Finance and the technology-trade nexus

This paper sketches the contours of the evolving international/monetary system and examines the various roles of the intemediation mechanisms. Then it examines the extent to which the financial system is independent from the “real economy” and the various ways in which it impacts it. The paper discusses some views in good currency on the dynamics of the technology-trade-finance nexus and shows how the financial system influences organization, location and technology choices in meso-innovation systems. The final section of the paper looks at the policy implications that might be derived from the analysis and suggests some directions for the future research.     

Conceptualising the nexus of projects,finance and capacity in construction business

This paper addresses a research question on why construction companies fail in their business. Starting with the concept of growth and capacity underinvestment archetype, a new and operational systems thinking model is developed. The conceptual systems thinking model includes a set of causal structure that can explain various modes (including the growth and failure modes) of business performance of small and medium construction companies. Mainly the three components – projects, finance and capacity – and the understanding of their nexus (or causal inter-relationships) are found to be sufficient to reveal different performance modes in construction business. Further, the three operational aspects, namely, the business growth or decline process; the situation of financial and other capacity resource consumption; and the management of projects, finance and other capacity resources have been identified as the inter-related core and integral aspects of construction business. The three inter-related core aspects could actually include and explain different possible range of business situations, policies and practices in a construction company.     

Artificial intelligence and sustainable development goals nexus via four vantage points

Artificial Intelligence (AI) should aim at benefiting society, the economy, and the environment, i.e., AI should aim to be socially good. The UN-defined Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the best depiction to measure social good. For AI to be socially good, it must support all 17 UN SDGs. Our work provides a unique insight into AI on all fronts including Curricula, Frameworks, Projects, and Research papers. We then analyze these datasets to extract meaningful information for policymakers and researchers alike - shedding light on how AI is being used and can potentially be employed in the future to achieve the SDGs. To this end, we devised a methodology using keyword-matching and keyword-similarity to compute the relevance of the SDGs for a given document. SDG metadata and AI4SDG Projects (Oxford initiative on AI4SDGs) were used to validate our methodology. We find an imbalance of coverage with SDG 9 (Industry Innovation and Infrastructure) having the highest representation (with 50.3% of our data containing references to it) compared to SDGs 5, 6, 14, and 15, which have the lowest representation (5% of observed data). Findings from this study suggest that the development of AI technology is focused on improving the current economic growth, but it might neglect important societal and environmental issues.     

A novel approach for analyzing the food-energy nexus through on-farm energy generation

To find a balance between food and energy security, this research presents the design of an energy self-sufficient farm in electricity, heat and bioethanol, which is produced by energy crops and agricultural residues. The farm proposed is evaluated by two models: Land Optimization and Cost Optimization. Due to the food–fuel debate over land and the detriment of food security, this research proposes utilizing the current abandoned land and increasing the food self-sufficiency ratio (FSSR) of the crops analyzed (rice, wheat and maize). The farm is optimized for several food and fuel demands, with a maximum farm unit size of 100 ha. The result is a myriad of farms of different sizes, each optimized for a certain demand. Subsequently, the amount and variety of such farms are optimized maximizing the food and fuel produced for each city of the case study (Miyagi Prefecture, Japan). The results suggest that the establishment of energy self-sufficient farms in the abandoned land can stimulate the biofuel industry and increase food security simultaneously. The FSSR of maize and wheat can be improved in approximately 10–25 and 7–9 %, respectively. The estimated bioethanol potential is 3.2–3.8 ML. Additionally, a surplus of electricity and heat, approximately 61–65 GWh and 60–165 MJ, respectively, is obtained. As the Land Optimization model proposed is sensitive to crop yields, a simultaneous evaluation is recommended. The results also suggest that the farms must be larger than 8 ha to achieve self-sufficiency; therefore, the policies involved need further evaluation.     

Banks and Industrial Finance in the 1990s

This paper examines the role of the banking system in the German model of industrial development. It argues that banks continue to fulfil several of their traditional functions in industrial finance despite dramatic changes in financial regulation and the internationalisation of product and capital markets. The strength of the financial system in fulfilling these traditional functions, however, is at the same time a barrier to the creation of new high-tech industries — a major competitive challenge for Germany.     

Optimal design of total integrated residential complexes involving water-energy-waste nexus

This paper presents a multi-objective optimization formulation for enhancing the sustainable development of a residential complex. The approach accounts for the water-energy-waste nexus of the complex and enables various pathways for system integration. For conserving the fresh water demands, the proposed model includes the synthesis of water networks while accounting for wastewater reclamation and recycle and rainwater harvesting. The proposed model also incorporates the optimal design of a residential cogeneration unit to satisfy the demands for electric power and hot water. An absorption refrigeration system is considered to utilize waste heat and provide the needed refrigeration. The emitted carbon dioxide is fed to an algae growth system, which is integrated with the use of reclaimed water. A solid-waste gasification system is considered to provide electric power and heat to the residential complex. The optimization approach accounts for all the interactions of the involved units and for the seasonal variabilities of the system. A case study for a residential complex of Mexico is solved.     

An Investigation into the Relationship Between Maintenance and Finance

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Tackling the water-energy nexus: an assessment of membrane distillation driven by salt-gradient solar ponds

Although the costs of desalination have declined, traditional desalination systems still need large amounts of energy. Recent advances in direct contact membrane distillation can take advantage of low-quality renewable heat to desalinate brackish water, seawater, or wastewater. In this work, the performance of a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system driven by salt-gradient solar ponds was investigated. A mathematical model that couples both systems was constructed and validated with experimental data available in the scientific literature. Using the validated model, the performance of this coupled system in different geographical locations and under different operational conditions was studied. Our results show that even when this coupled system can be used to meet the future needs of energy and water use in a sustainable way, it is suitable for locations between 40°N and 40°S that are near the ocean as these zones have enough solar radiation, and availability of excess water and salts to operate the coupled system. The maximum freshwater flow rates that can be obtained are on the order of 3.0 L d^?1 per m² of solar pond (12.1 m³ d^?1 acre^?1), but the expected freshwater production values are more likely to be on the order of 2.5 L d^?1 per m² of solar pond (10.1 m³ d^?1 acre^?1) when the system operates with imperfections. The coupled system has a thermal energy consumption of 880 ± 60 kWh per m³ of distillate, which is in the range of other membrane distillation systems. Different operational conditions were evaluated. The most important operating parameters that influence the freshwater production rates are the partial pressure of air entrapped in the membrane pores and the overall thermal efficiency of the coupled system. This work provides a guide for geographical zone selection and operation of a membrane distillation production system driven by solar ponds that can help mitigate the stress on the water-energy nexus.     

Internet use and farm households food and nutrition security nexus: The case of rural Ghana

The impact of internet use on food and nutrition security of rural households in Ghana is investigated in this study. To offset the potential challenge of selection bias, an endogenous treatment regression (ETR) technique is utilized for the analysis.. The results reveal that Internet use can improve smallholder farmers’ food and nutrition security. Internet usage has a profound positive effect on the food security of households with off-farm work and larger size of landholding. Our results suggest the intensification of efforts to enhance Internet connectivity across the nation by the government and policymakers is essential since it can go a long way to affect household welfare. The findings also highlight the importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the Internet, patronization to improve rural household welfare.     

Finance infrastructure through blockchain-based tokenization

The infrastructure finance gap has long-standing implications for economic and social development. Owing to low efficiency, high transaction costs, and long transaction time, conventional infrastructure financing instruments are considered to be major contributors to the increasing mismatch between the need for infrastructure development and available financing. Implemented through smart contracts, blockchain tokenization has shown characteristics that are poised to change the capital stack of infrastructure investment. This study analyzed the first SEC-compliant energy asset security token, ZiyenCoin, from the perspective of the key participants, relevant regulations, and token offering procedures. Results show that tokenization can improve infrastructure assets liquidity, transaction efficiency, and transparency across intermediaries. Conventional infrastructure financing instruments were compared with blockchain tokenization by reviewing the literature on infrastructure finance. The benefits and barriers of tokenizing infrastructure assets were thoroughly discussed to devise ways of improving infrastructure financing. The study also found that the potential of tokenization has not yet been fully realized because of the limited technical infrastructures, regulation uncertainties, volatilities in the token market, and absence of the public sector. This study contributes to the present understanding of how blockchain technology can be implemented in infrastructure finance and the role of tokenization in the structure of public–private partnership and project finance.     

Tian Shihong Meets the Delegation of French Ministry for Economy and Finance

<正>SAC Administrator Tian Shihong met with the Pascal Faure,Director-General for Enterprise(DGE),the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance on March 22.The two sides exchanged ideas on the standardization cooperation under the framework of Made in China 2025 and Frenchfuture industrial plan,reaching a consensus on the further collaboration with     

The structure of collaboration in the Journal of Finance

This paper studies the structure of collaboration in the Journal of Finance for the period 1980–2009 using publication data from the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). There are 3,840 publications within this period, out of which 58% are collaborations. These collaborations form 405 components, with the giant component capturing approximately 54% of total coauthors (it is estimated that the upper limit of distinct JF coauthors is 2,536, obtained from the total number of distinct author keywords found within the study period). In comparison, the second largest component has only 13 members. The giant component has mean degree 3 and average distance 8.2. It exhibits power-law scaling with exponent α = 3.5 for vertices with degree ≥5. Based on the giant component, the degree, closeness and betweenness centralization score, as well as the hubs/authorities score is determined. The findings indicate that the most important vertex on the giant component coincides with Sheridan Titman based on his top ten ranking on all four scores.     

Global perspectives on science diplomacy: Exploring the diplomacy‐knowledge nexus in contemporary histories of science

Contemporary scholarship concerning science diplomacy is increasingly taking a historical approach. In our introduction to this special issue, we argue that this approach promises insight into science diplomacy because of the tools historians of science bring to their work. In particular, we observe that not only are historians of science currently poised to chart the diplomatic aspects involved in the transnational circulation of technoscientific knowledge, materials, and expertise. They are ready to bring critical global analysis to an important phenomenon that has too often been treated as a benign diplomacy device deployed by the Global North without equal reference to the Global South. Through cases discussed in the articles of the special issue, however, we see that historically, in the Global South as well as the Global North, science diplomacy has often functioned to mediate the circulation of technoscientific knowledge and materials, and its historical study helps to better illuminate the resulting knowledge‐power nexus.     

基于供应链金融的银行决策分析

根据需求模型,建立了包含银行在内的供应链决策模型,研究分散决策模型下的收益问题,分别得到供应链各个参与者的期望收益,并通过数值仿真,得到银行在供应链中产生的影响。从供应链金融的角度出发,研究零售商订购量、制造商批发价格、银行利率的关系。并利用Stackelberg博弈的理论,以银行为主导者,制造商和零售商为跟随者,求出均衡最优解。研究发现当市场需求较小时,三者收益函数趋势一致;当市场需求较大时,银行利率对零售商订购量没有影响并且银行的收益最后逐渐平稳达到一个固定值。     

Standardization Strategy Enhancing the Competitiveness of Finance Sector in China

With the rapid development of global economic integration,standards have become an important method and technical ties in the modern international economic competition and cooperation as important and strategic tools for improving overall competitiveness.Standardization is an activity in which commonly and repeatedly used items for existing issues and unknown issues are established to maintain the best order.As a science,it has been gradually established during the long term production practice,and it is also an important application technology.