• Energy Research
• 12. Responsible consumption close

This paper aims to examine the rice industry in Vietnam during the period 1997–2017, focusing its production and export. The total area of Vietnam is 33.121 million hectares, out of which 39.25% consists of agricultural land. The agricultural sector adds up to 24% of the gross domestic product (GDP), 20% of the total exports and over 70% of the total employment. Vietnam’s economy is highly dependent on the agricultural sector, specifically rice production, which constitutes 30% of the country’s total agricultural production value. While its production at first aimed to ensure food security in the country, to date, Vietnam is one the world’s largest exporters. While extensive research has explored the rice industry, studies looking at the production through the use of fertilizers, external factors such as the exporting price of other countries and world consumption rates are still lacking. Given the complexity of the topic, data were analyzed through descriptive, econometric and quantitative methods. For production and export analyses, two and four hypotheses were derived and examined, respectively, all based on economic theory. The model consisted of two equations: (i) the paddy production is impacted by rice’s yield and fertilizer use and (ii) in addition to internal factors, the growth of exporting rice in Vietnam depends also on external factors such as Thailand’s rice export price and world consumption rates. Based on the model, a dynamic forecasting method was employed, using the previous forecast values of the dependent variables to compute the future ones. Findings showed that 98% of Vietnam’s rice production is explained through the yield and fertilizer usage and 83% of Vietnam’s rice export is explained by the production, the price in Vietnam and Thailand and the consumption levels around the world. When it comes to forecasting, an 8% growth is predicted with a peak in quantity produced, with 49,461 thousand tons in 2023, yet with difficulties when it comes to exporting. The research predicts a stagnation in exports.

Environmental policy is a set of objectives put in place for the protection of natural resources including water, air, soil, food, and other renewable resources. In addition, it has a considerable impact on the labor market and the income of employees in the environmental and forestry sectors. Environmental policy both directly and indirectly creates new jobs, the so-called green jobs. These jobs are designed to be long-term and sustainable, working towards both environmental and socio-economic stability. The aim of the research was to determine if there was a difference in income between the forestry and the environmental policy sectors. The primary objective of this paper was to propose ideas and instruments for strengthening the income of employees in both sectors to the creators of the new State Environmental Policy. This objective was met through appropriate research methods, including the field survey technique. In terms of statistics, we used descriptive characteristics and tested the hypothesis using a T-test. The data from 70 respondents were collected from January 2019 to December 2019. Half of the respondents were from the forestry sector, and the other half worked in environmental protection. Their total income was compared by using two selective T-tests, and the results showed a strong discrepancy. The analysis indicated that the average incomes in forestry are significantly lower than incomes in the environmental protection sector (in the Czech Republic). The statistically higher income of environmental workers reflects that the State Environmental Policy is effective, which improves the position of employees in the labor market. The forestry sector deserves similar concentrated state assistance, and therefore we recommend that the new State Environmental Policy in the Czech Republic also addresses the problem of low income in forestry.

The electric power sector in countries suffering from crises and wars such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, etc., is among the most affected infrastructures. Since this sector plays a vital role in the economic growth and in improving people’s quality of life, the post-crisis reconstruction of this sector must take into account the requirements and concepts of sustainable development (SD) in addition to technical and economic considerations. This article discusses the role that renewable energy sources (RES) can play in achieving SD in the post-crisis reconstruction phase of the Syrian Electric Power Sector (SEPS) as a case study. Based on the available data, the study period was chosen from 2005 to 2017 and divided into two periods. In the first period (2005–2010), which is the pre-crisis period, the structure of the SEPS and its main characteristics were described while the adoption of RES solutions and SD concepts were investigated. In the second period (2011–2017), the crisis period, the satiation of the SEPS and impact of the crisis were evaluated. The challenges that faced the adoption of SD concepts and RES solution were also addressed at this stage. Based on analysis and comparison of the available data, several scenarios were discussed to evaluate the role of RES in achieving SD in the post-crisis reconstruction phase of the SEPS. EnergyPLAN software was used for the techno and socio-economic evaluation of these scenarios. Our results emphasize the importance of the adoption of RES solutions in the reconstruction phase, as these can help promote SD concepts (reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting the environment, increasing energy efficiency, creating jobs, etc.) and securing the electric supply of the SEPS while enhancing its stability.

The sustainability of international trade is subject to immense pressure. Apart from obstructed logistics, disruption of production chains and changes in demand, the sustainability of international trade is heavily affected by the sanctions caused by the Russia–Ukraine conflict. This paper studies the factors predicting sustainable international trade in the post-Soviet region. We hypothesize that ongoing conflicts, infrastructure, language integration, geographical proximity, common border, and economic wellbeing significantly impact international trade. Methodologically we rely on linear and hierarchical regressions estimating a set of gravitation models (N = 15 countries—104 trading pairs; 2010–2020). The results suggest that Russian as a primary language and the average density of road networks positively predict bilateral trade volume. The geographical distance, infrastructure differences, military conflicts, and, surprisingly, the pair-average GDP per capita diminish bilateral trade. Countries’ GDP mediates the effect of GDP per capita. The results are robust over time. The results present an important insight into sustainable international trade within the region affected by the numerous military conflicts in the past and the war conflict between Russia and Ukraine nowadays. The rebuilding of Ukrainian transport infrastructure is one of the essential measures from the country’s point of view and a factor supporting internationally sustainable food supply.

The current increase in government spending, caused by COVID epidemics and the increasing visibility of leftist political groups in public media, emphasizes the short-term need for sustainable income taxation. In the long run, rising inequality worldwide makes taxation of high-incomes indispensable for sustainable economic development. This paper empirically studies public attitudes on taxation related to income, preferences for solidarity vs. individual performance, and reliance on the state in the Czech Republic. In this Eastern European country, the dichotomies above bear even more importance due to the communist past. We apply the hierarchical regression analysis with smoothing spline transformations to a representative sample of public opinion data (N = 1104, aged 15–95 years, M ± SD: 47.74 ± 17.39; 51.2% women, 18.50% with higher education). The results suggest that income was associated with the perception that taxes for the rich are inadequately high but was unrelated to perceptions of tax adequacy for average and poor groups of respondents. Higher solidarity and reliance on the state were associated with the desire to increase taxation of high-incomes and decrease taxation of poor income groups. Surprisingly, the reliance on the state was associated with a desire to decrease taxation of average-incomes and total taxation while increasing tax progressivity. Preferences for solidarity were associated with higher preferred overall taxation and more tax progressivity. The explanatory powers of preferences for solidarity and reliance on the state in explaining the variation in tax preferences are at least equivalent and, in some cases, twice as large as the explanatory power of the age, gender, education, and income altogether. The results above present new mechanisms that can contribute to sustainable endogenous economic development.