Can Urbanization Influence Carbon Dioxide Emissions? Evidence from BRICS–T Countries

Climate change is one of several issues confronting the planet today. Addressing this problem will create a safer environment for humans and other species. Thus, this study explores how the urban population (UBNP) influences carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) levels in BRICS–T from 1990–2021 (192 observations) using Pooled OLS and Fixed Effects techniques. In addition, energy intensity (ENIT) and economic growth (GDP) are utilized as control variables. The Pooled OLS result demonstrates that UBNP growth reduces CO2e by 0.19%; a rise in ENIT levels spurs CO2e by 1.10%, and an increase in GDP enhances CO2e by 0.61%. The Fixed Effects outcome shows that an upsurge in UBNP reduces CO2e by 1.19%, while ENIT and GDP rise boosts CO2e by 1.19% and 1.04%, respectively. This study recommends continuous urban planning, rural area development, renewable energy integration, and the use ofenergy–efficient buildings

Predictors of willingness to task shift among family planning providers in a south-western Nigerian State

Background: Task shifting, the balanced reallocation of tasks usually from a higher cadre to a lower cadre among the health  workforce team, has been proposed as a possible solution to the serious shortage of human resource in the health sector is being experienced in many developing countries. This study aimed to assess the views and experiences of nurses on task shifting in family planning services in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 400 nurses with at least a year experience in providing family planning services at purposively selected tetiary, secondary and primary facilities in Ibadan was carried out using an intervieweradministered  questionnaire. Chi-square test was used to determine association between categorical variables at 5% level of significance. Results: Mean age of the respondents was 41.1±8.7 years and 62% of the respondents were registered nurses/registered midwives.  Although majority (91.5%) of the respondents were aware of the concept of task shifting, only 52.2% were willing to task shift family planning services to lower cadre staff and only 38.5% have actually task shifted family planning services to lower cadre staff. Age, educational status and awareness about task shifting were predictors of willingness to task shift family planning services. Conclusion: Older registered nurses or registered midwives who were aware of the concept of task shifting were more willing to task  shift family planning services. Also, a combination of both awareness and willingness to task shift among married women enhances  the practice of task shifting of family planning services. Keywords: Task shifting, Task sharing, Policy implementation, Family plannin

Monetary Policy Dynamics and the Stock Market Movements: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

The contributions of the stock market to economic growth can never be over-emphasized. In this paper, we used the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bound testing estimation techniques to examine the existence of any relationship between monetary policy instruments and the stock market in Nigeria based on the data sourced from 1985 to 2013. From the results obtained, it can be deduced that monetary policy instruments significantly exerts on stock market behaviour in Nigeria. We recommends that policy makers should put in place policies that aimed at adjusting the interest rate upward, reduce or at best keep at constant the money supply growth rate, increase the net credit to the private sector and manipulate the exchange rate regime so as to boost stock market

The role of endemic infection in disease emergence

Human and animal populations are confronted by emerging microparasitic infections which pose a major threat to public health and the global economy. In natural conditions, emerging microparasites will encounter host populations that are already infected with common endemic macroparasites. Interspecific interactions between coinfecting parasites may alter the host immune response, the emerging parasite infection dynamics, the disease outcome and the efficacy of parasite control strategies. This thesis explores the role of macroparasites as potential suppressors or promoters of microparasite disease emergence. The potential impact endemic infections may have on disease emergence were explored experimentally using the model German cockroach host Blattella germanica, its endemic gut macroparasite Gregarina blattarum and the virulent microparasite Steinernema carpocapsae. First the effect of a hosts’ endemic parasite burden on the immune response and secondly, susceptibility to infection were investigated (Chapter 2). These experiments revealed that the host immune response was altered by the endemic parasite burden but this had no effect on susceptibility to infection with the emerging microparasite. The impact of host endemic parasite burden on the quality and quantity of the emerging parasite transmission stages was then explored. Here, coinfection resulted in a reduced output of the epidemic parasite transmission stages compared to a single infection. Further, endemic parasites had a non-linear effect on the quality of the transmission stages of the emerging microparasite measured as lipid energy reserves (Chapter 3). Finally, the fitness cost of coinfection on the between-hosts transmission of the emerging parasite was explored. Experimental findings revealed that the disease spread of the microparasite within the host population was altered by the endemic parasite (Chapter 4). The findings from this thesis demonstrate the importance of considering macro- and microparasite coinfections, and that this, in turn, is pivotal to improving control strategies and ability to accurately predict epidemic outbreaks

Stock Market Volatility: Does our Fundamentals Matter?

This study used EGARCH estimation techniques to examine the impact of the systematic risk emanating from the macroeconomy on stock market volatility based on monthly data sourced from 1985 to 2013 on the Nigerian economy. Our results show that all the macroeconomic variables tested exerts on stock market pricing and that the stock market pricing is most influenced by exchange rate volatility. We thus recommend that policy makers on the one hand should pay close attention to the innovations in the macroeconomic variables when formulating macroeconomic or financial stability policy. On the other hand, market practitioners should calibrate volatility of macroeconomic variables in their portfolio decision making proces

Are African stock markets efficient? Evidence from wavelet unit root test for random walk

In this paper, we used the recently developed frequency based wavelet unit root test alongside a number of time domain unit root tests to examine the validity or otherwise of the random walk hypothesis for seven African largest markets. Unlike previous studies that affirms the validity of the random walk behaviour for African markets, our results reveal that when frequency domain is factored into stock market behaviour framework, evidence abound to reject the null of unit root test for each of the African markets studied. This implies that African markets are inefficient, contributes to growth and provide good opportunities for arbitrage trading. The results have critical implications for investors, policy makers as well as the academic

Stock Market Response to Economic Growth and Interest Rate Volatility: Evidence from Nigeria

This study examined the relationship between macroeconomic variable volatility and stock market return within the context of Blanchard (1981) extension of the Hicks (1937) IS-LM hypothesis, using exponential general autoregressive conditional heteroskedascity estimation techniques to analysis monthly data sourced on the Nigerian economy from January 1985 to December 2013. Our result shows that stock prices responds significantly to innovations in the interest rate and the real gross domestic product (RGDP), we therefore recommends that policy makers on the one hand should consider volatility in both the interest rate and the RGDP when making policies aimed at enhancing stock market development. On the other hand, market practitioners are expected to make provisions for volatility in interest rate and the RGDP when making portfolio decision

Stock Market Volatility: Does our Fundamentals Matter?

This study used EGARCH estimation techniques to examine the impact of the systematic risk emanating from the macroeconomy on stock market volatility based on monthly data sourced from 1985 to 2013 on the Nigerian economy. Our results show that all the macroeconomic variables tested exerts on stock market pricing and that the stock market pricing is most influenced by exchange rate volatility. We thus recommend that policy makers on the one hand should pay close attention to the innovations in the macroeconomic variables when formulating macroeconomic or financial stability policy. On the other hand, market practitioners should calibrate volatility of macroeconomic variables in their portfolio decision making process

Are African stock markets efficient? Evidence from wavelet unit root test for random walk

In this paper, we used the recently developed frequency based wavelet unit root test alongside a number of time domain unit root tests to examine the validity or otherwise of the random walk hypothesis for seven African largest markets. Unlike previous studies that affirms the validity of the random walk behaviour for African markets, our results reveal that when frequency domain is factored into stock market behaviour framework, evidence abound to reject the null of unit root test for each of the African markets studied. This implies that African markets are inefficient, contributes to growth and provide good opportunities for arbitrage trading. The results have critical implications for investors, policy makers as well as the academics