Search Results (2,197)

This paper introduces a dual-sector growth model to investigate the “circularity trap,” a phenomenon where increasing the Circular Material Use Rate (CMUR) leads to a decline in total value added per worker in developing economies. While circular economy policies are designed to promote sustainability, we demonstrate that in small open economies with a significant productivity gap between a high-tech manufacturing sector and a predominantly low-tech, labor-intensive recycling sector—a common feature in many low-income contexts—aggressive circularity targets can trigger a form of “Environmental Dutch Disease.” Using a Cobb–Douglas framework, we model the reallocation of labor driven by the processing of imported waste. We show that as the CMUR ($\varphi$) increases, labor is drawn away from manufacturing—a sector characterized by technological learning-by-doing—into the recycling sector, which lacks similar growth externalities. Our results indicate that the circularity trap occurs when the marginal gains from waste processing are outweighed by the structural loss of industrial capacity and the slowing of total factor productivity (TFP) growth. The paper concludes that for low-income nations, circularity policies must be coupled with internal technological innovation to avoid long-term economic stagnation and de-industrialization. Full article

Promoting the integration of the industrial and innovation chains (ICIC) constitutes a crucial strategy adopted by the Chinese government to foster sustainable economic development. Industrial intelligence (II), as a prominent application of artificial intelligence in the manufacturing sector, serves as a key engine for China’s industrial upgrading and has garnered widespread scholarly attention regarding its economic impacts. Using provincial-level panel data from China spanning 2011 to 2023, this study empirically investigates the impact of II on ICIC. The empirical results indicate the following: First, II exerts a significant positive impact on ICIC, and this conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests. Second, high-tech enterprises agglomeration and high-skilled labor agglomeration act as two critical channels through which II promotes ICIC, whereas technological innovation fails to play a mediating role. Third, both digital infrastructure and marketization positively moderate the relationship between II and ICIC, thereby significantly amplifying the positive impact of II on ICIC. Fourth, the positive effect of II on ICIC is found to be universally applicable: II can significantly promote ICIC in provinces with either strong or weak manufacturing (service) industries. These findings offer valuable theoretical support and practical implications for countries worldwide with diverse endowments in manufacturing and service industries that are pursuing II and striving to promote ICIC. Full article

Against the background of green transformation and sustainable urban development, improving urban eco-environmental resilience (UER) is essential for enhancing ecological security and long-term urban sustainability. Using panel data from 260 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2023, this study constructs a new quality productive forces (NQPF) index based on new-quality laborers, new-quality means of labor, and new-quality labor objects, and measures UER from the dimensions of resistance, recovery, and adaptation. The results show that: (1) NQPF has a significant U-shaped effect on UER, indicating that it may inhibit UER in the early stage due to transformation costs and insufficient institutional adaptation but promotes UER after crossing a certain development level; (2) NQPF improves both green innovation level (GIL) and green innovation efficiency (GIE), while GIL faces short-term transformation constraints and GIE more directly enhances UER; (3) threshold, heterogeneity, and spatial analyses show that the positive effect of NQPF is stronger in cities with higher economic development levels and in the eastern region, and both NQPF and UER exhibit spatial clustering. This study provides empirical evidence for promoting productivity upgrading, ecological resilience, and sustainable urban transition. Full article

This study explores the relationships among climate change, food security, economic growth, and migration in the nine countries with the lowest rankings on the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Index. It identifies the most vulnerable countries to climate change and the least prepared, using panel data from 1999 to 2022. The results show a bidirectional causal relationship between climate change and food security. Climate change worsens food insecurity by reducing agricultural productivity, which in turn drives up food prices. Conversely, agricultural policies aimed at increasing production can contribute to climate change if implemented unsustainably. A bidirectional causal relationship has been identified between climate change, food security, and migration. Finally, a bidirectional causal relationship has also been determined between economic growth, climate change, and migration. Changes in economic growth affect sectors, the labor market, and overall well-being, which in turn influence migration decisions. All these findings provide policymakers with valuable guidance for developing sustainable strategies that consider climate change, effectively manage migration, and prioritize food security. The findings indicate that climate change, food security, economic growth, and migration cannot be addressed in isolation; therefore, a holistic policy approach should be adopted. Full article

Sustainable regional development requires understanding how entrepreneurship and unemployment co-evolve. This study investigates this relationship across Türkiye’s 26 Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 regions over the 2007–2024 period, testing the Schumpeter (pull) and Refugee (push) effects with controls for regional economic and financial determinants. Using the Dynamic Common Correlated Effects estimator, which accounts for cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity across regions, the analysis provides evidence supporting both effects, while revealing that neither effect emerges instantaneously. The Schumpeter effect operates with an approximately one-year lag, reflecting the time new ventures require to complete organizational formation and generate net labor demand, with a creative destruction dynamic appearing from the second year onward. The Refugee effect materializes within one to two years, as unemployed individuals exhaust formal job search alternatives before turning to necessity entrepreneurship. Critically, the findings identify banking sector intermediation efficiency, rather than aggregate credit volume, as a more consistent financial channel for sustainable labor market outcomes, and document a pattern consistent with jobless growth, in which regional output expansion has not systematically translated into unemployment reduction. These results call for employment- and entrepreneurship-linked policy instruments that are timed to the lag structure of both effects and targeted at transforming necessity-driven activities into sustainable, high-value-added structures, rather than merely incentivizing firm entry. Aligning regional financial intermediation with employment creation can foster long-term socio-economic sustainability and promote sustainable regional development. Full article

Despite the growing relevance of governance and sustainability in port management, there is still limited empirical evidence on how economic, social, and environmental dimensions interact in a non-linear and configurational manner to explain port economic efficiency. This study applies an explainable machine learning approach based on Random Forest to classify the economic efficiency of Spanish Port Authorities using an integrated set of governance-related indicators. Economic efficiency is approximated through the E_02 indicator (EBITDA per tonne), which is discretized into three ordinal levels: low, medium, and high efficiency. A classification approach is preferred over regression because the objective is not only to predict a continuous value, but to identify interpretable efficiency profiles and extract decision rules associated with different governance configurations. Model performance was evaluated using a confusion matrix, global accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score for each efficiency class. The results reveal three differentiated patterns: low-efficiency ports, associated with environmental weaknesses, fragile labor structures, and low profitability; medium-efficiency ports, characterized by partial strategies and transitional configurations; and high-efficiency ports, linked to coherent combinations of environmental management, balanced labor organization, and strong economic performance. Overall, the findings show that port efficiency does not depend solely on size or isolated factors, but on specific governance-related configurations. The study highlights the value of explainable artificial intelligence as a complementary tool to support evidence-based decision-making in sustainable port management. Full article

Ablation and harvesting are among the most labor-intensive and physically demanding operations in oil palm cultivation, often resulting in significant drudgery and safety concerns when performed manually through climbing or pole-assisted methods. To overcome these challenges, a motorized backpack-type machine was developed and evaluated for its field performance, ergonomics, and economic feasibility. The machine met required quality standards and exhibited satisfactory performance under field conditions, achieving average ablation and harvesting capacities of 286 inflorescences per day and 4.115 t day⁻¹, with actual field capacities of 0.727 ha h⁻¹ (ablation), 0.516 ha h⁻¹ (sickle), and 0.537 ha h⁻¹ (chisel), and field efficiencies of 81.23%, 76.3%, and 79.91%, respectively. Ergonomic evaluation indicated that operation of the machine falls within a moderate workload category, thereby reducing operator fatigue compared to manual methods. Economic analysis further revealed that the cost of operation was substantially reduced to 3.02 USD t⁻¹ and 60.40 USD ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, resulting in increased harvester earnings of 174.72% and 64.83% compared to climbing and pole harvesting methods, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the motorized backpack machine is a practical, efficient, and economically viable alternative to traditional techniques and minimizes drudgery while improving productivity and profitability in oil palm plantations. Full article

The agricultural industry is at a critical juncture, experiencing global pressures in the form of climate volatility, a shortage of labor, and an increase in production costs. Although artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential for revolution due to its predictive analytics and self-controlled machinery, it has not achieved widespread and even distribution for use, especially among small-to-medium-sized farms in the Midwestern United States. This study formulates and empirically examines a comprehensive socio-technical model to determine the drivers and barriers to the adoption of AI in this agricultural region. Based on a synthesized framework of the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT) and “Task–Technology Fit” (TTF), the study incorporates agriculture-specific contextual factors such as “environmental risk, access to broadband, economic constraints, and policy support”. The analyses of the 489 farmers in the U.S. Midwest were conducted through the “partial least squares structural equation modeling” (PLS-SEM) “SmartPLS v.3.9”. The findings provide full empirical evidence of the proposed model, which supports 11 hypothesized relationships. The key results show that the strongest positive predictors of adoption intention are “performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and trust”. On the other hand, data security concerns and financial restrictions are strong deterrents. The paper also outlines the significant facilitating functions of the broadband infrastructure and policy support in building farmer perceptions of technology’s ease-of-use and facilitating conditions. These lessons can provide policymakers, ag-tech developers, and extension agencies with a roadmap on how to create more equitable and contextual interventions that overcome the rural digital divide and create resilient data-driven farming systems. Full article

Against the backdrop of concurrent economic transformation, deepening digitalization, and green upgrading, this study aims to uncover the mechanisms through which the system of new quality productive forces drives high-quality economic development. Drawing on a six-element framework comprising new-quality labor, new means of production, new labor objects, new technology, production organization, and data elements, the study uses panel data from 30 Chinese provinces covering the period 2014–2023 and applies dynamic qualitative comparative analysis (dynamic QCA) to examine the relevant configurational pathways and their cross-temporal evolution. The results show that no single condition constitutes a temporally and regionally stable necessary condition for high-quality economic development. Instead, high-quality economic development is primarily realized through three pathways: a technology–organization–tool-dominated pathway, a talent–data–carrier-led pathway, and a technology–organization–carrier-compensation pathway. The explanatory power of these pathways also varies across stages. The findings indicate that high-quality economic development arises from the synergistic configuration and dynamic recombination of multiple elements of new quality productive forces. Full article

Across Latin America, numerous traditional agroecological systems face increasing challenges in integrating into formal markets. This issue is also evident in the Chakra Kichwa, an ancestral agroecological production system primarily managed by Indigenous women. Despite its cultural, environmental, and nutritional significance, its integration into the formal market is hindered by structural limitations that keep producers in conditions of subsistence and marginalization. This study analyzes the economic benefits derived from the commercialization of agricultural products by 642 producers, intermediaries, and vendors who belong to 20 associations based in the rural parishes of Tena canton (Napo Province) and who market their products in urban areas. A total of 234 surveys were conducted, with a 95% confidence level and a 5.2% margin of error. Findings indicate that the sale of Chakra products generates an average monthly net income of $211.06, provided the value of family labor is not accounted for. However, when imputing the monthly cost of this unpaid labor, the system shows losses of $409.48. Additionally, four scenarios are simulated: the first three assess the profitability of the commercial circuit under alternative transportation logistics; the fourth explores potential gains from increased selling prices associated with improvements in infrastructure, inputs, and transportation. In all cases, sales labor is replaced with hired personnel. The results indicate that these scenarios could increase net income by between 28.45% and 92.23%. Nevertheless, when accounting for family labor costs, all scenarios continue to reflect losses. Consequently, the model indicates that achieving economic breakeven would require quadrupling the current productivity of the Chakra system. Full article

This study investigates the determinants of economic growth in the Next-11 economies over the period 1996–2024, with particular emphasis on the roles of structural, institutional, and human capital factors. Using a comprehensive panel dataset for eleven emerging economies, the analysis employs three robust estimation techniques—Driscoll–Kraay Standard Errors (DKSEs), Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLSs), and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSEs)- to address common econometric issues such as heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, and cross-sectional dependence. The empirical results reveal that industrial output, energy consumption, human capital, institutional quality, and foreign direct investment significantly contribute to economic growth. Among these factors, industrial output and energy consumption exhibit particularly strong and consistent positive effects across all estimation methods, highlighting the importance of structural transformation and energy availability in supporting economic expansion. In contrast, trade openness shows a negative and statistically significant relationship with economic growth in most model specifications, suggesting that structural constraints, import dependence, and limited domestic productive capacity may restrict the growth benefits of external integration in these economies. The study also explores the conditional effects of foreign direct investment through interaction terms with human capital and institutional quality. The findings indicate that the growth-enhancing impact of foreign investment depends significantly on domestic absorptive capacity, particularly the availability of skilled labor and effective governance structures. These results emphasize the importance of complementary policies aimed at strengthening education systems, improving institutional quality, and enhancing regulatory effectiveness. From a policy perspective, the findings suggest that the Next-11 economies should prioritize industrial development, energy infrastructure expansion, human capital investment, and institutional reforms to maximize the benefits of globalization and foreign investment. Overall, the study contributes to the literature by providing robust empirical evidence on the interconnected roles of structural, institutional, and human capital factors in shaping economic growth in emerging economies. Full article

This article examines the depiction of multiple forms of marginalization and exclusion in a recent Chinese film, Like a Rolling Stone (2024), through the prism of noise at the interface of politics and aesthetics. It starts with interrogating the ways in which the film transmits and amplifies the patriarch’s “Sacred Noise” as a dominant sonic presence in the domestic space, translating hierarchical social and familial structures into an oppressive acoustic order. As Jacques Rancière has reminded us, aesthetic hierarchies materialize political economic hierarchies, giving them sensible forms that structure our everyday embodied experiences. Therefore, the following section explores how political economic conditions devalue women’s domestic care work and recast their enunciations as undesirable, even non-human, noises. In this part, a series of Asian women’s films and writings are referenced to demonstrate a broader cultural trend in exposing the intertwined aesthetic and political economic inequities under capitalist patriarchy. Moreover, what has often been overlooked even in feminist scholarship and movements is that ageism, in conjunction with sexism and classism, reinforces aesthetic–political hierarchies that produce chasms and divisions even among women themselves (including between mothers and daughters) and push the aging (grand)mother further into the peripheries of the auditory regime. Unsettling such a patriarchal “distribution of the sensible,” Like a Rolling Stone deploys creative acoustic strategies to make audible the hidden exploitation of women’s affective labor and revitalizes the subversive potentials, affective energies and aesthetic values of women’s embodied experiences and everyday gendered noises. Full article

The inclusion of refugees in the formal labor markets of host countries has been recognized as a sustainable solution to forced migration. In Brazil, due to the growing number of refugees, it is urgent to look at the difficulties faced by this population and develop strategies for their socio-economic inclusion. This study proposes a reflection on the meaning of decent work for refugees, considering their own perspectives, with the aim of offering a broader understanding of their desires and needs in the labor sphere. A survey was applied to 78 Venezuelan refugees in the northern region of Brazil. The data were analyzed using Jamovi software (Version 2.3.28), including descriptive and inferential statistics. Among the findings were the expectation of opportunities that value the skills of refugees. Difficulties due to cultural adaptation in organizations and a lack of professional recognition were pointed out. Job crafting proved to be a promising strategy for positively shaping work. Full article

Coffee tourism has emerged as a significant niche within community-based tourism development across the Global South, promising economic diversification and cultural preservation. Yet the human resource foundations of this sector remain under-theorized relative to those of marketing and the supply chain. This study examines the human resource challenges confronting coffee tourism development in Bajawa, Flores, Indonesia—an emerging destination strategically positioned within national tourism priorities. Drawing on qualitative research including in-depth interviews with 42 informants (coffee farmers, tourism workers, village officials, private sector facilitators, and NGO representatives), document analysis, and field observations, the study suggests that workforce sustainability in coffee tourism is undermined by three intersecting dynamics: precarious labor regimes characterized by casualization and income instability; significant skill gaps across the coffee–tourism nexus; and institutional fragmentation wherein state programs, private sector initiatives, and customary labor systems operate without coherent coordination. The findings highlight that human resource challenges are not merely technical capacity deficits but are produced through informal labor arrangements, unequal power relations, and governance fragmentation. The study contributes theoretically by extending precarity scholarship to emerging destination contexts and proposing an integrative framework linking labor regimes, competency development, and workforce sustainability. Full article

Current rammed earth in situ practices face economic challenges that outweigh its ecological advantages, rendering it a niche product in the construction sector. This is mainly due to the inefficient and labor-intensive character of the manual construction processes involved, especially those related to formwork. The introduction of automated and robotic fabrication presents an opportunity to reduce the existing imbalance through digitalization, by shortening the building time and reducing labor input. In this paper, the associated potential environmental impacts of manual and robotic in situ manufacture of unstabilized rammed earth walls are compared and quantified in a life cycle assessment. The results show that robotic in situ manufacture is the more environmentally favorable option within the construction phase, with the highest optimization potential in the building phase. The standard robotic scenario demonstrates significant reductions across a range of environmental impact indicators of approx. 9–97% compared to the standard manual scenario due to a reduction of waste and formwork. Specifically, the GWP₁₀₀-total is reduced by 28% and EE by 68%. Further key factor optimizations—including minimizing transport distances, using locally sourced loam, reducing packaging materials, and utilizing renewable energy—show even greater benefits. In the robotic procedure, this result in reductions in GWP₁₀₀-total of 76% and EE of 70% compared to its robotic standard scenario, and to reductions of 83% and 90%, respectively, compared to the standard manual procedure. Full article