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The technologies of the future in the field of fertilisers and Romania's opportunities to recover this industry
Get PDFThe fertiliser industry in the European Union is undergoing structural transformations imposed by EU commitments to become carbon neutral by 2050. In terms of the existing possibilities, the industry is in the attention of decision-makers and investors, with various business models being analysed that enable technologies of the fourth industrial revolution that will improve the efficiency of manufacturing of fertilisers necessary for sustainable agriculture, with the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The present paper aims to analyse the evolution of the fertiliser industry in Romania, in terms of international competitiveness and economic performance of companies, as well as to evaluate the existing possibilities for modernising and recovering the industry. These analyses and evaluations can provide a basis for formulating recommendations to decision-makers in reindustrialisation policies, taking into account new technologies that can capitalise on the resources and opportunities of the regional market, while maintaining or intensifying the policies undertaken to decarbonise the energy-intensive industries
Bequest Division: The Roles of Parental Motives and Children's Gender Composition
Get PDFDrawing on two data sources from across Europe, we show that both bequest motives of parents and children's gender composition shape unequal divisions of bequests. First, the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe reveals that observed bequests are divided unequally when children differ in sex, caregiving, or income, with bequest motives strongest among mixed-sex children. Second, in a vignette experiment featuring alternative bequest motive scenarios and randomised gender compositions for two fictitious children, hypothetical bequests are most unequally divided under the exchange motive while children's gender composition matters more under the altruistic motive. Fictitious parents favour daughters regardless of deservingness, granting the highest bequest share to a deserving daughter with a brother. In return, these patterns reinforce traditional gender norms
Designing Virtual Coaching Solutions
Get PDFEspecially older persons are prone to disabilities and chronic diseases. These chronic conditions pose a worldwide challenge, leading to deteriorating health, economic strain, loss of life, and a decline in the quality of life (QoL). Therefore, healthcare institutions seek to enhance their strategies for disease prevention and management to uphold the well-being of the community. This leads to the need to regain independence and improve QoL to properly rehabilitate the patients. Virtual Coaches (VCs) in the form of Embodied Conversational Agents are seen as a relevant digital intervention to support the continuity of care. The paper at hand reports on a Design Science Research project about implementing a VC solution to support older patients' home rehabilitation. The study underpins four pivotal design principles: Adaptivity, Coaching Strategy, Multi-user Interface, and Sustainable Infrastructure. The final artifact was tested with 80 patients which were supported in continuing their inpatient rehabilitation at home by using a VC. The evaluation shows both positive results for usability and acceptance of the intervention for four different use cases and a positive impact on the QoL. Given the comprehensive clinical evaluation, the system represents a safe and appealing solution for ensuring the continuity of medical rehabilitation care and the access to personalized cognitive and motor function treatments
What Economists Should Know About the 340B Drug Discounting Program
No full textThe 340B Drug Pricing Program was instituted to bolster the health care safety net without relying on taxpayer money. It allows participating health care facilities – most of which are hospitals – to purchase drugs filled at in-house or contracted external pharmacies at discounts from manufacturers. Hospitals argue that these discounts are critical to their provision of charity care and unprofitable service lines. However, with 340B purchases now comprising over 13% of drug sales, drug manufacturers argue that the program has grown beyond its original intent. They have responded to the rapid growth in contract pharmacies by enacting restrictions on distribution that in turn led to a flurry of lawsuits and legislative activity. Given the 340B program's size, importance, and role in ongoing policy debates, it is perhaps surprising that it has received little attention in economics journals. Our paper reviews the literature on the 340B program, with an eye for the gaps in this literature that economics research can help fill. In particular, economists' causal inference econometric toolkit and theoretical understanding of the role of government intervention can help improve understanding of 340B's impacts and inform policy decisions
Streamlining operations management by classifying methods and concepts of Lean and Ergonomics within a sociotechnical framework
No full textCompanies have implemented Lean to increase efficiency and competitiveness. However, the importance of Ergonomics is often neglected, resulting in ergonomic problems and lower profitability and acceptance of Lean . This study presents a comprehensive approach to Operations and Production Management (OPM) considering sociotechnical synergies. For Lean and Ergonomics , literature-based main methodologies and categories are defined. These main methodologies/categories are used as search-term combinations in a further literature search. This literature is divided into “Production worker” (PW), “Physical environment” (PE), “Industry 4.0 technology” (i4.0), “Company culture” (CC), and “Manufacturing methods” (MM) based on a metric, the sociotechnical system (STS) concept. This makes it possible to determine the percentage of participation in Lean and Ergonomics articles by STS category. The main differences can be seen in PE (Lean: 10%; Ergonomics: 24%) and i4.0 (Lean: 29%; Ergonomics: 15%). However, for PW (Lean: 18%; Ergonomics: 21%), CC (Lean: 19%; Ergonomics: 20%), and MM (Lean: 26%; Ergonomics: 20%), there are similarities between Lean and Ergonomics . The OPM user should manage the PW, CC, and MM factors equally with Lean and Ergonomics , as the objective is the same. For PW, CC, and MM measures, a professional separation into Lean/OPM and Ergonomics/Occupational Medicine does not make sense. Concerning i4.0, there is a danger that the human factor in (especially innovation-oriented) OPM will be unjustly neglected and that too much emphasis will be placed on supposedly human-free technology
Industrial Pollution and PM2.5 analyses in Oskemen
No full textKazakhstan represents one of the largest economies in the Central Asian region. Over recent years, Kazakhstan has experienced a rise in temperature and pollution levels due to its overreliance on fossil fuels in energy industries. The rise in temperature and pollution levels has contributed to the rise of extreme weather conditions, including floods, and the increase in health issues and mortality rates. This working paper analyses the current condition in the Oskemen region of Kazakhstan in terms of air pollution indicators. The manuscript also provides related consequences and solutions to the current environmental problems in the region
Impact of women on corporate boards of directors on product quality
No full textWe analyze the impact of women on corporate boards of directors on product quality. We innovate firstly by integrating the broad but fragmented research on the topic, offering a first simultaneously testing of a larger set of variables identified to be significant in earlier studies. Second, we add alternative indicators of female representation in board of directors as a potential determinant of product quality. Third, we use evaluation scores of goods by the nonprofit foundation “Stiftung Warentest” as a quality indicator, thus adding to a regionally diversified evidence. We find a significant positive effect of female board directors on product quality
Sympathies for Putin Within the German Public: A Consequence of Political Alienation?
No full textWhy do individuals in democratic nations sympathize with autocratic leaders from abroad? In this article, we address this general question with regard to Germans’ attitudes toward Vladimir Putin in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Building on the intuition that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and its formalization in balance theory, our study focuses on the role of political alienation at home. To study this role comprehensively, we consider several facets of political alienation: a lack of trust in political institutions, low support for democracy as a regime, a sense of estrangement from public discourse, and an inclination toward conspiracy thinking. Using longitudinal analyses on data from the German Longitudinal Election Study panel, we provide empirical evidence consistent with our argument that political alienation—particularly in terms of low political trust and a proclivity for conspiracy thinking—drives sympathies for Putin and his regime. Against the backdrop of mounting attempts by Russia and other autocratic powers to influence discourses in Western societies via some segments of society, our findings illuminate one important source of sympathy for Putin and, potentially, foreign autocrats more broadly.Warum sympathisieren Individuen in demokratischen Ländern mit autokratischen Führern aus dem Ausland? In diesem Artikel befassen wir uns mit dieser allgemeinen Frage mit Blick auf die Einstellungen der Deutschen gegenüber Wladimir Putin nach dem russischen Einmarsch in die Ukraine im Februar 2022. Ausgehend von der Intuition, dass „ein Feind eines Feindes ein Freund ist“ und ihrer Formalisierung in der sozialpsychologischen Balancetheorie, konzentriert sich unsere Studie auf die Rolle politischer Entfremdung. Um diese Rolle umfassend zu untersuchen, betrachten wir mehrere Facetten der politischen Entfremdung: mangelndes Vertrauen in politische Institutionen, geringe Unterstützung für die Demokratie als Regime, ein Gefühl der Entfremdung vom öffentlichen Diskurs und eine Neigung zu Verschwörungsglauben. Anhand von Längsschnittanalysen mit Daten des GLES-Panels liefern wir empirische Belege für unsere These, dass politische Entfremdung – insbesondere in Form von mangelndem politischem Vertrauen und einer Neigung zu Verschwörungsdenken – Sympathien für Putin und sein Regime fördert. Vor dem Hintergrund der zunehmenden Versuche Russlands und anderer autokratischer Mächte, Diskurse in westlichen Gesellschaften über bestimmte Gesellschaftssegmente zu beeinflussen, beleuchten unsere Ergebnisse eine wichtige Quelle der Sympathie für Putin und, potenziell, ausländischer Autokraten im Allgemeinen
From drug trafficking to state capture: The dynamics of criminal governance, political violence, and crime diversification
No full textThis article develops and tests a theory of criminal governance, examining how drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) use bribery and violence to dominate resource-rich regions and counter state interventions. The study draws on data on over 500 political assassinations and 156 lethal attacks on politicians' relatives in Mexico since 2000. Using an instrumental variable approach, the causal effects of government actions on criminal strategies are identified. The findings reveal that DTOs use rent-seeking violence to influence the pool of political candidates in high-value areas. These are primarily oil pipelines, which are central to large-scale oil theft. Government crackdowns intensify political violence against incumbent mayors while paradoxically increasing voter turnout and the probability of the incumbent party's re-election, reflecting public approval of anti-crime measures. Supporting the crime diversification hypothesis, DTOs adapt by expanding into high-profit crimes such as extortion and retail drug distribution. These shifts are geographically strategic, with oil pipelines becoming centres of criminal innovation. Meanwhile, crimes like car theft are suppressed in fuel-theft zones, which helps preserve gasoline demand. Instead, these crimes are displaced to international borders and selected urban centres. The findings reveal the full cycle of criminal governance, illustrating how organized crime reshapes governance, drives violence-including disappearances-and leaves civilians struggling with rising crime and co-opted governments
Does bank credit mitigate nature and climate change effects in cereal production
Get PDFThe study analyzed the relationship between climate change, bank credit, and cereal production in Kenya based on quarterly data covering the period 2000-2023 using autoregressive distributed lag approach. The study used CO2 emissions, average precipitation, and average temperature as indicators of climate change and private sector credit and credit to agriculture sector as indicators of bank credit. The empirical findings show that there is a long-run relationship between cereal production and banks' domestic credit, CO2 average precipitation, average temperature, and cereal production area. The results also indicate that bank credit, average precipitation and increase in cereal production area stimulate cereal production, while CO2 emissions and average temperature reduces cereal production in the long run. In the short run, precipitation, bank credit, mechanization increase cereal yield, while CO2 emissions and acreage under cereal cultivation, and average temperature reduce cereals production. The increase in CO2 emissions and average temperature interfere with growth and development of plants and hence the yields. However, bank credit enables farmers to counteract the impacts of climate change as it facilitates purchase of farm inputs, which in turn boost cereal production. These findings imply that there is need to mitigate climate change, because it has adverse impact on cereal production. There is also a need to enhance lending to the agriculture sector so that farmers can boost cereal production, enhance capacity to mitigate climate change as well as wither the impact of climate change on cereal production