This research presents a comprehensive model for enhancing the road network in Thailand to achieve high efficiency in transportation. The objective is to develop a systematic approach for categorizing roads that aligns with usage demands and responsible agencies. This alignment facilitates the creation of interconnected routes, which ensure clear responsibility demarcation and foster efficient budget allocation for road maintenance. The findings suggest that a well-structured road network, combined with advanced information and communication technology, can significantly enhance the economic competitiveness of Thailand. This model not only proposes a framework for effective road classification but also outlines strategic initiatives for leveraging technology to achieve transportation efficiency and safety.

The application of governance in recent years appears as a tool of entities that organize sport. Considering this aspect, it was observed that many sports entities present problems in following mechanisms to improve management, both in national and international contexts. Governance materializes with principles of transparency, accountability, equity, institutional integrity, and modernity, in order to aid sports entities. Thus, the development of sports entities could improve management, professionalization, and innovation. Based on the aforementioned, this article aims to demonstrate whether the principles of governance found in the literature are contemplated in Brazilian sports confederations, pointing to the possibility of finding distinct characteristics among the confederations, and the confederation with the highest index for Brazilian sports. The methodology is a longitudinal discursive analysis. The results use data from 2015 to 2022 from the Sou do Esporte Governance Awards and the analysis is based on five governance principles; transparency, equity, accountability, institutional integrity, and modernity. The confederations were found to have adopted the principles of governance to improve, professionalize, and optimize their sports management. The results suggest that the use of governance can enhance the confederations and improve the management, legitimacy, and development of sports in Brazil. The authors consider the nuances reported in the study as imperative to improve the progress of Brazilian sports, and the contribution made could generate other discussions in different contexts and countries.

Infrastructure development policies have been criticised for lacking a deliberate pro-gender and pro-informal sector orientation. Since African economies are dual enclaves, with the traditional and informal sectors female-dominated, failure to have gendered infrastructure development planning and investment exacerbates gender inequality. The paper examines the effect of the infrastructure development index, the size of the informal economy, and the level of economic development on gender inequality. The paper applies the panel autoregressive distributed lag method to data on the gender inequality index, infrastructure development index, GDP per capita, and size of the informal sector for the period 2005–2018. The sample consists of 44 African countries. The research established that the infrastructure development index, its sub-indices, GDP per capita, and the size of the informal sector are crucial dynamics that governments need to consider carefully when formulating development policies to reduce gender inequality. The research found that investment in infrastructure in general, transport infrastructure, and energy infrastructure reduces gender inequality. infrastructure development has gender inequality increasing effects in some countries and gender inequality reducing effects in others. The pattern suggests that at the continental level a Kuznets-type patten in the relationship between gender inequality and infrastructure development, gender inequality and size of informal sector, and gender inequality and GDP per capita exists. Some countries are in the region where changes in these covariates positively correlate with gender inequality, while others are in the region where further increases in the covariates reduce gender inequality.

This study examines the bottleneck effect of logistics performance on Vietnam’s imports, utilizing bilateral trade data from 2007 to 2022. We evaluate the impact of logistics performance on imports of Vietnam using the augmented gravity model and a random effects estimator. Our findings reveal that the minimum logistics performance between Vietnam and its trading partners has a significantly positive impact on the Vietnamese imports. The magnitude of its bottleneck effects is much larger than the influence of Vietnam’s individual logistics performance or deviations in performance with its trading partners. Recognizing the impact of logistics bottlenecks on international trade enables policymakers to develop more effective and efficient logistics-related policies for enhancing bilateral trade with trading partners.

This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial inclusion in China, a country with a significant agricultural sector and an evolving digital landscape. The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards digital financial services, underscoring disparities in access. This study explores the pre- and post-pandemic scenarios of financial inclusion in China, evaluates the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, and assesses the role of digital transformation in the financial sector. It also investigates the changing roles of commercial banks and microfinance institutions, the integration of technology in finance, and the development of rural-urban economic linkages. The paper aims to propose strategies to enhance financial inclusion, ensuring it reaches the most vulnerable, and concludes with recommendations for creating a more equitable and robust economic system.

Medicare, a major healthcare program under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended telemedicine services within several states in the US for different specialties for which it reimburses in order to establish a qualitative and accessible healthcare system. In parallel, it has been seen that teleradiology services by American Board Certified radiologists based offshore can significantly supplement healthcare delivery in the US by mitigating the shortage of radiologists and enhance outcomes of patient care especially for after-hours emergency work. Teleradiology can help workflow by improving workload distribution, lowering the cost of reporting, shortening turn-around-time for reports, and improving quality of life for staff. The aim of the article is to provide perspective on Medicare reimbursement of offshore telereporting services. We submit that due to its value proposition and contribution to healthcare, offshore telereporting by American Board Certified Radiologists is worthy of Medicare reimbursement and should be re-evaluated for its credits.