• Energy Research

Entrepreneurship and innovation are the fuel of economic growth. Understanding the motivational factors that lead to the success of entrepreneurs in agribusiness can be useful in affecting the degree of successful investment that accelerates development and economic growth in the agriculture sector. In this study, we investigated the factors affecting the success of entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector in Mashhad, Iran, using a two-stage Heckman approach. Factors affecting the success or failure of agribusiness entrepreneurship have received less attention in the literature. In this study, the aim was to determine the factors affecting agricultural entrepreneurship success and entrepreneurs’ profits. We generated the data for this study by designing a questionnaire and conducting a survey of active entrepreneurs in Mashhad in 2020. The results showed that entrepreneurship experience, risk-taking behavior, interest rates, and initial capital have a significant impact on the probability of entrepreneurship success and entrepreneur’s profits. Policies that could improve the skills of entrepreneurs, provision of initial capital requirements, and financial market efficiency had an effective role in increasing entrepreneurship and innovation in the agribusiness sector. Entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture could consider these factors to have better choices while entering or continuing with their agribusinesses. Our recommendation to policymakers and agribusiness leaders is to establish a friendlier and more stable environment for entrepreneurship and employ policies that help reduce the risk of entrepreneurs’ initial investment returns.

This paper explores the effects of using a hybrid virtual/traditional classroom, a blended teaching and learning approach, on undergraduate learning outcomes during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to investigate the prominent problems that appeared in the process of online teaching and learning and to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduates’ learning outcomes in public universities in China. The field of specialization of the subjects of this study is under the rubric of social science and higher education. We designed and conducted a pilot survey to identify students’ perspectives on the key issues and experiences of the use of distance-learning through an online virtual classroom in the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we applied a binary logistic regression model to real data from two different economics course exams to measure the short-term impacts of using the two different learning environments on the undergraduates’ performance outcomes. The results indicate a statistically significant negative impact of using virtual classrooms on undergraduate learning outcomes. By contrast, in-person traditional classrooms had more desirable learning outcomes. Moreover, the hybrid approach proved to be more effective than the use of online virtual classrooms alone.

Achieving economic development is one of the most important economic goals of every country. Identifying the determinants of economic growth, is a useful tool for adopting appropriate economic policies. This study, therefore, empirically examines the impact of trade openness, foreign direct investment, and financial development on economic growth, across 62 countries over the period 1995–2016. These countries are divided into two groups: low-income and high-income countries. We employ the pooled mean group (PMG), mean group (MG), and dynamic fixed effect (DFE) estimation techniques on the cross-country panel data. The findings show a positive long run association between trade openness, foreign direct investment (FDI), financial development, labor, government expenditure, and economic growth in low-income countries, with a positive and negative short run effect from capital and government expenditures, respectively. For high-income countries, a positive long run association between trade openness, FDI, capital, and economic growth exist. The short run estimates indicate a positive effect on trade openness and capital as well as a negative effect on government expenditure. Our study shows that the adoption of policies that improves access to skilled labor and international trade, affect the attainment of a sustainable economic development.

Concerns about the environmental degradation of agricultural activities have increased with trade openness and globalization. In this study, the effects of agricultural product exports on environmental quality are investigated using panel data and instrumental variable regression models for 23 developed and 43 developing countries during 2002–2020. The results indicate that the expansion of agricultural product exports from developing countries has a detrimental effect on the environmental quality of these countries. Total agricultural exports increase pollution due to greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, while they decrease the N2O emissions in developed countries. Moreover, raw agricultural exports have a positive and significant effect on agricultural pollution emissions in developing countries, while they have a negative and significant effect on N2O emissions in developed countries. In many developing countries, export development is an important policy objective, and agricultural exports are among the most important export sectors. Hence, policymakers need to consider the effects of agricultural product exports on the environment and increase farmers’ awareness about the environmental consequences of agricultural activities. A better understanding of the environmental impacts of agricultural exports from developing countries is highly recommended.

This study examines the influences of the power structure evolution along the global coffee value chain on coffee spot-futures commodity markets. Specifically, this study aims to analyze the mechanisms and extent to which the coffee spot-futures commodity markets are affected by shifts in the power structure in each phase following the collapse of the ICA from the perspective of price discovery and volatility spillovers by employing the PT–IS and bivariate EGARCH models. This research covers two actively traded coffee types, Arabica and Robusta, and utilizes daily time-series price data over 1990:01–2020:04 for Arabica and over 2008:01–2020:04 for Robusta. The empirical results indicate that coffee spot markets play a dominant role in price discovery for both Arabica and Robusta over all periods, and volatility spillovers occur from the coffee spot market to the futures markets. This study demonstrates to coffee market players that power structure evolutions across coffee’s global value chain have not significantly changed the underlying socio-spatial distribution of the coffee value chain over the post-ICA period. The results further imply that a buyer-driven governance is emerging in the coffee industry and large coffee roasters are beginning to dominate the global coffee value chain. Moreover, large coffee roasters are incentivized to diversify their marketing strategies by considering more market factors as part of their market differentiation strategies. Government interventions are necessary to establish price risk-management mechanisms to protect small-scale coffee growers.

This study examined the factors that determine U.S. household expenditure patterns for food products in the context of exceptional price shocks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research relied on the Consumer Expenditure Diary Survey (CEX) for the year 2020, where households or consumer units represent units of observation. With a sample size of 10,453 observations, the empirical estimation of the Heckman two-step model yields interesting results. Consistent with the inelastic nature of food products, we found conditional expenditure elasticities of income were less than one for all kinds of food, including food away from home (FAFH). The results showed both food and FAFH to be highly price elastic in this special period of higher food prices. For instance, a 1% increase in own price implied a 7.78% decrease in the probability to spend on food and a 20.93% decrease in propensity to purchase FAFH. This study provides business managers and marketing experts with insights on the consumer profile and food product price strategy.

The relationship between COVID-19 and the tourism industry has important lessons for the post-pandemic period. The tourism industry is undergoing major changes after the pandemic. Analyzing the impact of tourism on the spread of coronavirus around the world may help us to understand how it could be a catalyst for spreading epidemics. To investigate the impact of the tourism industry on the spread of coronavirus, tourism data, as well as cases of coronavirus in the year 2020–2021, were used for OECD countries. The quantile regression method was used to estimate the effects of different types of tourism on the spread of coronavirus. The results showed that, in the first season of 2020, all types of tourists had an impact on the spread of the coronavirus. However, until the end of 2020, only outbound tourism had a significant impact on total deaths caused by the coronavirus, and in 2021, the tourism industry did not have any significant effect on the total deaths caused by the coronavirus. The findings of this article show that prior preparedness, comprehensive guidelines and roadmaps, and the establishment of international travel monitoring agencies are required to assess global constraints in critical situations. Advanced systems for controlling domestic travel in a country at a time of contagious diseases are essential.