Hong and Kao (2004) proposed a class of general applicable wavelet-based tests for serial correlation of unknown form in the residuals from a panel regression model. The tests can be applied to both ...static and dynamic panel models. Their test, however, is computationally difficult to implement, and simulation studies show that the test has poor small-sample properties. In this paper, we extend Gençay’s (2010) time-series test for serial correlation to panel data case. Our new test is also wavelet based and maintains the advantages of the Hong and Kao (2004) test, but it is much simpler and easier to implement. Furthermore, simulation results show that our test has quicker convergence rate and hence better small-sample properties, compared to Hong and Kao (2004) test. We also compare our test with several other existing tests for series correlation, and our test has in general better statistical properties in terms of both size and power.
We analyze the short-term and the long-term determinants of energy intensity, carbon intensity and scale effects for eight developed economies and two emerging economies from 1973 to 2007. Our ...results show that there is a difference between the short-term and the long-term results and that climate policy are more likely to affect emission over the long-term than over the short-term. Climate policies should therefore be aimed at a time horizon of at least 8 years and year-on-year changes in emissions contains little information about the trend path of emissions. In the long-run capital accumulation is the main driver of emissions. Productivity growth reduces the energy intensity while the real oil price reduces both the energy intensity and the carbon intensity. The real oil price effect suggests that a global carbon tax is an important policy tool to reduce emissions, but our results also suggest that a carbon tax is likely to be insufficient decouple emission from economic growth. Such a decoupling is likely to require a structural transformation of the economy. The key policy challenge is thus to build new economic structures where investments in green technologies are more profitable.
•We model determinants of scale, energy intensity and carbon intensity.•Using band spectrum regressions, we separate between short and long run effects.•Different economic variables affect emission in the short and long run.•CO2 reducing policies should have a long run horizon of (at least 8 years).•A low carbon society requires a structural transformation of the economy.
In China, a large private sector has evolved alongside a still sizeable state-owned sector that is subject to government control. Several studies have found that in this mixed economy, the private ...sector is economically more efficient than the state-owned sector. In this paper, we investigate whether private firms are also more carbon efficient than state-owned firms. Using a macroeconomic panel data model with provincial data from 1992 to 2010, we confirm that private firms emit less carbon dioxide than state-owned firms. Our results imply that future reforms, such as ongoing privatization, introduced to increase the economic efficiency of state-owned companies will also mitigate emissions growth. The policy lesson, not only for China but for developing countries maintaining a large state-owned sector, is that economic efficiency and energy efficiency are conjoined mutual benefits.
•We test if China's private firms are more carbon efficient than state-owned firms.•We show that private firms are the most carbon efficient firms in China's economy.•With no state firms, CO2 emission growth would be 2% points smaller p.a.•Market reforms of the state-owned sector can reduce emissions growth.
The carbon dioxide embodied in Chinese exports to developed countries increased rapidly from 1995 to 2008. We test the extent to which institutional reforms in China can explain this increase. We ...focus on five areas of reforms: trade liberalization, environmental institutions, legal and property rights, institutional risk and exchange rate policy. Our results show that trade liberalization, weak environmental institutions, exchange rate policy, and legal and property rights affect emissions. Our results also indicate that the lack of reform in the utilities sector is an important factor in the rapid increase in embodied emissions.
•Carbon emissions embodied in foreign trade has increased.•We test to what degree Chinese institutional reforms can explain this increase.•We find that trade liberalization is the key reform driving emissions.•Environmental institutions & exchange rate policy also have an effect on emissions.
Business angels dominate early-stage investment in firms, but research on their effects on firms is scarce and limited by sample selection. To address sample selection, we propose using population ...data and we develop an algorithm for identifying business angel investments in such data. We illustrate this novel approach by applying it to detailed and longitudinal total population data for individuals and firms in Sweden. In our application, we focus on a subset of business angels-active business angels who are themselves successful entrepreneurs with a profitable exit. We then study active business angels' effects on firm performance, using population data. Employing a quasi-experimental estimator, we find that the business angels invest in firms that already perform above par. There is also a positive effect on subsequent growth compared with control firms. However, contrary to previous research on business angels, we cannot find any impact on firm survival. Overall, the paper underlines the need to address sample selection when studying business angels and suggests using population data for identification.
Clostridioides difficile is a Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium, which causes Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). It has been recognised as a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections ...and a considerable threat to public health globally. This systematic literature review (SLR) summarises the current evidence on the epidemiology and clinical burden of CDI.
A SLR was conducted to identify CDI and recurrent CDI (rCDI) epidemiology studies, to evaluate patient and disease characteristics, incidence rates, epidemiological findings and risk factors. Embase, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for English articles from 2009 to 2019. Included territories were the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, US, Canada, Australia, Japan and China.
Of 11,243 studies identified, 165 fulfilled the selection criteria. An additional 20 studies were identified through targeted review of grey literature. The most widely reported findings were incidence and risk factors for CDI and rCDI. Among key studies reporting both healthcare-associated (HA-CDI) and community-associated CDI (CA-CDI) incidence rates for each country of interest, incidence rates per 10,000 patient days in the US were 8.00 and 2.00 for HA-CDI and CA-CDI, respectively. The highest incidence in Europe was reported in Poland (HA-CDI: 6.18 per 10,000 patient days, CA-CDI: 1.4 per 10,000 patient days), the lowest from the UK, at 1.99 per 10,000 patient days and 0.56 per 10,000 patient days for HA-CDI and CA-CDI, respectively. No clear trend for incidence over time emerged, with most countries reporting stable rates but some either a decrease or increase. Rates of recurrent CDI varied based on geographical setting. The rate of recurrence was lower in community-associated disease compared to healthcare-associated disease. Independent CDI risk factors identified common to both initial CDI and recurrent CDI included increasing age, antibiotic use, recent hospitalisation, and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use. In addition, leukocyte count, length of hospital stays, and Charlson comorbidity index score featured as statistically significant risk factors for recurrent CDI, but these are not reported among the most common statistically significant risk factors for initial CDI.
Despite considerable heterogeneity, evidence suggests substantial incidence of recurrent and primary CDI, even after considerable efforts in the last decade.
Abstract How macroeconomic crises affect firms' environmental sustainability strategies is an open question. We study the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic on the environmental sustainability ...strategies of firms listed on the OMXNasdaq stock exchange in Sweden. The analysis is based on a survey distributed twice, once during the summer of 2020 and once during the summer of 2021 with detailed questions related to the firms' environmental strategies. We find that most firms view the pandemic as an opportunity to strengthen their environmental strategies. However, we also find that the economic downturn caused most firms to redirect scarce resources away from environmental sustainability. We also find that firms which had adopted the Taskforce on Climate‐Related Financial Disclosures were less likely to divert resources. These short‐term results indicate that the pandemic will not enhance firms' environmental sustainability practices in the future.
This paper explores the link between income, and wealth inequality and the ecological footprint in France, Netherlands, United States, and United Kingdom from 1962 to 2021. Based on theoretical ...considerations, we allow the relationship to vary over time. Our analysis provides some support for income inequality influencing ecological footprints, specifically through carbon emissions. Yet, we do not observe a significant effect on non‑carbon footprints. Notably, the link between income inequality and carbon emissions shifted from negative in the 1960s to positive from the late 1980s onwards. Over all our findings imply that economic inequality's impact on the environment is likely limited and context dependent.
•We test the relationship between economic inequality and the ecological footprint.•The results indicate a weak relationship that varies over time.•Inequality only affects the carbon footprint and not the non‑carbon footprint.•Changes in consumption patterns may partially explain the time varying effects.
We study the mapping and reporting of climate-related risks among firms listed on the NasdaqOMX stock exchange in Stockholm in four goods-producing industries. Our study contains two parts: (i) a ...study of the firms' external communication through their annual reports, sustainability reports and webpages, and (ii) a follow-up survey of the top management team. The survey contains quantitative questions and free text answers, which provide additional insights into the mapping and risk-handling of climate-related risks among the firms. We find that firms are likely to engage in some form of mapping and reporting of climate-related risks, but there are variations among the firms. Furthermore, the management of climate-related risks appears to be a residual issue for most firms with little active engagement from the management team or board of directors.
Key policy insights
Public policies and private initiatives, such as the EU's Non-Financial Reporting Directive/Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (NFRD/CSRD), the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities, and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), may redirect and accelerate investments promoting a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.
Although most firms map and report climate-related risks, the understanding of the nature of these risks, of underlying problems, and of what a climate transition implies, varies across firms and industries.
The success of the EU's NFRD/CSRD, the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities, and TCFD requires an improved understanding of climate-related risks among the firms and a more proactive engagement of the management team.
Policymakers must provide firms with additional guidance aimed at improving their understanding of climate-related risks and thus their capacity to manage these risks.
Firms need to, individually and jointly, revise their theoretical and empirical understandings of climate-risk management and especially the role climate-related risks play in the new policy setting.
The TCFD has an important role to play, but as a voluntary initiative, it is insufficient to generate change among all firms.
•We analyze long-term effects of a high school entrepreneurship education program.•We compare three cohorts of program alumni to a matched sample of individuals.•The program increases long-term ...probability of starting a firm.•The program increases expected entrepreneurial income.•The program does not have any effect on firm survival.
This paper studies the long-term impact of entrepreneurship education and training in high school on entrepreneurial entry, performance, and survival. Using propensity score matching, we compare three Swedish cohorts from Junior Achievement Company Program (JACP) alumni with a matched sample of similar individuals and follow these for up to 16 years after graduation. We find that while JACP participation increases the long-term probability of starting a firm as well as entrepreneurial incomes, there is no effect on firm survival.
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