The new oil derivatives transportation scheme proposed by the 2013 Mexican Energy Reform allowed new participants to enter the sector. The new legal framework requires fulfilling many requirements and corresponding duties for the transportation of oil products. The Mexican government already has an institution dedicated to measuring the regulatory cost of each federal procedure. This work aims to quantify the regulatory costs associated with the procedures and their compliance to obtain permits for transporting oil products by truck. We use the standard cost method to measure these costs, considering all associated costs. The results showed that two government offices did not adequately measure these costs. They did not consider relevant information on frequency and opportunity costs, resulting in undervaluation and leading to wrong expectations. As a result of this research, we provide a more accurate way of estimating these costs, which brings greater certainty in the budgeting of these projects and, therefore, increases the probability of survival and success.

This research was conducted using a survey research method to investigate the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Nigerian students' academic performances in tertiary institutions. Nigerian tertiary institutions have an estimated population of about 2.5 million students across the universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education. A sample size of 509 was used. The researchers adopted an online questionnaire (Google Form) to administer questions to respondents across Nigeria to elicit responses from the respondents bordering on their awareness and the use of AI and its attendant impacts on their academic performance. Five research objectives were raised for the proper investigation of this study. From the findings of the study, the researchers found that the majority of Nigerian students use AI and that AI has positive impacts on the educational performance of Nigerian students. It was also found that Nigerian students have training on the use of AI for educational purposes and that they are more familiar with Snapchat AI and ChatGPT. Conclusively, AI is useful to students in the sense that it enhances their knowledge of their courses, improves their learning and speaking skills, and helps them to have a quick understanding of their course by way of simplifying technical aspects of their courses. The researchers therefore recommend as follows: Nigerian tertiary institutions should formally train students as well as teachers on the use of AI for academic purposes so that they can understand the ethical implications of the use of AI. Using AI for writing could be interpreted to mean examination malpractice, and this should not be condoned in the educational sector; however, at the moment, a small number of students used AI for examinations. Albeit, the appropriate use of AI should be fully integrated into Nigerian tertiary institutions' curricula.

The allocation of funds in the local budget is a matter of concern for the governments and economic scholars. The study examines the influence of local budget expenditures on the GRDP per capita of 63 provinces and municipalities in Vietnam from 2018 to 2022. Regression analysis of panel data reveals that capital expenditure has a positive correlation with local GRDP per capita, whereas current expenditure has a negative correlation with GRDP per capita. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that the percentage of individuals aged 15 and above who are employed and the percentage of urban citizens have an equivalent influence as the GRDP per capita. Conversely, the average age and local Gini coefficient have contrasting effects on GRDP per capita. The author suggests several policy alternatives to assist localities in boosting their GRDP per capita based on the findings of the study model.

This study proposes a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method to support strategic decision-makers in choosing a project management research agenda. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model is the basic tool used in this study. It is a mathematical tool for evaluating decisions with multiple alternatives by decomposing them into successive levels according to their degree of importance. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) oriented theme of project management was chosen from among four themes that emerged from a strategic monitoring study. The FAHP method is an effective decision-making tool for multiple aspects of project management. It eliminates subjectivity and produces decisions based on consistent judgment.

In the contemporary landscape characterized by technological advancements and a progressive economic environment, the utilization of currency has undergone a paradigm shift. Despite the growing prevalence of digital currency, its adoption among the Vietnamese population faces several challenges, including limited financial literacy, concerns over security, and resistance to change from traditional cash-based transactions. This research aims to identify these challenges and propose solutions to encourage the widespread use of digital currency in Vietnam. This research adopts a quantitative approach, utilizing Likert scale questionnaires, with a dataset of 330 records. The interrelationships among variables are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The analysis results substantiate the viability of the research model, confirming the hypotheses. The findings demonstrate a positive relationship and the significance impact of factors such as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived trust (PT), social influence (SI), openness to innovation (OI), and financial knowledge (FK) to intention to use digital currency (IUDC). Thereby aiming to inform policymakers, industry stakeholders, and the wider community, fostering a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and providing solutions to enhance the adoption of digital currency in the evolving landscape of digital finance.

This paper analyzes the impact of wage subsidies on lower-skilled formal workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It employs a multi-sectoral, empirically-calibrated general equilibrium model to capture the economy-wide transactions between the formal and informal sectors and assess policy simulations in the DRC. The simulations, both in the short and long run, indicate that when the government provides wage subsidies to lower-skilled workers, it significantly improves the real disposable incomes of both formal and informal households. There is a general increase across formal and informal sectors in real household disposable incomes due to the wage subsidy. The results show that subsidy allocation narrows the income gap between high and low-income households, as well as between formal and informal sectors. The findings are insightful for wage policy simulations, as the wage subsidy targeting lower-skilled formal workers increases real GDP from the expenditure side by 1.19% and 3.19% in the short and long run, respectively, from the baseline economy.