Capital flows and current account sustainability: The Ghanaian experience

Both theoretical and operational definitions of current account sustainability show a persistent and fragile current account balance (deficit) for Ghana. This has created a financing gap in the Ghanaian economy, typically filled by capital inflows, in particular aid. Even as Ghana depends to a large extent on aid inflows it has tended to be procyclical. It is evident from the analysis that current account sustainability in Ghana is very sensitive to donor flow dynamics rather than trade flows. To make Ghanaian current account deficits sustainable a more stable and predominant trade contribution is required. Remittances from abroad are of increasing importance since 2000 and are relatively stable and counter-cyclical, and if managed can contribute to current account sustainability

Exchange rate dynamics and monetary integration in the EAC contries

A major challenge for most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is the evaluation of the exchange rate. This is more so in the East African Community (EAC) where macroeconomic and exchange rate management has been in particular challenged by massive foreign aid inflows partly as a result of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and other debt reliefs. In addition; improved macroeconomic management in the last decade attracted both short and medium to long term inflows to the region, as foreign investors turn to developing and emerging economies for yield. In this paper we estimate the fundamental equilibrium exchange rate (FEER) model for all the countries in the EAC and we assess the convergence of existing exchange rate regimes in the EAC. Our main contribution is that this exercise may contribute as a useful background for the ultimate decision of which exchange rate management framework will best fit the region during the transition period to monetary union

Real exchange rate response to capital inflows: A dynamic analysis for Ghana

One of the most challenging problems in developing countries such as Ghana is exchange rate management, that is, 'getting the exchange rate right' especially in the context of exchange rate misalignment. The major research and policy question is what constitutes the equilibrium real exchange rate (ERER) and how can it be measured? Acknowledging the importance of fundamentals in determining the equilibrium real exchange rate, the paper concentrates on the effects of capital inflows (by decomposing capital inflows into official inflows, 'permanent' inflows and 'non-permanent' inflows). Vector Autoregressive (VAR) techniques are used to model the long-run equilibrium real exchange rate in Ghana, and based on a multivariate orthogonal decomposition technique, the equilibrium steady state path is identified which is used in estimating misalignments. As predicted by the Dutch Disease theory, results indicate that capital inflows tend to appreciate the real exchange rate in the long-run. Capital inflows is the only variable generating real appreciation in the long-run; technology change, trade (exports) and terms of trade all tend to depreciate the real exchange rate. The only variable that has a significant (depreciating) effect on the real exchange rate in the short-run is trade, implying that changes in exports are the major driver of exchange rate misalignment. It is also shown that the real exchange rate is slow to adjust back to equilibrium, implying policy ineffectiveness or inflexibility

A Scientometric Review of System Dynamics Applications in Construction Management Research

Construction management can be regarded as a complex and dynamic system. In recent years, system dynamics (SD) has been widely applied to solve the complex and dynamic problems in the construction management. However, there is a lack of a scientometric analysis to investigate SD applications in construction management from an objective perspective. To fill out this research gap, this study retrieved a total of 222 relevant articles from the Scopus database. Then, VOSviewer was employed to analyze the collected literature from five aspects (i.e., co-authorship, published journals, co-occurring keywords, article citations, and regions). Based on the analysis results, four mainstream research themes were identified and discussed, including “risk management”, “waste management”, “energy management”, and “construction productivity”. In addition, future research directions, such as “construction risk allocation in PPP projects”, “evaluating the economic feasibility of construction waste landfilling centers”, “identifying the variables affecting lighting infrastructure energy consumption”, and “assessing construction productivity for technology-intensive activities”, were proposed. The contribution of this study lies in that it helps both scholars and practitioners to solve the complex and dynamic problems in construction management

Organizational leadership and employee well-being in the construction industry:a bibliometric and scientometric review

Purpose: The construction industry (CI) has been identified as one of the most challenging sectors for stakeholders to achieve organizational success. Although previous studies had examined both organizational leadership (OL) and employee well-being (EWB) in the CI, a bibliometric and systematic analysis of published articles is hitherto lacking. Therefore, this paper aims to conduct a bibliometric and scientometric review of published articles related to OL and EWB in the CI between 2008 and 2022. Design/methodology/approach: A three-step method consisting of a bibliometric analysis, a scientometric analysis and an in-depth discussion were used. A total of 1,114 articles met the inclusion criteria. All articles were retrieved from the Scopus database. Findings: The results present an in-depth discussion of the research publication trends, keywords co-occurrence analysis, document analysis and countries/regions analysis. This review paper identified three main research gaps in OL and EWB in the CI, namely, project management, technology innovation and people orientation. It also proposes “OL-EWB in the CI”' mechanisms and a theoretical framework to guide future research directions. Originality/value: This review paper theoretically fills the gap in the lack of research summarizing OL and EWB in the CI and provides research gaps and trends for achieving a win-win situation for both companies and employees

A scientometric analysis and critical review of digital twin applications in project operation and maintenance

PURPOSE: Recent emerging information technologies like digital twin (DT) provide new concepts and transform information management processes in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Although numerous articles are pertinent to DT applications, existing research areas and potential future directions related to the state-of-the-art DT in project operation and maintenance (O&M) are yet to be studied. Therefore, this paper aims to review the state-of-the-art research on DT applications in project O&M. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The current review adopted four methodological steps, including literature search, literature selection, science mapping analysis and qualitative discussion to gain a deeper understanding of DT in project O&M. The impact and contribution of keywords and documents were examined from a total of 444 journal articles retrieved from the Scopus database. FINDINGS: Five mainstream research topics were identified, including (1) DT-based artificial intelligence technology for project O&M, (2) DT-enabled smart city and sustainability, (3) DT applications for project asset management, (4) Blockchain-integrated DT for project O&M and (5) DT for advanced project management. Subsequently, research gaps and future research directions were proposed. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study intends to raise awareness of future research by summarizing the current DT development phases and their impact on DT implementation in project O&M among researchers and practitioners

Critical success factors for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects: academics and construction practitioners’ perspectives

Purpose: The application of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology in construction projects is of increasing interest to researchers and construction practitioners. Although the application of 3D printing technology at various stages of the project lifecycle has been explored, few studies have identified the relative importance of critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. To address this research gap, this study aims to explore the academics (i.e. researchers) and construction practitioners’ perspectives on CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: To do this, a questionnaire was administered to participants (i.e. academics and construction practitioners) with knowledge and expertise in 3D printing technology in construction projects. The collected data were analysed using mean score ranking, normalization and rank agreement analysis to identify CSFs and determine the consistency of the ranking of CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the relationships and underlying constructs of the measured CSFs. Findings: Through a rank agreement analysis of the collected data, 11 CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology were retrieved (i.e. 17% agreement), indicating a diverse agreement in the ranking of the CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, the results show three key components of CSFs including “production demand enabling CSFs”, “optimize the construction process enabling CSFs” and “optimized design enabling CSFs”. Originality/value: This study highlights the feasibility of implementing the identified CSFs for 3D printing technology in construction projects, which not only serves as a reference for other researchers but also increases construction practitioners’ awareness of the practical benefits of implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. Specifically, it would optimize the construction lifecycle processes, enhance digital transformation and promote sustainable construction projects

The applications of Internet of Things (IoT) in industrial management: a science mapping review

With the rise of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the seamless connection between the physical and digital worlds has been realized. This review paper aims to conduct a science mapping review of IoT applications in industrial management and to identify mainstream research topics, research gaps, and future research directions. Using VOSviewer as a visualization tool, 142 articles retrieved from the Scopus database were quantitatively discussed using scientometric analysis. Additionally, a follow-up qualitative discussion was focused on mainstream research topics, existing research gaps, and future research directions as the main research goals. The results revealed influential findings for the co-occurrence of keywords, journals, countries, authors, and documents analyses. Moreover, it was found that the existing research mainly focused on four main research topics including (1) application of IoT in manufacturing based on cyber-physical systems, (2) IoT-related technologies on logistics and supply chain management, (3) The impact of IoT on business models, and (4) Industrial IoT (IIoT) in the context of Industry 4.0. On this basis, the existing research gaps and future research directions are proposed. This review paper would help relevant practitioners and researchers to better understand the existing body of knowledge and lay the foundation for further research

Artificial Intelligence in Cloud Computing technology in the Construction industry:a bibliometric and systematic review

The integration and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing (CC) technology in the construction industry (CI) would support their implementation process and adoption. However, there is a lack of research in the extant literature, and recent advances in this field have not been explored. As such, the key research question focuses on the extent of existing literature, main research hotspots, and recent advances (i.e., research gaps and future directions) in AI in CC in the CI. To address this research question, this study aims to conduct a state-of-the-art review of AI in CC in the CI by providing a qualitative discussion of the main research hotspots, research gaps, and future research directions. This review study used a four-step bibliometric-systematic review approach consisting of literature search, literature screening, science mapping analysis, and qualitative dis-cussion. The results found four main research hotspots, namely (1) construction project performance indicators, (2) data analysis and visualization, (3) construction quality control and safety, and (4) construction energy efficiency. These findings would provide valuable insights for scholars and practitioners seeking to understand and integrate AI and CC technology applications in the CI. This review study will lay a better foundation for future developments in construction project management processes, data-sharing protocols, real-time safety monitoring, and ethical implications of AI and CC technologies