The impact of US uncertainty shocks on a panel of advanced and emerging market economies

In this paper, we analyze the spillovers of uncertainty from the United States (US) on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a large panel of 50 advanced and emerging economies. We allow the response of GDP in each country to vary according to its exchange rate regime, trade openness, and a vulnerability index (based on current account, foreign reserves, inflation, and external debt). We observe large heterogeneity in the response of advanced and emerging economies to uncertainty surprises of the US. In response to an increase in US uncertainty, GDP in foreign economies drops slightly more, as it does in the US. In addition we find that, for advanced economies the exchange rate regime and financial vulnerability account for a large portion of the contraction in activity. In emerging economies, however, the responses do not depend on the exchange rate regime, but are larger when trade openness is high and weakness in the financial system is high.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjte202021-08-02hj2020Economic

Insurance-growth nexus in Africa

Economic growth may be influenced by insurance market activity through risk pooling, financial intermediations, indemnification against losses, mobilisation of savings and provision of investment opportunities. Over the past few decades there has been increasing interest in the role of the insurance sector in the economic growth of Africa. This study examines whether there is a relationship between the continent’s economic growth and insurance market activity (life, non-life, and total). Applying panel estimation techniques that are robust to heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence to a model of panel data for 11 African countries between 1995 and 2016, we find significant evidence in support of such a relationship. Total insurance penetration has a long-term impact on economic growth, and when disaggregated into its components (life and non-life-insurance penetration), we find evidence in support of short-term and long-term impacts on economic growth in both cases. Our study also confirms the feedback hypothesis, as we find a positive, bidirectional causality between insurance market activity and economic growth. We also find that the contribution from non-life insurance market activity towards economic growth far outweighs that of life insurance market activity.https://link.springer.com/journal/412882020-08-19hj2019Economic

The synergistic effect of insurance and banking sector activities on economic growth in Africa

It is widely understood that the insurance and banking sectors of every economy perform some functions in driving economic growth. What is not yet well documented is whether their roles are complimentary or substitutive. With the aid of the dynamic panel generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique, this paper evaluates the synergistic effect of both sectors on economic growth in a panel of 10 African countries that are responsible for most of the activities in the continent’s financial sector. The insurance-banking-growth nexus was also examined through bootstrap panel causality tests. The results show that the life insurance market and the banking sector, as well as the non-life insurance market and the banking sector, are complimentary. We find that, overall, the relationship between the insurance and banking sectors in Africa is a complimentary one and that their synergistic impact on economic growth is positive. The feedback hypothesis was also confirmed in the relationship between the insurance sector and economic growth and between the banking sector and economic growth.Chien-Chiang Lee is grateful to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan for financial support through grant (MOST 107-2410-H-110-005-MY2).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecosys2019-12-01hj2018Economic

The nexus of Environmental Sustainability and Agro-economic Performance of Sub-Saharan African Countries

The increasing concern of environmental degradation and climate change impacts of agricultural-based activities are becoming more pronounced in the Sub-Sahara region of Africa especially due to urgent drive to meeting food, healthy diet, and economic needs. In retrospect. This novel study explores the relationship between agro-economic performance, the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Total natural rent, urbanization and environmental degradation vis-à-vis (Carbon dioxide emissions) in a carbon function. The empirical analysis is conducted using panel data for the period 1980–2014 for the selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Kao test uncovers a cointegration between carbon dioxide emissions, Real Gross domestic product, Total natural rent, agriculture and urbanization. The panel Pooled Mean Autoregressive distributed lag model (PMG-ARDL) posits a positive and significant connection between the gross domestic product and CO2 emissions in the long run. Our examination asserts that agricultural value-added reduces emissions in sub-Saharan Africa while urbanization and natural resource rent both increases CO2 emissions in the long run. Also, the causality analysis reveals a bidirectional link between agriculture value-added and CO2 emissions. Essentially, policymakers in African nations must pay close attention to the issues of rural-urban drift as this leads to more emissions

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Teachers’ Knowledge Indices as Predictors of Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Kwara State, Nigeria

That less than 40% of candidates who took the Senior School Certificate Examinations in Nigeria between 2009 and 2015 had credits and above in English language and Mathematics has become a source of worry to all stakeholders. Results of research efforts to provide plausible explanations to the problem have been inconclusive. Also, not much had been done to assess the contribution of teachers' knowledge indices as likely sources. This study therefore investigated the predictive value of Teachers' Depth of Subject Content Knowledge and Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge on Students' Academic Achievement in English Language and Mathematics. Specifically, the study investigated which category of teachers (B.Ed. /B.Sc.Ed. /B.A.Ed.; PGDE; or B.A. /B.Sc) had the deepest Depth of Subject Content Knowledge; the deepest Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge; the deepest Depth of Subject Content and Professional Knowledge; and the predictive ability of Depth of Subject Content and Professional Knowledge for Students' Academic Achievement. The sample comprised seventy-eight English Language and Mathematics teachers from thirty-two randomly selected secondary schools in Kwara State; and the intact SS II classes taught by the teachers. Quantitative data were collected through tests, observations and vignettes; and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings showed that teachers with B.Sc. demonstrated the deepest Depth of Subject Content Knowledge, Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge and Depth of Subject Content and Professional Knowledge. Also, pedagogical and subject content knowledge of teachers were found to be significant predictors of Students' Academic Achievement. Significant differences were observed between the Depth of Subject Content Knowledge and Depth of Pedagogical Knowledge of the English Language and Mathematics teachers in favor of Mathematics teachers. Similarly, students' performance in English Language was lower than that of Mathematics, though not statistically significant. These findings raised concerns of profound implications for teacher education curriculum in Nigeria