Renewable energy (RE) has a strong synergy with some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), thus its successful deployment can potentially result in an impact on these SDGs. In this study, we examine the synergy effect of renewable electricity on selected SDGs via the electricity prices for the European Union (EU) countries. Using panel data and a two-step estimation approach, our findings indicate a strong synergy effect between renewable electricity prices, SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth).

The tradeoff that women face between work and family depends largely on a country’s institutional settings. Provisions like stable employment, maternity benefits, and childcare services can affect women’s fertility behaviours. In Ghana, the majority of women work in vulnerable self-employment positions. Among paid female employees, the degree of job security also varies. Largely studied in the developed country context, job insecurity has been found to have important effects on women’s reproductive health outcomes. As yet, there is no consensus on the direction of effects.

Purpose – There is a paucity of research on the causal relationships between talent management (TM), decent work and national well-being. Hence, this study examines the nexus between macro talent management (MTM)practices, decent work and national well-being. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed longitudinal data from 77 developing countries across the globe and also utilised panel data estimators and the bootstrapping mediation method for the analyses. Findings – The results indicated that macro-level TM strategies can have a positive impact on decent work.

In this paper we try to assess the quality of growth for provinces in China over the period of 1997–2015. To do so we calculate a set of Green total factor productivity (or GTFP) indexes by incorporating environmental performance variables at the provincial level. A nonparametric approach (Directional Distance Function a la Chung et al., 1997) is adopted in the estimation. Furthermore, we apply bootstrapping method to correct estimation bias and obtain statistical property of the estimated indexes.

Regional integration is making steady progress in Africa and a key objective is to improve the prospects for industrialisation by expanding the regional market. The paper draws on a combination of trade data analysis and industry case studies to better understand the links and synergies between regional value chains and regional integration. The trade data and case studies of two diverse sectors (garments and food retailing) demonstrate the expansion and diversity of regional trade and regional value chains in Southern Africa.

This chapter assesses the prospects of regional value chains (RVCs) in car manufacturing in Africa, focussing specifically on Southern Africa (because of relatively advanced regional integration there).

China increasingly dominates global manufacturing and South Africa, while the largest industrial power in Africa, has lagged with the manufacturing sector’s share of GDP declining in a low growth economy. China’s industrial development has been synonymous with SEZs which operate on a vast scale. Chinese firms are increasingly investing in Africa and a growing share of this investment is in the manufacturing sector and also within SEZs.

In this research the importance of evaluating public policies at regional level is demonstrated. The impact of subsidy programs to the recruitment of young people (SEJ) and the grant to the training of workers (CT) on the wages and employment are studied. First we search the results starting with the opinion of key local agents, and then we measure the impact by means of OLS and Logit estimates.

Despite the efficiency produced by long-distance commuting (LDC) as an adjustment mechanism between local labor markets, the impact that it has on the equilibrium of labor markets has not been studied in depth. This paper uses the case of Chile, since in the last two decades the LDC has increased its importance as a strategy of labor mobility for workers in this country. We demonstrate, both theoretically and empirically, that LDC generates wage differences in the labor markets that receive commuters, as a function of the market equilibrium of these workers’ place of origin.

While there is a growing body of studies on persistence and change in municipal start-up rates in more developed countries, this type of study for developing countries is still scarce. This work analyzes the spatio-temporal dynamics of municipal business start-up rates in Chile between 2005 and 2015 using spatial panel data for 342 Chilean municipalities from the Internal Revenue Service (SII) database and the National Municipal Information System (SINIM).