Does environmental policy stringency improve nature's health in BRICS economies? Implications for sustainable development.

In our groundbreaking exploration, we meticulously delve into the relationship between environmental policy stringency, international trade dynamics, and financial openness within the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) spanning from 1996 to 2021. With a focus on critical variables such as economic growth and technological innovation, our empirical findings challenge conventional wisdom. Surprisingly, we found that those stringent environmental policies, when standing alone, do not invariably lead to reduce CO2 emissions. Equally interesting is our startling discovery that the anticipated moderating influence of environmental policy stringency, catalyzed by trade and foreign direct investment, on the well-being of our environment does not materialize; contrarily, both trade and foreign direct investment moderating channels exhibit unanticipated positive correlations with CO2 emissions. These revelations provoke us with the presence of a "pollution haven" phenomenon within the BRICS economies. Furthermore, our investigation reveals that, when examined individually, trade and foreign direct investment also appear to contribute to elevated emission levels. These findings provide a resolute solution to our research quandary, underlining the indispensable requirement for cutting-edge and robust environmental policies. These policies must possess the prowess to effectively counteract the adverse environmental consequences stemming from the amalgamation of global trade and financial integration. In doing so, they shall propel BRICS nations toward a future firmly grounded in principles of sustainability and ecological integrity.

Assessment of medical waste generation rate in Viet Nam.

This study was conducted to estimate medical wastes generation rates in Viet Nam. Within 3 years (from 2017 to 2019), total medical wastes generated daily of 1,737 health-care facilities at different levels from 19/63 provinces in Viet Nam were surveyed. The calculation was based on the median daily generation (in kg) of 6 medical waste groups and total actual patient beds in 9 health-care facility categories. Six medical waste groups were sharps, non-sharps, high-risk infectious, pathological, non-infectious hazardous, recyclable and non-recyclable wastes. Surveyed health-care facilities were categorized in central general hospitals, central specialist hospitals, provincial general hospitals, provincial specialist hospitals, district health centers, regional clinics, commune health stations, private hospitals and private clinics. The results showed that waste generation rates varied from 0.0009 to 1.619 kg/bed/day depends on type of medical wastes or health-care facilities. For no-patient-bed facilities (commune health stations and private clinics), medical waste generation rates of these two were calculated in kg/day and varied from 0.1 to 1.75 kg/day.

COVID-19 test-kit trade and trade policy: Implications for developing countries.

At the centre of the multi-dimensional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of medical supplies in countries with weaker healthcare systems significantly reduced the effectiveness of national and international public health interventions. Using a database of test-kit trade flows and barriers, we estimate the price responsiveness of test-kit demand in a global sample of countries. These estimates allow us to investigate the degree to which import tariffs by leading producers could result in a disruption in global supply chains, price increases, and welfare loss. Simulation experiments indicate that the combination of rising demand for test kits and import dependence magnifies the impact of trade barriers on consumer welfare and this impact is more profound for developing countries.

The energy-growth nexus revisited: An analysis of different types of energy.

This study revisits the nexus between energy consumption and economic growth by considering several energy use types (i.e., total energy, fossil fuel energy, and renewable energy). For this purpose, a dynamic fixed effects (DFE) estimator is applied to the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model built on an extended version of the neoclassical production function. This study examines a global sample of 107 countries during 1996-2014, classified into three subsamples of countries based on income level. Overall, the findings show that, in the short run, the use of total energy and fossil fuel energy significantly and positively contribute to higher income in total and per-capita terms. However, the growth effects of renewable energy consumption appear to vary across subsamples. In the long run, the impacts of energy on economic growth are mostly insignificant, supporting the view that conservative energy policies do not harm economic growth.

The historic oil price fluctuation during the Covid-19 pandemic: What are the causes?

On 20 April 2020, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price dropped to negative levels for the first time in history. This study examines the factors underlying the historic oil price fluctuation during the Covid-19 pandemic. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach incorporating a structural break is applied to the daily series from 17 January to 14 September 2020 to analyze long-run relationships and short-run dynamics. The results reveal that increases in Covid-19 pandemic cases, US economic policy uncertainty, and expected stock market volatility contributed to the fall in the WTI crude oil price, whereas the fall in the global stock markets appears to significantly reduce the fall. Furthermore, the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war and speculation on oil futures are shown to play a critical part in the collapse of the oil markets. The findings are consistent with our expectations. Although it is reasonable to assume that the solution to this oil crisis is a pick-up in global oil demand, which will occur only when the novel coronavirus is defeated, this study proposes policy recommendations to cope with the current oil price crash.

Food safety aspects of toxic element accumulation in fish from wastewater-fed ponds in Hanoi, Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the food safety of fish from production systems in Hanoi feed with domestic and industrial wastewater with respect to the potentially toxic elements such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb). METHODS: Common carp (Cyprinus carpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were sampled from wastewater-fed ponds, and total concentrations of As, Cd and Pb were determined in skin, liver and muscle. RESULTS: Arsenic, Cd and Pd concentrations were generally low and for many samples below the detection limit. The highest concentrations of Cd and Pb were found in the liver of tilapia, and the highest As concentration in the skin of tilapia. Maximum concentrations in muscle tissue were 0.120, 0.079 and 0.082 mg/kg fresh weight (f.w.) for As, Cd and Pb, respectively. Consumption of fish with maximum muscle tissue concentration will result in a human intake corresponding to 6.2%, 8.7% and 2.5% of the tolerable intake of these elements set by Codex Alimentarious Commission. CONCLUSION: The consumption of common carp, silver carp and tilapia produced in wastewater-fed ponds of Hanoi seems not to constitute a food safety problem with respect to As, Cd and Pb.