The Urabá region, known for its banana production, faces significant challenges due to seasonal droughts that affect crop productivity. The implementation of innovative technologies, such as efficient irrigation systems, is presented as a potential solution to improve the sustainability and profitability of plantations. This study validates the implementation of an irrigation system in a banana (Musa spp.) plantation located in the region of Urabá, in order to meet the water needs of the crop during periods of drought. A case study was carried out in a banana plantation in the region of Urabá, considering the maximum and minimum monthly losses due to drought, and a random sample was used to measure the weight before and after the implementation of the irrigation system, in order to carry out an economic analysis. The study shows that the implementation of a sprinkler irrigation system increases the average weight of the harvested bunches by 20%, which is reflected in an annual increase of 30.3% of exported boxes, obtaining satisfactory results in terms of internal rate of return, cost-benefit ratio and return on investment. The implementation of irrigation systems makes it possible to increase competitiveness in international markets, especially in regions such as Urabá, where the use of these technologies is still incipient.

The article aims to evaluate the participation of below-poverty-line local community in tourism-related business activity in Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Further, this article addressed for those who work in the tourism sector. The study employs a mix of methods, including survey data from 500 respondents with a random sampling approach, using Analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical tools for analysis, other methods were interviews and observations at six tourism sites in Garhwal and four sites in Kumaun. Our findings showed that there has declined in community participation in tourism development, due to the lack of economic benefits obtained in the tourism sector, many believe that the tourism sector does not provide much income growth for them and does not make a significant contribution to the development of their region. Moreover, lack of understanding is considered the basis for community’s inability to play an active role, and lack of stakeholders’ involvement in encouraging them to improve their economy and culture through the tourism sector. Ultimately, this research also underlines the existence of some efforts by tourism travel to encourage public trust, which can help reduce poverty and increase community trust in tourism development in their region.

This study empirically examines the complex relationship between materialism and economic motivation, proposing an inverted U-shaped relationship. The research analyzes three dimensions of materialism: happiness pursuit, social recognition, and uniqueness, and their impact on economic motivation. The findings suggest that materialism, when balanced, positively influences economic motivation without causing adverse effects. This relationship remains consistent across demographic characteristics and life satisfaction levels, challenging the traditional negative view of materialism. The implications of these findings extend to marketing strategies, policy design, and infrastructure development, offering actionable insights for real-world contexts. This research underscores the importance of balancing materialistic values to foster sustainable economic growth and well-being.

The consensus is that price stability promotes sustainable economic growth while excessive inflation harms growth. This study assesses the linkage between inflation and economic growth in South Africa to determine the optimal inflation rate threshold for the sustainable growth of the economy. Quarterly data from 1995 to 2022 was analysed through the ARDL and threshold regressions. The ARDL and threshold regressions estimate established a relationship between inflation and economic growth and computed the optimal inflation rate threshold for economic growth at 6 percent. The results also established that both the repo rate (repurchase rate) and real effective exchange rate have a negative relationship with economic growth. The Toda-Yamamoto causality test result indicated a unidirectional causality runs from inflation to economic growth. These results are crucial for the South African Reserve Bank to discharge its monetary policy functions to attain and maintain price stability. Therefore, this study offers the Bank a roadmap for targeting an inflation rate that aligns with the nation’s long-term objectives for sustainable economic growth.

Infrastructure development is critical to delivering growth, reducing poverty and addressing broader development goals, as argued in the World Bank Report Transformation through Infrastructure (2012). This paper surveys the literature of the linkages between infrastructure investment and economic growth, discusses the role of infrastructure in the participation of global value chains and in supporting economic upgrades, highlights the challenges faced the least developed countries and provides policy recommendations. It suggests that addressing the bottlenecks in infrastructure is a necessary condition to provide a window of opportunity for an economy to develop following its comparative advantage. With the right conditions, good infrastructure can support an economy, particularly a less developed economy, to reap the benefit through the participation in the global value chains to upgrade the economic structure.

Industrial heritage is a legacy from the past that we live with today and pass on to future generations. The economic value of this heritage can be defined as the amount of welfare that it generates for society, and this value should not be ignored. However, current research based on economic analysis has mostly focused on qualitative statements instead of quantitative assessment. This study proposes an innovative methodology combining qualitative (field research) and quantitative (willingness to pay and contingent valuation) methods to assess the economic value of industrial heritage. The industrial heritage of Tangshan, China, was chosen as a case study, and the research found that museums and cultural creative parks are effective ways to conserve industrial heritage. The entrance fee can be used to represent the economic value of the heritage site. There was a positive correlation between the influence of economic value and the entrance fees residents would prefer to pay. The results indicate the locals would prefer lower entrance fees for the transformed heritage museums (The average current cost: $2.23). Locals were most concerned about the entrance fees for the Kailuan Coal Mine and Qixin Cement Plant Museums, which have both been renewed as urban landmarks for city tourism. Renewal methods have been applied to six industrial heritage sites in Tangshan; these sites have their own conservation and renewal practices based on city-level development or industrial attributes. Thus, when residents recognize the economic value of a heritage site, they are willing to pay a higher entrance fee. This research demonstrates the economic value of industrial heritage using a mixed methods approach and provides a basis for assessing the value of cultural heritage for urban tourism analysis.