Journal of International Development最新文献

This research explores the challenges faced by UNICEF in implementing the Triple Nexus framework, which integrates humanitarian, development and peacebuilding efforts. By focusing on the internal divide between its humanitarian and development sectors, the study reveals how cultural and institutional barriers impede a cohesive strategy. Through ethnographic and institutional analysis, the findings highlight the persistence of siloed operations despite policy reforms. The research advocates for organizational transformation, emphasizing the need for improved collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and flexible frameworks. These changes are critical for UNICEF to align its operations and more effectively address complex crises that intersect conflict, development and humanitarian needs.

This study examines how embeddedness in global value chains (GVCs) affects the potential for national export structural transformation using country-sector level data during the 2000–2014 period. The empirical results indicate that increased GVC participation and position positively impact the potential for export structure transformation. However, the length of the GVC production chain has a negative effect. The results reveal that improving technological capability and value-added capacity contributes to cultivating the potential for structural transformation among GVC participants. However, extending the production chain may mitigate the positive effects of value-added capability improvements and impede structural transformation potential.

We analysed the impact of industrial robots on Chinese cities' environment during 2006–2018, using data on pollution emissions and the stock of industrial robots. Urban usage of industrial robots is linked to reduced environmental pollution emissions. This effect is stronger in cities with pilot emission rights, in cities located in SO2 pollution control zones and in larger metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1 million. Industrial robots help reduce urban pollution emissions by substituting labour, increasing productivity, encouraging green technology innovation and transitioning toward efficient energy consumption. Combining industrial robots and policies in China can incentivize enterprises to reduce environmental pollution and foster balanced economic and environmental development.

This study examines household livelihood strategies and outcomes in conflict areas of northeastern Ethiopia. One-way analysis of variance and linear regression models were used to analyze data. The findings revealed that crop incomes of rural households decreased by 47% during the conflict compared to peace times. Income from small-scale employment of households had also decreased by > 74% from the preconflict period. The regression result found that sensitivity to conflict significantly and negatively affected households' livelihood incomes. Governments and battling factions are advised to avoid armed clashes and minimize human sufferings and losses of livelihood assets, strategies, and outcomes.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of women on corporate boards on intellectual capital efficiency and business performance in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Ghana. A longitudinal panel data regression analysis was conducted using data from 31 publicly listed companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) over the period 2009–2022, yielding a dataset of 434 observations, followed by a two-stage least squares (2SLS) analysis to address potential endogeneity issues. The findings indicate that intellectual capital efficiency significantly and positively influences business performance. However, the study found no statistically significant effect of female representation on corporate boards on business performance. These results suggest that policymakers and corporate leaders should prioritize enhancing intellectual capital efficiency by investing in employee training, fostering innovation, and optimizing knowledge management systems, as these have a demonstrated positive impact on performance. Moreover, the study highlights the need to reevaluate diversity initiatives aimed at increasing female representation on corporate boards. Such initiatives should move beyond numeric targets to include structural and cultural changes that empower diverse leadership to contribute meaningfully to organizational success. This underscores the importance of integrated strategies that combine diversity efforts with broader measures to leverage intellectual and human capital for sustainable business growth.

The peace negotiations between the FARC-EP and the Colombian government from 2013 to 2016 aimed to end years of violence, loss of life, destruction of infrastructure and social fragmentation. This study uses the synthetic control method to analyse the impact on Colombia's real GDP per capita growth, controlling for economic, demographic and institutional aspects. The main results show that since 2014, Colombia has experienced a higher growth rate than its synthetic counterpart, reflecting a permanent change in the expectations of economic agents since the beginning of the peace process.

The active implementation of low-carbon practices by enterprises is essential for achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality (“dual carbon”). These low-carbon practices are reflected not only in the greening of resource inputs but also in the low-carbon performance at the output level. Therefore, this study uses carbon cost calculations as a link and combines them with the relationship between inputs and outputs to conduct a multidimensional evaluation of the carbon performance of industrial enterprises from the perspective of low-carbon transformation. The findings indicate that: (1) From 2010 to 2021, the carbon performance levels of Chinese industrial enterprises displayed a stable upward trend. (2) Across various dimensions from 2010 to 2021, notable achievements in the low-carbon economic dimension were observed in terms of environmental investment and green invention patents, while there remains considerable room for optimising carbon costs. In the environmental management dimension, a disconnect persists between enterprises' environmental awareness and their low-carbon actions; however, there is a gradual increase in the enthusiasm for environmental certifications, and significant progress has been made in implementing emergency response mechanisms. Regarding low-carbon emission reduction, enterprises have significantly enhanced their pollution prevention capabilities, yet improving the energy consumption structure remains a critical challenge for achieving low-carbon production. In the low-carbon social impact dimension, while media and public oversight, as well as government environmental penalties, exert a deterrent effect on corporate environmental governance, their overall effectiveness is insufficient and requires strengthening. (3) From the overall annual performance of various indicators from 2010 to 2021, environmental investment and the implementation of the “three simultaneous” system received notably high scores of 0.055166667 and 0.0403524, respectively, underscoring their significant roles in enhancing the carbon performance levels of Chinese industrial enterprises. In contrast, the penalty degree received the lowest score of 0.0000939, indicating that the government's environmental penalty mechanisms need further improvement and enforcement. These research findings can provide a decision-making foundation for the national dual carbon strategy and support enterprises in achieving sustainable development goals while offering a Chinese perspective for international emissions reduction.

The study examined whether FinTech reduces gender gap in access to finance in sub-Saharan Africa. The study adopts a battery of econometric techniques in analysing the relationship between the two variables. Specifically, the study adopts the ordinary least square (OLS), the two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) to address the issues of endogeneity and simultaneity feedback and Driscoll and Kraay's consistent covariance matrix estimator to control for every form of cross sectional and temporal dependence in panel data. The study finds that FinTech increases gender asymmetry in access to finance in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the study also reveals that reducing the gender gap in digital inclusion can help to reduce the gender gap in access to finance in sub-Saharan Africa. The results also indicate that government quality and education are important determinants of gender access to financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa. One main economic implication of our findings is that the deployment of FinTech alone will not reduce the gender gap in access to finance in sub-Saharan Africa, rather in addition to FinTech, the gender gap in digital inclusion must be adequately addressed. The research and policy implications are discussed.