes economic hardship. This paper analyses, considering different market structures and the degree of product differentiation, how the rent for hotel facilities agreed in long-term contracts will change if the clause is applied now, reducing by law current rents. JEL Classifications : K12, K22, D43, L83 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on religious development and explored the impact of cultural and religious tourism policies on local religions. The highlight is the use of econometric models to capture the interrelationship between supply (total number of temples) and demand (total number of followers) on religion. Using Taiwan's Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival Policies in June 2010 as an example, the impact of these policies on Taoism and Buddhism was examined from 2001 to 2021. The results showed that the believer-led model of religious development is superior to the temple-led model. When tourism policies are promoted, they positively impact Taoist temples and believers, but Buddhism does not have such a similar effect. Finally, it was found that after the millennium, when network penetration was greater, local religious beliefs showed signs of weakening. The results of the study indicate that the potential impact of the internet era on local religion deserves subsequent attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research updates the study of media of proximity in Spain, addressing the in-depth study of hyperlocal digital media. The main objectives are to determine the motivations for their growth, the models they establish and the factors that condition their stability in the post-pandemic context. After mapping hyperlocal media in 2018 (n = 62), a survey was conducted among their directors to discover the motivations for their creation, the characteristics of their professional teams and business models, the conditions of news production and their relationship with the audience. The map was updated in December 2021 and a new questionnaire was provided to directors to discover its adaptation to the post-pandemic context. The results show that hyperlocal media in Spain have established their own organizational, productive and economic model. The commitment of the directors to providing the community with the information they need from their own neighborhoods is evident, as well as the human and economic resource limitations they must face. The pandemic has strengthened the relationship with the audience, the news service mission, and the search for new financing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamists have been variously seen as close to the radical Left or the radical Right. We outline the basic features of socialism, fascism, and Islamism as social blueprints and then subject them to some economic models of political change. Since socialism bifurcated into a radical and a moderate branch (communism and social democracy) whereas fascism never did, we ask if any such bifurcation can be expected of Islamism. We find that socialism could, while fascism and Islamism could not, harness the self-interest of an already existing reform sector that would drive the political transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Austrian school of economics was well within the mainstream of economic thought into the 1930s. By mid-twentieth century the Austrian school had established a distinct identity, partly because of methodological developments in mainstream economics, but moreso because of its policy conclusions. Austrian school was best known for its claim that rational economic calculation was not possible without markets and market prices, challenging the mainstream view that looked favorably on central economic planning. In addition, the Austrian business cycle theory challenged the Keynesian macroeconomics that dominated macroeconomic thought up through the mid-1970s. While there were methological differences between the Austrian school and the mainstream, these policy differences defined the Austrian episode. By the end of the twentieth century, the Austrian school had won the economic calculation debate, Keynesian macroeconomics had been displaced, and the methodological differences between the Austrian school and the mainstream had narrowed. The Austrian episode had passed. In the twenty-first century, the Austrian school's ideas, still relevant, have been combined with complementary ideas from other heterodox traditions, diminishing the distinctive identity the Austrian school had in the second half of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies on the relationship between shareholder litigation and corporate disclosure obtain mixed results. We develop an economic model to capture the endogeneity between disclosure and litigation. Equilibrium disclosure is determined by two countervailing effects of litigation, a deterrence effect and an insurance effect. We derive four key results. (i) Decreasing litigation risk leads to less disclosure of very bad news, due to a weakening of the deterrence effect, but to more disclosure of weakly bad news, due to a weakening of the insurance effect. (ii) Given a sufficiently large information asymmetry, litigation risk dampens (boosts) overall disclosure of bad news for low (high) litigation risk firms. (iii) Capital markets respond more to the disclosure of bad news than of good news if the deterrence effect is strong, which arises if both insiders' penalties and litigation risk are high. (iv) In an extension, we highlight real effects of litigation on corporate innovation and establish that innovation first decreases and then increases (strictly decreases) with litigation risk if insiders' penalties are small (large). We reconcile our findings with results from a large set of U.S.-based empirical studies and make several novel predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correction notice addresses textual errors and typos in the Review of Literature and Results section of an article on women's time use and unpaid domestic work in India. It highlights the importance of recognizing women's economic contributions historically overlooked and emphasizes the need for more equitable distribution of unpaid work. The correction also includes revised paragraphs and a Robustness Test section that analyzes the impact of education and generational households on time spent on unpaid domestic work by women. [Extracted from the article]

We investigate the distinct associations between Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and different experiences of food‐related hardship. Using a generalization of the Rasch model with USDA Economic Research Service 2022 data for 10 adult‐referenced food security survey items, we find evidence of uniform differential item function. The gap in odds of response between the first item (food‐related worry) and the third item (difficulty acquiring balanced meals) was larger for SNAP households than for non‐SNAP households. Similar differences were observed for other survey items. We consider whether SNAP policy or program changes could increase beneficial impacts differentially for particular food‐related hardships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth growth is crucial to improve community welfare in the long term. Although Indonesia's economic growth is on an upward trend, Indonesia must remain vigilant in its relationship with the global world due to the rapidly changing and highly uncertain dynamics. Indonesia's economic growth is also inseparable from the influence of various provinces' economic growth, which varies due to the economic dynamics between regions. These dynamics can influence the region's contribution to national economic growth. Therefore, identifying the important role of the determining factors of economic growth and appropriate policies in dealing with economic dynamics between regions is crucial because sustainable economic growth is also essential for improving community welfare. This study examines the determinants of Indonesia's economic growth from a regional economic perspective, using a Dynamic Panel Data analysis model with three estimation models. The first model focuses on the primary variables of technological progress, population, and investment. The second model adds the human capital variable, while the third model further incorporates the variables of open economy, economic structure changes, and income inequality. The study utilizes data from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency, covering 27 provinces from 2015 to 2022. The results indicate that increased technological progress, population, investment, human resources, economic openness, and economic structure changes can increase economic growth, while inequality of income harms economic growth. This research has implications that in creating determinant conditions for conducive economic growth, it needs to be carried out evenly in all provinces in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether open-source software (OSS) provides unique advantages in the entrepreneurial crowdfunding context. The economic model for new ventures with business plans centered on OSS is often counterintuitive to early-stage investors. On the one hand, the non-restrictive OSS approach reduces the barriers to widespread product adoption and collaboration; on the other, OSS is essentially a public good, creating a scenario where anyone can appropriate value from the product without compensating its creators. As such, an OSS approach can dissuade investors primarily concerned with appropriating value for themselves, making it difficult for early-stage OSS ventures to attract investors. However, the rapid rise of crowdfunding has created a communally minded investor base that might instead find OSS projects enticing. We theorize that the attributes of OSS projects align with the communal expectations of crowdfunding investors and thus create supportive environments for OSS-based ventures. We illustrate this alignment through the community-based resource mobilization framework and suggest that the OSS approach yields greater investor trust, leading to superior financing outcomes. Our mixed methods approach blends archival analyses of Kickstarter data with a constructive replication through a randomized experiment, providing consistent support that an OSS approach can be advantageous in the crowdfunding context. Plain English Summary: Can rewards-based crowdfunding open new doors to finance open-source software (OSS) projects? Our research suggests that crowdfunding backers are more likely to support OSS projects because they are perceived as more trustworthy. While the economic principles of OSS can be counterintuitive, OSS promotes widespread product adoption and collaboration. This allows anyone to benefit from OSS. Our research builds on the notion that crowdfunding, much like OSS, is a communal endeavor. We leverage data from the rewards-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.com and a controlled experiment, finding a connection between projects that espouse the OSS approach and crowdfunding success. The culmination of the two studies advances knowledge of the unique preferences of crowdfunding backers and suggests that the crowdfunding context is fertile ground to bring new insights into OSS-focused start-ups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on panel data from 278 prefecture-level cities in China from 2012 to 2021, and studies the relationship between healthy real estate development, land finance, and economic growth. The findings indicate that there are distinct trends in the healthy development of real estate across different city levels in China. By using the PVAR model, the intrinsic connections between real estate health, industrial transformation and upgrading, and economic growth are revealed. The results from the heterogeneity analysis show that the lag periods of real estate health, land finance, and economic growth have a positive impact on themselves in municipalities, provincial capitals, and prefecture-level cities. In prefecture-level cities, there is a significant interactive promotion between healthy real estate development and land finance. Land finance can directly contribute to economic growth, forming a "land finance-economic growth" direct effect channel. Additionally, healthy real estate development has a significant positive impact on promoting economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of the energy system towards sustainable energy sources is characterized by an increase in weather dependent distributed energy resources (DER). This adds a layer of uncertainty in energy generation on top of already uncertain load distribution. At the same time, many households are fitted with renewable generation units and storage systems. The increased intermittent generation in the distribution grid leads to new challenges for the commitment and economic dispatch of DER. The main challenge addressed in this work is to decide which available resources to select for a given task. To solve this, we introduce Stochastic Resource Optimization (SRO), a general purpose, combinatorial, chance-constrained optimization model for the short-term economic selection of stochastic DER. It incorporates correlations between stochastic resources are using copula theory. The contributions of this paper are twofold: First, we validate the applicability of the SRO formulation on a simplified congestion management use-case in a small neighbourhood grid comprised of prosumer households. Second, we provide an analysis of the performance of different solving algorithms for SRO problems and their run-times. Our results show that a fast metaheuristic algorithm can provide high quality solutions in acceptable time on the evaluated problem sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the dimensions and rationale for Turkey’s focus on Asia during the Erdoğan era. It argues that Turkey’s shift toward Asia is influenced by two key motivations: the emergence of Asia in the transitional international order and the success of Asian political and economic governance models as a development paradigm. The research findings indicate that Asia’s rise as a power axis in the global order attracts Turkey, a middle power, for its own security and economic interests. Additionally, the success of Asian models of economic and political governance in the development path encourages the ruling AKP in Turkey to strengthen its domestic power by aligning with these models, thus moving toward structural and value-based ties with Asia. Furthermore, by representing Asia as an alternative for modernization and good governance in the contemporary world, Turkey seeks to engage in the reproduction of its Asian identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Policymakers require health economic modeling to guide their decision‐making over the choice of interventions for obesity. This scoping review was undertaken to report on the health economic models in use for estimating the value of behavioral interventions (individual or population level) for obesity reduction. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, EconLit, and Web of Science) were searched for publications meeting inclusion criteria from January 2015 to May 2023. Seventy‐three studies were included, using 44 health economic models between them. When considered against the expert recommendations for modeling of this type, only four models (9%) met all five key elements. The element most commonly unfulfilled was the use of a microsimulation modeling approach (41%, n = 18), followed by model validation (46%, n = 20). A majority of models met each of the other elements: use of a lifetime horizon (59%, n = 26), inclusion of key health events (66%, n = 29), and a risk equation approach to event simulation (71%, n = 31). In addition, under half of the studies considered health inequalities in their reporting. Continued proliferation of models with inadequate time horizons, breadth of obesity‐related health conditions, and perspectives on costs and outcomes risks underestimation of the benefits of longer term interventions and impacts on health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Professional Business Review (JPBReview) is the property of Open Access Publications LLC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Groundwater depletion in arid regions poses a significant threat to agricultural sustainability and rural livelihoods. This study employs geospatial analysis and economic modeling to address groundwater depletion in the arid Barind region of Northwest Bangladesh, where 84% of the rural population depends on agriculture. Using remote sensing and GIS, we developed an elevation map revealing areas up to 60 m above sea level, exacerbating evaporation and aquifer dryness. Field data collected through Participatory Rural Appraisal tools showed farmers exhibiting "ignorant myopic" behavior, prioritizing short-term profits over resource conservation. To address this, an Increasing Block Tariff (IBT) water pricing model was developed, dividing water usage into three blocks based on irrigation hours: 1–275 h, 276–550 h, and 551+ h. The proposed IBT model significantly increases water prices across the three blocks: 117 BDT/hour for the first block (from current 100–110 BDT/hour), 120 BDT/hour for the second block, and 138 BDT/hour for the third block. A demand function (y = −0.1178x + 241.8) was formulated to evaluate the model's impact. The results show potential reductions in groundwater consumption: 59 h in the first block, 26 h in the second block, and 158 h in the third block. These reductions align with the principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM): social equity, economic efficiency, and environmental integration. The model incorporates economic externalities (e.g., well lifting costs) and environmental externalities (e.g., crop pattern shifts), with total costs reaching 92,709,049 BDT for environmental factors. This research provides a framework for sustainable groundwater management in arid regions, potentially reducing overextraction while maintaining agricultural productivity. The proposed IBT model offers a locally driven solution to balance resource conservation with the livelihood needs of farming communities in the Barind tract. By combining remote sensing, GIS, and economic modeling, this research provides a framework for sustainable groundwater management in arid regions, demonstrating the power of geospatial technologies in addressing complex water resource challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between insurance development, population, economic growth, and health expenditures for a panel of 31 OECD countries over the period 1995–2021. A dynamic panel data analysis based on cointegration, FMOLS, DOLS, VECM, and Granger causality tests is employed to suggest for the existence of a long-run relationship among variables. The long-run results show that insurance development, national income, and population exhibit positive impacts on health expenditures. The results reveal that insurance factor has larger income effects than substitution effects on health expenditures. Regarding the short-run causal relationship between the variables, the empirical results suggest that economic growth strengthens health expenditure growth, while insurance growth reduces it. In the short-run, insurance development has a crowding-out effect since it produces larger substitution effects than income effects. The results provide political implications that governments need to concern the short-run crowding-out effect of private insurance sections on health expenditures when making fiscal policies on public health expenditures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health events (PHEs) have emerged as significant threats to human life, health, and economic growth. PHEs, such as COVID-19, have prompted a reevaluation for enhanced regular prevention and control (RPC). In this study, we focus on the core concept of prevention and control intensity (PCI), and establish a neoclassical economic growth model from the long-term and macro perspective to balance life protection and economic growth. The model construct the mechanism of PCI on economic growth through population dynamics and capital accumulation under the backdrop of RPC for PHEs. We find the conditions for PCI when the economy achieves steady state, and provides an algorithm establishing the optimal strategy that maximises per capita disposable income based on the optimal PCI and consumption. Simulation result quantifies an inverted U-shaped relationship between PCI and capital per capita, output per capita and consumption per capita in the steady state. The model suggests that, given the PHEs of inducing potential unemployment shock, it is worthwhile to combine the implementation of moderate PCI with coordinated policies of income distribution. Highlights: • Building a Neoclassical economic growth model under public health events (PHEs). • Model links regular prevention and control (RPC) to macroeconomic factors. • Exploring mechanism of RPC for PHEs on economic growth. • Appropriate prevention and control intensity can engender economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Preterm birth (PTB) affects ~10% of births worldwide; however, most literature focused on short-term clinical outcomes, with much less focus on long-term socioeconomic outcomes after PTB. We examined associations between PTB and individuals' income, employment, and educational outcomes during early adulthood. Methods: We conducted a population-level matched cohort study including all live births in Canada between 1990 and 1996, followed until 2018. Outcomes included Employment income per year in 2018 CAD and employment between ages 18 and 28 years, postsecondary education enrollment (18–22 years), and maximum educational attainment at age 22–27 years. Mean differences and risk ratios (RR) and differences (RD) were estimated using generalized estimating equation regression models for economic outcomes and multinomial logistic regression models for educational outcomes. Results: Of 2.4 million births, 7% were born preterm (0.3%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 5.4% born extremely preterm (24–27 weeks), very preterm (28–31 weeks), moderately preterm (32–33 weeks), and late preterm (34–36 weeks) respectively). After matching on baseline characteristics (e.g., sex, province of birth, and parental demographics) and adjusting for age and period effects, preterm-born individuals, on average, had $958 CAD less employment income per year (95% CI: $854-$1062), 6% lower income per year, than term-born individuals, and were 2.13% less likely to be employed (1.98–2.29%). PTB was also negatively associated with university enrollment (RR 0.93 (0.91–0.94) and graduation with a university degree (RR 0.95 (0.94–0.97)). Mean income differences for those born 24–27 weeks were -$5,463 CAD per year (17% lower), and adjusted RR were 0.55 for university enrollment and graduation. Conclusion: In this population-based study, preterm birth was associated with lower economic and educational achievements at least until the late twenties. The associations were stronger with decreasing GA at birth. Policymakers, clinicians, and parents should be aware that the socioeconomic impact of PTB is not limited to the early neonatal period but extends into adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The land sector is anticipated to play an important role in achieving U.S. GHG emissions targets by reducing emissions and increasing sequestration from the atmosphere. This study assesses how much different levels of investment could stimulate land-based mitigation activities in the U.S. By applying a dynamic economic model of the land use sectors, with representation of 26 forestry and agricultural mitigation strategies across 11 U.S. regions, the study shows that annual investments of $2.4 billion could deliver abatement of around 80 MtCO2e annually. Under an optimal allocation of investments, the forestry sector and the Corn Belt are projected to receive the largest share of funds. Restricting land-based activities eligible for funds significantly reduces overall potential mitigation. For instance, if $24 billion investments are allocated only to agricultural activities, mitigation declines by 48% to 54 MtCO2e/yr over the next ten years. Finally, the level of abatement from each policy depends on the timing of implementation as the lowest cost mitigation actions are generally taken by the policy implemented first. There are continuing questions on how much investments in land-based mitigation activities could deliver in terms of abatement. This study shows that annual investments of $2.4billion in the U.S. land could deliver abatement of around 80 MtCO2e/yr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the potential economic burden of long COVID in Australia. Design: A stock‐and‐flow model of weekly estimated numbers of people with long COVID (January 2021 to June 2023); application of proxy cost estimates from people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome; time series analysis of labour market and social security datasets. Setting: The working age Australian population. Main outcome measures: The likely number of Australians severely impacted by long COVID; the economic cost of long COVID; and the impacts of long COVID, determined by analysis of labour market data. Results: At its peak in late 2022, between 181 000 and 682 000 Australians may have experienced some long COVID symptoms, of whom 40 000–145 000 may have been severely affected. Severe cases potentially decreased to affecting 10 000–38 000 people by June 2023. The likely economic burden of long COVID in Australia during 2022 was between $1.7 billion and $6.3 billion (some 0.07% to 0.26% of gross domestic product). Labour market data suggest that between 25 000 (February 2023) and 103 000 (June 2023) more working age Australians reported being unable to work due to long term sickness than would have been predicted based on pre‐COVID‐19 trends. This does not appear to have translated into increased claims for Disability Support Pensions, but numbers of working age Carer Allowance recipients have grown markedly since 2022. Conclusions: Long COVID likely imposed a small but significant aggregate toll on the Australian economy, while exposing tens of thousands of Australians to substantial personal economic hardship and contributing to labour market supply constraints. Yet while some signal from long COVID is discernible in the labour force data, Australia lacks adequate direct surveillance data to securely guide policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current economic development model has caused the deterioration of natural systems and has become the main threat to public health by exceeding various planetary boundaries of the Earth system, which have severe implications for human health and other species, therefore, it is necessary to reformulate the scope and vision of public health and developing a new model. The interest of the planetary health approach is to understand the environmental changes, their effects on natural systems, and their impact on human health and well-being. For this reason, the National Institute of Public Health (INSP, in Spanish) of Mexico created a special program on planetary health, whose axes are transdisciplinary research, teaching, advocacy design, evaluation, and impact on public policies, and strengthening an institutional environmental responsibility program (EcoINSP). This positioning document seeks to explain the internal and external policy of the INSP as a leader on the subject that will contribute significantly to the development of planetary health both in the country and in the region to contribute to the right to human health and a healthy environment in the framework of equity and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Doughnut Economics is an economic model designed to overcome the negative impact that the crude use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can have on both society and the environment. As the model becomes more widely adopted it is important to explore the model from a theological perspective. Early Christian economic thought provides a way of exploring and challenging many of the fundamental ideas and conceptualisations of the DE model. DE has much to learn from early Christian thinkers. Firstly, a non-absolutist understanding of property can fuel calls for a more radical distribution of wealth than called for in DE, with an even greater emphasis on the process and benefits of individual almsgiving. Secondly, it shows how the limitations of the social foundation of DE has much to learn from the positive value of the ascetic lifestyle promoted by some early Christian thinkers. Finally, at a time when there are understandable concerns about the limits of the ecological ceiling, early Christian thought offers both hope and a call to action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derived 2015 wildlife-based tourism multipliers for the rural area of Zambia where input-output tables (I-OT) are unavailable. To estimate multipliers in a data-poor environment, the national direct requirements coefficients were first derived from the country's 2010 I-OT. These direct requirements coefficients were re-scaled to rural area region by multiplication with the rural area production percentage shares, while the total requirements coefficients were computed through an inverse matrix conversion (Leontief inverse matrix). This procedure is particularly useful for rural area regions with active wildlife-based tourism, where input-output tables are unavailable, with time and financial resource constraints. The ranges of the derived direct multipliers for output, income, employment and value-added multipliers were 1.10–1.27, 0.04–0.20, 6.01–35.81 and 0.52–0.71, respectively. These estimated multipliers can be used in economic models for measurement of the economic impacts of protected areas is vital for planning and management purposes and for public understanding of wildlife resource values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study is to compare different information retrieval methods that can be used to identify utility inputs for health economic models. Methods: The usual practice of using systematic review methods was compared with two alternatives (iterative searching and rapid review), using a health technology assessment (HTA) case study in ulcerative colitis (UC). We analysed whether there were differences in the utility values identified when using the alternative search methods. Success was evaluated in terms of time, burden and relevance of identified information. The identified utility values were tested in an executable health economic model developed for UC, and the model results were compared. Results: The usual practice of using systematic review search approaches identified the most publications but was also the least precise method and took longest to complete. The inclusion of data from the different search methods in the model did not lead to different conclusions across search methods. Conclusions: In this case study, usual practice was less efficient and resulted in the same health economic model conclusions as the alternative search methods. Further case studies are required to examine whether this conclusion might be generalisable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study employs a documentary review methodology to analyse the evolution of political discourse in postgraduate theses (master's and doctoral) defended in Peruvian universities. The review encompasses 24 theses. The study identifies trends and discursive representations related to the subjectivities, mediations, and manipulations of the involved actors. The results reveal a growing academic interest, concentrated in universities in the capital, and highlight the ideological complexity of the discourses, ranging from the defence of the economic model to the redefinition of the social contract. The investigative focus reveals the creation of imaginary realities to strengthen political figures and highlights the influence of the media on public perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serverless computing is one of the latest technologies that has received much attention from researchers and companies in recent years since it provides dynamic scalability and a clear economic model. Serverless computing enables users to pay only for the time they use resources. This approach has several benefits, including optimizing costs and resource utilization; however, cold starts are a concern and challenge. Various studies have been conducted in the academic and industrial sectors to deal with this problem, which poses a significant research challenge. This paper comprehensively reviews recent cold start research in serverless computing. Hence, this paper presents a detailed taxonomy of several serverless computing strategies for dealing with cold start latency. We have considered two main approaches in the proposed classification: Optimizing Loading Times (OLT) and Optimizing Resource Usage (ORU), each including several subsets. The subsets of the primary approach OLT are divided into container-based and checkpoint-based. Also, the primary approach ORU is divided into machine learning (ML)-based, optimization-based, and heuristic-based approaches. After analyzing current methods, we have categorized and investigated them according to their characteristics and commonalities. Additionally, we examine potential challenges and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop and apply a dynamic economic simulation model to analyze the multi-regional impacts of, and mechanisms of recovery from, a major disaster, the HayWired scenario — a hypothetical Magnitude 7.0 earthquake affecting California's San Francisco Bay Area. The model integrates loss pathways: capital stock damage, labor supply shocks due to short-term population displacement and longer-run out-migration from damaged areas, and the exacerbating effects of damage to transportation infrastructure capital, as well as various aspects of static and dynamic economic resilience. With input substitution-based static inherent resilience and dynamic resilience in the form of optimal intertemporal and spatial investment allocation, gross output losses range from 0.5 percent to 6 percent across regions, and welfare losses are 0.4 percent statewide but can be ten times as large in hardest-hit areas. Large-scale reconstruction investment is supported by substantial interregional transfers of resources through intra-state trade. Increased output via firms engaging in the key adaptive resilience tactic of production recapture can alleviate a substantial fraction of losses—but only if upstream and downstream barriers to recovery can be lowered quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residence-by-investment schemes, which enable wealthy people to acquire a visa in return for a financial investment, have become increasingly common. In this article, an original immigration policy index and case studies are used to examine the political economy of residence-by-investment policies in three European countries: France, Spain, and the UK. Two contributions are made to the literature. First, the article compares investment with work visas and shows that across all three countries investor routes are significantly more open and generous than work routes, including for the highly skilled. Second, drawing on theories of comparative political economy, it is explored how investor visas are shaped by capitalist diversity. Based on these three cases, it is argued that investor visa policies are conditioned by national-level economic models and the political interests that underpin them. The article aims to advance understanding not only of how investor visas vary, but why they do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The expanding application of advanced analytics in insurance has generated numerous opportunities, such as more accurate predictive modeling powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) methods, the utilization of novel and unstructured datasets, and the automation of key operations. Significant advances in these areas are being made through novel applications and adaptations of predictive modeling techniques for insurance purposes, while, concurrently, rapid advances in machine learning methods are being made outside of the insurance sector. However, these innovations also bring substantial challenges, particularly around the transparency, explanation, and fairness of complex algorithmic models and the economic and societal impacts of their adoption in decision-making. As insurance is a highly regulated industry, models may be required by regulators to be explainable, in order to enable analysis of the basis for decision making. Due to the societal importance of insurance, significant attention is being paid to ensuring that insurance models do not discriminate unfairly. In this special issue, we feature papers that explore key issues in insurance analytics, focusing on prediction, explainability, and fairness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the readiness of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) students for the knowledge-based economy, focusing on their awareness, perceptions, and skills. As Oman transitions towards a knowledge-based economic model, understanding and enhancing students' preparedness has become crucial. This research employs a quantitative approach, utilizing a questionnaire distributed to SQU students across various colleges and academic levels, achieving a 66.04% response rate. The key findings reveal that while many students consider knowledge economy skills very important, some express neutral awareness about these skills. Students ranked creativity and innovation (85.82%) and critical thinking and problem solving (85.11%) as the most essential skills. The study identifies significant relationships between enhancing students' knowledge-based economy skills (ESKBE) and both awareness of the knowledge-based economy (AWS) and the impact of technology on education and employment (ITEE). Students generally view the knowledge economy positively, with 55% agreeing it will have a positive societal impact. However, they recognize challenges, including resistance to change (53.5% agreement) and limited access to education and training (49.3% agreement). The need for government involvement in addressing these challenges was strongly emphasized (54.3% agreement). Based on these findings, the study recommends that SQU enhance its curriculum to explicitly develop key skills, improve awareness of knowledge economy demands, further integrate technology into educational practices, strengthen industry partnerships, promote lifelong learning initiatives, and engage more actively with policymakers. This paper also provides a unique look at higher education's role in the changing economy, as seen through graduates. It offers empirical evidence for the necessity of universities to change to serve the knowledge economy and, at the same time, make a case on how complex this transformation is. The results matter not only for SQU but also—in a more general sense, at least as far as knowledge-based economies are concerned—globally with respect to higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What happens when patients suddenly stop their medications? We study the health consequences of drug interruptions caused by large, abrupt, and arbitrary changes in price. Medicare's prescription drug benefit as-if-randomly assigns 65-year-olds a drug budget as a function of their birth month, beyond which out-of-pocket costs suddenly increase. Those facing smaller budgets consume fewer drugs and die more: mortality increases 0.0164 percentage points per month (13.9%) for each $100 per month budget decrease (24.4%). This estimate is robust to a range of falsification checks and lies in the 97.8th percentile of 544 placebo estimates from similar populations that lack the same idiosyncratic budget policy. Several facts help make sense of this large effect. First, patients stop taking drugs that are both high value and suspected to cause life-threatening withdrawal syndromes when stopped. Second, using machine learning, we identify patients at the highest risk of drug-preventable adverse events. Contrary to the predictions of standard economic models, high-risk patients (e.g. those most likely to have a heart attack) cut back more than low-risk patients on exactly those drugs that would benefit them the most (e.g. statins). Finally, patients appear unaware of these risks. In a survey of 65-year-olds, only one-third believe that stopping their drugs for up to a month could have any serious consequences. We conclude that far from curbing waste, cost sharing is itself highly inefficient, resulting in missed opportunities to buy health at very low cost ($11,321 per life-year). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]