• Energy Research
• 1. No poverty close

In recent years production losses in major crop producing countries are occurring very often due to the increased instability of weather conditions connected to global climate change. This study identifies the years and regions that recorded abnormally low levels of crop production using a historical time series data set. It is shown that occurrence of the events is increasing all over the world. Korea is heavily dependent on imported crops and is a major importer of world crops. Our study analyzes the impacts of the anticipated sharp increase in world crop prices in 2012/13 year on the Korean economy using a modified version of PEP CGE model. It is shown that the GDP loss that will be caused by the external price shock is larger than that caused by the historically recorded domestic production losses. Moreover, we find that prices of the commodities heavily consumed by lower income classes are increasing more, and hence, the event is likely to be a regressive one.

Empirical evidence is scanty on the nexus between caregivers’ nutrition knowledge, market accessibility, and preschool children’s dietary diversity in remote communities of Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria. To fill this gap, this study evaluated the effects of caregivers’ nutrition knowledge and access to food market on dietary diversity of preschool children. We used cross-sectional data from four hundred households selected from twenty remote communities in Southeast Nigeria. The study adopted instrumental variable regression to estimate the impacts of nutrition knowledge and food market access on preschool children’s dietary diversity. The findings show that in remote communities, caregivers’ nutrition knowledge and households’ closeness to the market improved preschool children’s dietary diversity. The study demonstrates the potential of improving preschool children’s nutrition outcomes through enhancing access to food market and the nutrition knowledge of the caregivers.

Green finance (GF) regards social responsibility and environmental protection interests as the core of development and has become a new growth point and a new engine for promoting the development of the green economy (GE). To more accurately grasp the coordination between GF and the GE, the selection of appropriate indicators and feasible methods is worth exploring. Aiming at sustainable development by evaluating the coupling coordination between GF and the GE by means of a comprehensive index system and an integrated approach, this study establishes a coupling coordination degree model based on panel data of 30 Chinese provinces over the period 2007–2016. Furthermore, it evaluates the spatial distribution difference and dynamic evolution trend of the coordination by introducing global/local spatial autocorrelation, a space Markov chain, and a local indicators of spatial association (LISA) Markov chain. According to the research results, the coupling coordination degrees of the provinces exhibit gradual upward trends, and most regions in China are in a barely coordinated state at present. The coordination degree of GF and the GE shows strong spatial dependence overall, and partially presents the characteristics of “high-high (HH)” and “low-low (LL)” clustering patterns. The forecast results show that the future coordination of GF and the GE will remain stable and be affected by the coordinated development of surrounding areas.

Digital financial inclusion (DFI) plays an increasingly important role in raising residents’ income levels and optimizing income structures. Using data from the 2015–2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this paper examines the impact of DFI on residents’ income and income structure from a microeconomic perspective using OLS fixed effects models and panel Tobit models. It was found that (1) DFI significantly raises residents’ income, increasing their total annual per capita household income by CNY4200, and increasing their annual per capita household wage income, business income and property income by CNY2430, CNY1030, and CNY450, respectively. In terms of different functions of DFI, the use of digital payment, digital lending and digital financing can raise the annual per capita household income of residents by CNY4250, CNY10,360 and CNY3050, respectively. (2) DFI increases wage income by enhancing residents’ household employment level, increases business income by promoting residents’ entrepreneurship, and increases property income by improving the financial market participation. (3) DFI has a more significant effect on increasing income for higher income groups as well as rural residents. The findings of this paper provide theoretical and practical support for optimizing the design of financial inclusion policies and exploring new drivers of income growth for residents.

In 2016, 1,100 million people lack access to electricity, mainly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America. In these countries, there is a large potential for hydroelectric production through off-grid microgrids, although not fully exploited. This work assesses the long-term sustainability of off-grid microhydro projects operating in rural indigenous communities. More specifically, four sustainability dimensions are analyzed: environmental, technical, socioeconomic and institutional, and specific indicators are proposed for each one. In particular, 6 micro-hydroelectric power plants in southern Venezuela are used as case studies. The data gathering includes surveys, technical visits and interviews with technicians, engineers and beneficiaries. Results show that the institutional dimension and, in particular, alignment between involved institutions has been fundamental for the long-term sustainability. Indeed, appropriate institutional alignment is the key to strengthening the impacts on: (i) the environmental dimension, minimizing emissions and impacts on local ecosystems; (ii) the technical dimension, improving adequacy and reliability of technologies; and (iii) the socioeconomic dimension, making efficient use of electricity to enhance education, health and productivity. Lessons learned and conclusions of this research can significantly contribute to improve future projects, in particular to the 22 included in the electrification plans of Venezuela in coming years. Peer Reviewed

The ninth Sustainable Development Goal advises countries to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. Industry has historically been one of the most important pillars of economic and social development, but traditional resource-intensive and heavily polluting production is no longer sustainable in the face of climate change. If the path of industrial growth is not redirected immediately and effectively, reaching the target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below two degrees celsius, will become unrealizable. The good news is that recent practices demonstrate how industry could be a big part of the solution for climate mitigation and inclusive, sustainable development. The unprecedented task presented in Paris, to decarbonize, globally introduces challenges but also enormous opportunities for industries as they seek a greener path to production while remaining globally competitive. This report helps chart that path to industrial competitiveness through policy and technology interventions that improve industrial operations. At the same time it explores ways that industrial products can become greener through public standards while companies and countries maintain, and even increase, competitiveness. The information is directed toward government leaders, policy makers, and multilateral institutions in the fields of energy, climate mitigation, and sustainable development. The report’s recommendations to policy makers are based on comprehensive case studies and quantitative and qualitative analyses.

SummaryAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID‐19 pandemic has been the greatest challenge to humanity since World War II. Spain is one of the countries experiencing severe consequences from the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak. In such a situation, when the population is quarantined, hospitals are crowded, and industries are shutting down; energy supply becomes a critical and “hard to predict” service. In this way, the study of the impact of COVID‐19 on the selling price of electricity in Spain is highlighted more comprehensively. Given the high level of uncertainty in global energy markets, there is a research gap that needs to be filled, that is, the creation of new decision support mechanisms that can reduce risks and ensure more significant forecasting for investments and energy management to deal with seemingly unprecedented effects experienced through the current pandemic. This study examines and develops econometric models to determine the impact of COVID‐19 on the Spanish electricity market. This article's main result is a framework that predicts the dynamic electricity market's behavior during shifting periods, that is, the COVID‐19 pandemic period. Noteworthy that the result of this article is useful in electricity market management and strategic developments.

The harmonized balance between work and family is tough to reach in modern industrial societies because of increasing demands at work and in family settings. Previous studies analyzed work–family culture and its relationship with employees’ job performance without focusing on specific industries. Paralleled with the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs), this study aims to analyze the relationship between work–family culture and employees’ job performance in selected industries in Malaysia. This study surveyed 336 employees working in four industries in Peninsular Malaysia, and data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using two statistical analyses, i.e., descriptive and inferential statistic multiple linear regression by assisting statistical software, namely SPSS version 26. This study found that organizational time demands, and managerial support have a significant positive relationship with employees’ job performance. Moreover, the career consequences variable does not have a significant effect on employees’ job performance. Therefore, the results provided valuable insights into the work–family culture among employees with family responsibilities. Applied implications for managers are suggested to give full support to the employees while juggling their family matters. This study also contributes to the existing work–family culture literature. After a thorough analysis of this field, the researcher believed that other factors might significantly affect employees’ job performance, such as religiosity, working environment, and integrity in the organizations.