This paper investigates the effects of an unprecedented education policy called ‘double reduction’ (DR) on students’ performance, with evidence from China. One of the significant changes brought about by this policy is the transition of examination scores from a numerical system to a grading system. We found a junior middle school in a small town in Guangzhou that met the requirements for a natural experiment, and we used such unique data to examine three hypotheses. After the implementation of DR, the ‘rat race’ reflected on the students’ grade is reduced. To examine heterogeneity, we apply quantile regression showing that the high-ability students exert less efforts on the ‘rat race’ than low-ability students. Meanwhile, we also provide possible explanations in terms of this phenomenon. Overall, this study not only does it assess the grading transformation that DR policy induced but also fills the gap in the field of DR from an economic perspective.

Hundreds of articles have been written that include empirical estimates of the dis-employment effects of minimum wages; however, many of these articles find statistically insignificant effects, some find significant negative effects, and a few find significant positive effects. Most of these studies use multivariate analyses which can be criticized for omitting key variables. The omitted variables problem ruins all statistics and estimates. This paper uses reiterative truncated projected least squares (RTPLS), a solution to the omitted variables problem, to estimate the percentage increase in unemployment due to a one percent increase in the real minimum wage using monthly data for the 50 states of the USA from 1987 to 2021. RTPLS produces a separate elasticity for every observation where differences in these estimates are due to omitted variables. We argue that RTPLS solves most of the econometric problems that David Neumark identified in his keynote address at a minimum wage conference in Berlin in 2018. We find that the percentage change in the unemployment rate due to a one percent change in the minimum wage ranges between 1.156 and 3.389, that the elasticities for different states tend to move together over time, and that all these elasticities are statistically significant at a 95 percent confidence level.

The goal of this paper is to provide an overall presentation of corruption as occupational fraud building on the findings of an empirical study conducted in Greece. As uncertainty leads to increased levels of corruption, Greece was chosen due to the prolonged period of uncertainty the country faces, caused by the 2010 financial crisis and followed by the Covid pandemic crisis. 400 questionnaires reviewing corruption perception were gathered and analyzed by gender, age, marital status, education level, position, occupation, and monthly income, as well as urban vs rural area of residence. The findings of the study were compared with and critically evaluated against those of the previous studies for Greece. Respondents in age group 36-49 believe that if appropriate measures are taken it is possible to tackle corruption in the public sector, in contrast to people aged 18-35 who disagree completely. Residents of rural areas do not consider corruption to be a serious problem and are more willing to whistleblowing (in contrast to residents of urban areas). The study findings have important practical implications in the context of designing effective corruption reduction policies.

This paper evaluates the fit-for-purpose of the monetary policy measures implemented by the Bank of Ghana in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine the effectiveness of the BoG’s policy interventions in the context of vector autoregressions augmented with macroeconomic and financial indicators. We demonstrate that the BoG’s monetary policy measures have had nominal, real, and financial effects. The monetary interventions have been successful, as evidenced by the gradual reduction in the sovereign spread, improved financial stability, and increased real economic activity. Our findings suggest that balance sheet actions are less effective and should be moderated in the conduct of monetary policy in jurisdictions without zero lower bound constraints. However, the analysis indicates that in times of crisis, central banks should deploy both standard and non-standard tools to stabilize dysfunctional financial markets and avoid a deflationary spiral. The historical and variance decomposition of the data reveal that monetary policy shocks have historically made the largest contributions to the targeted macro-financial aggregates during the pandemic episodes.

The expansion of urban infrastructure is an important indicator of agglomeration and a major factor in the deterioration of the urban environment. The investment in urban infrastructure is accompanied by the sealing of ground. The implementation of effective policies to reduce the practice of sealing ground is impeded by the existence of conflicting interests and fiscal disincentives. A significant challenge is the dearth of policy-relevant information. Conventional analysis considers urban outcome indicators in proportion to population and neglects non-linear distribution patterns, thus obscuring global regularities that contain important information. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of urban imperviousness through the lens of urban scaling. The present study employs Germany as a case study to examine the extent to which the parameters of the scaling function differ between two types of cities. District Affiliated Cities (DACs) and Administrative City Districts (ACDs), which are afforded greater fiscal autonomy. The analysis indicates that the amount of sealed land exhibited a notable increase between 2006 and 2018 in the ACDs. Calibration of the scaling functions for cities with the actual coefficient of the DAC control estimate and a global orientation exponent (5/6) resulted in a 16% reduction of sealed ground. In conclusion, urban scaling laws offer a valuable tool for analyzing the complex dynamics of urban imperviousness and its control costs, thereby contributing to the formulation of more effective urban policies and planning.

Less-Lethal Weapons, including electric Tasers, velocity-reduction bullet-capture projectiles, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, and other less-lethal projectiles used in police departments, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and military policing operations, as well as for private use, are topics of significant debate in recent years. These weapons can reduce collateral damage, reputational risk, and legal exposure while preventing wrongful and unnecessary deaths caused by conventional bullet wounds. Yet, opponents have highlighted concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of these weapons, as well as their potential to cause injury or even death. While the primary duty of law enforcement officials is to preserve order and execute the law while protecting individual rights, they ultimately achieve these goals by exercising their coercive authority. Society expects police officers to rely on their professional training and judgment when using physical force to defend citizens and themselves or to apprehend criminal suspects. Because police officers must occasionally participate in physical acts of coercion, it is unavoidable that some of these interactions may result in bodily injuries to individuals, including the officers themselves. These injuries have real costs, such as medical treatment, lost wages, municipal liability, court claims and settlements, riots, and legal or even criminal exposure, as well as less-tangible collateral costs, such as the erosion of police legitimacy and public trust, which are more difficult to quantify but arguably more influential in shaping long-term public perceptions than personal injuries alone. Less lethal technology eliminates some of the concerns raised by lethal weaponry. This study reviews the advantages and disadvantages of these less-lethal weapon technologies versus traditional firearms for use by the police force, federal agencies, and military police while also performing advanced analytics to model the valuation and return on investment for a law enforcement organization implementing such technologies.

All things being equal, and in a truly democratic world, one will expect that the fact that women are the majority in almost every single community of the world should guarantee them at least equal control or ownership over resources and enjoy most of the rights and privileges in that particular community. But things seem not to be working that way as evidence from the literature shows that women are always relegated to the background when it comes to the issue of control or ownership over, and sometimes even access to property in most societies which include the right to own and use land. This undoubtedly has a consequence on the productive and overall development of such a community. In recent times, the issue of gender discrimination, disparities, and inequalities has attracted the attention of researchers over the past decade with enormous literature in this area. There are, however, few studies that provide a comparative analysis of the situation between two or more countries. This paper seeks to fill this void of knowledge based on a review of relevant literature on land rights with an emphasis on the situations in Kenya and Tanzania. The results have shown the prevalence of four types of land rights such as communal property rights, non or open-access property rights, state or crown property rights, and private property rights. The results have further indicated that the controversial land rights of Kenya have led to the reduction in the lands of certain groups of people, increasing land disputes, and also discriminating against women in their land rights. In the case of Tanzania, there were several cases of bias against women concerning the ownership of land, especially under the customary system of Tanzania. Issues of discrimination against women were also identified in the inheritance laws of the land which is a paramount feature within the norms and cultures of the people of Tanzania. The lack of equal access to land by women in both countries is found to harm productivity in several sectors of their economies, especially in agriculture. Policymakers are therefore admonished to ensure equal access by both genders to land as this will lead to efficiency in the management and usage of land which is certainly good for sustainability in the development of any economy.