Does corruption matter for sources of foreign direct investment?

The paper provides a cross-country empirical analysis of the impact of corruption on foreign direct investment flows. The gravity model augmented with joint effects of corruption in the origin and destination countries determines differentiated patterns of investment flows between countries with various level of control of corruption. The estimates point towards greater investment flows between countries with good control of corruption. Moreover, if control of corruption in the destination country improves, investment flows from cleaner countries rise more than they do from countries with a higher incidence of corruption. The resulting changes in composition of investment volumes towards more investment from cleaner countries may further reinforce the strengthening of economic and political institutions that keep corruption in check

Real Rigidities and Optimal Stabilization at the Zero Lower Bound in New Keynesian Economies

The paper revisits the literature on real rigidities in New Keynesian models in the context of an economy at the zero lower bound. It identifies strategic interaction among price- and wage-setting agents in the economy as an important determinant of both optimal policy and economic dynamics in deep recessions. In particular, labor market segmentation is shown to have a significant influence on the length of the forward commitment to keep interest rates at zero, the magnitude of the fiscal policy responses as well as inflation volatility in the economy under optimal policy

The UK mortgage market and credit conditions: macro-, micro and policy perspectives

The mortgage market plays a crucial role in the UK economy. It enables hundreds of thousands of consumers every year to buy their homes or to refinance existing mortgages. In this thesis, we try to understand the mortgage market and general credit conditions, from macro-, micro- and policy perspectives. First, we look at the mortgage market from a macro angle. We aim at identifying the relative role of demand and supply conditions in driving the erratic evolution of UK mortgage credit. We aim at distinguishing demand from supply using a disequilibrium econometric model to then compare and contrast credit cycles for the past 20 years. We found that the periods of recession coincide with credit rationing and the periods of economic growth coincide with excess supply. Second, we look at the mortgage market from a micro perspective. In particular, we analyse the role of mortgage intermediaries and whether their incentives are misaligned with consumers they serve in terms of finding the best deal. For example, mortgage intermediaries need to spend time and resources to identify the right product for the borrower in terms of price, suitability and likelihood of approval by the lender. Lenders pay commissions (procuration fees) to intermediaries potentially distorting incentives of the intermediaries. Moreover, borrowers have little information or do not have tools to compare intermediaries. So we analyse how the price of similar mortgage products for like-for-like consumers varies across intermediary firms and what the drivers of the dispersion are. We find that the difference in average price of mortgage products can be as high as £800 over the incentivised rate period for the median loan amount. We find little evidence that intermediaries selling highly priced mortgages also receive high procuration fees and that the average price of the mortgages an intermediary sells is negatively correlated with the number of lenders used. Third, we evaluate impacts of the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) policy that aims at reducing risks of financial instability in the economy by limiting excessive household leverage in mortgages and unsustainable credit growth. It recommends that "mortgage lenders do not extend more than 15% of their total number of new residential mortgages at Loan to Income ratios at or greater than 4.5". We are interested in understanding whether it has any impact on consumers in terms of the redistribution consequences and price. The paper finds that after implementation of the recommendation the average loan size for high LTI mortgages increased by 4-7%. This suggests that lenders originated high LTI loans for borrowers with higher incomes. As a result, we find robust evidence of changes in composition of high LTI borrowers: 1) an increase in the proportion of home movers; 2) a decrease in the proportion of first-time buyers; 3) an increase in the proportion of joint income applicants. After implementation, although the overall proportion of high LTI mortgages to the total number of sales in the market stays around 10%, lenders’ individual exposure to high LTI mortgages changed. Some lenders, whose share of high LTI mortgages had been closer to the 15% limit, reduced their proportion of high LTI. In contrast, some lenders that previously had a low share of high LTI mortgages increased their proportion of them. After controlling for borrower, product, and lender characteristics, we find that post-implementation the mortgage price for high LTI mortgages on average decreased. The fall in the mortgage price was stronger for lenders that used to be closer to the 15% constraint. Fourth, we take a step back and look at the monetary and fiscal policies in the context of New Keynesian models with real rigidities and an economy at the zero lower bound. In this chapter, we are particularly interested in identifying optimal fiscal and monetary policies under strategic interaction among price- and wage-setting agents under zero lower bound. We found that the optimal length of the forward commitment concerning interest rates at the zero bound and key outcomes such as the magnitude of expected inflation or the depth of the recession under optimal policy depend crucially on the assumed degree of real rigidity in the model. In addition to simple parametric assumptions, more fundamental structural assumptions about the nature of the labour market play an important role in this regard. Labour market segmentation and the presence of staggered wage adjustment were shown to have particularly significant consequences for the type of policy one might wish to implement in an economy hit by a large shock that depresses demand. In those circumstances, it is a good idea for governments to lean against the wind in two different ways. First, an increase in government spending when output is low (and vice versa) stabilises output (and prices) but this policy can be justified almost wholly with reference to static public finance considerations. Second, an increase in taxes when output is low (and vice versa) stabilises prices via their impact on marginal cost. The results interact in interesting ways with the initial conditions in the economy. With higher inherited debt, fiscal sustainability considerations matter more for monetary and tax policy and the explained differences across market structures grow larger

High performance freestanding composite cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries

A freestanding sulfur/dehydrogenated polyacrylonitrile/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite (S/DPAN/MWCNT) was prepared by a simple vacuum filtration of a mixture of S/DPAN composite and MWCNT suspensions, and studied as a cathode for high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Pedagogical Conditions for the Formation of Moral Education of Elementary Schoolchildren by Means of Didactic Literature Works

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify the pedagogical conditions for the formation of the moral education of elementary school children with psychological characteristics using didactic works. Background: Parenting and education are integral parts of the development of society. In this connection, moral education in elementary school is a prospect for the development of Kazakhstani society as a whole. Method: The main research methods were content analysis, generalisation and concretisation, theoretical analysis of scientific, pedagogical and methodical literature, pedagogical experience. Results: In the course of the study, the organisational forms of the educational process, the selection of didactic works in the discipline "Literary reading" of grade 4 were analysed and generalised. The pedagogical conditions for the formation of the moral education of elementary school students (general, private and specific), as well as the methods of moral education (verbal, practical and visual), are determined. The types of didactic works (stories, legends, poems, proverbs and instructive words) were analysed, and characters that educate morality were identified. Conclusion: It was found that the specifics of the pedagogical conditions for the formation of the moral education of elementary school students with individual mental characteristics lie in the specifics of the discipline itself, the content of didactic works, tools and the results of the teacher's work with schoolchildren, which is reflected in the level of morality of schoolchildren, that is, on the object of formation

Oil Spill Cleanup from Sea Water by Porous Sorbents

Sorbents were produced on the basis of rice husk, rubber crump and apricot stone by carbonization. They all possessed a high sorption capacity for oil and oil products. With the use of these sorbents an oil overflow was experimentally removed from the surface of the river Syrdarya (Kyzylorda). Results showed that the oil sorption capacities of carbonized rice husk, rubber crumb and apricot stone were 18, 14 and 7 g/g, respectively. The material obtained by carbonization of rice husk has very good buoyancy characteristics, high oil sorption capacity and high hydrophobicity. The effects of contact time, water temperature, amount and type of sorbents on the oil sorption capacity of the carbonized sorbents were further studied on the basis of microstructure and morphology using optical digital microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of the SEM and optical microscopy studies strongly indicate that carbonization is a suitable method for improving the porous structure of the sorbents particles compared to the virgin samples. This research provides the basis for the development of a new environmental material with optimal characteristics, providing efficient sorption of oil and oil products from an aqueous medium

Relevance of Environmental Surveys on the Design of a New Municipal Waste Management System on the City of Kokshetau (Kazakhstan)

[EN] The increasing amount of municipal solid waste is one of the most urgent problems for many countries in the world, including Kazakhstan. In 2021, a new environmental code was adopted in the country. In accordance with this code, some types of garbage (such as plastic, paper, cardboard or glass) are not accepted at sanitary landfills. Besides this, a separate collection system of municipal solid waste in Kokshetau is practically absent, and only a few points for the collection of secondary raw materials are currently available. The state bodies are faced with the task of introducing dual waste collection technology. This work shows the results obtained by a sociological online survey performed among the residents of the city in order to identify their attitudes with respect to the separation and classification of waste. This survey allowed us to study the level of environmental awareness and interest in solving waste-related issues in the population of Kokshetau. The results show that the majority of the population is concerned about the problem of municipal waste management and is ready to cooperate on the classification of waste at the original source. Additionally, it was revealed that the survey participants have weak environmental knowledge, so it is necessary to conduct environmental education activities for the population. The existence of a statistically significant relationship between the variables under consideration in terms of the Pearson Chi-squared criterion was observed.This research was funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, grant number IRN: AP09259015 included in the grant financing of scientific and scientific and technical projects for 2021-2023 with a period of implementation of 36 months. Project topic: Development of technology for the efficient processing of organic waste using the thermophilic fermentation method to produce biological fertilizers.Bayazitova, ZE.; Rodrigo-Ilarri, J.; Rodrigo-Clavero, M.; Kurmanbayeva, AS.; Safronova, NM.; Belgibayeva, AS.; Zhaparova, SB.... (2022). Relevance of Environmental Surveys on the Design of a New Municipal Waste Management System on the City of Kokshetau (Kazakhstan). Sustainability. 14(21):1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114368116142

LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES FOR LOW-TEMPERATURE APPLICATIONS: LIMITING FACTORS AND SOLUTIONS

Modern technologies used in the sea, the poles, or aerospace require reliable batteries with outstanding performance at temperatures below zero degrees. However, commercially available lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) show significant performance degradation under low-temperature (LT) conditions. Broadening the application area of LIBs requires an improvement of their LT characteristics. This review examines current challenges for each of the components of LIBs (anode, cathode, and electrolyte) in an LT environment. In addition, it discusses the possible modification methods and practical solutions for better LT performance of the battery. Finally, several research flaws are pointed out for LT LIBs that deserve greater attention, and tackling them might result in LIBs being operable at ultra-low temperatures

Enabling the ability of Li storage at high rate as anodes by utilizing natural rice husks-based hierarchically porous SiO2/N-doped carbon composites

One of the greatest challenges in developing SiO 2/C composites as anode materials in lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is to improve the ability of Li storage at high rate over long-term cycles. Herein, biomass rice husks-based hierarchically porous SiO 2/N-doped carbon composites (BM-RH-SiO 2/NC) were prepared by ball mill and thermal treatment. BM-RH-SiO 2/NC can still retain a reversible capacity of 556 mAh g −1 over 1000 cycles at a high current of 1.0 A g −1. At 5.0 A g −1 the capacity is kept as high as 402 mAh g −1. This impressively long-term cyclic performance and high-rate capability of BM-RH-SiO 2/NC can be ascribed to the synergetic effect between the natural SiO 2 nanoparticles (< 50 nm) and the NC layer. The coating NC layer can not only effectively mitigate the volume strain during charge-discharge process to offer stably cyclic performance but also improve the electrical conductivity. Furthermore, the hierarchical porosity and better electrolyte wettability offer the rapid Li + diffusion and electron transfer, which enhance the pseudocapacitive behavior of whole electrode material and then guarantee fast electrochemical kinetics. Importantly, the unique Li-storage mechanism of active SiO 2 in BM-RH-SiO 2/NC composite was formed and found, which further validates the improved electrochemical capability