Weather and climate services are essential tools that help farmers make informed choices, such as choosing appropriate crop varieties. These services depend considerably on the availability of adequate investments in infrastructure related to weather forecasting, which are often provided by the State in most countries. Zimbabwean farmers generally have limited access to modern weather and climate services. While extensive attempts have been made to investigate farmers’ socioeconomic factors that influence access to and use of weather and climate services, comparative political economy analysis of weather and climate service production and use is limited. To address this knowledge gap, this study examines the production, dissemination, and usage of modern seasonal weather services through a political economy analysis perspective. The findings of this study highlight considerable discrepancies in access and use of seasonal weather forecasts between male and female farmers, those who practise African Traditional Religions versus Christians, and the minority group (Ndau tribe) and the majority group (Manyika tribe). This result suggested the presence of social marginalization. For example, minority Ndau members living in remote areas with limited radio signals and a weak mobile network have limited access to modern seasonal weather forecasts, forcing them to rely much more on indigenous weather forecasts. Further, due to unequal power relations, a greater proportion of male farmers participated in agricultural policy formation processes than their female counterparts. To promote inclusive development and implementation, deliberate efforts need to be made by State authorities to incorporate adherents of African traditional religions, members of minority tribes and female farmers in agricultural policymaking processes, including seasonal weather forecast delivery policies. Further, the study suggests the relaxation or elimination of international sanctions on Zimbabwe by the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States of America, given that they are considerably affecting marginalized groups of farmers in their climate change adaptation practices, including the use of modern weather and climate services. The vast majority of these marginalized farmers never benefitted from the land reform programme and were also not responsible for the design and implementation of this programme which triggered these sanctions.

The Circular Economy is one of the most prominent cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral concepts to emerge in recent decades. It has permeated academia, policymaking, business, NGOs, and the general public, leading to numerous applications of the concept, some of which only partially overlap. In this article, we review recent debates and research trends in the Circular Economy, outlining the ten most common groups of its conceptualizations using the PRISMA (Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) method. We then propose a post disciplinary and transnational research program on the Circular Economy that would not only combine hard and soft sciences in unprecedented ways but also have important practical applications, such as developing tools to embed the Circular Economy in natural, technical, economic, and socio-cultural settings.

This study explores the feminization of poverty and the dynamics of the care economy in rural areas, focusing on the municipality of Génova, Quindío, Colombia. The novelty of this study lies in its analysis of the compounded effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s economic participation and care responsibilities in a rural context, offering insights relevant to Latin America. This study addresses the critical problem of how increased caregiving responsibilities and labor informality during the pandemic have disproportionately impacted economically active women, exacerbating gender inequalities. The objective is to analyze the relationship between the care economy and feminization of poverty, providing policy recommendations for post-pandemic recovery in rural settings. The methodology consisted of a two-stage approach. In the first stage, a probabilistic stratified sampling design was applied using data from the Colombian National Population and Housing Census and the Génova, Quindío, and Colombia Municipal Panel. In the second stage, fieldwork was conducted with a sample of 347 women using the RedCap application for data collection. The results indicate a significant increase in unpaid domestic and caregiving work during the pandemic, particularly for the elderly, disabled, and children. Additionally, labor informality increased, further limiting economic opportunities for women. The key conclusion is that public policies aimed at reducing gender disparities in rural labor markets must prioritize caregiving support and formal employment opportunities for women. These findings suggest that addressing the care economy is crucial for closing gender gaps and fostering equitable economic recovery in rural Latin American areas.

The undeniable importance of migrants’ remittances to the welfare of developing countries was again demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has therefore led to a significant shift in attention to the relevance of remittances and has likewise spurred research interest in factors that motivate the inflows of remittances. However, in spite of the increasing recognition of the roles of digital technology in the macroeconomic performance of developed and developing economies alike, empirical analysis of its possible impacts on remittance inflows has not been well explored in the literature. Therefore, pooling the annual data of 35 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 2011 to 2020, this study investigates the nexus between digital technology and remittance inflows within the generalized method of moments (GMM) framework. Using two measures of digital technology infrastructure—internet usage and mobile cellular subscription—the study finds a positive relationship between digital technology and remittances inflow. In addition, the findings indicate that the magnitude of the effect is relatively higher for internet usage. The study thus shows that the increased rate of remittance mobilization constitutes a significant pathway through which digital technology impacts the economies of the SSA region. Moreover, it offers further insight on the importance of digital technology in the socioeconomic development of developing countries. From a policy standpoint, governments and policymakers in SSA countries should intensify efforts to promote the diffusion and penetration of digital infrastructure.

Fiscal spending for road construction to link Kalabakan, Sabah, Malaysia with North Kalimantan, Indonesia is an idea that have been proposed for over 20 years. The announcement for the relocation of Indonesia’s capital city from Jakarta to East Kalimantan give a strong justification for the construction of the Serudong-Simanggaris road. The fact that population size is big in Kalimantan and strong purchasing power is estimated in North and East Kaliamantan provide a strong argument for the need to have a road link. Having said that, the effect of road construction on output growth is not clear. The purpose of this study is to estimate the impact of road construction and the business activities across two sectors being assumed on output Sabah’s output growth. Based on the input-output analysis conducted using the output multiplier, the one-off road construction would lead to 1.8% growth in Sabah’s overall output.