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Abstract Commercial potential in developing countries has always received a great attention from international investors, but this is not the case in Waste-to-Energy sector. Waste-to-Energy is bound up with various uncertainties rooted in its long-term nature therefore incorporating risks regarding political matters in developing countries makes it more complex. The present study substantiates the incompatibility of classic valuation methods in risky projects. Consequently, to deal with the riskiness of Waste-to-Energy investment in less developed countries, the combination of binomial tree analysis and Decoupled NPV is proposed. The hybrid approach is deployed to value a Waste-to-Energy project in Iran, and all evidence attest to the robustness of the method. The contribution of this paper can open up new vistas for investing in Waste-to-Energy industry, thus abating the catastrophic effects of landfill gas emissions.

The objectives of this study are to: estimate African countries’ Government Openness Index (AGOI) to see the updated progress of open government in those countries, examine which areas African countries should further improve for sustainable development, and compare the performance of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) member countries to that of non-OGP countries in forming AGOI. This study developed the AGOI with 32 selected countries and four factors (ACC (accountability), TRA (transparency), CPF (citizen participation and freedom) and ICT (information and communication technology)) for the period of 2006–2019. The results show that African countries have continuously increased the values of AGOI for the period. ACC has barely changed, but TRA has increased slightly. Both CPF and ICT have increased at higher growth rates during the period. The OGP group reached much better scores than their non-OGP counterparts, with positive differences in AGOI, ICT, CPF, and TRA, except ACC. The results of this study suggest that the constantly increasing CPF and ICT levels in countries that have similar conditions as African countries should be further improved to function well enough to build accountability and transparency. It is also recommended that countries join the OGP in order to move towards improving government openness and creating sustainable development.

This round of Eurobarometer surveys diverged from the Standard Eurobarometer measures and queried respondents on the following major areas of focus: (1) poverty and social exclusion, (2) social services, (3) climate change, and (4) the national economic situation and statistics. For the first major focus, poverty and social exclusion, respondents were queried about their own definition of poverty, the extent of poverty in their area, trends in the growth or decline of poverty in their area and in the world, social and personal causes of poverty and homelessness, and negative effects of poverty. Questions also included the risk of poverty for themselves and others, the importance of governmental wealth redistribution, social tension between groups, trust in individual people, trust in and reliability of institutions in fighting poverty, minimal acceptable living standards, and the level of homelessness in their area. In addition, respondents were queried on their ability to keep their job, the relationship between their job and their family, their own personal aid to help the poor, access to financial services, the respondents' satisfaction with life, and the respondents' own living conditions and income. For the second major focus, social services, respondents were asked about such services as long term care, childcare, public employment, social housing, and social assistance. Questions focused on how much they or others around them use social services, the quality and affordability of social services, preferences for elderly care and childcare, the prioritization of group assistance, and the financing of social services. For the third major focus, climate change, respondents were asked about the seriousness of climate change, governmental attempts to fight climate change, personal actions taken to fight climate change, and the relationship between environmental protection and economic growth. Finally, for the fourth major focus, the national economic situation and statistics, respondents were asked to estimate their country's official growth rate, inflation rate, and unemployment rate, and were asked to give their opinions on the importance and trustworthiness of economic statistics. Respondents were also queried on the employment and economic situations in their country. Demographic and other background information includes left-right political placement, occupation, age, gender, marital status, age at completion of full-time education, household composition, ownership of a fixed or a mobile telephone and other durable goods, internet usage, financial situation, level in society, minority group affiliation, region of residence, type and size of locality, and language of interview (in select countries). face-to-face interviewThe original data collection was carried out by TNS Opinion & Social on request of the European Commission.The codebook and setup files for this collection contain characters with diacritical marks used in many European languages.The documentation and/or setup files may contain references to Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, and Cyprus TCC (the Turkish Cypriot Community), but these countries were not participants in this wave of Eurobarometer surveys. This collection contains no data for Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, and Cyprus TCC.The fieldwork dates in the data file for the Czech Republic and the Netherlands are not consistent with the fieldwork dates in the "Technical Specifications" section of the ICPSR codebook.A split ballot was used for one or more questions in this survey. The variable SPLIT defines the separate groups.Variables for those questions under embargo are not included in this version of the collection. Users should consult the setup files to see which variables are under embargo. A new version of the collection will be released by ICPSR after embargoes are lifted. Citizens of the EU aged 15 and over residing in the 27 EU member countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Smallest Geographic Unit: country Datasets: DS1: Eurobarometer 72.1: Poverty and Social Exclusion, Social Services, Climate Change, and the National Economic Situation and Statistics, August-September 2009 Please review the "Weighting Information" section of the ICPSR codebook for this Eurobarometer study. Multistage national probability samples.

The aim of this study was to identify the attitudes of the public in the United States and in 12 European countries towards foreign policy issues and transatlantic issues. The survey concentrated on issues such as: United States and European Union (EU) leadership and relations, favorability towards certain countries, institutions and people, security, cooperation and the perception of threat including issues of concern with Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia, energy dependence, economic downturn, and global warming, Turkey and Turkish accession to the EU, promotion of democracy in other countries, and the importance of economic versus military power. Several questions asked of respondents pertained to voting and politics including whether they discussed political matters with friends and whether they attempted to persuade others close to them to share their views on politics which they held strong opinions about, vote intention, their assessment of the current United States President and upcoming presidential election, political party attachment, and left-right political self-placement. Demographic and other background information includes age, gender, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation and participation, age when stopped full-time education and stage at which full-time education completed, occupation, number of people aged 18 years and older living in the household, type of locality, region of residence, prior travel to the United States or Europe, and language of interview. computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI); computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI); paper and pencil interview (PAPI)The original data collection was carried out by TNS, Fait et Opinion -- Brussels on request of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.The codebook and setup files for this collection contain characters with diacritical marks used in many European languages.A split ballot was used for one or more questions in this survey. The variable SPLIT defines the separate groups.For data collection, the computer-assisted face-to-face interview was used in Poland, the paper and pencil interview was used in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey, and the computer-assisted telephone interview was used in all other countries.Additional information on the Transatlantic Trends Survey is provided on the Transatlantic Trends Web site. (1) Multistage random sampling was implemented in the countries using face-to-face interviewing. Sampling points were selected according to region, and then random routes were conducted within these sampling points. Four callbacks were used for each address. The birthday rule was used to randomly select respondents within a household. (2) Random Digit Dialing was implemented in the countries using telephone interviewing. Eight callbacks were used for each telephone number. The birthday rule was used to randomly select respondents within a household. The adult population aged 18 years and over in 13 countries: Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Smallest Geographic Unit: country Response Rates: The total response rate for all countries surveyed is 23 percent. Please refer to the "Technical Note" in the ICPSR codebook for additional information about response rate. Please refer to the "Technical Note" in the ICPSR codebook for further information about weighting. Datasets: DS1: Transatlantic Trends Survey, 2008

Biogas is a viable alternative for supplying clean and sustainable energy. Despite all manner of policy measures introduced by the Government of India, biogas is not widely used in India. This article tries to identify factors that influence the decision to adopt biogas at household level. We examine a conceptual framework empirically in which a household wants to maximize utility from biogas by using the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) I, which is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey. By applying both maximum likelihood and penalized likelihood methods (Firthlogit) of logistic regression on a sample size of almost 10,384 households, it has been found that wealthy people are more likely to adopt biogas compared to the marginalized section of the society. We recommend more inclusive policy measures for the weaker section of the society to create an enabling environment to make it a self-promoting technology.

Background: At the beginning of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic attacked the world and affected the continuity of the world economy. This condition also causes oil prices to decline further. OPEC plans a strategy to realize its role as a regulator of the world oil trade. Not only the global economy but the stock market is also affected by the decline in oil prices. Production of shale oil in the United States lowered OPEC oil prices, coupled with economic conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic which worsened the international economy. Aim: The authors examined changes in oil prices due to United States’ shale oil. Method: The qualitative method and literature review were employed in this study. The information was compiled from a variety of documents and other sources. Findings: The United States reduced its reliance on OPEC imports, which resulted in lower OPEC oil prices due to an oversupply and decreasing demand. Along with the Covid-19 epidemic, not only is the global economic collapse growing worse, but the decrease in oil prices in early 2020 is getting worse as well. Finally, the world economy suffered a downturn, which impacted the international capital market.

This chapter focuses on the evaluation of adaptive capacities of community-level human systems related to agriculture and food security. It highlights findings regarding approaches and domains to monitor and evaluate behavioral changes from CGIAR’s research program on climate change, agriculture and food security (CCAFS). This program, implemented in five West African countries, is intended to enhance adaptive capacities in agriculture management of natural resources and food systems. In support of participatory action research on climate-smart agriculture, a monitoring and evaluation plan was designed with the participation of all stakeholders to track changes in behavior of the participating community members. Individuals’ and groups’ stories of changes were collected using most significant change tools. The collected stories of changes were substantiated through field visits and triangulation techniques. Frequencies of the occurrence of characteristics of behavioral changes in the stories were estimated. The results show that smallholder farmers in the intervention areas adopted various characteristics of behavior change grouped into five domains: knowledge, practices, access to assets, partnership and organization. These characteristics can help efforts to construct quantitative indicators of climate change adaptation at local level. Further, the results suggest that application of behavioral change theories can facilitate the development of climate change adaptation indicators that are complementary to indicators of development outcomes. We conclude that collecting stories on behavioral changes can contribute to biophysical adaptation monitoring and evaluation.

AbstractOur results introduce the preferences and attitudes of farmers and the internet-orientated population regarding renewable energy sources (RES) in Kosovo. The research included 243 internet-orientated participants and 30 farmers. The data was gathered through questionnaires (in both groups) and deep interviews (just in farmers). The results showed that the awareness of RES was high for especially solar, wind and hydro energy, the relationship among them was very strong. It was justified that firewood was typically used by respondents with low income, but not considered as renewable energy source, similarly to Hungary and the USA. A special feature of Kosovo is that electricity has very high importance for the man in the street, even for heating. Better education, higher income and environmental-consciousness definitely support better knowledge of RES, similarly to international tendencies. Males and employed participants had more knowledge about RES than females, or unemployed ones. Moreover, the results showed that the participants prefer environment rather than convenience, which is also typical of less wealthy countries. Our results might be useful as a typical less developed country case study for international comparison and helps to eliminate the unknown willingness in RES for the development of future agricultural strategies in Kosovo.

This data collection provides information on characteristics of housing units in 11 selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) of the United States. Although the unit of analysis is the housing unit rather than its occupants, the survey also is a comprehensive source of information on the demographic characteristics of household residents. Data collected include general housing characteristics such as the year the structure was built, type and number of living quarters, occupancy status, presence of commercial establishments on the property, and property value. Data are also provided on kitchen and plumbing facilities, type of heating fuel used, source of water, sewage disposal, and heating and air-conditioning equipment. Questions about housing quality include condition of walls and floors, adequacy of heat in winter, availability of electrical outlets in rooms, basement and roof water leakage, and exterminator service for mice and rats. Data related to housing expenses include mortgage or rent payments, utility costs, fuel costs, property insurance costs, real estate taxes, and garbage collection fees. Variables are also supplied on neighborhood conditions such as quality of roads, presence of crime, trash, litter, street noise, abandoned structures, commercial activity, and odors or smoke, and the adequacy of services such as public transportation, schools, shopping facilities, police protection, recreation facilities, and hospitals or clinics. In addition to housing characteristics, data on age, sex, race, marital status, income, and relationship to householder are provided for each household member. Additional data are supplied for the householder, including years of school completed, Spanish origin, and length of residence. Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Anaheim-Santa Ana, California DS2: Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana DS3: Denver, Colorado DS4: Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas DS5: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida DS6: New Orleans, Louisiana DS7: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania DS8: Portland, Oregon-Washington DS9: Rochester, New York DS10: San Antonio, Texas DS11: San Bernardino-Riverside, California Separate samples were drawn in 11 selected MSAs. The samples were drawn from housing units enumerated in the 1980 Census and updated to include housing units constructed since 1980. The universe consists of all housing units in 11 selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).

Household Surveys performed in four villages selected from Oromia, Amhara and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) following from the ‘Ethiopian Rural Household Survey’ (ERHS) conducted in 2004.It contains detailed data on household consumption and expenditures, assets, income, agricultural activities, land allocation, demographic characteristics, and other variables. From September 2011 to January 2012 another survey of 221 households was conducted in three major regions of central and southern Ethiopia. At the time of this latest survey effort the most recent ERHS survey data available was from 2004. The selection of respondents, determination of sample size, and apportionment of the sample were based on a proportional sampling technique.In addition to addressing important questions from the ERHS survey data, the field survey was designed to generate detailed information on household biomass energy production and consumption practices; as well as farming activities; labour and land allocation; economic and demographic characteristics; and expenditures on food, non-food items, and energy. The 2011 survey effort collected detailed household biomass energy use data. The measurement of household biomass energy use was obtained in traditional units and later converted into kilograms. The conversion factors for each of the biomass were collected from the closest urban centre of each of the study areas. Information obtained on household biomass energy use was collected for a time period of one week before the survey was conducted. It was then aggregated into annual figures, although household biomass energy use may vary seasonally. Quality/Lineage: The data was collected by qualified enumerators who had participated in previous ERHS survey. In addition to myself I recruited assistant supervisor to check the accuracy and quality of data on daily basis and followup interview process closely. Before the survey commenced a pilot survey was conducted in each of the study areas to identify the different types of energy households are using and other critical variables of interest for the research. This information was used to revise and improve questionnaire. Moreover, a one day in-depth training was given to enumerators and assistant supervisor to enrich their deeper understanding of each the question in the survey and to further improve questionnaire from their earlier experiences in those villages. Purpose: Over 90% of Ethiopian rural population rely on biomass energy. However, biomass energy utilization is linked to household livelihood as in rural households produce and consume biomass energy simultaneously with other (on and off-farm)activities. With the rampant rate of deforestation that Ethiopia is facing it is important to investigate the effect of deforestation or fuelwood scarcity which is assumed affect household welfare through influence on wage and price. In light of this, the survey effort collected information on household use of biomass energy sources, expenditure and labour allocation choices and amount of labour time used for each activities.This helped me to investigate the effect of fuelwood scarcity on household welfare from three aspects: labour allocation decision, energy expenditure and fuel choice and biomass energy consumption behavior to better understand the related linkage of household production and utilization of biomass with livelihoods or food security. This dataset was first published on the institutional Repository "Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung: ZEF Data Portal" with ID={c08e08aa-3055-4651-801b-0383610c1987}.