Does Tourism Affect Sustainable Development in MINT Countries?

Following the failure to achieve Millennium Development Goals by most countries in the world, Sustainable Development Goals are now at the center of developmental issues. Consequently, this study aims to examine if tourism can be an ally to sustainable development in MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey) countries between 1995 and 2018. The study uses adjusted net saving and international tourism receipts in these countries as measures of sustainable development and tourism, respectively. In achieving its objectives, the study employs the augmented mean group (AMG) estimation technique to estimate the long-run parameters. Besides, mean group (MG) and common correlated effects MG techniques are employed to check the robustness of the estimates obtained via the AMG approach. The results from the three estimators show that tourism is indeed an ally to sustainable development in MINT countries since there is a significant positive relationship between tourism and sustainable development. In other words, tourism can put the MINT countries on the path to sustainable development. This implies that any policy that will enhance the performance of the tourism industry will ensure sustainable development in MINT countries. Thus, the governments of MINT countries should focus basically on achieving sustainable tourism development, as this will translate to sustainable development in their countries.

Green Economy – Vector of Sustainable Development

The article is devoted to the formation of theoretical, methodological foundations and the development of conceptual approaches to the practical provision of the green economy, considered as a vector of sustainable development. The study substantiates the need to create a new global economic school. The existence of two concepts of economic development of future generations is established. The author’s vision of economic growth in the conditions of sustainable development is formed, as well as its necessity is also proved. A component model of sustainable development is proposed, which allows reflecting the essence and content of the green economy. The positive experience of green integration is summarized. The negative aspects on the way to the practical implementation of the Millennium Development Goals are identified.

THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) AND GLOBAL POVERTY: HAVE WE REALLY FAILED?

MDGs was implemented over the period 2000-2015 by the United Nations along with 189 members states to tackle several crucial issues, namely ‘extreme poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equality and woman empowerment, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and globally developmental partnership’ (United Nations 2014). After 2015, the MDGs which was adopted by 189 members states was evaluated by comparing between the MDGs’ targets and its results. By using archival research data, this paper argues that the MDGs have not really failed in fighting against global poverty, because the MDGs showed a global willingness to alleviate numbers of poverty and the MDGs have achieved prominent improvement.

Implementation of SDG 16: Russia’s Role and Actions

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions is one of 17 SDGs identified by the UN in 2015. The SDGs that supersede the Millennium Development Goals imply continuous multilateral actions to ensure their full and timely implementation. Analysis of the available literature shows that insufficient attention is paid to the international component of SDG implementation. An insufficient examination of Russias participation in international initiatives to implement the SDGs, and SDG 16 in particular, is also noted. This article intends to fill in this gap by presenting the results of an analysis of Russias activities in the international arena, contributing to the implementation of SDG 16. Russia today is one of the key actors in international politics. Russias activities in the international arena, including its participation in multilateral programs of assistance to countries and regions experiencing difficulties in resolving internal conflicts, contribute to the implementation of SDG 16. However, this aspect is not covered in Russias Voluntary National Review for the High-Level Political Forum, nor in available research. The author examines the features of a modern approach to studying the international aspect of the SDGs implementation. Furthermore, the author analyzes Russias activities on the international arena contributing to SDG 16 implementation. The article concludes with the authors observations regarding appropriate steps to increase Russias contribution to SDG 16 implementation.

Financial Inclusion and Crowdfunding- A study of European Countries

Financial Inclusion appears to be a means of achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs) w h ic h can exterminate poverty and help populaces to come out of the trap known as “poverty trap”. Crowdfunding, on the otherhand, helps people find investors or contributors for their business or cause. They are usually people who do no t have access to the formal financial market or do not want to borrow money athighinterest rates. The study was aime d to review the position of European countries in terms of financial inclusion and Fintechfrom the Findex data 2017 from the World Bank.The crowdfunding data was gathered from the website of the European Crowdfunding Network whi c h helps to propagate the idea of crowdfunding in European countries. The study found that most countries in Europe have a high number of populationsinclusive in the formal financial system and thus can access various fi nanc ia l se rv i ce s offered by these institutions. Also, crowdfunding has seen a sharp increase in the amount of money raisedand proj ec t s funded in the last few years which was possible through the penetration of Fintechservices in these countries. The study will be helpful for the companies which want to launch their crowdfunding platforms and also for the people who like to project their business on these platforms.

Intersections between Pacific leadership and international development

<p>As part of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations has a long-held commitment to universal primary education for all children. Aid donors in wealthy nations have taken up this call and international development programmes have subsequently been set up in recipient countries where education is not available to everyone. Despite this, an estimated 1.6 million school-aged children in the Pacific region do not currently have access to formal primary schooling. As the timeframe for achieving the Millennium Development Goals draws to a close it is now clear that this aspiration will not be realised in many parts of the Pacific and a generation of children will grow up without a primary education. This raises questions about the design, delivery and management of international aid programmes in the education sector that are often led by people who are not members of the Pacific communities that they seek to assist. This research explores the frustrations felt by recipients of education development programmes in two nations in the Pacific, Tonga and Fiji focusing on the relationship between international development in the Pacific and leadership styles and cultures in the education sector. A key problem that was articulated by aid recipients is that international aid relationships in the Pacific continue to be dominated by the discourses and priorities of donor nations and important opportunities to develop grassroots and local forms of leadership that respond directly and knowledgeably to the rapidly changing needs of Pacific communities have yet to be fully realised. At the same time, new forms of Pacific leadership are emerging as global economies increasingly affect the lives of people living in remote communities and there is a need to respond to these changes because they have a direct impact on schooling for children who live in those areas. Donor nations have not contributed significantly to local leadership development in the education domain and this is an ongoing source of tension for many people because there are so few formally trained indigenous leaders in the education field. The lack of local leaders in this area has an impact of the level of buy-in that Pacific communities give to educational aid projects. This thesis argues that if donor nations are serious about providing universal primary education, leadership development needs to be supported more comprehensively.</p>