Impact of EU- FDI on Economic Growth in Middle Eastern Countries
This paper develops a simultaneous equations model to test the process of interaction between foreign direct investment, exports and economic growth in three Middle Eastern countries: Egypt, Jordan, Oman, and test for any possible feedback effects. Most of the FDI in these countries flows from the EU. The simultaneous equations model results suggest that higher rates of economic growth result in a greater inflow of foreign capital. The regression results also suggest that interest rate differentials exert a much stronger effect than economic growth on the attraction of foreign capital in the case of Egypt. However, this variable does not seem to play a significant role in the case of Oman. Moreover, the simultaneous equations model results suggest that there is a feedback effect in the relationship between economic growth and capital inflow in all sample countries. A greater inflow of foreign capital leads to growth in the exports of good and services. The expansion in exports leads to growth in GNP, which in turn, encourages the attraction of more foreign capital.
Can migration solve income inequality problem?
Thai-Nichi Abstract Income inequality is one of the serious threats to many developing countries. Income inequality causes public concern because it leads to crime, disease, and environmental degradation. The United Nations considered this issue as one of its top priorities and included income inequality as one if its strategic sustainable development goals. When considering income disparity between regions, one common solution is migration from low-income regions to high-income regions, hoping for a better life. The governments also support this solution through the elimination of the administrative process of relocation. The e ﬀ ectiveness of using a migration to solve income inequality is still in doubt. Research is required to prove or disprove it. This research aims to examine the e ﬀ ectiveness of migration in solving the income inequality problem. Such issue is complicated as there are many related factors and stakeholders. In addition, the impact of migration on income inequality does not happen immediately. The e ﬀ ect takes a signiﬁcant amount of time to arise. In order to deal with this complexity, a system dynamics approach was used to create a simulated situation. This simulation was then used to analyze the impact of migration and the impact of other factors on income inequality. The results show that migration can reduce income inequality as expected. When adjusting the level of migration, however, we found that the changes to income inequality were minor. It shows that although migration can reduce the income inequality problem, it is not an e ﬀ ective measure when used alone. In order to solve an income inequality problem, migration must be supported by other policies as well.
Assessment of Ground Regeneration around Borehole Heat Exchangers between Heating Seasons in Cold Climates: A Case Study in Bialystok (NE, Poland)
Based on the experimental studies, the process of ground regeneration around the borehole loaded with brine-water heat pumps working exclusively for heating purposes in the period of four consecutive heating seasons in a cold climate was presented. The research was conducted in north-eastern Poland. The aim of the work is to verify the phenomenon of thermal ground regeneration in the period between heating seasons on the basis of the recorded data and to check whether the ground is able to regenerate itself and at what rate. It was noticed that the ground does not fully regenerate, especially during heating seasons with lower temperatures. In the analyzed period, from 22 September 2016 to 12 October 2020, the ground probably cooled irreversibly by 1.5 °C. In order to illustrate and evaluate the speed of changes in the ground, the one’s profile with an undisturbed temperature field was presented for each month of the year. The presented results can be a very important source of information for the analysis of geothermal conditions occurring in the ground. They can be used to verify mathematical models and conduct long-term simulations that allow us to see the complexity of the processes taking place in the ground.