Search Results (397)

This study investigates the development and current status of agritourism in Croatia, with a specific focus on Istria County, a region characterized by favorable Mediterranean climatic conditions and a long-standing tourism culture. The research aims to assess the structure and success factors of agritourism enterprises within the broader Croatian tourism market. An empirical field survey was conducted on a sample of 58 agritourism businesses operating in Istria County. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, and enterprises were segmented into three groups according to their length of business operation. The results reveal significant differences among the identified groups in terms of demographic and professional characteristics, including age, educational attainment, prior tourism experience, years in business, and annual tourist visits. The analysis further identifies three key dimensions influencing agritourism: future development (1), consisting of economic and social variables enhancing the business; limitations (2) of land, capital, and laws that can hinder their future; and state interventions (3), such as incentives and taxes created by state authorities. The findings suggest that the sustainable development of agritourism in Istria depends on coordinated policy support, effective utilization of farm, local nature, and heritage resources, as well as continuous improvement in service provision. This study contributes to a better understanding of agritourism dynamics in emerging rural tourism markets and provides a basis for future research and policy development. Full article

Dhaka, one of the world’s most densely populated megacities, has faced a severe ecological decline, with green cover plummeting from 44.80% in 1975 to approximately 24.50% by 2005. In response, urban rooftop farming has emerged as a vital adaptation strategy to mitigate the urban heat island effect and air pollution. Objective: This study evaluates the transition from “pixels to policy” by testing automated identification methods for URF to support evidence-based urban governance, specifically the 10.00% holding tax rebate offered by the Dhaka North City Corporation. Utilizing high-resolution (3 cm) drone imagery across three diverse areas of interest—representing planned, organic, and mixed-use urban fabrics, the research compares the performance of Support Vector Machines, U-Net, and Text-Segment Anything Model. Accuracy was validated using a confusion matrix based on 1000 randomly stratified sample points. The SVM model emerged as the most reliable, achieving a Kappa index of 0.74 and 100.00% user accuracy for identifying rooftop vegetation, significantly outperforming the U-Net model (Kappa 0.14). Spatial analysis quantified a distinct “green divide,” revealing that while planned residential zones achieved over 7.50% rooftop greening coverage, dense organic settlements were limited to 6.00%. The study concludes that high-accuracy SVM-based identification provides a scalable foundation for automating fiscal incentives. To bridge the socio-spatial green divide, policy interventions must shift toward inclusive greening strategies, such as vertical farming, and formal integration of URF into Dhaka’s blue-green infrastructure networks. Full article

This paper investigates the relationship between green vocational education and training (VET), structural economic features, and green employment in Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies. For the purpose of the research, an initial database covering the post-2010 period was assembled from Eurostat and related statistical sources. Due to data availability and cross-country comparability constraints, the final empirical analysis employs a balanced panel of six EU Member States covering the period 2018–2022. The empirical analysis employs pooled OLS and fixed-effects estimators over the period 2018–2022, following a stepwise modeling strategy to assess baseline relationships and robustness. The results show that VET enrollment alone is not a reliable predictor of green employment growth, while VET graduation rates exhibit a more consistent—yet not robust—association once country-specific heterogeneity is controlled for. By contrast, structural reliance on industrial sectors is consistently linked to lower green employment shares, while environmental tax revenues demonstrate modest positive effects. Overall, the findings suggest that green employment dynamics are driven primarily by structural and macroeconomic conditions rather than by skill formation alone. The study contributes to the literature on the green transition by providing an integrated perspective on the interaction between skills, structural transformation, and policy incentives in shaping sustainable labor market outcomes. Full article

In the context of global climate change and industrial low-carbon transition, whether environmental taxes can simultaneously promote environmental and economic benefits by stimulating corporate green investment remains a central issue in academic research. Existing studies have reached mixed conclusions regarding the effects of environmental taxes, emphasizing either the “innovation compensation” effect or the “crowding-out” effect. However, this binary perspective overlooks the internal boundary conditions under which environmental taxes operate, particularly the roles of market competition and firm-level resource endowments. In particular, limited attention has been paid to how competitive market environments shape firms’ responses to environmental regulation. To address this gap, this study develops an integrated analytical framework that combines external market competition with internal firm endowments. Using China’s 2018 Environmental Protection Tax Law as a quasi-natural experiment and a panel dataset of Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2024, this study employs a Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach to examine the impact of environmental taxation on corporate green investment. The results show that: (1) the environmental protection tax significantly promotes corporate green investment, with substantial heterogeneity across firm size, ownership structure, and regional institutional environments; (2) market competition serves as an important external moderating mechanism, as intensified competition strengthens firms’ incentives to pursue technological differentiation through green investment, thereby generating an “escape-competition effect”; and (3) from an internal perspective, the effectiveness of environmental taxation is also shaped by firm endowments. High investment activity provides the necessary resource buffer to support strategic pivots, whereas rapid revenue growth and high financial slack (excessive cash ratio) generate strategic inertia, thereby attenuating firms’ responsiveness to the tax shock. This study not only provides empirical evidence from China on the mechanisms through which environmental taxes influence corporate green transformation, but also offers important policy implications for improving environmental tax systems in other countries. Full article

Against the backdrop of China’s “dual carbon” goals and mounting fiscal pressures at the local level, local governments face a dilemma between offering tax incentives and reducing industrial carbon emissions. This study uses data from 30 Chinese provinces between 2000 and 2022. It employs the Dagum Gini coefficient to characterize regional disparities and spatial heterogeneity in industrial carbon emissions, utilizes the Super-Slack-Based Measure (SBM) model and kernel density estimation to estimate the spatiotemporal evolution of tax competition, constructs a Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to examine its direct effects and spatial spillover effects, and conducts robustness tests using four different methods. The study finds that: (1) tax competition has a significant positive direct effect on local industrial carbon emissions and generates positive spatial spillovers; bottom-up tax competition exacerbates overall regional carbon emissions; (2) control variables such as economic development level and energy intensity all exhibit significant spatial spillover characteristics; and (3) the carbon emission effects of tax competition exhibit regional heterogeneity, with positive spatial spillovers in the eastern region and predominantly negative spillovers in the central and western regions. From a spatial competition perspective, this paper reveals the underlying mechanisms and regional differences between these two factors. The findings provide empirical insights and policy references to optimize the competitive landscape among local governments, improve the regional collaborative green tax system, promote low-carbon industrial transformation, and achieve the “dual carbon” goals. Full article

Environmental taxation, as a market-based regulatory instrument, has the potential to internalize pollution externalities while also promoting the shared goals of environmental protection and economic development. This study investigates the impact of China’s Environmental Protection Tax in 2018 on corporate green investment using a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model and a dataset of A-share listed businesses from 2012 to 2023. Our empirical results show that environmental taxation strongly increases green investment among heavy-polluting enterprises, a finding that holds significant across a range of robustness tests. According to mechanism analysis, the policy functions through two principal channels: an innovation effect that encourages technical upgrades and a financing effect that reduces information asymmetry and credit constraints. Furthermore, the policy has a threshold characteristic: enterprises with higher pollution intensity show more pronounced improvements in ESG performance and investment incentives. This paper gives policy evidence for integrating environmental taxation with green finance to enhance sustainable development, as well as theoretical insights and practical implications for accelerating business low-carbon transition under environmental regulation. Full article

The design of differentiated fiscal instruments for industrial sustainability requires robust, data-driven tools capable of capturing the heterogeneity of environmental performance across manufacturing units—a challenge that conventional econometric approaches address only partially, given the non-linear nature of operational–environmental interactions in reconfigurable production systems. This study introduces a two-phase computational framework that integrates unsupervised machine learning and supervised classification to generate evidence-based sustainability profiles for fiscal policy targeting. Its principal contribution is the combination of K-Means clustering with a binary artificial neural network (ANN) classifier, operationalized through an accessible decision-support interface that enables differentiated incentive allocation without requiring programming expertise from policymakers. A dataset of 1000 manufacturing records comprising seven operational and technological input variables—material usage, production capacity, reconfiguration time, downtime, AI optimization, IoT connectivity, and predictive maintenance—and three environmental output indicators—energy consumption, carbon emissions, and waste generation—was analyzed. In Phase One, K-Means segmentation with k = 6, selected through multi-criteria convergence (Silhouette = 0.102; Elbow, Davies–Bouldin, and Calinski–Harabasz indices), identified six distinct sustainability profiles with marked environmental differentiation. In Phase Two, a binary ANN classifier (architecture: 7 → 64 → 32 → 1 neurons; ReLU and sigmoid activations) was trained to distinguish the reference cluster C0 (low environmental impact: energy 145.1 kWh, emissions 45.2 CO₂-eq) from the high-impact cluster C1 (emissions 67.8 CO₂-eq, waste 41.5 kg). The trained classifier achieved an overall accuracy of 75.4% and an AUC-ROC of 0.774 on the held-out test set, with a macro-averaged F1-score of 0.753 and a Cohen’s kappa coefficient of 0.508, indicating moderate-to-substantial agreement beyond chance. Class C1 (high-impact establishments) achieved a precision of 0.794 and a recall of 0.730, supporting reliable identification of manufacturing units that would most benefit from targeted fiscal support. The framework is deployed through a Gradio-based graphical interface incorporating a traffic-light sustainability classification (green/yellow/red), enabling direct and interactive application by tax authorities and industrial policymakers. The modular architecture supports adaptation to larger or sector-specific datasets, making it transferable across industrial policy contexts. Full article

In the context of China’s “Dual Carbon” goals, the composite policy mechanism combining carbon trading and carbon taxation is widely considered a key pathway to achieve emission reductions. Although households are a major source of carbon emissions, their consumption behaviour has long remained outside the mainstream carbon reduction system, as existing policies focus primarily on enterprises and lack sufficient household-level participation and incentive mechanisms. Because China has not yet implemented an actual carbon tax, this study uses household high-carbon consumption dependency (HCD) as a proxy variable to capture the hypothetical administrative pressure that a carbon tax would impose on high-carbon consumption. Based on the concept of “Carbon Inclusion”, we construct an analytical framework for a composite mechanism that combines the carbon trading pilot policy (ETS) with this carbon-tax proxy. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and a two-way fixed-effects panel model, we empirically test the impact of this composite mechanism on household carbon emissions (total volume) and carbon intensity. The findings show that, while the composite mechanism does not lead to a statistically significant reduction in total household carbon emissions, it effectively lowers household carbon intensity by restraining high-carbon consumption and optimizing the consumption structure. This decoupling of intensity from total volume occurs because the mechanism reduces the share of high-carbon consumption (a compositional effect) but does not suppress total consumption growth (a scale effect). This result remains robust across multiple tests, confirming the policy effectiveness of the composite mechanism at the micro-individual level. By reducing carbon intensity without suppressing total consumption, this mechanism contributes directly to sustainable development, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action). The main contributions of this paper are threefold: (1) it moves beyond traditional single-policy or single-agent studies by linking a carbon-trading-and-proxy-carbon-tax composite mechanism with household carbon consumption; (2) it explores a Carbon Inclusion pathway that connects households, enterprises and the nation; and (3) it provides empirical support and a theoretical reference for improving household-level emission reduction policies and promoting public participation in achieving the “Dual Carbon” goals. Full article

This paper examines the effect of trade openness on corporate tax revenue in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where increased economic integration might incite more business activity and expand taxable corporate income but also intensify losses due to practices such as profit shifting. The study follows a quantitative empirical approach and applies a panel ARDL model to secondary data collected from international databases (World Bank and IMF), such as GDP, trade openness (exports and imports as % of GDP), inflation, corporate tax revenues, foreign direct investment inflows and tax evasion via informal economies, for a sample of ten developing countries from the MENA region, including Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, over the period 2010–2023. We employ a PMG ARDL model to study our panel data, allowing the analysis of both short-run and long-run effects to investigate the relationship between trade openness and tax revenues. Our results show that in the long run, export-driven economies generate higher corporate tax revenues by expanding profitability and the tax base, and imports also positively affect revenues, indicating that trade openness stimulates economic activity. Conversely, FDI inflows reduce corporate tax revenues, consistent with profit shifting and tax incentives in developing countries. GDP growth does not necessarily increase tax receipts, likely due to tax elasticity effects and growth-oriented tax structures. Also, tax evasion appears to decline, likely reflecting improved compliance, and no significant short-run effects are observed. The results contribute to the literature on tax compliance and economic integration in the case of open economies in developing countries. From a practical perspective, our findings have implications for policymakers and tax regulators in the MENA region, as they highlight the dual nature of globalization for developing countries and their tax systems and underscore the need for effective compliance measures in trade and investment policies. Full article

Latin America faces growing challenges in the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). This is particularly evident in medium-sized and metropolitan cities where rapid urbanization, limited infrastructure, and high proportions of organic waste (40–70%) converge. This review synthesizes the most recent advances in organic waste management, valorization strategies, environmental performance, and policy frameworks in Mexico and Latin America. To provide a comprehensive overview, evidence from studies on informal recycling systems, route optimization, sustainable landfill siting, food waste valorization, life cycle assessments (LCAs), and biogas production is integrated. Techno-economic analyses of energy recovery from organic fractions are specifically reviewed. This review highlights that valorization of organic waste through composting, anaerobic digestion, food supplementation, and bioproduct generation can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40–70% compared to landfilling, with AD–composting hybrids achieving the highest reductions of 60–70%. Community composting achieved moderate reductions, 30–50%, but at significantly lower cost and with greater social co-benefits. These alternatives for valorizing the organic fraction extend the lifespan of both confined and open landfills. It also contributes to mitigating the public health impacts related to open dumping, disease vectors, and contaminated leachate. In short, this review also highlights shortcomings in policy coherence, financial mechanisms, source separation, and technology adoption. A strategic framework is proposed that prioritizes decentralized treatment systems, the integration of informal recyclers, tax incentives, community-based waste separation, and planning based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The findings point to a viable strategy for transitioning from landfill dependency to circular waste management systems that improve the quality of life for the population of Latin America and the Caribbean. Full article

Indoor air quality (IAQ) in educational buildings plays a critical role in the health, cognitive performance, and well-being of occupants. Aging university facilities often rely on outdated ventilation systems that are not designed to meet current demands or respond to dynamic occupancy levels. This study investigates the performance and feasibility of various advanced ventilation strategies in comparison to an existing balanced mechanical ventilation (BMV) system in a university classroom accommodating 100 students. Using a Dynamic Building Energy Simulation Program, simulations were conducted to evaluate IAQ (using CO₂ levels), energy consumption, and thermal comfort under three retrofitting scenarios: BMV, demand-controlled ventilation (DCV), and hybrid ventilation combining natural and mechanical airflow. The simulations indicate that DCV cuts annual HVAC energy use by 33% relative to the baseline, while the hybrid strategy achieves the greatest reduction of 42% and maintains CO₂ levels and thermal comfort within recommended limits. Although hybrid systems provide seasonal advantages, their complexity may limit applicability. In addition to technical analysis, this study also explores the financial and tax-related challenges associated with retrofitting ventilation systems in university buildings. Investment payback periods, operational costs, and potential tax incentives are discussed to evaluate economic viability. Overall, the endorse hybrid ventilation as the most cost-effective strategy where mixed-mode control is feasible, and DCV as a practical alternative for buildings unable to employ natural ventilation. Full article

In response to growing concerns over global warming and energy sustainability, transitioning from fossil-fuel-based heating systems to renewable alternatives is essential. This study evaluates the economic and environmental performance of geothermal heat pumps for building heating and compares it with conventional coal-fired boilers, natural-gas boilers, and diesel furnaces. Using the heating degree-day (HDD) method, heating energy demand was analyzed for four U.S. cities—Anchorage (AK), San Francisco (CA), Salt Lake City (UT), and Las Vegas (NV)—representing diverse climatic zones. The analysis integrates thermodynamic and economic parameters, including the coefficient of performance (COP = 2–5) and annual fuel-utilization efficiency (AFUE = 80–97%), to evaluate heating-system performance and operational cost across different climatic regions. Sensitivity analysis with ±10% variations in fuel and electricity prices and system efficiencies demonstrates that geothermal heating remains the most stable and emission-efficient option under all scenarios. Results indicate that geothermal systems, despite higher reported initial investment, achieve lower operational and emissions-related costs and offer a robust and sustainable solution for decarbonizing building-heating systems. For example, the estimated seasonal geothermal heating cost is $370.59 in Anchorage compared with $646.48 for coal heating and $3375.65 for diesel systems. Furthermore, policy evaluation indicates that federal and state incentives, such as investment tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act and rebate programs, can reduce installation costs by 25–40%, improving economic feasibility, particularly in colder regions. The analysis focuses exclusively on energy and emissions-related costs and does not explicitly model capital investment or levelized cost metrics. Full article

Thailand’s 2024 excise tax reform aimed to stimulate the tourism economy through the elimination of import tariffs and the reduction in excise rates on wine. This study evaluates the causal economic and distributional impacts of this policy intervention. The analysis employs a quasi-experimental Doubly Robust Difference-in-Differences (DR-DiD) estimator on a stratified cluster sample to isolate shifts in consumption expenditure, volume, and net ethanol intake. Results indicate a null effect for the general population, which confirms that the price floor remained prohibitive for median earners despite the tax reduction. The top income quintile conversely exhibited a statistically significant “additive premiumization” effect characterized by a surge in wine quantity without the substitution of other beverage categories. This behavioral shift generated a substantial Net Economic Loss driven by the divergence between foregone tax revenue and projected human capital productivity losses. The policy consequently functioned as a regressive fiscal transfer to the elite and created severe allocative inefficiency. These findings suggest that ad valorem tax incentives for luxury goods in emerging markets generate deadweight loss. Future policy strategies should therefore prioritize specific volumetric taxation to align fiscal incentives with public health objectives. Full article

Energy Communities (ECs) have emerged as central legal instruments for decentralized renewable energy deployment across Europe; however, their long-term viability depends critically on financial sustainability mechanisms that remain inadequately understood. This study examines the economic foundations of ECs through a narrative literature review of revenue generation, cost allocation, and the capital mobilization pathways in three representative European markets (Germany, Spain, and Italy). A structured Scopus database search identified 280 peer-reviewed studies published between 2019 and 2025. Following systematic screening, 89 articles were selected for analysis through bibliometric mapping in R (Biblioshiny) and qualitative synthesis in NVivo. The analysis reveals that stable feed-in tariffs, tax incentives, and self-consumption remuneration schemes form the primary revenue mechanisms, while cost management effectiveness varies substantially across countries due to differing grid-charge structures and administrative frameworks. Capital access remains constrained for smaller communities despite hybrid financing innovations combining public grants, cooperative equity, and emerging crowdfunding mechanisms. Regulatory heterogeneity, high upfront investment requirements, and limited institutional credit availability continue to impede scalability. The findings emphasize that achieving widespread EC adoption requires harmonized policy frameworks, transparent cost-sharing arrangements, and diversified investment instruments that align local participation with national decarbonization objectives while ensuring equitable access across diverse socio-economic contexts. Full article

This study proposes a dual-shield framework to elucidate the capital structure dynamics within China’s policy-intensive real estate sector. We delineate a coercive policy shield wherein binding regulations supersede market-based incentives, and a proactive sustainability shield which recognizes how superior environmental performance can lead to reduced financing costs. Analyzing data from Chinese A-share firms during 2003 to 2021, we present robust evidence that supports both mechanisms. Notably, the effect of the debt tax shield is diminished in real estate sectors, underscoring the policy shield’s ability to negate traditional financial incentives. In addition, the macroprudential tightening implemented in 2017 has disproportionately disrupted leverage adjustments, especially among firms subsequently affected by the “Three Red Lines” policy. Rigorous quasi-experimental analyses additionally illustrate that green bond issuers experience a significant and enduring reduction in their cost of debt, thereby establishing a substantive sustainability shield. Our findings contribute to the literature on sustainable finance by conceptualizing approaches that extend beyond tax shields, effectively integrating regulatory and market forces to align the capital structures with objectives for sustainable transition. Full article