Technology, Economic Growth and the Professional Engineer

Author(s):  
Oscar Roith

The President describes the relationship between technology and the prosperity of our society, and outlines the essential role of the engineer in contributing to this prosperity. He reviews his career in industry and Government and the key contribution of engineering to the growth, development and commercial success of the oil and petrochemical industry. By means of some case studies he illustrates the role of the mechanical engineer in a process industry.

Author(s):  
Ronald Rateiwa ◽  
Meshach J. Aziakpono

Background: In order for the post-2015 world development agenda – termed the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – to succeed, there is a pronounced need to ensure that available resources are used more effectively and additional financing is accessed from the private sector. Given that traditional bank lending has slowed down, the development of non-bank financing has become imperative. To this end, this article intends to empirically test the role of non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in stimulating economic growth.Aim: The aim of this article is to empirically test the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between economic growth and the development of NBFIs, and the causality thereof.Setting: The empirical assessment uses time-series data from Africa’s three largest economies, namely, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, over the period 1971–2013.Methods: This article uses the Johansen cointegration and vector error correction model within a country-specific setting.Results: The results showed that the long-run relationship between NBFI development and economic growth is relatively stronger in Egypt and South Africa, than in Nigeria. Evidence in respect of Nigeria shows that such a relationship is weak. The nature of the relationship between NBFI development and economic growth in Egypt is positive and significant, and predominantly bidirectional. This suggests that a virtuous relationship between NBFIs and economic growth exists in Egypt. In South Africa, the relationship is positive and significant and predominantly runs from NBFI development to economic growth, implying a supply-leading phenomenon. In Nigeria, the results are weak and mixed.Conclusion: The study concludes that in countries with more developed financial systems, the role of NBFIs and their importance to the economic growth process are more pronounced. Thus, there is need for developing policies targeted at developing the NBFI sector, given their potential to contribute to economic growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Song ◽  
Chenbin Zheng ◽  
Jiangquan Wang

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic is still raging, which calls for an exploration of how to prevent and control pandemics to promote sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the digital economy in sustainable development, the relationship between the two, the impacts of the outbreak on economic and social development, and changes in China's digital economy.Design/methodology/approachThe study used the time-series data from 2002 to 2019 and an unconstrained VAR model to examine the relationship between the digital economy and sustainable development before the pandemic.FindingsChina's digital economy has promoted the country's sustainable economic and social development; it has advanced rapid economic growth, improved people's living standards, increased efficient utilization of resources, and strengthened environmental protection.Research limitations/implicationsAmid the pandemic, China's digital economy developed effectively; it showed strong resilience because of its unique advantages. The digital economy in China has helped the country to control the pandemic in a short period, reduced the risk of supply chain disruption, promoted China's economic growth, and ensured the orderly operation of society. Therefore, countries worldwide are encouraged to prioritize their digital economies.Originality/valueCompared with the extant literature, this study explores the sustainable supply chain in a broader sense in the context of a pandemic, and how the supply chain is influenced by the digital economy. It not only includes the stability, resilience, and viability of the supply chain in economic development but also involves aspects of people's life, resource utilization, and environmental protection.


2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. E8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Womeldorff ◽  
David Gillespie ◽  
Randy L. Jensen

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain tumor with an exceptionally poor patient outcome despite aggressive therapy including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. This aggressive phenotype may be associated with intratumoral hypoxia, which probably plays a key role in GBM tumor growth, development, and angiogenesis. A key regulator of cellular response to hypoxia is the protein hypoxia-inducible factor–1 (HIF-1). An examination of upstream hypoxic and nonhypoxic regulation of HIF-1 as well as a review of the downstream HIF-1–regulated proteins may provide further insight into the role of this transcription factor in GBM pathophysiology. Recent insights into upstream regulators that intimately interact with HIF-1 could provide potential therapeutic targets for treatment of this tumor. The same is potentially true for HIF-1–mediated pathways of glycolysis-, angiogenesis-, and invasion-promoting proteins. Thus, an understanding of the relationship between HIF-1, its upstream protein regulators, and its downstream transcribed genes in GBM pathogenesis could provide future treatment options for the care of patients with these tumors.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1156-1179
Author(s):  
Harish C. Chandan

Corruption is globally pervasive. Defined as abuse of entrusted power for private gain (Transparency International, 2013), corruption represents a set of economic, social, cultural, and political practices that are secretive and rooted in greed, ambition, or quest for power. This chapter reviews causes of corruption including the macro- and micro-level determinants of corruption such as leadership, management, and organizational culture. Various subjective and objective measures of corruption are discussed. Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Heritage Foundation's Economic Freedom Index (EFI) are reviewed. The World Bank's Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), Doing Business Indicator (DBI), and World Bank Institute's Governance Indicator (WBI-GI) are also reviewed, as is the role of global anti-corruption agencies and various instruments. Additionally, the relationship between corruption and foreign domestic investment, economic growth, and economic and political institutions are considered, as are anti-corruption intervention strategies for corruption and business ethics training.


Author(s):  
Filiz Eryılmaz ◽  
Hasan Bakır ◽  
Mehmet Mercan

The relationship between financial development and economic growth has been the subject of considerable debate in development and growth literature. Therefore this chapter provides evidence on the role of financial development in accounting for economic growth in 23 OECD countries (Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, England, USA, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Turkey, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland) via panel data analysis using the annual data for the period 1980-2012. The authors find a positive relationship between financial development and economic growth for all countries. Also this result means that financial development leads economic growth in these countries. So the results may help policymakers formulate effective financial sector policies as a tool to promote economic growth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-333
Author(s):  
Allam Mohammed Hamdan ◽  
Reem Khamis ◽  
Ammar Abdulla Al Hawaj ◽  
Elisabetta Barone

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediation role of public governance in the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach To achieve this aim, the study uses a 20-year time series analysis (1996–2015) and tests the effect of entrepreneurship on economic growth, through public governance, via a mediator model. Findings The study has determined that public governance buoys the positive effect that entrepreneurship activities exert on economic growth in the UAE. Based on this determination, the study posits a set of recommendations that focus on supporting entrepreneurship activities that play a significant role in economic growth. Originality/value The study adds to the literature on the impact of entrepreneurship on economies dependent on oil revenues vis-à-vis a public policy perspective. The study provides insights into the type of entrepreneurship that most efficaciously suits the Emirati social and cultural milieu in terms of fostering national economic growth. In addition, the study limns a vision of the role of public governance in creating an enabling environment that stimulates entrepreneurial activity and, in turn, increases economic growth in the Emirates.


2013 ◽  
Vol 869-870 ◽  
pp. 439-442
Author(s):  
Kong Jian Li ◽  
Yaou Qi

This article investigates how the scale and structure of energy production influence on sustainable economic development in China. First and foremost, the relationship between energy production and economic development was discussed in theory, and a time-varying parameter state space model was established. Then an empirical study based on the annual data from 1981 to 2012 was carried out by using method of Kalman filter. The results indicate that both the increasing scale of energy production and the increasing proportion of new energy have a positive and significant influence on Chinese economic growth. Finally, the thesis draws a conclusion that, expanding the scale of energy production and optimizing the structure of energy production will significantly promote China's sustainable economic growth.


SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401773609 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Wesley F. Peterson

The relationship between population growth and economic growth is controversial. This article draws on historical data to chart the links between population growth, growth in per capita output, and overall economic growth over the past 200 years. Low population growth in high-income countries is likely to create social and economic problems while high population growth in low-income countries may slow their development. International migration could help to adjust these imbalances but is opposed by many. Drawing on economic analyses of inequality, it appears that lower population growth and limited migration may contribute to increased national and global economic inequality.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.K. Mishra

Mutual funds allow for portfolio diversification and relative risk aversion through collection of funds from the households and investment of the same in the stock and debt markets. In this process, mutual funds industry plays the most important role of a resource mobilizer. As a resource mobilizer, the industry collects the investible surpluses from the surplus-spending units and channelizes the same to the deficit-spending units of an economy. Such a function has wide relevance for a developing country like India. Arguably, mutual funds industry as a resource mobilizer appears to contribute to real economic growth of a country by reducing the transaction costs and raising the purchasing power of the investors. Thus, this article is an attempt to investigate the dynamics of the relationship between gross funds mobilized by mutual funds and the real economic growth of a developing country like India for the period 1970–71 to 2008–09. Using the time series econometric techniques of cointegration and error correction estimates, the study concludes that the growth in real gross domestic product Granger causes gross resource mobilization by mutual funds in the long run, but not in the short run. This finding supports the demand-following hypothesis and thus, the policy implication is that the real economic growth of India may be considered as the policy variable to augment the resource mobilization by mutual funds.


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