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This paper estimates the impact of environmental regulations of 1994 imposed by the State of Maryland on the blue crab industry. For the analysis a model is developed, which includes three stochastic equations and five identities. After the estimation of the model the impact multipliers are calculated. The impact multipliers indicate that the overall impact of the environmental regulations on the industry is the loss of $44 million per year. This loss is shared by all the agents involved in the industry.

Re‐estimates the famous study by Stigler and Friedland (1962) that examines the impact of regulation on the price of electricity. Employs time‐series data in the analysis, in light of recent extensions of the Stigler‐Peltzman theory of regulation. By modelling regulatory behaviour as an endogenous variable in a simultaneous system the model suggests that regulatory agencies are more likely to respond to the concerns of the firms that are being regulated. The regulatory authorities use their political power to regulate when the price of electricity (and hence, producer profits) falls over time.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the economic development strategies of Nepal and Bhutan to understand the economic factors that have contributed to economic growth.

After a brief discussion of each country's modern history, their economies are examined together with their development strategies during the past half century. Standard economic growth models for Nepal and Bhutan are developed and estimated. To ensure the stationarity of the data series, tests of unit root are conducted. Further, a cointegration test is conducted and an appropriate error‐correction model is developed.

The results of the estimations reveal that domestic capital has been a significant source of economic growth in Nepal whereas foreign aid has not had any appreciable effect on growth. In the case of Bhutan, foreign assistance has been a significant source of growth while domestic capital has not.

Bhutan and Nepal also differ in terms of non‐economic factors such as culture, language, politics, and religion. These factors may also help to explain the difference in economic performance of these countries. While important, these issues are beyond the scope this paper and indicate directions for further research.

It is one of the first attempts to compare the economic growth strategies of Nepal and Bhutan. It may provide useful insight to policymakers and others interested in economic growth in Nepal, Bhutan and other developing countries.

This paper aims to study the impact of economic freedom and some key macroeconomic variables on the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in Brazil.

An econometric model is developed that includes FDI inflow as the dependent variable and macroeconomic variables such as the output, current account balance, the real exchange rate, openness and economic freedom as explanatory variables. Annual time series data from 1995 to 2022 is used. Before carrying out the estimation, the time series properties of the data are diagnosed using unit root tests and cointegration tests. Since the data series were found to be stationary in the first difference form and the variables in the model were cointegrated, an error correction model is developed and estimated.

The findings demonstrate that the size of the market (gross domestic product), current account balance and the economic freedom index significantly influence FDI inflow to Brazil. Although the signs of openness and the real exchange rate align with theoretical expectations, they do not attain statistical significance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first formal study on the impact of economic freedom on the FDI inflow in Brazil. The finding of this study adds value to the understanding of FDI dynamics in Brazil, highlighting the critical role of economic freedom and market size in attracting foreign investment.

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors affecting COVID-19 mortality.

An empirical model is developed in which the mortality rate per million is the dependent variable, and life expectancy at birth, physician density, education, obesity, proportion of population over the age of 65, urbanization (population density) and per capita income are explanatory variables. Crosscountry data from 184 countries are used to estimate the quantile regression that is employed.

The estimated results suggest that obesity, the proportion of the population over the age of 65 and urbanization have a positive and statistically significant effect on COVID-19 mortality. Not surprisingly, per capita income has a negative and statistically significant effect on COVID-19 death rate.

The study is based on the COVID-19 mortality data from June 2020, which have constantly being changed. What data reveal today may be different after two or three months. Despite this limitation, it is expected that this study will serve as the basis for future research in this area.

Since the findings suggest that obesity, population over the age of 65 and density are the primary factors affecting COVID-19 death, the policy-makers should pay particular attention to these factors.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is first attempt to estimate the factors affecting the COVID-19 mortality rate. Its novelty also lies in the use of quantile regressions, which is more efficient in estimating empirical models with heterogeneous data.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the 2016 presidential election polls on the stock market.

The empirical model includes daily stock returns as the dependent variable and past asset prices, 10-year treasury rates, opinion polls and VIX (market uncertainty) as explanatory variables with a one-year lag. The model was estimated using two sets of daily polling data: from July 1, 2015, to November 8, 2016, and from June 1, 2016, to November 8, 2016. Additional descriptive statistics, such as means and standard deviations, were also calculated.

The estimated results did not reveal any statistically significant effects of opinion polls in favor of one candidate over another on stock returns. Simple statistical tests, however, show that the market performed better when Trump held a polling advantage over Clinton.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only study that has examined the effects of the 2016 presidential election polls on the US stock market. This study adds value to the understanding of the relationship between election polls and the stock market in the USA.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether remittances induce inflation in South Asian countries, namely, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This study uses panel cointegration and Pooled Mean Group techniques covering from 1975 to 2017 to estimate the long-run and the short-run effect of remittances on inflation.

The estimated results suggest that the inflationary impact of remittances in South Asia depends on the time length. The inflow tends to lower inflation in the short run, whereas it increases in the long run. The findings highlight the regional peculiarity in the impact of remittances on the price level. The results are statistically significant and are confirmed by the Mean Group estimation as well.

Most past studies investigating the nexus between remittances and inflation in the South Asian context examine either these countries individually or include them all in a pool of big cross-sections. This study contributes to the literature by addressing this void. The South Asian countries should not generalize the earlier findings on the link between remittance inflows and inflation, as the short-run effect is different from the long run. Thus, these countries would be better off designing long-run policies that are different from the short run.

This study aims to evaluate the quality characteristics of low-fat functional carabeef cookies incorporated with different levels of guar gum.

Meat cookies were incorporated with 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 per cent guar gum powder to replace 20, 30 and 40 per cent hydrogenated vegetable fat, respectively. The formulation of low-fat carabeef cookies was maintained by addition of water.

There was a significant difference (p < 0.02) between control and treatments for all physico-chemical properties, except pH and thickness. The cooking yield increased significantly (p < 0.04) at 1.5 per cent level of guar gum. Moisture, protein and ash percentage increased significantly (p < 0.02) while there was significant (p < 0.00) reduction in fat percentage. The diameter and spread ratio of cookies decreased significantly (p < 0.03) with incorporation of guar gum. The sensory scores were not significantly affected with respect to color and appearance, flavor, texture, crispiness, aftertaste and overall acceptability at 1.5 per cent level. There was no significant difference in hardness and adhesiveness values, as well as color parameters.

The experiment can be further carried out to evaluate complete product profile and storage stability of product under different packaging conditions.

Fat imparts richness and tenderness, improving flavor and mouth feel to processed meat products, but higher fat consumption may lead to various life style diseases. Reducing fat content with fat replacers in meat cookies without affecting the sensory characteristics may be a significant challenge. Guar gum powder may be an excellent option at 1.5 per cent level to replace 40 per cent of hydrogenated vegetable fat without compromising quality attributes.

A self-lubricant surface composite including Al matrix and Babbitt alloy 11 reinforcement has been fabricated via friction stir processing (FSP).

The optimum processing condition is estimated by statistical analysis of a L9 Taguchi design of experiment. The results of Taguchi analysis suggested four passes of FSP, traverse speed of 40 mm/min and rotational speeds of 1,250 rpm as the optimum parameters to achieve higher hardness and wear resistance.

The needle-shaped particles are fragmented into the finer particles after FSP. There is uniform distribution of precipitations after FSP. The microhardness of manufactured surface bearings has been increased. Finer particles, smaller grains and in situ formed intermetallic precipitations (AlSb) can be responsible for hardness enhancement. Wear resistance of base metal also has been remarkably enhanced after FSP.

The originality of this paper lies in the following: new self-lubricating surface composite; a tough and resistant to wear sheets; and using a solid-state method to fabricate a surface bearing.