Anna M. Walker, A. Simboli, Walter J. V. Vermeulen, Andrea Raggi
{"title":"Adopting a socio‐material perspective on life cycle assessment: Environmental impacts of circular tableware systems in Italy's bioplastics context","authors":"Anna M. Walker, A. Simboli, Walter J. V. Vermeulen, Andrea Raggi","doi":"10.1002/sd.2839","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2839","url":null,"abstract":"Life cycle assessment (LCA) is amongst the most frequently used methodologies to identify and evaluate the environmental impacts of the circular supply chain configurations. This article aims to showcase how a socio‐material perspective can increase the embeddedness of such an assessment within inter‐firm networks. A comparative LCA of two circular product systems is conducted, namely single‐use and reusable tableware within a canteen located in northern Italy. To contextualise the LCA, the Actor Network Theory (ANT) is used as an epistemological lens to identify the framing and problematisation of bioplastics in Italy, as well as the power constellation of actors affecting the bioplastics life cycle. The ANT complements the LCA in three ways: firstly, it informs the end‐of‐life modelling of the product systems away from public narratives to the actual waste management practices and secondly, it contextualises the interpretation of the LCA results—in favour of the reuse system—with the socio‐technical factors in Italy. Finally, the socio‐material perspective allows for a discussion on the performative role of LCA in the light of its increasing popularity in the public and private sectors and on its potential to guide more sustainable production and consumption patterns.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"7 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138996436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of renewable energy on economic growth in sub‐Saharan Africa: Role of institutional quality","authors":"Souleymane Diallo, Youmanli Ouoba","doi":"10.1002/sd.2855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2855","url":null,"abstract":"The development of renewable energy is considered as an important step toward sustainable development. In sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries, institutional quality can play an essential role in encouraging investment and implementation of policies favoring renewable energy. This paper examines the role of institutional quality in the effect of renewable energy on economic growth across 25 SSA countries from 2002 to 2018. The results from the dynamic panel threshold model reveal a significant threshold effect of institutional quality on the contribution of renewable energy to economic growth. While renewable energy consumption positively contributes to economic growth, its impact is notably amplified when the institutional quality index, set at 0.304, is above the threshold. Our findings remain robust when altering institutional quality indicators. In terms of economic implications, improving overall institutional quality by promoting good political, economic, and institutional governance could significantly increase the contribution of renewable energies to economic growth in SSA countries.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"69 S6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138998925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Digital development and innovation for environmental sustainability: The role of government support and government intervention","authors":"Qiaozhe Guo, N. Yao, Zhe Ouyang, Yaolei Wang","doi":"10.1002/sd.2854","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2854","url":null,"abstract":"Green innovation plays a crucial role in actualizing environmental sustainability. Although digitalization is acknowledged for its significant contribution to environmental sustainability, existing research has yet to delve deeply into the mechanisms and conditions under which digital development can bolster green innovation. Bridging the resource‐based view and institutional theory, this research examined how digital development impacts green innovation via the offering of financial backing for the proliferation of green technologies, termed as green finance. We also explored the moderating roles of institutional forces, that is, government support and government intervention. We base our analysis on data collated from 30 provinces in China spanning the years from 2012 to 2018 and employ fixed‐effect and random‐effect regression models, alongside a series of robustness tests. Our findings propose that green finance plays a pivotal role in mediating the relationship between digital development and green innovation. We further discerned that while government support amplifies the impact of digital development on green finance, government intervention tends to undermine it. These insights present valuable contributions to the domains of digital development research, institutional theory, and innovation for environmental sustainability and carry practical implications for policymakers striving for environmental sustainability.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"106 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139002143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating the impact of agricultural production efficiency on sustainable development goals in coffee‐producing countries in Africa","authors":"Chih‐Yu Yang, Chung‐Ching Wang, Ching‐Cheng Lu, Yung‐ho Chiu, Shih‐Yung Chiu","doi":"10.1002/sd.2852","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2852","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change has directly impacted coffee‐producing regions in Africa. This study uses the two stage Dynamic Network Directional Distance Function (DN‐DDF) and Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) methods to evaluate the efficiency and productivity changes of agricultural production and sustainable development in 19 African coffee‐producing countries from 2014 to 2018. According to the empirical results, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Liberia, Uganda, and Zambia have the highest overall efficiency. This study has three main contributions: (1) using a two‐stage model to evaluate the impact of agricultural production efficiency on sustainable development efficiency, (2) using a dynamic model with forest area as a cross‐period variable to reflect the real‐world phenomenon of coffee relying on forest mixed planting, and (3) objectively evaluating the impact of extreme weather on agricultural production by using rainfall as an exogenous variable to address previous research shortcomings. The results of this study can promote the improvement of agricultural production efficiency in African coffee‐producing countries and provide important reference value for sustainable development goals.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"362 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138974032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N. Amowine, T. Baležentis, Zhixiang Zhou, Dalia Streimikiene
{"title":"Transitions towards green productivity in Africa: Do sovereign debt vulnerability, eco‐entrepreneurship, and institutional quality matter?","authors":"N. Amowine, T. Baležentis, Zhixiang Zhou, Dalia Streimikiene","doi":"10.1002/sd.2857","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2857","url":null,"abstract":"Improving green productivity (GP) is critical for achieving global sustainable green development. Yet, past efficiency studies on the African continent have ignored Africa's GP, estimation, and driving factors. Specifically, the role of sovereign debt vulnerability, environmental entrepreneurship, and institutional quality in ensuring Africa's green productivity development is lacking. Therefore, this study built a meta‐frontier biennial weighted modified data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to evaluate green productivity across resource‐intensive and non‐resource‐intensive African countries from 2010 to 2019. Further, the study adopted the global Malmquist‐Luenberger productivity index (GML) to investigate the dynamic changes in African green productivity growth. The results suggest that only a few African countries are efficient, implying more room for improvement for the other countries. The heterogeneity of green productivity across the resource's classification exhibits significant disparity. The technology gap also prevails among the two resource classifications of African countries. The GML index indicates that Africa's green productivity is mainly explained by technical change instead of efficiency change. The bootstrap truncation regression suggests an inverted U‐shaped nexus between growth and green productivity in Africa and resource‐intensive countries (RIC). Green environmental entrepreneurship positively affects green productivity in Africa. On the components of institutional quality, we observed that the rule of law positively influences green productivity in non‐resource‐intensive countries (NRIC) and the whole of Africa. In contrast, political stability, government effectiveness, voice and corruption negatively affected green productivity in NRIC. Also, foreign direct investment (FDI) and sovereign debt vulnerability negatively correlate to green productivity in Africa as a whole and NRIC, respectively. The findings of this study aid in raising awareness of green productivity in developing countries, which is crucial in boosting global green development.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"2012 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139001938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nexus between government agricultural expenditures and agricultural credit: The role of sustainable agricultural growth and sustainable agricultural income","authors":"R. Latief, Lei Zhang","doi":"10.1002/sd.2853","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2853","url":null,"abstract":"This study aims to analyze the effects of fiscal expenditures by the government on agricultural credit by considering the mediating role of sustainable agricultural growth and sustainable agricultural income. This study uses panel data from 31 Chinese provinces for the period 2009–2021. For in‐depth analysis, the sample is divided into different regions ‐ eastern, central, and western. For the empirical estimations, the ordinary least squares (OL), fixed effect (FE), random effect (RE), two‐way fixed effect (FE), and two‐stage least‐squares (2SLS) methods are employed. The results of the study demonstrate a significantly positive connection between governmental agricultural expenditures (GAEs) and agricultural credit (AC). The findings of the mediation analysis highlight a significantly positive mediating role of sustainable agricultural income in the association between GAEs and AC. The results of the regional analysis reveal a positive connection between GAEs and AC in all regions. It is recommended that government should increase its investment in the agriculture sector through both direct and indirect means of fiscal support, it can improve the agricultural income of farmers at a sustainable level and the repayment ability of farmers and rural households, and it can make their easy access to AC from banks and other financial institutions.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"40 13","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139006171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiawei Li, J. A. Coca‐Stefaniak, Thi Hong Hai Nguyen, Alastair M. Morrison
{"title":"Sustainable tourist behavior: A systematic literature review and research agenda","authors":"Jiawei Li, J. A. Coca‐Stefaniak, Thi Hong Hai Nguyen, Alastair M. Morrison","doi":"10.1002/sd.2859","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2859","url":null,"abstract":"Sustainable tourist behavior is a rapidly growing field within sustainable tourism. This study contributes to this emerging body of knowledge through a systematic literature review combining bibliometric and qualitative analysis of 331 publications. Key themes in sustainable tourist behavior research, including intended and actual behaviors, were identified with scholarly debates in this field discussed critically. Sustainability topics widely studied in other disciplines have been overlooked from a tourist behavior perspective, including waste classification and recycling, as well as applications of sustainable design to the management of the visitor economy. Additionally, this analysis revealed imbalances in sustainable development practice and research related to the visitor economy and gaps in theory development. This study builds on these findings and discusses an agenda for future research in sustainable tourist behavior. The findings contribute to shaping the conceptualization of sustainable tourist behavior, recognizing its dynamic nature, providing an overview of theories and antecedents, and underscoring the significance of considering diverse factors in future research. They also suggest that decision‐makers in tourism should prioritize understanding tourist sustainable behavior through market segmentation, incorporate design and technology into sustainable initiatives, and align strategies with the specific needs and requirements of tourists for effective and sustainable tourism development.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139006042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohammad Sharif Karimi, Saleh Ghavidel Doostkouei, Mohammed Shaiban, Yalini Easvaralingam, Y. Khan
{"title":"Investigating the role of entrepreneurship in advancing renewable energy for sustainable development: Evidence from a System‐GMM panel data approach","authors":"Mohammad Sharif Karimi, Saleh Ghavidel Doostkouei, Mohammed Shaiban, Yalini Easvaralingam, Y. Khan","doi":"10.1002/sd.2847","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2847","url":null,"abstract":"Entrepreneurship serves as a driving force for the advancement of renewable energy. Entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of innovation, bringing new technologies and business models to the clean energy sector. This study conducts a comprehensive examination of the intricate relationship between entrepreneurship and renewable energy production in 23 developed countries throughout the period from 2000 to 2020. For this purpose, the impact of 11 sub‐index of entrepreneurship on renewable energy production has been estimated. The method is dynamic panel data with the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) technique. After estimating 11 entrepreneurship sub‐indices effects separately on renewable energy production, the impact of each is ranked. The findings showed that the impact rank of 11 sub‐indexes of entrepreneurship on renewable energy production is as follows: Commercial and professional infrastructure (CP), R&D transfer (RD), Physical and services infrastructure (PS), Governmental support and policies (GS), Taxes and bureaucracy (TB), Governmental programs (GP), Internal market openness (MO), Internal market dynamics (MD), Post‐school entrepreneurial education and training (PE), Basic school entrepreneurial education and training (BE), and Cultural and social norms (CS). The importance of Commercial and professional infrastructure (CP) as an entrepreneurship sub‐indices is 2 times more than R&D transfer (RD), so Commercial and professional infrastructure is vital for the development of entrepreneurship that affects the production of renewable energies. This study not only underscores the central role of entrepreneurship in driving the adoption of renewable energy but also provides essential insights into key policy measures to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources. It highlights the urgency of addressing environmental challenges and emphasizes the imperative for collaboration among governments, NGOs, and educational institutions to achieve these critical goals.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"110 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139003687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
V. Schwanitz, Heather Arghandeh Paudler, August Wierling
{"title":"The contribution of European citizen‐led energy initiatives to sustainable development goals","authors":"V. Schwanitz, Heather Arghandeh Paudler, August Wierling","doi":"10.1002/sd.2844","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2844","url":null,"abstract":"Energy communities (ECs) are emerging as vital contributors to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, despite being unnoticed. This article is the first to comprehensively discuss and quantify European citizen‐led energy initiatives' contributions to SDGs 7 (ensure access to affordable and clean energy), 9 (fostering industry, innovation, and infrastructure), and 11 (promote sustainable cities and communities). With SDG7 at their core, these initiatives prioritize sustainable energy systems, aligning with environmental impact reduction, resource efficiency, and social resilience goals. They contribute to SDG9 in energy and ICT sectors through job creation and social and technological innovation. Promoting SDG11 via inclusive engagement, they reinforce democratic principles and preserve cultural heritage. They can leverage their expertise with policy support to aid SDG implementation and serve as a global exemplar, extending impact to SDGs 12 and 17. Our analysis underscores a disconnect between European support for ECs and broader sustainability agendas, hampering effective impact.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"95 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139004239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexis Biringanine Nyamugira, Steffen Flessa, A. Richter
{"title":"Health insurance uptake, poverty and financial inclusion in the Democratic Republic of Congo","authors":"Alexis Biringanine Nyamugira, Steffen Flessa, A. Richter","doi":"10.1002/sd.2841","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2841","url":null,"abstract":"This study estimates the prevalence of health insurance coverage and associated socioeconomic factors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Using the nationally representative household survey of the 2017/2018 DRC Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), we applied weighted logistic regression models to identify regions and subgroups with low health insurance coverage. The study's findings revealed a low insurance coverage of less than 5%, with significant disparities across provinces and socioeconomic status. Additionally, three factors were strongly associated with the low health insurance coverage rates: education, wealth, and financial inclusion proxied by bank account ownership. Consequently, we recommend that the government, the private sector, and donors prioritize programs targeting provinces with less coverage and individuals without formal education to increase health insurance coverage. This study encourages the government to establish national programs to improve financial inclusion, which could positively impact poverty reduction and health insurance coverage. We also propose that the government initiates pilot projects for premium exemptions and through subsidies for vulnerable populations in the short term, and ensure formal employment for the majority of the population in the long term to facilitate the proper collection of premiums for individuals. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on health insurance in the DRC and sub‐Saharan Africa by identifying the socioeconomic factors that explain the prevalence of health insurance coverage. The findings of this study have important policy implications for the government, the private sector, and donors to promote health insurance coverage and achieve universal health coverage.","PeriodicalId":48174,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Development","volume":"24 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138980048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}