• Energy Research
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ABSTRACTThis article attempts to examine the short- and long-run causal relationship between coal consumption and economic growth, using Indonesia as a specific case study. To this end, annual data covering the period 1965–2010 are employed and tests for unit roots, co-integration, and Granger-causality based on error-correction model are provided. The overall results reveal that there exists bidirectional causality running from coal consumption to economic growth with feedback in Indonesia. This implies that an increase in coal consumption directly stimulates economic growth. Thus, in order not to make an adverse effect on economic growth, Indonesia should endeavor to overcome the constraints on coal consumption. Moreover, the study lends support to the argument that an increase in real income touches off increased coal consumption.

Using a discrete/continuous modeling approach, this paper analyzes energy use and consumption in the Philippines within the context of weather variability and gender. Consistent with energy stacking strategy where households use a combination of traditional and modern energy sources, this paper finds that households use multiple energy sources in different weather fluctuation scenarios. It also finds that weather variability has the highest effects on the electricity consumption of balanced and female-majority households that are female headed and in rural areas. Several policies are suggested.

Scarcely explored, intergenerational dialogue may support the re-encounter between generations. Background: Focused on intergenerational sharing and on the identification of differences between generations, the project #GenerationsWithAVoice aims to identify generational inequalities, with the aim of promoting awareness of intergenerational challenges, boosting public debate and interest in public policies. Methods: Twenty focus groups were developed, and an evaluation instrument was applied. Results: (i) Young people believe that they have more knowledge, but less propensity for action, leaving this task to the following generations; (ii) the family and housing emerge as the issues with the greatest number of problems identified, but also as important resources; (iii) government and politics, community and society, and the economy are of less interest and knowledge on the part of this generation; (iv) school seems to be the ideal scenario for the implementation of strategies that lead to change. Conclusions: We highlight the role of this work in the deconstruction of beliefs regarding previous generations, the development of knowledge, and the promotion of cohesion and social support.

China faces growing environmental problems as rapid economic growth comes at the cost of excessive resource consumption. Sustainable development can only be realized by reducing energy intensity. Although some general factors that influence energy intensity have been described, less information is available to compare energy intensity in different regions. Here we use existing literature to assess the effects of three internal factors (economic structure, energy consumption structure, and technological progress) on energy intensity in three regions of China. We use panel data from 2000 to 2009 and find that the effects of each factor differ in each region. We further differentiate these effects by decomposing technological progress into three parts using the DEA-Malmquist approach. We find three components of technological change have completely different effects in each region. Furthermore, these findings are applied to propose relevant suggestions to reduce energy intensity in different regions of China.

As it emerges from the literature, electricity access in rural contexts is deeply intertwined with socioeconomic dynamics. However, the advent of a reliable and sufficient source of electricity is not the sole driver that might contribute to local development. Indeed, complementary activities might have a crucial role in sustaining the development of rural communities as well as the electricity access. The current research addresses the lack of counterfactual scenarios in which the impact of complementary activities on electrification projects can be investigated. The authors introduce the case study of Matembwe village, a rural community in the Njombe region of Tanzania. The data collection includes the electricity consumption, number of electricity connections, and number of income-generating activities in a timespan ranging from 1989 to 2015. The analysis is based on system dynamics. The study considers different scenarios representing the dynamics related to the following complementary actions: access to market measures, access to credit measures, and access to usable skills. On the one hand, the study reveals that the effectiveness of the considered complementary actions is limited except from the access to microcredit which fosters an increase in electricity connections by 17%. On the other hand, both access to microcredit and the starting up of a local cooperative by CEFA Onlus that reinvests its profits in the local market impact the socio-economic dimension by 69% and 22%, respectively.

AbstractSistema Ser is a private health care organization that originated in the volunteer work of its founder and director, Dr. Jorge Gronda, who, over the course of 15years, established structures that turned his personal initiative into a sustainable enterprise. At the time of the case, Dr. Gronda is considering how to lead his organization into its next important development step, further scaling SSer's social impact. The case's core issue is whether or not Dr. Gronda should maintain SSer's current service portfolio but geographically expand the organization in order to reach a large number of remote BOP communities with primary health services, or if SSer should broaden its range of services to cover additional medical procedures offered in San Salvador.

Nuclear technology plays a key role in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a clear mandate and strong technical expertise in the delivery of nuclear medicine and radiotherapy technology to developing countries. The IAEA integrates radiotherapy into comprehensive cancer control and engages with other partners to address cancer control in a holistic way. With strong support from African leaders and heads of key international agencies, the IAEA launched Rays of Hope at the Africa Union summit on World Cancer Day this February. It is an ambitious global initiative that will extend to every region for the initiation or expansion of radiotherapy.

Water, being the basic requirement of life, is important to all living organism, human health and food production. A positive correlation between economic growth and rate of water utilisation has also been observed in a growth model with water as a productive input for private producers [Barbier (2004)]. In addition, high per-capita consumption (PCC) of water is regarded as an indicator of the level of economic development where per-capita water consumption is defined as the average of water consumed by a person in a day. The declining availability of water supply, mainly due to global climate change, is one of the important issues faced by many developing countries at the present time. It is estimated that nearly two third of nations across the globe will experience water stress by 2025.1 Thus, the safety and availability of clean water is an on-going concern within the global village