Energy efficiency and China’s sustainable carbon neutrality target: evidence from novel research methods quantile on quantile regression approach

Since the last few decades, scholars and policy-makers have been struggling to find ways to achieve carbon neutrality target or a low carbon economy. To contribute to the existing literature regarding the said issue, this study aims to investigate whether energy efficiency could lead to achieving carbon neutrality target in the case of China. Also, this study analyses the association of economic growth to energy-related greenhouse gas emissions while using quarterly data over the period from 1990Q1 to 2014Q2. Empirical findings of the study suggest the mixed order of integration and Cointegration between economic growth, energy efficiency, and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. This study employed a Quantile-on-Quantile regression approach to examine the long-run association at various quantiles. The estimated results asserted that energy efficiency holds a weaker relationship in the lower and medium quantiles, while relatively higher association to energy-related emission in the upper quantiles. On the other hand, economic growth and its squared are found significantly and highly associated with enhancing energyrelated emissions in the country. Besides, the frequency domain causality indicates a causal association running from energy efficiency and economic growth to energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. This study recommends revised policies for energy efficiency and suggests that economic growth could be used as a remedial measure for environmental recovery by enhancing investment in the renewable energy sector, energy efficiency, and structural transformation of the industrial sector

Analysis of the relationship between structure and performance of inter-organizational collaborative networks

Cada vez mais, as empresas têm percebido as vantagens de estabelecerem alianças umas com as outras, formando redes. Essas vantagens podem estar ligadas aos mais variados objetivos, que são mensurados por diferentes indicadores de desempenho. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo a determinação das características estruturais que são mais adequadas, considerando uma série de possíveis indicadores de desempenho, para uma rede interorganizacional colaborativa. Para tal, foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico-exploratório em duas bases de dados, e utilizada uma abordagem qualitativa para sistematizar as informações encontradas. Como principal resultado deste trabalho, foi construído um quadro teórico que sistematiza a relação entre a estrutura e o desempenho de uma rede. Acredita-se que este artigo possa servir como uma contribuição inicial para um campo de pesquisa ainda pouco explorado

Sustainability improvement opportunities in Brazilian sectors: analysis of DEA slacks

The concept of sustainable production used in Camioto et al. (2014) evaluates the efficiency of Brazil’s industrial sectors from 1996 to 2009, taking into account energy consumption and respective contributions to the country’s economic and social aspects. In this article a replication of the performance of these sectors is conducted (Textile, Foods and Beverages, Chemical, Mining, Paper and Pulp, Nonmetallic and Metallurgical), from 1996 to 2010, with an in-depth analysis regarding the slacks between the current and the target performance in each variable relating to the sustainability analyzed. To determine these slacks, the SBM model of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method was used with the window analysis. The variables analyzed were energy consumption and fossil-fuel carbon emissions (inputs) and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per sectors, the persons employed and personnel expenses (outputs). The results showed that the variables which need the most changes to improve performance in all the sectors are the variables ‘persons employed’, followed by ‘fossil-fuel carbon emissions’, ‘Personnel expenses’, ‘Energy consumption’ and ‘GDP by sector’. It is expected that this study may provide a basis for future research and strategies to be implemented in other countries in order to guide the implementation of a more sustainable industrial policy

Analysis of the Brazilian pharmaceutical retail market: main characteristics, players and successful practices / Análise do mercado farmacêutico brasileiro: principais características, atores e práticas de sucesso

The Brazilian retail pharmaceutical market is going through an extremely important moment. The accelerated growth presented in recent years tends to remain, leading Brazil to become one of the five largest markets worldwide in the short term. In addition, although still very fragmented, the market is experiencing a gradual consolidation process. Such transformations and outlooks, along with the economic context of the country, create high level of interest from investors and other stakeholders. This chapter answer the following questions: What is the economic relevance of the Brazilian pharmaceutical retail market, its main characteristics and perspectives? Which are the players in this market? Which are the main brands, their characteristics, performances and successful practices? What would be the strategy recommendations for a player's success considering the current market momentum? The method was based on literature review and a semi-structure interview with a senior executive of a main player. Overall, the main players have been obtaining good operational and financial performance. These companies have different characteristics in regards to financial performance, footprint, positioning, number of stores, and operation of retail outlets, among others. They also feature numerous strategic initiatives, which are analyzed in order to identify good market practices and recommendations for success, touching on topics such as expansion, store format, customer service, management and growth mechanisms. The results of this chapter were partially presented before by Fernandes at al. (2016). Therefore, we believe this chapter is useful to business managers and investors in this market (generating better understanding and enabling more conscious strategic analysis) as well as academics studying it (as it serves as a reference for future studies).

Effects of an adapted physical activity program on the physical condition of elderly women: an analysis of efficiency

Background: Specific research tools and designs can assist in identifying the efficiency of physical activity in elderly women. Objectives: To identify the effects of physical activity on the physical condition of older women. Method: A one-year-long physical activity program (123 sessions) was implemented for women aged 60 years or older. Four physical assessments were conducted, in which weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate, absences, grip strength, flexibility, VO2max, and static and dynamic balance were assessed. The statistical analyses included a repeated measures analysis, both inferential (analysis of variance - ANOVA) and effect size (Cohen's d coefficient), as well as identification of the participants' efficiency (Data Envelopment Analysis - DEA). Results: Despite the observation of differences that depended on the analysis used, the results were successful in the sense that they showed that physical activity adapted to older women can effectively change the decline in physical ability associated with aging, depending on the purpose of the study. The 60-65 yrs group was the most capable of converting physical activity into health benefits in both the short and long term. The >65 yrs group took less advantage of physical activity. Conclusions: Adherence to the program and actual time spent on each type of exercise are the factors that determine which population can benefit from physical activity programs. The DEA allows the assessment of the results related to time spent on physical activity in terms of health concerns. Article registered in Clinicaltrials.gov under number NCT01558401

An assessment of biomass supply chain : a DEA application

Renewable energy generation reduces carbon emissions and responds to the targets for renewable energy sources of most EU countries; it also enhances infrastructure resilience and creates flexibility of the energy matrix. However, the availability of biomass may drastically differ from country to country within the EU. In most cases, the most challenged countries to achieve high targets for sustainability are not those with a sufficiently large supply of biomass. Because of this, it is necessary to design new biomass supply chain networks and improve the existing networks. This paper aims to assess the efficiency of biomass alternative pathways of the supply network from South America to Europe. In this particular work, three scenarios of biomass using two transportation systems were investigated, i.e., transportation of wood logs, pellets and torrefied biomass in the country of origin by truck and train transportation. Efficiency was measured using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model derived from CCR. The results present the most efficient supply chain alternatives and highlight the feasibility of establishing closer cooperation between Brazil and countries in Europe for green energy generation. This information can assist in the process of planning and decision-making to determine the practicability of the implementation of torrefaction facilities using the most efficient logistical pathway

Os Determinantes do Consumo Alimentar Domiciliar: uma comparação entre estratos de renda no Brasil pelos dados da POF de 2008/2009

Em diversas partes do mundo, boa parte da fome e desnutrição foi superada nas últimas décadas. Isto colocou um novo desafio para os formuladores de políticas públicas: qual a qualidade nutricional e dietética das classes sociais mais pobres? A fim de contribuir com esta questão, o objetivo deste artigo é analisar os determinantes do consumo alimentar domiciliar, comparando a probabilidade do consumo de alguns tipos de alimentos entre os pobres e as demais classes sociais no Brasil, por meio dos dados da última Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF) de 2008/2009. Foram avaliadas quais são as características de cada domicílio que afetam a probabilidade de ele consumir algum tipo de alimento. Por meio de um modelo lógite, verificou-se que os pobres tendem a ter menor probabilidade de comprar em determinada semana frutas, legumes, verduras, tubérculos e raízes, quando comparados com as classes média e alta. Por outro lado, foi possível observar maior consumo de aves, ovos e carne bovina de segunda. Este resultado demonstra a importância de políticas públicas que proporcionem a melhor distribuição de alimentos frescos e com maior valor nutricional

PARCERIAS PÚBLICO-PRIVADAS (PPPS) UMA ALTERNATIVA PARA O DESENVOLVIMENTO EM INFRA-ESTRUTURA NO CENÁRIO BRASILEIRO

O objetivo do presente trabalho é identificar as principais contribuições internacionais de experiências bem sucedidas em Parcerias Público-Privadas (PPPs) que possam colaborar na sua implementação no Brasil. Caracteriza, exploratoriamente, a utilização de PPPs na Irlanda e no Chile. Optou-se pela Irlanda, pois trata-se de um país integrante de um continente precursor da implementação das PPPs, que conta com uma forte colaboração da Comissão Européia na prática das PPPs. E, pelo Chile por ser um país da América do Sul, com necessidade de infra-estrutura, que conta com experiências de sucesso de utilização de PPP, além de aproximar-se da realidade brasileira. Este trabalho possui como método o tipo qualitativo, com objetivo exploratório-descritivo, apresentando uma estratégia com estudo de caso com dados secundários. As informações são concentradas na experiência da Irlanda e do Chile, com a apresentação da utilização das PPPs no setor de transportes (rodovias)

COVID Health Structure Index - The vulnerability of Brazilian microregions

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