The nexus between foreign direct investment, natural resource endowment, and their impact on sustained economic growth, is contentious. This study investigates the resource curse hypothesis and the effects of FDI on economic growth in Kazakhstan. The study covers the period from 1990 to 2022 and employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and Toda-Yamamoto causality methods. The Bounds cointegration results reveal the existence of long-term equilibria between per capita GDP and the predictors. The findings reveal a significant impact of oil rents on economic growth, contradicting the resource curse hypothesis and suggesting a resource boon instead. In stark contrast, the impact of FDI on Kazakhstan’s economic growth is found to be insignificant, despite the presence of a causal nexus. Furthermore, economic freedom and export diversification have a positive significant impact on economic growth, while inflation exhibits a negative but significant impact. Although governance has a direct impact on GDP per capita, it is deemed insignificant, as the negative average governance index implies poor governance. Expectedly, the result establishes a causal effect between export diversification, economic freedom, governance, oil rents, and economic growth. This underscores the fundamental role played by the interplay of diversification, economic freedom, governance, and oil rents in fostering sustainable economic growth. In addition, economic freedom stimulates gross fixed capital formation, indicating that it enhances domestic investment. Notably, the findings refute the crowding-out effect of FDI on domestic investment in Kazakhstan. Consequently, to escape the resource curse and the Dutch disease syndrome, the study advocates for enhancing good governance capabilities in Kazakhstan. Thus, we recommend that good governance could reconcile the twin goals of economic diversification and deriving benefits from oil resources, ultimately transforming oil wealth into a boon in Kazakhstan.

This research explores the necessity and the effect of job resources for undergraduates’ career satisfaction during work experience in an apprenticeship program. Additionally, we examine the extent to which a supportive environment enhances apprentice career satisfaction by providing access to valuable learning experiences. We propose PLS equation modelling with a sample of 81 students who completed a dual apprenticeship degree in Business Administration and Management at Spanish University. The study finds that all three workplace job resources are necessary for career satisfaction among apprentices. Learning opportunities and social relations have significant effects, while job control contributes only marginally. It highlights that learning opportunities enhance social relations, emphasizing the importance of feedback. The study extends job resource research to university level apprenticeships, showing that without these resources, apprentices lack career satisfaction. It highlights that learning opportunities are crucial for satisfaction through social relations and offers guidance for designing effective workplace training programs.

Cassava’s adaptability to different agroecological conditions, high yield, as well as its ability to thrive under harsh climatic conditions, makes it an essential food security crop. In South Africa, the cassava value chain is currently uncoordinated and underdeveloped, with a couple of smallholder farmers growing the crop for household consumption and as a source of income. Other farmers regard it as a secondary crop and hardly any producers grow it for industrial purposes. Hence, this study sought to analyze the determinants of household participation in the cassava value chain in South Africa. The study employed the multivariate probit model to analyze the determinants of household participation in the cassava value chain in South Africa, using a primary dataset collected through a simple sample method from smallholder farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo provinces. Results show that livestock ownership has a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of farmers participating in the value chain by growing cassava for household food consumption. Also, findings reveal that hiring labour in cassava production and an increase in the yield during the previous season increases the probability of farmers’ interest in selling cassava tubers along the value chain. Hence, the positive and statistically significant influence of hiring labour during cassava production in driving the farmers’ interest in selling cassava tubers and cuttings implies that the development of the cassava value chain presents great opportunities for creating jobs (employment) in the country. Also, policy interventions that ensure land tenure security and empower farmers to increase their cassava yields are bound to encourage further participation in the value chain with an interest in selling fresh tubers, among other derived products to generate income. Lastly, programmes that empower and encourage youth participation in the cassava value chain can increase the number of farmers interested in selling cassava products.

Indonesia ranks as the second-largest source of plastic garbage in marine areas, behind China. This is a critical problem that emphasises the need for synergistic endeavors to safeguard the long-term viability of marine ecosystems. The objective of this work is to examine the implementation of the Penta Helix model in the management of marine plastic trash. For this purpose, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was carried out, utilizing scholarly papers sourced from the Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The analysis centred on evaluating the Penta Helix model as a cooperative framework for tackling plastic waste management in the marine environments of Indonesia and China. The results suggest that the Penta Helix methodology successfully enables the amalgamation of many interests and resources, making a valuable contribution to the mitigation of plastic pollution in the waters of both nations. In order to advance a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to plastic waste management, this multidisciplinary plan brings together stakeholders from government, academia, business, civil society, and the media. Under this framework, the government is responsible for formulating laws, guidelines, and programs to decrease the use of disposable plastics and improve waste management infrastructure, all while guaranteeing adherence to environmental constraints. Simultaneously, the industrial and academic sectors are responsible for creating sustainable technology and pioneering business strategies, while civil society, in collaboration with the media, has a crucial role in increasing public consciousness regarding the destructive effects of plastic trash. This comprehensive strategy emphasizes the need of synergistic endeavors in tackling the intricate issues of marine plastic contamination.

This study replicates and extends Corbett and Kirsch (2001) and Vastag (2004) using a new data set to investigate the drivers of ISO 14000 certification diffusions using decision tree analysis. The findings indicate that at the national level, ISO 14000 certification diffusions are influenced by factors other than ISO 9000 certification diffusions, such as the number of environmental treaties signed and ratified, industrial activities as a percentage of GDP, and GDP per capita, thus provides a range of managerial insights and enhances scholarly understanding of sustainability beyond the influence of ISO 9000. Future studies might extend the countries included in this study to see if the results are the same. Future research may include other factors like a country’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) indicators to better understand its commitment to sustainability, including environmental sustainability. The country’s culture may influence customers, investors, and other stakeholders’ knowledge and desire for sustainable practices and inspire firms to obtain ISO 14000 certifications. Since larger firms may seek ISO 14000 certification, future studies may evaluate the influence of the number of large firms in various countries as drivers of ISO certification diffusions.