The Role of Disruptive Technologies in Health and Sustainability

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought about significant change in the way the world operates and industries perform. These so-called “disruptive technologies” have fundamentally altered the digital landscape and can pave the way forward for new innovations. The rise of technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the functioning of every single industry known to man and promote sustainable and healthy practices worldwide. One of the potential industries that these technologies can have a significant impact upon is the food and agriculture industry. Now more than ever people are more conscious of what they put on their table. Ensuring that everyone has access to safe and high quality nutrition is the goal of many companies and governments. This paper focuses on the implications that these technologies can have on the food and agriculture industry

Digital Transformation and Sustainability: A Post-COVID Impact Analysis of Global Businesses

This paper outlines the impact the Covid-19 crisis currently on our economy and how digital transformation can help us get through it. The paper covers 3 main topics: global businesses, Digital Transformation and Sustainability. In the global business section, the Covid-19 impact on the economy is explained, with reasons why it has brought the economy to a literal standstill when compared to other crises. The second section shows how digital transformation, shines a bright light during suchunpleasant times on how we have been thrust into a situation that will force us to modernize and improve technology in order to stay efficient and connected remotely. It covers the aspects of cost cutting, business intelligence and improved transparency. The third section of this paper is regarding sustainability and how these technologies help create a more sustainable future. As mentioned with the solutions above, due to lower wastage generated, we may end up in a world with less pollution, better public health and possibly, greater income equity, leading the improvement towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Environmental Kuznets Curve and Pollution Haven Hypothesis

There has been limited empirical work done in the recent past to test the hypotheses of EKC and PH. Results obtained in this paper validate EKC hypothesis for total carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide emissions from liquid fuel consumption from a panel of countries. This is robust to inclusion of additional covariates and division of countries on the basis of income. Financial development increases total emissions in high income countries whereas it decreases emissions in non high income countries in the long run. Trade to GDP ratio does not affect emissions significantly in case of high income countries. In case of non high income countries, trade to GDP ratio increases the emissions from solid fuel in the long run. Also in case of non high income countries increase in trade to GDP ratio increases total emissions and emissions from liquid fuel consumption in short run. Therefore, there is evidence in favour of pollution haven hypothesis in short run. It is logical as we expect the emissions shifting aspect of trade to be operative in short run whereas in long run the trade should be determined by comparative advantages

Estimating Potential Operational Cost Savings by Migrating On-Premises to Cloud: A Study using Amazon TCO

In order to use Amazon TCO(Total cost of ownership) calculator to compute the company operational cost saving by migrating on-premises, Colocation workloads to the AWS cloud, we started investigating the case studies showing on the AWS web page. Cases are categories by either company type or by solution. Data are gathered from Amazon webpage. The following reports are from TCO calculator to show the IT cost savings based on both qualitative and quantitative methods. By solution, the parameters like Big Data, Data Center Migration, Enterprise Solutions, Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Internet of Things, Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence and Web & Mobile Apps are normally considered. By company the parameters like type and size, Enterprises, Startup and Public Sector are considered

Environmental Kuznets Curve and Pollution Haven Hypothesis

There has been limited empirical work done in the recent past to test the hypotheses of EKC and PH. Results obtained in this paper validate EKC hypothesis for total carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide emissions from liquid fuel consumption from a panel of countries. This is robust to inclusion of additional covariates and division of countries on the basis of income. Financial development increases total emissions in high income countries whereas it decreases emissions in non high income countries in the long run. Trade to GDP ratio does not affect emissions significantly in case of high income countries. In case of non high income countries, trade to GDP ratio increases the emissions from solid fuel in the long run. Also in case of non high income countries increase in trade to GDP ratio increases total emissions and emissions from liquid fuel consumption in short run. Therefore, there is evidence in favour of pollution haven hypothesis in short run. It is logical as we expect the emissions shifting aspect of trade to be operative in short run whereas in long run the trade should be determined by comparative advantages

The Proposed EU-India FTA: Implications for Textiles, Wearing Apparel and Leather Products

This paper analyses the effects of a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and India, for which negotiations are ongoing. The analysis employs GTAP 7, a global general equilibrium model with 2004 as its reference year. Two scenarios are simulated which include firstly, complete implementation of EU-India FTA such that all bilateral tariffs are completely and immediately eliminated; and, secondly, tariffs are eliminated on textiles, wearing apparel and leather products under the proposed FTA, which simulates the elimination of all export tax equivalents of Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) quotas in the GTAP database. The macroeconomic effects of changes in trade policies are assessed by the welfare economic compensation measure. Results show India benefits under both liberalisation scenarios with gains concentrated in select products and in textiles, wearing apparel and leather products. The findings are broadly also suggestive of the change in the pattern of specialisation such that there is a shift to low value end production. An EU-India FTA delivers little scope for achieving efficiency gains via adjustments to the pattern of present specialisation

The Proposed EU-India FTA: Implications for Textiles, Wearing Apparel and Leather Products

This paper analyses the effects of a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and India, for which negotiations are ongoing. The analysis employs GTAP 7, a global general equilibrium model with 2004 as its reference year. Two scenarios are simulated which include firstly, complete implementation of EU-India FTA such that all bilateral tariffs are completely and immediately eliminated; and, secondly, tariffs are eliminated on textiles, wearing apparel and leather products under the proposed FTA, which simulates the elimination of all export tax equivalents of Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) quotas in the GTAP database. The macroeconomic effects of changes in trade policies are assessed by the welfare economic compensation measure. Results show India benefits under both liberalisation scenarios with gains concentrated in select products and in textiles, wearing apparel and leather products. The findings are broadly also suggestive of the change in the pattern of specialisation such that there is a shift to low value end production. An EU-India FTA delivers little scope for achieving efficiency gains via adjustments to the pattern of present specialisation

Analyzing Results from Agricultural Large-scale Economic Simulation Models: Recent Progress and the Way Ahead Gegenwärtige Entwicklung und Perspektiven bei der Analyse von Ergebnissen komplexer ökonomischer Simulationsmodelle

This article discusses the role of post model processing and Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) in the context of applying large and complex economic simulation models for Impact Assessment (IA) of policies impacting the agricultural and food sectors. The calculation of indicators from different domains and decomposition approaches is presented as part of post-processing of model results. We review user roles with regard to the application of complex economic models in agricultural IA, concluding that the GUIs will be mostly used by experienced analysts. The article stresses the role of GUIs in separating the code implementation of the economic model from the presentation of their results for analytical purposes. It highlights core functionalities of GUIs based on a detailed comparison between the GUIs and post-model analysis tools of three large economic models: Aglink- Cosimo, CAPRI and GTAP (Global Trade Analysis Project). Whereas the Aglink-Cosimo and CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regionalised Impact Modelling System) models follow a strict separation between model and data analysis software tools, the GTAP model follows a model integrated approach using GEMPACK (General Equilibrium Modelling Package) tools. Moreover, the CAPRI GUI is technically and formally detached from the data generation process. Aglink-Cosimo and GTAP models use tools specifically developed to serve mainly their own needs (and tailored to communicate with their model drivers). One specific characteristic of Aglink-Cosimo relates to the need of interactive documentation for users due to the declarative nature of the code, which relies upon the obligation of the OECD and FAO to deliver a transparent and well-documented model and database to a formalized group of users. The CAPRI and GTAP models are much more research-driven and therefore have invested more resources in building bridges with other model consortia. We conclude that an integrated GUI would benefit from combining the best features of the different approaches presented.JRC.J.4-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Analyzing Results from Agricultural Large-scale Economic Simulation Models: Recent Progress and the Way Ahead

This article discusses the role of post model processing and Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) in the context of applying large and complex economic simulation models for Impact Assessment (IA) of policies impacting the agricultural and food sectors. The calculation of indicators from different domains and decomposition approaches is presented as part of post-processing of model results. We review user roles with regard to the application of complex economic models in agricultural IA, concluding that the GUIs will be mostly used by experienced analysts. The article stresses the role of GUIs in separating the code implementation of the economic model from the presentation of their results for analytical purposes. It highlights core functionalities of GUIs based on a detailed comparison between the GUIs and post-model analy-sis tools of three large economic models: Aglink-Cosimo, CAPRI and GTAP (Global Trade Analysis Project). Whereas the Aglink-Cosimo and CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regionalised Impact Modelling System) models follow a strict separation between model and data analysis software tools, the GTAP model follows a model integrated approach using GEMPACK (General Equilibrium Modelling Package) tools. Moreover, the CAPRI GUI is technically and formally detached from the data generation process. Aglink-Cosimo and GTAP models use tools specifically developed to serve mainly their own needs (and tailored to communicate with their model drivers). One specific characteristic of Aglink-Cosimo relates to the need of interactive documentation for users due to the declarative nature of the code, which relies upon the obligation of the OECD and FAO to deliver a transparent and well-documented model and data-base to a formalized group of users. The CAPRI and GTAP models are much more research-driven and therefore have invested more resources in building bridges with other model consortia. We conclude that an integrated GUI would benefit from combining the best features of the different approaches presented. Der Beitrag diskutiert die Bedeutung der Aufarbeitung von Modellergebnissen und von Graphischen Nutzeroberflächen (GUIs) bei der Anwendung großer und komplexer ökonomischer Simulationsmodelle zur Politikfolgenabschätzung im Agrar- und Ernährungssektor. Hierbei werden die Berechnung von Indikatoren aus verschiedenen Bereichen sowie Ansätze zur analytischen Ergebnisdekomposition als zentrale Aufgaben bei der Aufarbeitung von Modellergebnissen vorgestellt. Eine Analyse von Nutzerrollen bei der Anwendung von komplexen ökonomischen Modellen zur Folgenabschätzung in der Landwirtschaft legt nahe, dass die GUIs von Modellsystemen überwiegend von erfahrenen Modellanwendern genutzt werden. Der Beitrag unterstreicht ferner die Bedeutung einer GUI zur Trennung des Computercodes eines ökonomischen Models von der Darstellung numerischer Resultate zur Ergebnisanalyse. Des Weiteren, stellt der Beitrag Kernfunktionen von GUIs vor, basierend auf einem detaillierten Vergleich der GUIs und der Ansätze zur Aufarbeitung von Modellergebnissen der folgenden ökonomischen Modelle: Aglink-Cosimo, CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regio-nalised Impact Modelling System) and GTAP (Global Trade Analysis Project). Aglink-Cosimo und CAPRI wenden jeweils unterschiedliche Software für Simulationen und Ergebnisanalyse an, während GTAP einen integrierten Ansatz basierend auf GEMPACK (General Equilibrium Modelling Package) verfolgt. Die CAPRI GUI abstrahiert darüber hinaus technisch und auch formal vom spezifischen Datengenerationsprozess des ökonomischen Modells. Im Gegensatz hierzu sind die Analysetools von Aglink-Cosimo und GTAP weitestgehend spezifisch für diese Modelle entwickelt worden (und technisch auf die jeweiligen Modelltreiber ausgelegt). Aglink-Cosimo bietet als spezifische Charakteristik eine interaktive Dokumentation an. Dies reflektiert einerseits die deklarative Natur des Modellcodes und andererseits die Verpflichtung seitens der OECD und FAO, einer formal definierten Nutzergruppe Modell und Datenbank transparent und wohl dokumentiert zur Verfügung zu stellen. CAPRI und GTAP sind hingegen in höherem Grade in Forschungsaktivitäten eingebunden, was sich auch in den zahlreichen Schnittstellen mit anderen Modellsystemen wiederspiegelt. Der Beitrag folgert, dass eine modellübergreifend einsatzbare GUI, die die Kern-eigenschaften der verschiedenen untersuchten Ansätze integriert, von Vorteil wäre