This paper describes the empirical regularities relating fiscal policy variables, the level of development and the rate of growth. We employ historical data, recent cross-section data, and newly constructed public investment series. Our main findings are: (i) there is a strong association between the development level and the fiscal structure: poor countries rely heavily on international trade taxes, while income taxes are only important in developed economies; (ii) fiscal policy is influenced by the scale of the economy, measured by its population; (iii) investment in transport and communication is consistently correlated with growth while the effects of taxation are difficult to isolate empirically.
Abstract This study examines the association between foreign direct investment (FDI) and carbon emissions for the Middle East and North African (MENA) region in 1990–2015, including biomass energy consumption as an additional determinant of carbon emissions. We apply the generalized method of moments (GMM) to validate the existence of the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH). The N-shaped association is also validated between FDI and carbon emissions. The link between economic growth and carbon emissions is inverted-U and N-shaped; that is, it satisfies the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypotheses. Biomass energy use lowers carbon emissions, and the causality analysis reveals that FDI causes CO2 emissions. Clearly, the results confirm the existence of a feedback effect between economic growth and carbon emissions. The connection between biomass energy use and CO2 emissions is also bidirectional. The empirical findings suggest policy makers to design comprehensive trade and energy policies by targeting the cleaner production practices, for not only to ensure environmental sustainability, but also to fulfil the objectives of sustainable development goals.
Muhammad Wasif Zafar, M. Shahbaz, Fujun Hou
et al.
Abstract This study disaggregates energy, i.e. non-renewable and renewable energy consumption, and investigates its effect on economic growth. The period of 1990–2015 is used to examine Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries. This paper determines the cross-sectional dependence and employs a second-generation panel unit root test for precise estimation. Westerlund cointegration test is used to examine the long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables and confirm the presence of cointegration in the long run. The Continuously Updated Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (CUP-FM) approaches are applied to investigate long-term output elasticities between the variables. The results show the stimulating role of energy (renewable and nonrenewable) consumption in economic growth. Research and development expenditures and trade openness have a positive effect on economic growth. Moreover, the time series individual country analysis also confirms that renewable energy has a positive impact on economic growth. The heterogenous causality analysis reveals the feedback effect, i.e., bidirectional causal associations among economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and nonrenewable energy consumption. This empirical evidence suggests that countries should increase investment in renewable energy sectors and plan for development in renewable energy for sustainable energy growth.
Mohammad Ridwan, Zulfiquar Ali Antor, Jeremy Ko
et al.
This study examines the associations between digitalization, innovation, and the transition toward renewable energy in the Nordic region using a panel-econometric framework covering the period from 2000 to 2024. A fixed-effects estimator with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors is applied to address heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, and cross-sectional dependence across five Nordic economies. Unit-root and cointegration tests confirm a long-run equilibrium relationship among renewable energy use, internet penetration, R&D investment, trade openness, CO2 emissions, and energy use. The results indicate statistically significant associations, where higher levels of digitalization, innovation, trade openness, and energy demand correspond with a greater share of renewable energy, whereas higher CO2 emissions are inversely related. The robustness of these associations is supported by PCSE, FE-OLS, and Difference-GMM estimations, while Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality tests suggest dynamic interdependencies among renewables, innovation, and emissions. Within the Nordic context, the findings imply that digital integration, innovation capacity, and institutional coordination are important factors accompanying the region’s renewable energy transition. The study concludes that digital infrastructure, targeted R&D support, and coordinated trade frameworks may strengthen ongoing sustainability initiatives, although the relationships observed should be interpreted as context-specific statistical associations rather than universal causal effects.
Khamiss Cheikh, EL Mostapha Boudi, Rabi Rabi
et al.
ABSTRACT This study develops a rigorous statistical framework for the systematic characterization and comparative evaluation of process performance indicators, with the objective of informing optimized engineering decision‐making under uncertainty. System behavior is analyzed across multiple operational categories using a structured suite of descriptive and comparative statistical techniques applied to three primary indicators: performance result R, processing time T, and error margin E. The analytical methodology integrates raw observations with aggregated statistical descriptors, including arithmetic means, variances, standard deviations, medians, ranges, coefficients of variation, and Pearson correlation coefficients. This multi‐level characterization enables precise assessment of expected performance, operational effort, uncertainty, and relative stability, which together define the system performance vector (R, E, T). The results reveal pronounced category‐dependent performance profiles and demonstrate a strong performance–effort coupling between R and T, together with moderate associations involving E, thereby elucidating inherent trade‐offs between output magnitude, efficiency, and precision. In addition to static statistical analysis, the study examines learning efficiency and convergence behavior through a comparative evaluation of quantum‐inspired reinforcement learning (QI‐RL) and classical ε‐greedy strategies. The results indicate enhanced exploration capability and accelerated convergence in complex decision spaces. The influence of environmental uncertainty modeling is further investigated, showing that temporally correlated stochastic disturbances substantially increase performance variability relative to uncorrelated assumptions. Overall, the proposed framework provides a coherent and extensible analytical basis that integrates statistical robustness, correlation structure, adaptive learning behavior, and uncertainty sensitivity. It offers a principled foundation for performance evaluation, resource allocation, and adaptive optimization in complex engineering systems and establishes clear directions for future extensions toward dynamic modeling and data‐driven control architectures.
This study presents a novel empirical methodology to characterize and compare the ranking environments of major information retrieval systems, specifically Google and Bing. By analyzing technical and content attributes from a dataset of 14,465 Search Engine Results Page (SERP) items collected from a homogeneous commercial discount domain comprising 500 queries, we aim to characterize observable associative patterns between resource attributes and ranking outcomes. The dataset includes Lighthouse performance metrics and advanced content features, such as Sentence-BERT-based semantic similarity. Using K-Means clustering, we identify five resource profiles representing emergent optimization archetypes. The analysis revealed that content-related factors had a higher aggregate importance for both systems (Google: 70.1%, Bing: 61.8%) than technical factors. Specifically, Random Forest feature importance analysis highlighted that for Bing, content volume was a dominant predictor, whereas for Google, semantic relevance signals outweighed pure keyword targeting. We further contextualize these findings within an “Authority–Optimization Trade-off” framework, suggesting that Google’s negative associations for certain on-page optimization signals likely reflect a ranking function that heavily weights latent domain authority over explicit on-page compliance. These findings highlight how modern learning-to-rank systems may differentially weight explicit content features and latent authority signals when balancing relevance, diversity, and quality.
William Dinan, Victoria Esteves, Steven Harkins
et al.
This paper focuses on how climate delay narratives populate the information environment of decision makers and regulators in EU policy making. We examine the communications of selected trade associations representing oil and gas extraction interests in Europe. Our analysis offers a novel synthesis, drawing on official data, industry and social media content, using mixed methods and informed by recent theorising on the advocacy activities of trade associations. The paper contextualises the lobbying and communication activities of oil and gas trade associations in Europe using publicly available data on lobbying (drawn from the EU transparency register) and the outputs of oil and gas trade associations (in trade, specialist and social media) to examine their preferred framings and promoted policy prescriptions for addressing climate and energy policy. We find that trade associations representing oil and gas interests in Europe spend millions of euros per annum producing and promoting policy ideas that seek to secure the long-term future of these industries. Wider climate science is rarely directly referenced or acknowledged in their public advocacy. We argue that the normalization of a new form of climate denial has emerged, based on unproven technologies and market mechanisms being pushed by powerful economic interests.
Ana Cláudia Norte, El-Mustapha Laghzaoui, Andreia Guerreiro-Nunes
et al.
Tick-borne pathogens are a worldwide threat to public health that can only be mitigated by knowledge on tick-host associations coupled with surveillance of their infection by pathogenic microorganisms. This information is not equally available throughout tick vector distribution range and is deficient in some geographical areas. In this study we did a molecular survey of tick-borne pathogens associated with different tick species in Morocco. We analyzed four different species of Hyalomma (Hyalomma aegyptium, Hyalomma anatolicum, Hyalomma dromedarii and Hyalomma impeltatum) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks from four vertebrate hosts and from the vegetation. The most common tick species collected was H. aegyptium feeding on Testudo graeca tortoises, followed by H. anatolicum from the vegetation. Hyalomma aegyptium feeding on T. graeca was found infected with Borrelia turcica, representing the first detection for Western North Africa, and Rickettsia sibirica mongolitimonae, also detected for the first time in Morocco. Rickettsia aeschlimannii was also detected in H. aegyptium feeding on T. graeca. Additionally, R. aeschlimannii was detected in H. anatolicum from the vegetation, and Rickettsia massiliae in R. sanguineus s.l. from an Algerian hedgehog Atelix algirus. Because H. aegyptium are common parasites of T. graeca tortoises, and these animals are subjected to pet trade, it is important to evaluate the associated human health risks through regular surveillance and perform awareness campaigns for prevention of the general public.
Collins Nunyonameh, Elizabeth Obinnim, Eric Kodzo Adzivor
Context: Faced with deep challenges with access to formal education, many West African countries are increasingly taking steps to reform their informal apprenticeship systems to make them a quality skills development alternative for their teeming youth. A review of the literature shows that although different countries in the region are deploying different reform strategies, what is emerging as a dominant reform model is the "dual training model" (DTM), a collaborative arrangement in which the task of training apprentices is shared between informal trainers (master craftspersons, under their respective trade associations) and formal vocational training institutions (FVTIs). This paper presents an outcome-process evaluation of a DTM-based apprenticeship reform programme piloted in Ghana.
Methods: Designed as a case study, the paper adopts an interpretivist approach, relying on diverse sources of data, both secondary and primary. Secondary data includes journal articles, attendance registers of participants, memorandums of understanding, relevant media reports, websites, and official reports by all relevant actors. The primary data originated from in-depth interviews with fourteen (14) key informants, as well as from overt and covert observations of respondents.
Results: At the outcome level, the paper shows that the programme has largely failed in transferring new skills or in changing dominant poor practices among trainees, foundational objectives of the programme. At the process level, the paper revealed deep flaws in implementation; these are discussed in detail in an attempt to clarify the programme outcomes.
Conclusion: The paper concludes that although the dual training model remains a potentially viable reform model in informal apprenticeships, its success ultimately depends on the quality of implementation, which in turn depends on the strength and quality of inter-stakeholder collaboration in programme design and implementation.
Silvia Morel, Giulia Mura, Marina Gallarate
et al.
This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of various aspects related to cosmetic product packaging, highlighting both advancements and challenges in the field. Initially, it offers a general description of the main materials used in cosmetic containers, including plastic, glass, paper, and aluminum. This is followed by an analysis of the existing EU legislative frameworks that govern cosmetic packaging, encompassing chemical, food, and waste regulations. The paper also discusses recent EU regulatory proposals and guidelines from trade associations aimed at enhancing the sustainability of cosmetic packaging materials. Additionally, the role of recycled and bio-based packaging materials in promoting environmental sustainability is analyzed. Overall, this review aims to provide insights for experts in the field on how to balance safety, functionality, and environmental responsibility in cosmetic packaging.
In case of unlawful State aid, Art. 24(2) of Regulation 2015/1589 guarantees the possibility to submit a complaint to “any interested party”. The preamble to Regulation 2015/1589 even encourages the submission of such claims. Interested parties are defined by Art. 1(h) of this Regulation as “any Member State and any person, undertaking or association of undertakings whose interests might be affected by the granting of aid, in particular the beneficiary of the aid, competing undertakings and trade associations”. The fact that an entity belongs to one of the categories indicated in this provision (e.g., beneficiary or trade associations) does not determine its status of interested party – a key factor is proving that the interests of a particular entity have been affected by the (potentially) unlawful aid. The concept has been developed in case law. Among many detailed issues in judgements delivered either on the basis of Regulation 2015/1589 or the preceding Regulation 659/1999, the CJEU has discussed conditions under which a status of interested party could be attributed to undertakings in no direct competition with a recipient of State aid. Special attention is drawn to a beneficiary of State aid as a potential “interested party” – this category of entities is mentioned in Art. 1(h) of Regulation 2015/1589, but a form that needs to be used in order to submit a complaint does not list a beneficiary as a subject entitled to submitting a complaint. The article presents a review of CJEU cases in this regard, and aims at defining the current state of interpretation of “interested party” that opens a gate for particular entities to submit a complaint.
ABSTRACT: This study provides an understanding of dairy farmers' willingness to include heat tolerance in breeding goals and the modulating effect of sociopsychological factors and farm profile. A survey instrument including a choice experiment was designed to specifically address the trade-off between heat tolerance and milk production level. A total of 122 farmers across cattle, goat, and sheep farms were surveyed face-to-face. The results of the experiment show that most farmers perceive that heat stress and climate change are increasingly important problems, and that farming communities should invest more in generating knowledge and resources on mitigation strategies. However, we found limited initial support for selection for heat tolerance. This attitude changed when farmers were presented with objective information on the benefits and limitations of the different breeding choices, after which most farmers supported selection for heat tolerance, but only if doing so would compromise milk production gains to a small extent. Our results show that farmers' selection choices are driven by the interactions between heat stress risk perception, attitudes toward breeding tools, social trust, the species reared, and farm production level. In general, farmers willing to support selection of heat-tolerant animals are those with positive attitudes toward genetic values and genomic information and a strong perception of climate change and heat stress impacts on farms. On the contrary, negative support for selection for heat tolerance is found among farmers with high milk production levels; high trust in farming magazines, livestock farmers' associations, and veterinarians; and low trust in environmental and animalist groups.
Rashid Maqbool, Johnny Rezai Namaghi, Yahya Rashid
et al.
The United Kingdom (UK) construction industry is world renowned for its volatile boom and bust cycle, its inefficiencies, heavy environmental impact and recurring budget and programme overruns. The Construction 2025 Strategy was published by the UK Government and industry leaders with a vision of changing the industry for the better using four key targets i.e., reduction in construction projects duration, operational cost, level of greenhouse gas emissions, and import/export trade gap. This paper investigates whether a greater uptake in modern methods of construction (MMC) could help us achieve these targets. Key insights and findings from the existing literature on MMCs cost, time, greenhouse gas emissions and trade factors were analysed with strong indications of MMCs benefit to the targets. By using snowball sampling a quantitative survey was conducted on 134 professional working in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction sectors of UK with 23 questions on the four key targets. Cronbach’s Alpha and Pearson correlation analysis techniques were employed in conjunction with factor ranking to determine the internal validity, factor links and most important factors. The results showed that the majority of respondents believed that MMC could help us achieve the construction 2025 targets, with a similarity index ranking revealing that MMC would be of the most benefit to the greenhouse gas emissions and trade targets, however, all factors ranked tightly together. This body of research will benefit the UK Government, construction associations and industrial key stakeholders in their pursuit of reaching the reduction targets, and with only three years until the deadline, there is a strong chance they will promote MMC in the industry.
Increasing health care costs and high economic burden exemplify the impact of chronic diseases on public health. Multifaceted approaches to treating chronic diseases include pharmaceutical drugs, digital therapeutics, and lifestyle medicine. Chronic diseases are largely preventable, and health promotion yields positive outcomes. However, despite positive return on investment (ROI) and cost-to-benefit ratio (CBR) for health promotion (median ROI 2.2, median CBR 14.4), commercial marketing of healthy lifestyles and self-care is limited. The objective of this perspective article is to discuss how digital marketing of consumer goods and services that support therapeutic self-care can also bridge public health and for-profit interests. We describe how “empowerment” marketing campaigns can provide evidence-based associations between products/services and self-care benefits for people living with chronic pain and depression. Such a “health education as marketing” strategy is illustrated by educational ads describing how contact with nature, music, and yoga can improve chronic pain and reduce depressive symptoms. Creating associations between health-related benefits of these activities with products (outdoor and yoga apparel, audio equipment) and services (music streaming services, music mobile apps, eco-tourism, yoga studios) that support them expand their value proposition, thus incentivizing profit-driven companies to engage in public health campaigns. Long-term success of companies that incorporate evidence-based health education as marketing and branding strategies will depend on following ethical considerations and advertising guidelines defined by consumer protection regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In conclusion, integration of health education about self-care and commercial marketing can support health care outcomes and disease prevention.