This paper explores how digital technology reduces trade costs using bilateral trade data from RCEP member countries and a panel fixed effects model. The findings show that digital technology significantly lowers trade costs, a conclusion that holds even after accounting for lag effects and various robustness checks. The impact of digital technology on trade costs follows an inverted U-shape: the effect is most significant in the current period, especially with a one-period lag, and diminishes over time. Larger economies and higher export levels strengthen this negative impact due to their reliance on exports and continuous improvements in domestic digital technology. The study recommends investing in digital infrastructure, formulating reasonable internet access policies, supporting digital skills development, and enhancing digital connectivity to bridge the digital divide, thereby promoting trade facilitation and efficiency.

The very nature of work, labor market composition, and skill requirements are severely affected by technology-driven transformations currently underway with the 4^th industrial revolution (4IR). The effect of 4IR technologies on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and the contribution of TVET to the labor market is explicit. The paper presents the findings of a study that investigated whether TVET institutions are prepared to face the challenges of 4IR. The data for the study were collected by surveying 428 teachers from 15 countries in Asia and the Pacific engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at the tertiary level. The findings of our study undoubtedly bring greater attention to the initiatives of TVET in these countries in preparing the workforce for job roles necessitated in the 4IR. The findings can also be used to frame policy recommendations for the growth of economies.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is widely viewed as a key driving force behind China’s exceptional growth performance in the last four decades. This paper investigates several questions posed by China’s success in capturing gains from FDI. What explains that success? Can other countries replicate it, or is it unique to China? What lessons are from China for other countries? China indeed has advantages in attracting FDI such as huge market and cheap labor, the well-designed policy and strategy, however, seem to play more important role in the successful story. Our empirical estimates support on four hypotheses: FDI and GDP growth in China positively interact each other; FDI is helpful to China’s technological progress, FDI promotes China’s industrial development, and FDI stimulates China’s manufactured exports.

Renewable energy has become a crucial topic in recent years as the world is moving towards environment friendly and sustainable energy sources. The aim of this research paper is to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of renewable energy resources such as geothermal, hydro, solar and wind energy in comparison to typical and traditional energy resources such as oil and coal. This paper focuses on the current state of renewable energy adoption, the benefits and drawbacks of all types of renewable energy resources, and the challenges faced in implementing renewable energy on a large scale. Through a comprehensive literature review, this paper discusses the methodologies and results of various studies conducted to understand the potential of renewable energy sources by secondary means. This research paper also presents an original analysis of renewable energy data to identify the most efficient and cost-effective renewable energy source. The results of this study indicate that renewable energy sources can be an effective and efficient replacement for traditional energy sources, but they face significant challenges in adoption and implementation. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and policy changes that can support the growth of renewable energy sources.

The goal of this paper is to provide an overall presentation of corruption as occupational fraud building on the findings of an empirical study conducted in Greece. As uncertainty leads to increased levels of corruption, Greece was chosen due to the prolonged period of uncertainty the country faces, caused by the 2010 financial crisis and followed by the Covid pandemic crisis. 400 questionnaires reviewing corruption perception were gathered and analyzed by gender, age, marital status, education level, position, occupation, and monthly income, as well as urban vs rural area of residence. The findings of the study were compared with and critically evaluated against those of the previous studies for Greece. Respondents in age group 36-49 believe that if appropriate measures are taken it is possible to tackle corruption in the public sector, in contrast to people aged 18-35 who disagree completely. Residents of rural areas do not consider corruption to be a serious problem and are more willing to whistleblowing (in contrast to residents of urban areas). The study findings have important practical implications in the context of designing effective corruption reduction policies.

The precise prediction of carbon emissions trading prices is the foundation for the stable and sustainable development of the carbon financial market. In recent years, influenced by a combination of factors such as the pandemic, trading regulations, and policies, carbon prices have exhibited strong random volatility and clear non-stationary characteristics. Traditional single-perspective prediction methods based on conventional statistical models are increasingly inadequate due to the homogenization of features and are struggling to adapt to China's regional carbon emissions trading market. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-perspective fusion-based prediction method tailored to the Chinese market. It leverages carbon emissions trading information from key cities as relevant features to predict the price changes in individual cities. Inspired by the development of artificial intelligence, this paper implements various time series models based on deep neural networks. The effectiveness of the multi-perspective approach is validated through multiple metrics. It provides scientific decision-making tools for domestic carbon emissions trading investors, making a significant contribution to strengthening carbon market risk management and promoting the establishment and rational development of a unified carbon market in China.

Under the background of digital economy, global tax governance has become one of the important topics in today's world development and change. In recent years, new challenges, such as tax base erosion and profit transfer, and the imbalance of cross-border tax source division, have become prominent, forcing the reform of international tax rules and the reshaping of international tax order. Based on this, the article first deeply digs into the scale and cross-border characteristics of the spatial-temporal aggregation of the digital economy, and comprehensively evaluates its impact on the global tax governance pattern. After that, the article combs out the realistic picture and challenges of the current digital tax reform from the aspects of theoretical basis, basic principles and governance mechanism. Finally, based on China's basic national conditions, the article puts forward some institutional ideas and policy suggestions, with a view to improving China's participation, voice and influence in global tax governance, and also enabling governments, enterprises and residents of various countries to enjoy the fruits of world economic development fairly and promote the construction of Community of Shared Future for Mankind.

Electricity price volatility in developing economies, particularly Nigeria, presents a significant challenge to sustainable development. In this paper, we examine the macroeconomic drivers of electricity prices (ELP) in Nigeria based on annual data spanning 1980-2022 and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) procedure. Our model estimates the long-run and short-run impacts of population growth (PG), economic growth (GDP), crude oil price (COPR), and electricity consumption (ELC) on electricity prices (ELP). The empirical findings reveal a positive and long-run effect of PG on ELP, indicating that rising demand from a growing population increases electricity prices. In the short-run, ELC surprisingly co-moved with ELP, which may be attributable to price-sensitive demand within specific consumer segments or periods. Furthermore, GDP and COPR exert positive effects on ELP, indicating that economic growth drives energy consumption and prices, and the cost-driven impact of fossil fuel dependence in electricity generation. These findings shed light on the complex interplay of demographic, economic, and energy market-related forces driving electricity prices in Nigeria. Therefore, the paper proposes some policy suggestions based on the empirical findings.

The paper is motivated by the growth of the electronic payments system and its relevance in enhancing the banking industry's earnings. Consequently, the paper examines the causal relationship between the electronic payments system and the banking industry's returns in Nigeria. The paper offers some important contributions to the literature involving the use of an approach that allows for data-driven identification of the change points in the electronic payments system and the banking industry's returns nexus. The paper discovered three important findings. First, the causal relationship between the electronic payments system and the banking industry's returns in Nigeria changes with time changes. Second, there is evidence of causality between the electronic payments system and returns on assets and equity, however, the causality was more evident under the recursive window. Third, the causal relationship was more evident in some specific periods such as 2020Q4, all quarters of 2015 to 2016, and 2020 to the end of 2023. The paper recommends that policymakers should revisit and reinvigorate the specific cashless policies instituted in 2012-2016 that aided higher returns to the banking industry. Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other banking industry players should intensify efforts to encourage the use of electronic payments due to their usefulness and ability to enhance the banking industry's earnings.

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) deposits across 13 African nations from 2016 to 2022, using a seven-year dataset and Ordinary Least Squares estimator. Notably, it uncovers a significant positive link between the pandemic and SMEs deposits, indicating heightened reserves amidst economic uncertainty, potentially driven by risk mitigation or government support. Associations between gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, unemployment, foreign direct investment (FDI), exchange rates, and SMEs deposits were evident, showcasing higher GDP aligning with increased deposits, while inflation and unemployment linked to reduced ones. FDI showed a positive influence, and exchange rate fluctuations notably affected SMEs deposits, especially for those in international trade. These findings emphasize policy reconsideration for crisis strategies supporting SMEs reserves during uncertainty and interventions addressing inflation, unemployment, and exchange rate risks. Future research exploring regional nuances and global comparisons could further enrich policymaking for resilient SMEs amid evolving economic landscapes.

Human factor inputs are key to promoting agricultural modernisation. Traditional economic theory suggests that improving human capital is the key to boosting agricultural productivity, but can this conclusion hold in China's dualistic economic structure? We use Chinese provincial panel data from 2000-2017 to examine the impact of rural human capital inputs on agricultural total factor productivity. We find that, on the whole, rural human capital inputs have a negative effect on agricultural total factor productivity, and that there is a "rural human capital trap". Mechanism analysis reveals that rural human capital inputs, on the one hand, cause labour loss and reduce the quality of agricultural workers, while on the other hand, they may promote the application of mechanization, which has both positive and negative effects on agricultural total factor productivity. Heterogeneity analysis finds that this negative effect is more pronounced in the central region of China because of the serious loss of rural labour. This study provides new policy insights for further improving the structure of rural education inputs and promoting human capital accumulation in agriculture.

As the COVID-19 epidemic swept the world in early 2020, it is worth watching how it affects the total factor productivity of enterprises. Based on the theory of information asymmetry and the data of A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2021, this paper conducts an empirical study on the relationship between COVID-19 and the total factor productivity of enterprises. The results show that the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic can significantly reduce the total factor productivity of enterprises, and the conclusion is still true after a series of robustness tests. Taking the financing constraint as an intervening variable, it clearly reveals a transmission mechanism, that is to say, the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic exacerbates the financing constraint of the enterprise, thus it makes the total factor productivity of the enterprise reduce. It is further found that the above effects are more obvious for small and medium-sized enterprises and non-intelligent enterprises. Based on this, the government should implement some active economic development policies to create a free, relaxed and orderly market environment for enterprise financing. At the same time, enterprises should not only pay attention to digital and intelligent development, and transform into technology-intensive enterprises, but also strengthen the awareness of worry. Enterprises should store "more grain" for preparing for the cold winter.

As the underlying institutional design for enterprise risk management, it is important to study whether and how internal control affects enterprise technological innovation in the current context of increased economic policy uncertainty. Based on the principal-agent theory and information asymmetry theory, this paper explores the impact of internal control on corporate technological innovation using the listed company data from 2009-2019 CSMAR database, and obtains the following research conclusions: (1) the quality of internal control positively affects the corporate technological innovation. (2) The operational risk plays an intermediary role in the relationship between the internal control affecting the corporate technological innovation. (3) The degree of market competition positively moderates the impact of internal control on enterprise technological innovation. (4) Relative to non-stateowned enterprises and non-high-tech enterprises, the quality of internal control of state-owned enterprises and high-tech enterprises has a more significant impact on enterprise technological innovation. This paper enriches the consequences of the study of internal control on the one hand, and on the other hand, it provides a new perspective for improving technological innovation, and it provides certain guidance for further improving the level of corporate governance.

The study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on African exchange rates, employing a panel dataset over the period 2016-2022 from 13 African economies and employing pooled OLS estimator. The findings reveal a noteworthy positive correlation between COVID-19 levels and exchange rates within the region. However, this association necessitates deeper exploration due to its multifaceted implications, including economic disruptions, government interventions, global market interconnections, regional stability perceptions, and investor behavior. Economic indicators, such as GDP, inflation rate, real interest rate, and unemployment rate, significantly influence exchange rates. While GDP positively impacts exchange rates through economic growth, investor confidence, and trade strength, controlled inflation fosters investor confidence and export competitiveness, positively affecting exchange rates. Moreover, a pronounced positive impact of the real interest rate indicates economic stability, attracting investment and contributing to currency appreciation. Conversely, high unemployment negatively affects exchange rates, signaling economic weaknesses and eroding investor confidence. These findings emphasize nuanced policy responses for managing health crisis-induced economic disruptions and suggest future research directions focusing on specific country-level analyses and multifaceted factors influencing currency valuations within African economies.

In order to avoid the real economy development lags behind and the deterioration of ecological problems in the process of traditional urbanization, China has been promoting city-industry deep integration, but the connection between city-industry integration and green economic growth, especially the spatial effect, has not been systematically explained. Based on the panel data from 2007 to 2018, this paper constructs an evaluation index system and uses the SEEA method to measure city-industry integration (CII) level and green economy growth (GEG) level. Then, by employing spatial Durbin model and intermediary effect model, it further systematically investigates the spatial impact of CII on GEG and the potential mechanism. The study found that: (1) On the whole, CII shows “slow-steady integration” trend, but regional heterogeneity was obvious and accompanied by “slow gap expansion”. GEG experienced “sharp increase” with “polarization” characteristic. (2) CII can directly promote regional GEG (with a marginal effect of 0.689), more effectively than traditional urbanization, and CII has obvious spatial spillover effects on GEG in both “local effect” and “neighboring effect”. (3) Interestingly, technological innovation and consumption structure upgrading are significant mediating mechanisms. (4) The direct positive effect of CII shows the regional imbalance characteristic. Finally, the corresponding policy implications are put forward.

The high price of energy due to green energy policy will cause adjustments across the US economy predicted in the present general equilibrium model that includes energy Btu input with capital and labor to produce manufactures and services. This same model in trade theory examines the effects of a tariff on an imported factor of production such as a natural resource or capital.  Corresponding error correction estimates of the reduced form equations of the model in annual 1970-2018 data prove robust and suggest model modifications. A parametric approach to noncompetitive pricing based on unit cost diminishing with output brings the model much closer to the estimates. Manufactures are revealed to have a higher degree of noncompetitive pricing than services. Assuming constant elasticity of substitution production, a weak degree is revealed to provide the best fit to the error correction estimates. The high price of green energy will cause an inelastic decrease in energy input resulting in increased energy revenue. Outputs of both sectors fall, more in manufactures due to its energy intensity. The capital return and wage also fall given the weak substitution of capital and labor relative to the price of energy. The wage rises slightly in the model but falls considerably in the error correction estimate. The only clear winner is energy input with increased revenue. The government owns a large share of hydrocarbon reserves and will benefit from a higher price of energy.

The answer to how to stop economic growth must be political rather than economic. Economic growth made by men has an impetus which can only be stopped by a deliberate choice. It takes national and international decisions to stop it. In order to organize a moratorium on economic growth (which eventually must lead to a stop on growth) I suggest to create blocks of nations in the world. The European Union can function as a model for such a block. The E.U. is on its way of becoming a supra-national government which was created to ensure a level playing field for its members. Now it is meant to create economic growth for its members, in the future its administration should be used to stop it. Blocks should agree on the targets to reach a durable economy. Globally or between certain more advanced blocks a date should be set to stop economic growth after that date. Each block should implement the goals to reach a durable economy and prevent products reaching its market that violate the goals of durability. Blocks in developing countries cannot be expected to stop economic growth. They need that growth for two reasons. Eventually they must reach the level of existence in the more advanced block and secondly they must have the time to improve the standard for durability of their products. They need the aid of the developed countries to reach a higher but also more durable level of production, but this aid comes with a quid pro quo, In the meantime they must do their utmost to stop wars in their regions and conduct a responsible population-policy to reduce the growth of their population and let it reduce on the long term.

The global agricultural supply chain grapples with inherent challenges, including opacity, inefficiency, and ethical concerns, necessitating innovative solutions, particularly within Indian Agriculture Supply Chain Management. Despite these challenges, a notable research gap emerges due to the limited exploration of adoption factors specific to the Indian agricultural context. To bridge this gap, a comprehensive investigation is initiated to delve into the nuanced dynamics of blockchain technology adoption in the Indian agricultural supply chain. The primary aim of this study is to provide insights into these adoption dynamics, employing a three-stage methodology. Starting with an extensive literature review to identify key adoption factors, the study then distributed a well-crafted questionnaire to 200 respondents, yielding 150 complete and analyzable responses. The chosen methodologies, including a one-sample t-test and exploratory factor analysis, allow for a quantitative assessment of the significance of various factors. The study's findings reveal crucial dimensions influencing blockchain adoption, such as perceived benefits, ease of use, trust, efficiency, ethical considerations, data security, integrity, regulatory compliance, and collaboration and stakeholder engagement, providing a comprehensive understanding of the adoption landscape. In conclusion, this research significantly contributes to comprehending the nuanced adoption dynamics of blockchain technology in the Indian agricultural supply chain, supported by a substantial sample size and robust methodological choices. The implications extend to stakeholders navigating the evolving agricultural supply chain, offering valuable insights for future research, policy considerations, and practical strategies, with a central focus on fostering transparency, efficiency, and ethical standards to address global agricultural supply chain challenges.

The dawn of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era presents a plethora of new possibilities for analyzing regional economic development. The present article provides an in-depth exploration of the methods employed in this field, highlighting the immense opportunities that AI offers while also addressing potential challenges. The role of AI is crucial in complex data handling, enabling efficient analyses of intricate regional economic patterns. This capacity is paramount in shaping economic policies and strategies that are reflective of each region's unique needs and potential. The article firstly explores various AI methods used in economic analysis, including but not limited to machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. It delves into the application of these methods in discerning development trends, predicting economic shifts, and identifying strategic economic drivers unique to various regions. Subsequently, the potential of AI to transform regional economic analysis is discussed, encompassing its capability to process large and complex datasets, its power to predict future trends based on past and present data, and its ability to aid in strategic decision-making. However, this new era of AI-driven economic analysis is not without challenges. The latter part of this article thus confronts the issues related to data privacy, ethical use of AI, and the necessity of interdisciplinary skills in AI and economics. This exploration contributes to a broader understanding of how AI is transforming the landscape of regional economic development analysis, illuminating both its present use and future implications. By understanding these dynamics, we can better harness the potential of AI to advance economic prosperity in various regions around the globe.

This paper investigates the degree of inflation persistence across regions in Portugal by analyzing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth rates for NUTS II regions. The study employs the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test to determine whether the CPI data for Portugal is stationary or non-stationary. The results of the ADF test reveal that the IPC data for Portugal is non-stationary, indicating that inflation exhibits persistence in the long run. The study further assesses the persistence of inflation by estimating an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model for each region. The Ljung-Box test is used to test for autocorrelation in the time series data, and the Hurst exponent is calculated to evaluate the presence of long-term memory in the time series data. The study finds that there is significant autocorrelation in the time series data for all regions, supporting the presence of persistence in inflation at the regional level in Portugal. The Hurst exponent also shows that the time series data for each region exhibits a high degree of persistence in inflation. Finally, the study applies the ARIMA model to each CPI division's data and uses the Ljung-Box test to test for autocorrelation in the time series data. The results show that some CPI divisions exhibited higher levels of persistence compared to others. For example, the "Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels" division exhibited high persistence, while the "Communication" division exhibited low persistence. This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring regional inflation persistence in Portugal and its implications for policymaking. The results provide insights into the inflation persistence patterns across regional levels in Portugal, by emphasizing the need to consider regional differences in inflation dynamics when formulating effective policy interventions. Understanding the persistence of inflation is crucial for policymakers to ensure price stability and sustainable economic growth.