Assessment of Risks and Threats of "Green" Entrepreneurship based on Cross-Factor Modeling

The article is a continuation of a number of scientifc studies conducted by the authors within the framework of government assignments and grants, dedicated to identifying the relationship between the economic security of territories and the development of "green" entrepreneurship on them.Purpose: of the study is to model the assessment of the state of economic security of territories under various conditions of the transition to "green" entrepreneurship, taking into account the action of external and internal factors. "Green" entrepreneurship is a priority area for the development of Russian regions, consistent with the achievement of Russia's national strategic goals for the period up to 2030.Methods: in this work, cross-factor modeling and the method of integral analysis are used to calculate the composite index of the state of economic security and its structural components, taking into account the development of "green" entrepreneurship, supplemented by the method of a priori ranking of factors to assess the contribution of each component and justify the priority the selected factors affecting the level of economic security of the regions.Results: a three-component cross-factor model for assessing the state of economic security in certain regions of the Russian Federation (Moscow Region, Leningrad Region, Sverdlovsk Region, Novosibirsk Region, Altai Territory, Krasnodar Territory) had been calculated and tested. The regions were ranked according to the value of each of the components, as well as separately according to the aggregate level of economic security. The necessity of stimulating the development of "green" entrepreneurship in each of the analyzed regions. Have been substantiated and stimulating and discouraging factors that have an impact on the level of economic security, taking into account "green" entrepreneurship, pointwise in each subject, have been identifed.Conclusions and Relevance: the proposed approach to assessing the impact of the identifed factors on the level of economic security of the regions, taking into account the development of "green" entrepreneurship on the basis of the developed cross-factor model, made it possible to build a rating of territories and identify stimulating and discouraging factors in their development. On the basis of which to determine the tools for influencing the economic security in a separate entity.

Social Workers’ Causal Attributions for Poverty: Does the Level of Spatial Concentration of Disadvantages Matter?

Social workers may play an important role in the implementation of welfare policies targeted at the poor. Their norms, beliefs, and attitudes form local anti-poverty programmes and affect discretionary practices with their clients. Despite this, we know little about how social workers’ exposure to poverty shapes their attitudes towards poverty and their causal attributions for poverty. This study investigates social workers’ poverty explanations and the extent to which they depend on the level of local poverty. Data from a survey conducted among Hungarian social workers were analysed using multilevel linear regression models. To measure local poverty, we used a composite index of poverty, as well as a subjective measure of exposure to poverty. Our analysis revealed that most social workers explained poverty with structural causes, but individual blame was also frequent. Contrary to our hypothesis, the level of local poverty did not significantly increase the adoption of structural explanations but did raise the occurrence of individualistic ones. However, the effect of local poverty was non-linear: social workers tended to blame the poor for their poverty in the poorest municipalities, where multiple disadvantages are concentrated, while moderate poverty did not lead to such opinions. Our results suggest that efforts should be made to improve the poverty indicator framework to better understand the phenomenon of spatial concentration of multiple disadvantages and its consequences for the poor.

The National Composite Index for Family Planning (NCIFP): Results and Methodological Issues

Background: The “ FP2020 Global Partnership” signaled a shift to broader, rights-based approaches to family planning programs, and the National Composite Index for Family Planning was developed as part of related measurement efforts. Methods: In each country 10-15 experts on the family planning program completed a 35-item questionnaire, first in 2014 in 89 countries, and in 2017 in 84 countries. Data were entered in Excel, with checks for consistency and data quality. The total score, and scores for each of 5 dimensions of effort are averages across the 35 indicators. Analytic techniques included cross-tabulations, graphical and correlation approaches. Results: The average total score for all countries in 2017 was 64 of the maximum of 100 of effort. Sub-regions differed: Anglophone and Francophone sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) scored highest in the total score and across all 5 dimensions. Next in order came Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Despite large differences in scores, the sub-regions followed similar profiles across the 35 indicators. The long term rise in the basic family planning effort scores continued, extending the series from surveys approximately every five years beginning in the 1980s. The highest score reached was for the strategy dimension, but the others were close. Their relative levels remained essentially the same as in the 2014 survey. NCIFP scores correlated positively with modern contraceptive use in both the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and non-sub-Saharan Africa (non-SSA) countries, but the relationships were stronger for SSA. Access to long-acting and permanent methods (LAPMs) was accompanied by greater LAPM use and modern method use. Conclusion: Repeated surveys in most developing countries show improvements in family planning effort, though unevenly, by 35 indicators and across regions.

Assessment of Undernutrition Using Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) and its Determinants: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Rural Area of Bogor District in Indonesia

Background: Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) can assess anthropometric failure by combining the three conventional index measurements of weight-for-age, length/height-for-age, and weight-for-length/height to determine the nutritional status of children under five years. This study aims to assess undernutrition using the CIAF and its determinants on children under five years in the rural area of ​​Bogor District, in Indonesia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during February-May 2019 among 330 pairs of mother-children (under five years). Sample selected by systematic random sampling from four villages as undernutrition pockets in the rural area of ​​Bogor District, Indonesia. The nutritional status of children was assessed by measuring weight and length/height. Then, Z-score was calculated using WHO Anthro software and categorized based on conventional indices that included weight-for-age (WAZ), length/height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-length/height (WHZ). CIAF is measured based on a combination of conventional index measurements. In addition, the characteristics of mother’s and child, and clean living behavior measured by structured questionnaires. Meanwhile, environmental sanitation is assessed by the environment meter. Binary logistic regression analysis with SPSS version 22.0 was used to analyze the dominant factors associated with undernutrition.Results: The prevalence underweight, stunted, and wasted was 27.8%, 29.7%, and 10.6% respectively. Children who are undernutrition are 42.1% according to the CIAF of which about a quarter (17.8%) of undernutrition children experience a single anthropometric failure, about half (22.2%) had dual failure, and 2.1% had multiple failures. The most dominant factor associated with underweight, stunted, and wasted is family income [p-value=0.018; AOR=5.44; 95% CI: 1.34-22.11], mother's height [p-value=<0.001; AOR=3.29; 95% CI:1.83-5.91], and child's age [p-value=0.013; AOR=2.59; 95% CI: 1.22-5.47] respectively. Mother's height is the most dominant factor associated with anthropometric failure (CIAF) [p-value=0.008; AOR=1.95; 95% CI: 2.19-3.19].Conclusion: CIAF is worthwhile in preventing undernutrition in children under five years. The CIAF can identify more malnourished children than the conventional index. CIAF can use more widely in various regions in Indonesia and other developing countries. Furthermore, improvements in improving nutrition for mother’s in the child since the First 1000 days of life period are needed to determine optimal nutritional status as an indicator of growth success.

Measurement and Mapping of Maternal Health Service Coverage Through a Novel Composite Index: A Sub-National Level Analysis in India

Background: Expansion of maternal health service coverage is crucial for the survival and wellbeing of both mother and child. To date, limited literature exists on the measurement of maternal health service coverage at the sub-national level in India. The prime objectives of the study were to comprehensively measure the maternal health service coverage by generating a composite index; map India by categorizing it into low, medium and high zones and examine its incremental changes over time. Methods: Utilising a nationally representative time series data of 15 key indicators spread across three domains of antenatal care, intranatal care and postnatal care, we constructed a novel ‘Maternal Health Service Coverage Index’ (MHSI) for 29 states and 5 union territories of India for the base (2017-18) and reference (2019-20) years. Following a rigorous procedure, MHSI scores were generated using both arithmetic mean and geometric mean approach. We categorized India into low, medium and high maternal health coverage zones and further generated geospatial maps to examine the extent and transition of maternal health service coverage from base to reference year.Results: India registered the highest mean percentage coverage (93.66%) for ‘institutional delivery’ and lowest for ‘treatment for obstetric complications’ (9.25%) among all the indicators. Depending on the usage of arithmetic mean and geometric mean approach, the maternal health service coverage index score for India exhibited marginal incremental change (between 0.015- 0.02 index points) in the reference year. West zone exhibited an upward transition in the coverage of maternal health service indicators, while none of the zones recorded a downward movement. States of Mizoram (east zone), Puducherry (south zone) showed a downward transition. Union territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli (west zone) and Chandigarh (north zone) along with the states of Maharashtra (west zone), Assam, as well as Jharkhand (both from the east & north east zone), showed upward transition.Conclusion: Overall, maternal health service coverage is increasing across India. Our study offers a novel summary measure to comprehensively quantify the coverage of maternal health service, which can momentously help India to identify lagged indicators and low performing regions, thereby warranting the targeted interventions and concentrated programmatic efforts to bolster the maternal health service coverage at the sub-national level.

Determinants of Skill Levels of Farm Youth with regard to Agripreneurship: A Multinomial Regression Approach

This study investigated various determinants of the differential level of skill as perceivedby farm youth engaged in agripreneurship. The existing agripreneurial skill levels weredelineated by developing a composite index constituting of 5 skill dimensions. Purposivesampling was adopted to select the rural youth belonging to farming background andinvolved in agripreneurship for higher income in five districts of Odisha representing fivedifferent agro-climatic zones. A total of 250 farm youth was sampled from the selected 10blocks. The findings of the study revealed that, annual income from primary occupation,agripreneurial training, social media exposure and agripreneurship experience havesignificantly affected the existing level of skill possessed by farm youth with regard toagripreneurship. The findings affirm the need for extension personnel to understand theexisting skill level, capacities, abilities of farm youth along with the factors determiningthem in order to create awareness and build capacities required for agripreneurship.

Financial Development and Sustainable Competitiveness in Arctic Region: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

The present study investigates the effect of financial development on sustainable competitiveness and its components (natural capital, resource intensity, and social cohesion) in the Arctic region. We employ bank-based, stock-market based, and composite index to measure financial development. To deal with endogeneity bias, system GMM is utilized. The results show a positive and significant effect of financial development on sustainable competitiveness. The estimates also assert that financial development encourages resource efficiency and social cohesion in the region. In contrast, we find the negative effect of financial development on natural capital. This suggests that overexploitation of natural resources may provide short-term benefits to the local and regional communities but it may threaten the long-term sustainability of the Arctic. Thus, the financial sector should be guided to support financing and investing activities in alternative eco-friendly technologies and ventures for reducing excessive natural resource utilization.