The COVID-19 pandemic had disruptive consequences for MENA countries’ agri-food value chains that exacerbated poverty and jeopardized food security. This study examines the relationship between individuals’ perception of contracting COVID-19 and their experience of food insecurity, using longitudinal data from the Combined COVID-19 MENA Monitor Household survey. It also investigates the underlying mechanisms of COVID-19 concerns and explores coping strategies employed by households to identify vulnerabilities in food security. The results provide compelling evidence of a strong association between individuals’ concern about the virus and various dimensions of food security, particularly reduced purchasing power and decreased meal frequency. Notably, this association follows an inverted U-shaped curve, with food insecurity initially increasing as worry grows, but declining after individuals contract the virus. High levels of concern were also linked to significant income decreases and worsening economic conditions. Moreover, individuals with higher concerns were more likely to rely on specific coping strategies, particularly spending savings and obtaining funds from relatives or friends. These findings underscore the need for government interventions during disease outbreaks and economic downturns to focus on alleviating individuals’ worry and fear to facilitate informed decision-making that minimizes food insecurity consequences. Additionally, the findings emphasize the need to strengthen social protection systems during public health and economic challenges to ensure food security for vulnerable populations.

Analysis of the unconditional impacts of foreign direct inflows (FDIs) and industrialization on energy intensity does not show the hidden roles of some economic conditions such as income and trade openness. In this study, we focused on the conditional impacts of FDIs and industrialization on energy productivity using a panel data consisting of thirteen (13) East African countries covering 1980–2011. The baseline result shows that higher income and a well-integrated economy are pro-energy productive, but FDIs and intense industrialization are anti-energy productive in the sub-region. This result remains robust even when we exclude the high income group and control for income group effects. Income significantly promotes energy productivity more in low income group than middle income group. Intense industrialization and FDIs significantly decreases energy productivity only in low income countries. Trade openness significantly promotes energy productivity only in middle income group. We have shown that FDIs and income, intense industrialization and FDIs, and intense industrialization and globalization are complementary forces that promote energy productivity in East Africa but this is more evident for the middle income group than the low income group in the sub-region. Based on the result, we recommend a quadruplet programme called the “Growth, Industrial, Foreign investment and Trade programme” (GIFTP). Last, our result suggests that unconditional analysis of energy productivity should not be seen as an end in itself but a basis for further analysis.

This study contributes to the literature on whether financial development stimulates technical energy efficiency (TEE) or not, by addressing core biases that creep into the relationship and thereby reducing the ability to draw causal inferences from financial development to TEE. Our approach is based on the instrumental stochastic frontier technique, where biases in the frontier and inefficiency equations are dealt with using external instrumental variables. The legal system origin of the country and life expectancy at birth were used as instruments for financial development and income, respectively. The current study demonstrates substantial bias in income elasticity, the estimate of energy efficiency, and the effect of financial development on energy efficiency. Both income elasticity and energy efficiency estimate risk upward bias. Equally, the effect of financial system development and financial institution development on TEE risk downward bias. Other results show that all aspects of financial institution development stimulate TEE, but access to financial institutions is more important. These results raise caution about future studies' estimates of the effect of financial development on TEE. Though this study has demonstrated the potency of external instruments in dealing with the bias in the coefficient estimates, we consider this might prove to be a luxury solution in some cases due to data limitation, context differences, and theory. In those circumstances, reliance on internal instruments might prove to be the second-best option.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 emphasizes the need for economies around the world to double their efforts in energy efficiency improvements. This is because improvements in energy efficiency can trigger economic growth and considered as one of the ‘green’ growth strategies due to its carbon free content. To this end, some empirical studies have investigated the nexus between economic growth and energy efficiency, but the effects of the latter on financial indicators have not been sufficiently studied in the literature, at least in developing economies like Africa. This study examines the effect of energy efficiency improvements on commercial bank profitability under different political regimes (i.e., autocratic and democratic political regimes); something previous literature had neglected. The study uses panel data, consisting of 43 African countries and the simultaneous System Generalized Method of Moments. We found that energy efficiency improvement is more likely to induce higher bank profitability in political institutions with the characteristics of centralization of power compared with those with decentralization of power. Furthermore, for the banking sector, the findings suggest that energy utilization behavior of clients should be included in the loan or credit valuation process. For the government, the agenda of energy efficiency should be aggressively pursued while taking cognizance of creating a political environment that weans itself from a ‘grandfathering’ behavior.

This policy note provides a snapshot of water and sanitation measures implemented by governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 14 countries in the Global South: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Panama, South Africa, Uganda and Vietnam. We find that many countries have taken action to stop utility disconnections due to non-payment. With the exception of Ghana and Vietnam, few countries are instituting new water subsidy programs, and are instead choosing to defer customers’ bills for future payment, presumably when the pandemic recedes and households will be able to pay their bills. It is easier for the utilities’ COVID-relief policies to target customers with piped connections who regularly receive bills. However, the situation for unconnected households appears more dire. Some countries (e.g., Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda) are attempting to provide unconnected households temporary access to water, but these households remain the most vulnerable. This health crisis has accentuated the importance of strong governance structures and resilient water service providers for dealing with external health, environmental and economic shocks.

This thesis compiles five papers that independently cover issues on multifunctional forest, migration and climate change. Paper I addresses these questions: What is the effect of site quality on forest growth rate and variability in forest growth? How does site quality impact on ecosystem services, that is, timber production and carbon sequestration? Site quality indicator was found to positively affect forest growth and growth rate, and decreases uncertainty in the productivity. Using dynamic optimization model, Paper II estimates the economic value of site quality taking into account its interaction with timber value and carbon sequestration in Swedish forest. Analytical results showed that net present value when considering ecosystem services provided by the forest and its interaction with site quality is higher than in the case without site quality interaction. Paper III links educational attainment to internal migration decisions with much on rural-urban perspective using Ghana as a case study. The effect of educational attainment on migration decisions in 2005/2006 for urban in-migrant was found to be higher than the effect for rural in-migrant, with its significance varying for the different stages of educational attainment. In absolute terms, whereas the effect of secondary educational attainment on migration decisions for urban in-migrant is higher than for rural in-migrant, the reverse holds for higher educational attainment during the period 2012/2013. Paper IV examines the effect of climate element on internal migration decisions using similar methods and data as for Paper III. Whereas temperature positively affects the probability to migrate, aridity index negatively affects migration decisions. Individuals tend to move to the rural areas relative to urban areas with an increase in precipitation and or a decrease in aridity. Paper V explores the effect of climate variability and socio-economic factors on the number of infectious disease patients in Sweden. Temperature showed a linear negative effect on the number of patients, but a non-linear relationship when winter temperature is used. Conversely, a positive effect of precipitation on the number of patients is found, with modest heterogeneity in the effect of climate variables on the number of patients across disease classifications observed. Socio-economic factors were found to correlate with number of patients. We found significant persistence in the number of infectious disease patients but found only temperature and income as dominant drivers in a dynamic model.

The current share of sub-Saharan Africa in global carbon dioxide emissions is negligible compared to major contributors like Asia, Americas, and Europe. This trend is, however, likely to change given that both economic growth and rate of urbanization in the region are projected to be robust in the future. The current study contributes to the literature by examining both the direct and the indirect impacts of quality of institution on the environment. Specifically, we investigate whether the institutional setting in the region provides some sort of a complementary role in the environment-FEG relationships. We use the panel two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to deal with the simultaneity problem. Data consists of 43 sub-Saharan African countries. The result shows that energy inefficiency compromises environmental standards. However, the quality of the institutional setting helps moderate this negative consequences; countries with good institutions show greater prospects than countries with poor institutions. On the other hand, globalization of the region and increased forest size generate positive environmental outcomes in the region. Their impacts are, however, independent of the quality of institution. Afforestation programs, promotion of other clean energy types, and investment in energy efficiency, basic city infrastructure, and regulatory and institutional structures, are desirable policies to pursue to safeguard the environment.

Albeit, governments have instituted strong containment measures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns of continuous local spread and economic impact of the virus are impacting global food chains and food security. This paper investigates the effect of concern about the i) local spread and ii) economic impact of COVID-19, on the change in the amount of food and necessities bought in twelve Sub-Sahara African countries. In addition, we examine if these effects are channeled through food worries. The study uses a unique survey dataset by GeoPoll collected in April 2020 (first round) and May 2020 (second round) and employs a multinomial logit and generalized structural equation models. We find significant effect of concern about COVID-19 on change in the package size of food and necessities bought, which is heterogeneous across gender group and rural-urban divide. Our results reveal that concerns of COVID-19 might be promoting stockpiling behavior among females and those with no food worries (due to having sufficient money or resources). This if not properly managed could in the medium to long-term affect the food supply chain, food waste and exacerbate food worries problem especially for already food deprived homes. We discuss the policy implications.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of education on migration decisions focusing on rural and urban in-migrants by comparing the 2005/2006 and 2012/2013 rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS5 and GLSS6). After correcting for selectivity bias, the authors observed that anticipated welfare gain and socio-economic variables such as sector of employment, sex, experience, age, educational level and marital status significantly affect an individual’s migration decision.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors made use of Sjaastad’s (1962) human capital framework as a basis for examining the impact of education on migration. The migration decision equation was based on the Heckman two stage procedure.

Findings: While educational attainment is observed to have a positive effect on migration decision in the period 2005/2006, the authors find a negative effect of educational attainment on migration decision in the period 2012/2013. The effect of educational attainment on migration decision in 2005/2006 for urban in-migrant is higher than the effect for rural in-migrant, with its significance varying for the different stages of educational attainment. In absolute terms, whereas the effect of secondary educational attainment on migration decisions for urban in-migrant is higher than that of rural in-migrant, the reverse holds for higher educational attainment during the period 2012/2013.

Social implications: Based on the mixed effect of education on migration decision as evident from the study, policies to enhance the educational system in Ghana should be complemented with job creations in the entire country. Moreover, special attention should be given to the rural sector in such a way that the jobs to be created in the sector do not require skilled workers. With quality education and job creation, the welfare of individuals living in urban and rural areas will be enhanced.

Originality/value: In spite of the importance of education in migration decisions, there is scanty literature on the rural-urban dimension. To the best of the author’s knowledge there is no literature in the Ghanaian context which examines the rural and urban perspective of the impact of education on migration with a much recent data. Further, the author consider how the determinants of migration decision have changed over time focusing on rural and urban perspectives.

Biodiversity and species conservation are among the most urgent global issues. Both are under serious threat because of human intrusion and as a result, it is likely that present and future projects will affect threatened and endangered species. Thus, it is important to account for these impacts when evaluating and conducting cost and benefit analyses of projects. Due to their public good character and non-tradability, the total economic value of threatened and endangered species cannot be reflected by a market price and therefore, alternative approaches (stated preference method) are needed to determine their monetary value. This paper reviews and compares the valuation literature on threatened and endangered animals and conducts a meta-analysis regression to identify explanatory variables for the variation in willingness to pay for threatened and endangered species. The main findings of the meta-analysis show that the interaction of the level of threat and charisma have a positive effect on willingness to pay. Furthermore, developed countries have a higher willingness to pay compared to developing countries. Similarly, visitors of conservation sites have higher willingness to pay than residents. The provided example of a benefit transfer of the estimated function shows the practicability of our results.

This article examines the effect of commercial bank performance on an indicator of energy efficiency (i.e. energy intensity) while controlling for the mediating effect of political institution. To achieve this goal, the study develops a theoretical model based on the neoclassical theory of the firm that links energy efficiency to bank sector development, and a unique bank-based data by Andrianova et al. (2015) for 43 Sub-Saharan African countries from 1998 to 2012. The principal component analysis is used to derive a composite bank-based development index from different bank balance sheet performance indicators- return on asset, asset quality, bank capitalization, managerial inefficiency and financial stability. The two-stage system generalized method of moment (Sys-GMM) technique was used. The results reveal that, both in the short- and long-run, improved banking performance fosters energy efficiency improvements in sub-Saharan Africa, but this is compromised by democracy (institutional quality). Thus, to achieve energy efficiency improvements, specific initiatives should be implemented to boost the development of the banking sector while also ensuring that democratic governance in the sub-region weans itself off things that impede the progress of the real sector. More ambitiously, creating a Green Bank may be necessary to stimulate energy efficiency investments in the sub-region.

Because the main modes of transmission of the COVID-19 virus are respiration and contact, WHO recommends frequent washing of hands with soap under running water for at least 20 s. This article investigates how the level of concern about COVID-19 affects the likelihood of washing hands frequently in sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss the implication of the findings for water-scarce environment. The study makes use of a unique survey dataset from 12 sub-Saharan African countries collected in April 2020 (first round) and May 2020 (second round) and employs an extended ordered probit model with endogenous covariate. The results show that the level of concern about the spread of the virus increases the likelihood of washing hands with soap under running water for a minimum of 20 s at least five times a day. The increase in the probability of handwashing due to concern about COVID-19, ranges from 3% for Benin to 6.3% for South Africa. The results also show heterogeneous effects across gender- and age-groups, locality and various water sources. However, in Africa, the sustainability of the handwashing protocol could be threatened by the severe water scarcity that exists in the region. To sustain frequent handwashing, sub-Saharan Africa needs an effective strategy for water management and supply.

This paper uses robust econometric methods to estimate the determinants of non-performing loans (NPLs) with a specific focus on the role of the 2007–2009 financial crisis in explaining NPLs in the banking industry of Ghana. Findings suggest that non-performing loans are significantly affected by bank-specific, industry, and macroeconomic variables. We observed heterogeneity in the determinants of NPLs for sub-samples of the data. The effect of the financial crisis on NPLs is observed to be conditional on the level of credit risk in our sub-sample analysis. The results from the impulse response corroborate that of the regression estimation.

Many studies on the link between climate variability and infectious diseases are based on biophysical experiments, do not account for socio-economic factors and with little focus on developed countries. This study examines the effect of climate variability and socio-economic variables on infectious diseases using data from all 21 Swedish counties. Employing static and dynamic modelling frameworks, we observe that temperature has a linear negative effect on the number of patients. The relationship between winter temperature and the number of patients is non-linear and “U” shaped in the static model. Conversely, a positive effect of precipitation on the number of patients is found, with modest heterogeneity in the effect of climate variables on the number of patients across disease classifications observed. The effect of education and number of health personnel explain the number of patients in a similar direction (negative), while population density and immigration drive up reported cases. Income explains this phenomenon non-linearly. In the dynamic setting, we found significant persistence in the number of infectious and parasitic-diseased patients, with temperature and income observed as the only significant drivers.

To secure future universal access to modern energy, large investments in renewable energy technology are required. This paper estimates the impact of five banking sector performance indicators (return on asset, market capitalisation, asset quality, managerial efficiency and financial stability) on renewable energy consumption for a global panel consisting of 124 countries. The study used two-step system-GMM panel model to handle potential endogeneity and serial correlation. The paper considers three homogenous subpanels which are constructed based on the income group classification (high-, middle-, and low-income countries). Generally, our results show that improved banking sector performance enhances renewable energy consumption, with heterogenous effect across income group classification. For high -income (HI) countries, an increase in bank size together with improved asset quality and managerial efficiency have positive effects on renewable energy consumption. For middle-income (MI) and low-income (LI) countries, a high return on asset, an increase in bank size and financial stability are positive determinants of renewable energy consumption. We also find heterogenous effect of banking performance indicators across various renewable energy consumption types. The results highlight the importance of a well-functioning bank sector to achieve the investment in renewable energy needed to meet future energy demand and simultaneous decrease CO₂ emissions.

This paper provides a holistic literature review of climate change and variability in Ghana by examining the impact and projections of climate change and variability in various sectors (agricultural, health and energy) and its implication on ecology, land use, poverty and welfare. The findings suggest that there is a projected high temperature and low rainfall in the years 2020, 2050 and 2080, and desertification is estimated to be proceeding at a rate of 20,000 hectares per annum. Sea-surface temperatures will increase in Ghana’s waters and this will have drastic effects on fishery. There will be a reduction in the suitability of weather within the current cocoa-growing areas in Ghana by 2050 and an increase evapotranspiration of the cocoa trees. Furthermore, rice and rooted crops (especially cassava) production are expected to be low. Hydropower generation is also at risk and there will be an increase in the incidence rate of measles, diarrheal cases, guinea worm infestation, malaria, cholera, cerebro-spinal meningitis and other water related diseases due to the current climate projections and variability. These negative impacts of climate change and variability worsens the plight of the poor, who are mostly women and children.

Introduction

Public perception of the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to six other major public health problems (alcoholism and drug use, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, lung cancer and respiratory diseases caused by air pollution and smoking, and water-borne diseases like diarrhea) is unclear. We designed a survey to examine this issue using YouGov’s internet panels in seven middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in early 2022.

Methods

Respondents rank ordered the seriousness of the seven health problems using a repeated best-worst question format. Rank-ordered logit models allow comparisons within and across countries and assessment of covariates.

Results

In six of the seven countries, respondents perceived other respiratory illnesses to be a more serious problem than COVID-19. Only in Vietnam was COVID-19 ranked above other respiratory illnesses. Alcoholism and drug use was ranked the second most serious problem in the African countries. HIV/AIDS ranked relatively high in all countries. Covariates, particularly a COVID-19 knowledge scale, explained differences within countries; statistics about the pandemic were highly correlated with differences in COVID-19’s perceived seriousness.

Conclusions

People in the seven middle-income countries perceived COVID-19 to be serious (on par with HIV/AIDS) but not as serious as other respiratory illnesses. In the African countries, respondents perceived alcoholism and drug use as more serious than COVID-19. Our survey-based approach can be used to quickly understand how the threat of a newly emergent disease, like COVID-19, fits into the larger context of public perceptions of the seriousness of health problems.

Like the rest of the world, African countries are reeling from the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19. The continent’s governments have responded by imposing rigorous lockdowns to limit the spread of the virus. The various lockdown measures are undermining food security, because stay at home orders have among others, threatened food production for a continent that relies heavily on agriculture as the bedrock of the economy. This article draws on quantitative data collected by the GeoPoll, and, from these data, assesses the effect of concern about the local spread and economic impact of COVID-19 on food worries. Qualitative data comprising 12 countries south of the Sahara reveal that lockdowns have created anxiety over food security as a health, economic and human rights/well-being issue. By applying a probit model, we find that concern about the local spread of COVID-19 and economic impact of the virus increases the probability of food worries. Governments have responded with various efforts to support the neediest. By evaluating the various policies rolled out we advocate for a feminist economics approach that necessitates greater use of data analytics to predict the likely impacts of intended regulatory relief responses during the recovery process and post-COVID-19.

While both unemployment and underemployment are the two main forms of underutilisation of human resources in Ghana, much of the policy attention has always been focused on unemployment. Ironically, unemployment rates (for both the youth and the elderly) in Ghana appear among the lowest in the world. For youth aged 19-24 years, the unemployment rate is highest at 9.15% in this age group compared to the unemployment rate of Ghana’s total working age population which averages at 3.6%. Out of all the unemployed working age persons, youth do make up a high unemployed proportion at 40% (under the strict definition). That is about 280,000 youth between the ages of 15-24 out of approximately 700,000 working age persons who are economically active and who were unemployed in 2006.

In further analysis of employment industries, one finds Ghana’s largest employer remains the agricultural sector. Within this agricultural sector, the majority, particularly the working youth (15-24 year olds), are absorbed under the informal sector. Youth identified as employed are also found helping unpaid in the household and the „older youth‟ (ages 19-24) over time rise to become their own-account worker. This therefore renders underemployment the main form of labour absorption especially for the youth in Ghana. Many youth are found without any formal written contract before starting work with employers. Of the youth who are identified as working, 10.33% between ages 15-18 have no formal education. Nevertheless, the majority of youth, nearly 2.3 million in 20061, are identified as economically inactive, which includes many young people who stay in school to gain some form of formal education including some secondary schooling. Apart from the major employer being the agricultural sector, the next major employer for youth is the services sector followed by manufacturing. The services sector includes: sales and retail and community, social and personal services. A greater proportion of young women than men were found in the manufacturing and wholesale and retail sectors.

It is against this background that many development experts see the emerging business process outsourcing (BPO) sector as a potential source of gainful employment for youth. Ghana’s BPO subsector is growing rapidly due to Ghana’s steps through the government to partner in the e-Ghana programme. This programme intends to improve the enabling infrastructure for BPO and create visibility and public awareness for its BPO industry. There are also government training facilities to provide upskilling of potential workers who will be prepared for Ghana’s BPO sector. Ghana’s rising adoption of mobile phones and internet is also an encouraging sign towards opening an ICT sector of employment which can absorb some of the underemployed youth of Ghana. Better monitoring of the progress of the BPO sector in Ghana is suggested to understand how the industry absorbs underemployed youth.

Policy: In a population with high, unpaid youth employment in the agricultural sector, the transition from the agricultural to the services-based sector may need further thought. Will agricultural households have their unpaid youth household members transit into services sector work and if so, how will they cope? Adequate bridging training programmes may be necessary to allow for those at least with a minimum primary education to have opportunities in the emerging BPO field. Furthermore, of the youth majority who are economically inactive and still in school, the transition plans could be further firmed to ensure they are employable within the BPO sector. While informal employment is very common worldwide, policy plans are suggested to ensure that the BPO sector encourages work to be developed within a formal sector framework which provides protection to and lowers risks taken on by workers, especially the vulnerable youth.

The depletion of resource reserves will cause stagnation of socio-economic development in resource-based cities. The formation of new sources of economic growth in resource-depleted cities can profoundly change the structure of human activities and affect the environment. The Chinese government has established a list of resource-depleted cities in three batches since 2008 to support these cities in finding new sources of economic growth. The article analyzes the impact of the regeneration process of resource-based cities on ecosystem quality. The paper constructs an inter-city panel dataset covering 281 cities from 2003 to 2018. The article valued the habitat quality of Chinese cities. Habitat quality index and normalized vegetation index were used to measure the long-term and short-term ecological impacts of economic recovery in resource-based cities. Using a difference-in-difference technique, the results show that the central government's economic support for resource-based cities significantly improves the condition of urban ecosystems. However, the long-term ecological effects are still smaller than the short-term changes in ecosystems. The transmission path of support policies affecting the ecological quality of cities depends on the shift in industrial structure and economic scale at the provincial level. In addition, urban-rural differences, regional distribution, and resource endowment also significantly affect the ecological effects of supportive policies.

As in other ecosystems, provision of ecosystem services from forests is uncertain because of stochastic weather conditions. In general, society is risk-averse, which means that factors increasing or decreasing the uncertainty in ecosystem services add a source of cost or value to society, measurement of which is lacking in the literature. This article suggests a method for calculating the impact of site-specific ecological conditions in Swedish forests on the economic value of uncertain ecosystem services in terms of timber and carbon sequestration. Applying econometric tools from economics and finance to time-series forest data in Sweden reveals that a site quality indicator adds positively to forest growth rate and decreases uncertainty in forest productivity and associated provision of ecosystem services. The importance of site quality is demonstrated by showing that a marginal increase in site quality can raise the economic value of timber and carbon sequestration by 9% and that neglecting uncertainty can underestimate the value of the contribution by 12%. These findings indicate that management practices improving site quality have the potential of raising the total economic value of forest ecosystem and stabilizing its volatility.

Several studies have shown the economic value of various ecosystem services provided by the forest. However, the economic value of how site-specific ecological conditions interact with other functions provided by the forest, such as timber value and carbon sequestration, has been less studied. As a result, this paper constructs a numerical discrete dynamic optimization model to estimate the economic value of site quality, taking into account its interaction with timber value and carbon sequestration, in Swedish forests. Analytical results show that the inclusion of the interaction of site quality with forest growth affects the optimal volume of harvest per year, compared to the case without consideration of site quality. The empirical results show that net present value, when considering timber values plus carbon sequestration and site quality interaction, is higher than the case where only timber and carbon sequestration were considered. However, the calculated net present value is sensitive to, in particular, the price of carbon sequestration and discount rate.

In recent decades, Egypt has experienced rapid internal migration movements triggered by urbanization, socioeconomic development, and environmental changes. From a literature perspective, few scholarly studies have empirically examined the drivers and welfare impacts of internal migration in Egypt, despite the increasing recognition of its inextricably links to urban sustainability. The present study utilized data from two waves of an Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS) conducted in 2012 and 2018 and consisting of 63,909 observations to examine factors that determine internal migration decisions and their subsequent welfare effects. The results of the two-stage Heckman selection model indicate that both the determinants of internal migration decisions and welfare outcomes differ appreciably depending on migration stream as well as the socioeconomic characteristics of the migrants. In particular, females were found to be more likely to migrate from rural to urban areas, lending support to the growing literature on the “feminization of migration” in developing countries. The OLS regression results, after correcting for self-selection, make a strong case for the positive welfare gains from internal migration in Egypt. Specially, we found that the welfare gains for older and female migrants are much higher than other age and gender groups. A comparison of the welfare effects between different migration streams shows that all migratory movements were associated with positive and statistically significant welfare gains, except for rural-to-urban migration that was surprisingly found to be associated with significant welfare loss for the migrants. Urban-to-urban migration was found to have the strongest welfare enhancing effects on all migrant groups. The empirical findings underline a number of research and policy implications for a sustainable management of internal migration in Egypt and other countries with similar internal migration trends.

This study investigates the association between individuals’ concern about contracting COVID-19 and their compliance with recommended preventive and mitigation measures, namely wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing and handwashing, in the context of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The empirical analysis is based on a panel dataset from the Combined COVID-19 MENA Monitor Household Survey, which was carried out in Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Egypt. Applying a probit estimation technique, a positive and statistically significant association was found between the level of COVID-19 worries and individuals’ compliance with the mitigation measures. Notably, the results revealed that this association followed a “first-up-then-down” trend, showing that compliance with the three mitigation measures rose as individuals’ worries about contracting the virus increased, and then markedly decreased after they had been infected. Sociodemographic characteristics contributing to lower levels of compliance included being male, being over 60, having lower levels of education and having a lower household income. A cross-country analysis revealed remarkable differences between the five countries, with the strongest association between COVID-19 concerns and adherence to mitigation measures observed in Tunisia and Sudan, and the weakest association seen in Jordan and Morocco. Policy implications are outlined for effective risk communication and management during disease outbreaks and public health emergencies to encourage appropriate public health behaviours.

The general policy prescription for resource-rich countries is that, for sustainable consumption, a greater percentage of the windfall from resource rents should be channeled into accumulating foreign assets such as a sovereign public fund as done in Norway and other developed but resource-rich countries. This might not be a correct policy prescription for resource-rich sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, where public capital is very low to support the needed economic growth. In such countries, rents from resources serve as an opportunity to scale-up the needed public capital. Using a panel data for the period 1990–2013, we find in line with the scaling-up hypothesis that resource rents significantly increases public investment in SSA and that this tends to depend on the quality of political institutions. Moreover, we also find evidence of a positive effect of public investment on economic growth, which also depends on the level of resource rents.

This paper replicates and extends the study by Martey (2019) by investigating the effect of house ownership patterns and rental status on energy choices for lighting and cooking within the context of Rwanda. Unlike Ghana, Rwanda has a unique house ownership policy which could have implications on the findings of Martey (2019). As an extension, our study explores the heterogeneous effect of tenancy on energy choices across gender of households’ heads and households’ geographical location (rural–urban). Using a bivariate probit model and the fifth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey data of Rwanda, we find that rental status and dwelling type have varying effects on cooking and lighting fuel choices. Our results show that renters relative to owner-occupants in urban households are more likely to use transition fuels like charcoal for cooking than in rural areas. The result for lighting energy is, however, inconclusive for rural and urban households. We find that female-headed households are more likely to adopt cleaner cooking energy choices. The study only partly supports the energy ladder hypothesis which suggests how evidence does not always provide conclusive support of this hypothesis.

The relationship between consumer confidence in food safety measures for vegetables sold in open markets and their use of safe food handling practices in the domestic environment was investigated for a set of 332 randomly sampled vegetable consumers within the suburbs of Accra, Ghana. More specifically, the confidence of consumers in twelve food safety measures employed by farmers, middlemen and traders was assessed, together with the frequency of treatment of vegetables with salt or vinegar and whether or not vegetables were stored in a hygienic and ventilated place. The results suggest that the level of consumer confidence in food safety measures along the value chain of vegetable production influences their food safety actions. Principal component analysis identified two factors determining confidence: (a) cleanliness and contact exposure, and (b) safe practices related to water, pesticides and fertilisers in production and general hygiene at the selling point. Structural equation modelling showed that confidence was significantly related to the cleanliness and contact exposure component (path coefficient = 0.41, p = 0.002), but only indirectly to the safe production practices and hygiene component (r = 0.71). Moreover, confidence then directed storage (path coefficient = 0.54, p < 0.001), but impaired use of salt or vinegar (path coefficient = −0.29, p = 0.0015). Furthermore, multinomial logit modelling revealed a significant association between delayed vegetable consumption and frequency of treatment of vegetables with salt or vinegar before cooking or eating (χ2 = 13.2, p < 0.05). It also showed that the marginal effects of changes in the two principal components of confidence operated differently for groups of consumers who differed in their combined use of storage and treatment. These findings have implications for food risk communication and actions to improve local conditions under which food is sold.

This paper contributes to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) literature, which posits an inverted U-shaped relationship between pollution and income, but from a spatial perspective. We explore several spatial statistical and econometric analyses to account for spatial dependence in emissions from carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter (2.5 and 10) and total suspended particulates between all 290 Swedish municipalities. Our results suggest the EKC significantly holds for all but one pollutant (i.e. carbon monoxide) and that this relationship is significantly characterized by spatial dependence. Specifically, we find significant neighbourhood effects as well as significant positive economic spillovers at low income which turns negative at high income on both within and inter-municipality air emissions. Our results and hence implications suggest transboundary pollution control policies aimed at abatement would be more effective through enhanced coordination between adjacent municipalities.

Agricultural price distortion which is the discrepancy between world market price of agricultural produce and price received by farmers as a result of market interventions by governments, either through subsidies or taxes or even trade protection systems, has received rare attention in the cocoa and coffee sub-sectors. This study examines the contribution of mobile phone technology in reducing price distortions in cocoa and coffee production. In addition, we tested stylized facts such as the development paradox, resource abundance, and group-size effect in agricultural price distortions literature. The findings suggest that access to mobile phones reduces the extent of price distortions. The effect of mobile phone usage on the extent of price distortion, the nominal rate of assistance, and relative price margin is conditional on internet connectivity. Whereas our results support the development paradox and group-size effect hypotheses, the resource abundance hypothesis is not supported. Based on our results, policies that seek to reduce the cost of telecommunication, increase competition in the telecommunication industry, and increase economic growth would go a long way to reduce price distortion in the cocoa and coffee industries.

Mining projects across the globe face controversy over the loss of community welfare, particularly to the detriment of vulnerable groups. However, few studies have analyzed how extractive activities affect community and individual welfare from a national micro-scale perspective. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study examines how mining activities impact the well-being of surrounding communities and the loss of livelihoods and health experienced by vulnerable groups within communities. The results showed that mining caused 18.5% of income loss and 13.6% of health loss among community residents. Vulnerable groups suffer more than the average community member. For example, women lost 28.1% more personal income than men. Differences in the ability of different groups in the community to resist adverse shocks from mining also exacerbate the level of inequality within the community. Mining has led to a 1.7% increase in community inequality. Communities close to mining activities have a higher poverty incidence than others (33.9% increase). However, the impact of extractive industries is spatially heterogeneous due to geographic, cultural and economic differences. In some areas resource extraction has contributed to community well-being (i.e., mountainous areas). These findings encourage decision makers to adopt more flexible resource management mechanisms.

Since agriculture is responsible for a considerable share of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), this paper examines the impact of various carbon taxes designed to incentivize environmentally friendly food consumption patterns in four European countries: Finland, Italy, Sweden, and the UK. As the proposed fiscal policies are likely to affect food consumption patterns, the study also assesses the consequent changes in diet quality and welfare. The results from this analysis reveal considerable variations in the reduction of GHGE across countries and tax schemes. While most taxation schemes have only a modest impact on dietary quality, these effects differ among nations. Additionally, the welfare cost of the compensated scheme is relatively small but not insignificant. These findings raise questions about the efficacy of a common European fiscal policy for climate mitigation compared to a more flexible approach where each member state calibrates the tax according to its unique circumstances.