The influencing factors of carbon emissions in the railway transportation industry based on extended LMDI decomposition method: evidence from the BRIC countries

In the twenty-first century, global warming and other environmental issues have become the focus of international attention. The total generation of carbon emissions for the railway transportation industry in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, Indian and China) accounted for 25.73% of the global carbon emissions in this industry during 2017. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the influencing factors of carbon emission in the railway transportation industry for the BRIC, in order to better control and reduce carbon emissions and to achieve the global goal of "net-zero emission." The logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) decomposition method was used to examine the factors that influenced carbon emissions from the railway transportation industry in the BRIC from 1997 to 2017. According to the findings, the total carbon emissions of the railway transportation industry in BRIC were 60.92 million tons in 2017, increased by 98.62% compared to 1997. The factor of economic output effect has contributed positively to the increase in carbon emissions in all identified countries. However, the effect of population size effect, energy structure, and transportation intensity effect for carbon emission demonstrated heterogeneity in BRIC. In addition, policy suggestions are put forward for the reduction of carbon emissions from the railway transportation industry in BRIC.

Perceptions of Farm Animal Sentience and Suffering: Evidence from the BRIC Countries and the United States

In this study, we examined how beliefs about farm animal sentience and their suffering vary across culture and demographic characteristics. A total of N = 5027) questionnaires were administered in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the USA. Brazilians showed higher and Chinese lower levels of perceived animal sentience. In Russia and India, the perception of suffering and sentience increases with age, with similar levels to those observed in the USA. In all the countries, more people agreed than disagreed that animals are sentient. Men in India show higher levels of agreement with the relation between eating meat and animal suffering, followed by women in Brazil and China. Lower levels of agreement are observed in Americans and Chinese. Women show higher levels of compassion than men. In Russia, there is a slightly higher level of agreement between men and in the USA younger men agree more. Young American men show higher levels of agreement, while in India and China age has the opposite effect. For fair trading competition, it is important to standardize procedures and respect the demand for both animal protein and its ethical production. Overall, our results showed that perceptions of farm animal sentience and suffering vary substantially across countries and demographic groups. These differences could have important consequences for the perceived ethicality of meat production and consumption, and for global trade in animal products.

Local People Standings on Existing Farm Animal Welfare Legislation in the BRIC Countries and the USA. Comparison with Western European Legislation

This study explored the demand for improved farm animal welfare (FAW) legislation in the BRIC countries and the USA. Results are discussed in comparison to Europe. Interviewees ranked their willingness to support or oppose introduction of more FAW-friendly laws in their country. A multinomial logistic regression was fit to the data (p < 0.001), with the parameters "country × gender" (p < 0.001) and "country × age" (p < 0.001) found significant. Americans, Russian women, and older Brazilian men are very supportive. The age effect is also felt in India, where older people are more supportive. Chinese, American men, and younger Indians are less supportive. Russian males are the group that oppose the most, followed by younger Brazilians and Indians. The law and its application vary a lot between countries. Nevertheless, the societal willingness to improve FAW legislation is high in all countries. The willingness is higher in Europe. The different cultural backgrounds, the socio-economic factors, and the social, economic, and environmental sustainability are enough reasons to create barriers to policy harmonization in the global trade of farm animal products.

Does corruption matter for stock markets? The role of heterogeneous institutions

In examining the role of institutions in resisting corruption and its impact on growth, most studies concentrate on the aggregate level and conclude that sound institutions enhance growth. We focus instead on varying dimensions of heterogeneous institutions in the presence of corruption and their interactive effect on stock returns in four emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). We pay particular attention to democratic accountability, bureaucratic quality, and law and order. Using monthly data for the first time in this literature, we find that corruption and other weaker institutions lower stock returns during the period 1995-2014. However, interaction effects show interesting mixed results: Bureaucratic quality can mitigate the ill effects of corruption and increase returns by reducing red tape, whereas corruption distorts law and order and lowers stock returns. Our findings suggest that policies to enhance bureaucratic efficiency can abate the adverse effects of corruption, but a restrictive law and order environment tends to lower stock returns.

Drug lag and key regulatory barriers in the emerging markets

There have been numerous investigations targeted at identifying whether a drug lag exists in the mature markets of the US, EU and Japan. This work focuses on the emerging markets because of the potential they hold for the future of the pharmaceutical industry as a consequence of rapid economic and political development.The aims of this work are to ascertain whether a drug lag exists in the emerging markets and how it has changed over time from the 1960s to the 2000s. It will also highlight key regulatory barriers which may contribute to drug lag.The date of the marketing authorisation (MA) approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was used as a reference point. A comparison against the company database regarding emerging market specific approval enabled the difference in time and thus the drug lag for that particular market to be calculated.This work concludes that the overall relative drug lag in the emerging markets has decreased over time and that there are seven key regulatory barriers which need to be targeted in order to make further improvements; 'Western Approval', local clinical development (LCD), Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CPP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), pricing approval, document authentication and harmonisation.