The Role of Nested Institutions in Vocational Training of Solar Energy Entrepreneurs in India Conventional myths such as the poor are misfit to manage smart technologies or women-led rural enterprises generally fall through faster than men have since been broken as evidenced by various empirical studies. In the context of solar energy enterprises managed by... Continue Reading →

Contemporary research in the area of renewable energy-based entrepreneurship has largely ignored studying the effects of women led solar businesses in a regional context, particularly rural areas. While there are studies recognising entrepreneurship as a key instrument in bringing in regional transformation and thereby development, very little insight has been provided to gain an understanding... Continue Reading →

This paper evaluates traineeships, a voluntary programme of work placement and preparation that aims to help young unemployed people in England compete for jobs and apprenticeships. Applying the method of local instrumental variables to administrative data, we estimate the marginal treatment effects on apprenticeship take-up and employment. The heterogeneous impacts are then aggregated to form... Continue Reading →

This paper examines the impact of Alaska's Permanent Fund dividend on crime. The dividend has been payable annually to state residents since 1982 and is the world's longest-running example of a basic income. Initially universal, from 1989 onwards eligibility was withdrawn from an increasing proportion of those in prison. A Bayesian structural time series estimator... Continue Reading →

While all Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) trade routes end in Europe, Europeans remain deeply divided on the issue. There is little appetite for turning away investment but there is an identified need for the strategic oversight and planning of inward and outward investment, which underpins market access. The absence of large-scale state ownership across... Continue Reading →

During the G7 summit in Cornwall, the group of nations unveiled a global initiative to help low and middle-income countries to cover the vast cost of green infrastructure. Intended as a green rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative aims to unlock private capital to invest in projects related to climate... Continue Reading →

What would the effect of a universal basic income be on crime? A new study looks into Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend and suggests that it reduced property crimes. The idea of a universal basic income (UBI)—an unconditional payment, without means-test or work requirement—has recently seen a resurgence of interest. Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton,... Continue Reading →

This paper explores the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in terms of changes in trade costs on trade and consumer welfare in China, the EU, and the rest of the World. We employ a general equilibrium structural gravity approach and conduct a counterfactual analysis. Our key findings are as follows: (i) China and the... Continue Reading →

He wants to work Monday nights but not Tuesday afternoons; she is available on Saturday evenings but not on Sunday mornings… Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises often find it challenging to recruit part-time workers, with abundant choices available to gig workers in different sectors, but the pandemic has vividly demonstrated the nature and depth of insecurity of this form of... Continue Reading →

In recognition of importance and expansion of the gig economy, largely indeveloped and BRICs economies along with the growing literature surrounding it, this research contributes towards an empirical and conceptual understanding of how employee motivation and retention are managed by the mobile-app based multiple payment-enabled carpooling Chinese giant DiDi. Both the exponential usage and evidently... Continue Reading →

Michael S. Baker, M.D. - Rear Admiral, USN (ret), Dr Sebastian Kevany and Dr Deon Canyon and Professor Robert Ostergard Security Nexus: Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies The extent to which other related global relationships, national entities, and supranational organizations have performed in the current case will only be clear in retrospect:... Continue Reading →

Michael S. Baker, M.D. - Rear Admiral, USN (ret), Dr Sebastian Kevany and Dr Deon Canyon and Jacob Baker Security Nexus: Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies The COVID-19 pandemic-induced, shocking collapse of national and international trade, air travel, and tourism have rocked the world, and brought into stark relief the need for... Continue Reading →

Dr Sebastian Kevany and Dr Deon Canyon Security Nexus: Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies While some believe that contact tracing apps produce benefits as soon as users increase above 10 percent of a population, there remain PHI-related shortcomings in these approaches because such apps do not actually measure the circumstances that are... Continue Reading →

Dr. Sebastian Kevany Written for the Irish Global Health Network Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of ways that data or examples from developed countries are likely to help the developing world, and sub-Saharan Africa in particular, in their preparations for the current global pandemic.  There are too many variables in play — not... Continue Reading →

Dr. Sebastian Kevany Written for the Irish Global Health Network In the opinion of one who has witnessed, and participated in, responses to numerous public health emergencies (PHEs) and epidemic outbreaks throughout the world for many years — from Cholera in Zimbabwe; to Ebola in Sierra Leone; to multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in Iraq; to all... Continue Reading →

Dr. Sebastian Kevany Written for the Irish Global Health Network Retrospect is easy, and Ireland’s successes in epidemic control should not be understated: the shape of the country’s mortality curve without interventions compared to what has been achieved would make for interesting viewing, were it possible to hypothesize such a counterfactual. But there nonetheless perhaps... Continue Reading →

This chapter explores how recent moves by western nations to restrict the involvement of Chinese multinational Huawei in 5G telecoms development could give rise to investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) actions. China has been increasing its outgoing foreign investment and is now a player with global aspirations as evidenced in the Belt and Road Initiative... Continue Reading →

This paper follows a quasi-experimental research design to assess the impact of the electronic payment system of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera (POP) programme. The switch from cash payments to electronic payments delivered via savings accounts is found to have medium-term effects on savings decisions, transaction costs, and coping strategies. Overall, the study finds that, following the intervention,... Continue Reading →

This paper reflects on trade institutions across West Africa from the Empirehood to the present day. We found that regional trade institutions were more standardised across West Africa before the current countries gained their independence. We argue that reflection on past trade institutions could provide important guidance for policy makers currently involved in deepening the... Continue Reading →