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This survey of the literature on the convergence of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions informs researchers on areas for future research by summarizing the countries examined, the types of convergence tested and the methodological approaches undertaken.

This survey examines peer-reviewed empirical studies of CO₂ emissions convergence with respect to country coverage and alternative approaches to test for various types of convergence.

For large multicountry studies, the support for convergence is quite limited. However, studies focused exclusively on a subset of countries defined by income classification, geographic region or institutional structure reveal the finding of convergence is more prevalent. Studies at the subnational level have primarily been in the cases of the US and China with the exception of two studies across industry sectors in Portugal and Sweden.

This study focuses exclusively on peer-reviewed published studies.

This study is relevant to the design of mitigation strategies to reduce CO₂ emissions and the assumption of convergence underlying climate change models.

As a major component of greenhouse gas emissions, CO₂ emissions is of global importance in its impact on the environment and climate change.

This study provides the most recent and comprehensive survey of the empirical literature on the convergence of CO₂ emissions.

The work presents a novel implementation of the generalized minimum residual (GMRES) solver in conjunction with the interpolating meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method to solve steady-state heat conduction in 2-D as well as in 3-D domains.

The restarted version of the GMRES solver (with and without preconditioner) is applied to solve an asymmetric system of equations, arising due to the interpolating MLPG formulation. Its performance is compared with the biconjugate gradient stabilized (BiCGSTAB) solver on the basis of computation time and convergence behaviour. Jacobi and successive over-relaxation (SOR) methods are used as the preconditioners in both the solvers.

The results show that the GMRES solver outperforms the BiCGSTAB solver in terms of smoothness of convergence behaviour, while performs slightly better than the BiCGSTAB method in terms of Central processing Unit (CPU) time.

MLPG formulation leads to a non-symmetric system of algebraic equations. Iterative methods such as GMRES and BiCGSTAB methods are required for its solution for large-scale problems. This work presents the use of GMRES solver with the MLPG method for the very first time.

The purpose of this paper is to monitor the environmental efficiency of suppliers in the presence of undesirable output and dual-role factors with static and dynamic aspects. Meanwhile, it also aims to explain the main reason for the low efficiency of suppliers.

The authors propose a modified data model considering undesirable output and dual-role factors. The study integrates the modified data envelopment analysis model into the distance function of the Malmquist–Luenberger index. Moreover, this study uses the global benchmark technology to formulate a two-stage model. To verify the validity of this model, a model application is conducted on an automotive spare components company in China.

The results identify the unique status of dual-role factors based on the global optimality of the model and then categorize inefficient suppliers in an individual evaluation cycle. In addition, each supplier is projected on a frontier curve after obtaining the improved data. Furthermore, through the status plot of M-L and its components, this paper concludes that efficiency scale change is the main reason for the gap in ecological performance between different suppliers.

The proposed model considers both undesirable output and dual-role factors; however, variables with different features, such as imprecise, fuzzy and qualitative characteristics, can be embedded into the presented two-stage model.

Evaluating green suppliers through multiple consecutive evaluation cycles will aid a company in effectively managing its key suppliers. Furthermore, the evaluation provides policy guidance for further improvement of suppliers.

This paper aims to propose a boundary element analysis of two-dimensional linear elasticity problems by a new expanding element interpolation method.

The expanding element is made up based on a traditional discontinuous element by adding virtual nodes along the perimeter of the element. The internal nodes of the original discontinuous element are referred to as source nodes and its shape function as raw shape function. The shape functions of the expanding element constructed on both source nodes and virtual nodes are referred as fine shape functions. Boundary variables are interpolated by the fine shape functions, while the boundary integral equations are collocated on source nodes.

The expanding element inherits the advantages of both the continuous and discontinuous elements while overcomes their disadvantages. The polynomial order of fine shape functions of the expanding elements increases by two compared with their corresponding raw shape functions, while the expanding elements still keep independence to each other as the original discontinuous elements. This feature makes the expanding elements able to naturally and accurately interpolate both continuous and discontinuous fields.

Numerical examples are presented to verify the proposed method. Results have demonstrated that the accuracy, efficiency and convergence rate of the expanding element method.

“It should also be noted that the objective of convergence and equal distribution, including across under-performing areas, can hinder efforts to generate growth. Contrariwise, the objective of competitiveness can exacerbate regional and social inequalities, by targeting efforts on zones of excellence where projects achieve greater returns (dynamic major cities, higher levels of general education, the most advanced projects, infrastructures with the heaviest traffic, and so on). If cohesion policy and the Lisbon Strategy come into conflict, it must be borne in mind that the former, for the moment, is founded on a rather more solid legal foundation than the latter” European Commission (2005, p. 9)Adaptation of Cohesion Policy to the Enlarged Europe and the Lisbon and Gothenburg Objectives.

The purpose of the study is to examine the long-run convergence properties of condominium prices based on the ripple effect for five major US metropolitan areas (Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco). Specifically, we test for both overall convergence in condominium prices and the possibility of distinct convergence clubs to ascertain the interdependence of geographically dispersed metropolitan condominium markets.

Our analysis uses two approaches to identify the convergence properties of condominium prices: the Lee and Strazicich (2003) unit root test with endogenous structural breaks and the Phillips and Sul (2007, 2009) time-varying nonlinear club convergence tests.

The Lee and Strazicich (2003) unit root tests identify two structural breaks in 2006 and 2008 with the rejection of the null hypothesis of a unit root and long-run convergence in condominium prices in the cases of Boston and New York. The Phillips and Sul (2007, 2009) club convergence test reveals the absence of overall convergence in condominium prices across all metropolitan areas, but the emergence of two distinct convergence clubs with clear geographical segmentation: on the east coast with Boston and New York and the west coast with Los Angeles and San Francisco while Chicago exhibits a non-converging path.

The results highlight the distinct geographical segmentation of metropolitan condominium markets, which provides useful information to local policymakers, financial institutions, real estate developers and real estate portfolio managers. The limitations of the research are the identification of the underlying sources for the convergence clubs identified due to the availability of monthly data for a number of potential variables.

The absence of overall convergence in condominium prices, but the emergence of distinct convergence clubs that reflects the geographical segmentation of metropolitan condominium markets raises the potential for portfolio diversification.

Unlike previous studies that have focused on single-family housing, this is the first study to examine the convergence of metropolitan area condominium prices.

The aim of this chapter is to examine the nominal and real convergence of Czechia. The importance of the convergence of Czechia with the euro area is linked to the future intention of joining the Economic and Monetary Union after the Maastricht criteria are met. This chapter covers the period from 2004 to 2021. We argue that nominal convergence is relative to the Maastricht criteria, when real convergence focuses on different areas: the Maastricht criteria, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power standards and real GDP growth rate, labour market (minimum labour costs and unemployment rates. Findings suggest that Czechia has reported the strongest real convergence in the area of relative economic level, moderate convergence of labour costs and divergence of unemployment. The nominal convergence analysis suggests that Czechia will not meet the Maastricht benchmarks in the near future and is not ready to join the euro area given its high inflation rate and the state of public finances.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the electricity consumption patterns across Indian states do converge.

This study considers 18 Indian states spanning over the period 1970-1971 and 2014-2015, using the recently developed Phillips and Sul panel convergence technique that accounts the multiple steady states.

The results provide the following insights. First, the authors find evidence of convergence in electricity consumption among all Indian states. This suggests that electricity consumption patterns for Indian states are converging to a common steady state. Second, to provide broader insights, we further investigate the convergence in electricity consumption among user groups such as agriculture, industry, commercial, domestic and miscellaneous. The results reveal that commercial, domestic and miscellaneous groups are also converging. Third, the non-convergence patterns in agriculture and industry enable us to investigate the possibility of clubs or the multiple common steady states. The results indicate the occurrence of three clubs in case of agriculture and two clubs in case of the industry. Fourth, this study also inspects the relative speed of convergence among the user groups. The results reveal the higher speed of convergence in case of the domestic user group.

The findings enable policymakers to formulate an appropriate energy policy to accommodate the future electricity demand across Indian states and prioritize low electricity consumption states so that they receive a greater share.

This is the first study that examines the convergence in electricity consumption across Indian states at aggregate and user groups using a new panel club convergence technique.

This paper aims to examine the per capita income convergence of 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over the period 1990–2017 and to investigate the determinants of convergence club formations.

The authors applied the methodology of Phillips and Sul (2007, 2009) to identify the convergence clubs and estimated several-ordered logit models to determine the key drivers.

The results support existence of two convergence clubs and one diverging unit, indicating that 30 and 26 member countries form two separate groups converging to their own steady-state paths. They also suggest a significant productivity divergence between these clubs. The authors showed that the number of convergence clubs started to decline after the global financial crisis in 2008. Moreover, they found that fixed capital formation, education and political stability are key drivers of convergence club membership.

There is a strong need for large-scale policy interventions to close the gap between leading and lagging clubs of the OIC. A substantial investment in human and physical capital seems necessary for lower-income OIC countries.

This is the first empirical study on the existence of convergence clubs among member countries of the OIC.