The “Gulf Falcons”—the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council—have high living standards as a result of large income flows from oil. The decline of oil prices between summer 2014 and fall 2015 underscores the urgency for the Gulf Falcons to diversify away from their current heavy reliance on oil exports. This book discusses attempts at diversification in the Middle East and North Africa and the complex choices policymakers face. It brings together the views of academics and policymakers to offer practical advice for future efforts to increase productivity growth.

In the years following the global financial crisis, many low-income countries experienced rapid recovery and strong economic growth. However, many are now facing enormous difficulties because of rapidly rising food and fuel prices, with the threat of millions of people being pushed into poverty around the globe. The risk of continued food price volatility is a systemic challenge, and a failure in one country has been shown to have a profound impact on entire regions. This volume addresses the challenges of commodity price volatility for low-income countries and explores some macroeconomic policy options for responding to commodity price shocks. The book then looks at inclusive growth policies to address inequality in commodity-exporting countries, particularly natural resource rich countries. Perspectives from the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, emerging Asia, and Mexico are presented and, finally, the role of the international donor community is examined. This volume is a must read for policymakers everywhere, from those in advanced, donor countries to those in countries with the poorest and most vulnerable populations.

China’s growth potential has become a hotly debated topic as the economy has reached an income level susceptible to the “middle-income trap” and financial vulnerabilities are mounting after years of rapid credit expansion. However, the existing literature has largely focused on macro level aggregates, which are ill suited to understanding China’s significant structural transformation and its impact on economic growth. To fill the gap, this paper takes a deep dive into China’s convergence progress in 38 industrial sectors and 11 services sectors, examines past sectoral transitions, and predicts future shifts. We find that China’s productivity convergence remains at an early stage, with the industrial sector more advanced than services. Large variations exist among subsectors, with high-tech industrial sectors, in particular the ICT sector, lagging low-tech sectors. Going forward, ample room remains for further convergence, but the shrinking distance to the frontier, the structural shift from industry to services, and demographic changes will put sustained downward pressure on growth, which could slow to 5 percent by 2025 and 4 percent by 2030. Digitalization, SOE reform, and services sector opening up could be three major forces boosting future growth, while the risks of a financial crisis and a reversal in global integration in trade and technology could slow the pace of convergence.

Electrolytic MnO2-Zn batteries possess high energy density due to the high reduction potential and capacity of the cathode Mn2+/MnO2. However, the low reversibility of the Mn2+/MnO2 conversion results in a limited lifespan. In this study, we propose the utilization of VOSO4 as a redox mediator in the MnO2-Zn battery to facilitate the dissolution of MnO2. Through various techniques such as electrochemical measurements, ex-situ UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopes, we validate the interaction between VO2+ and MnO2, which effectively mitigates the accumulation of MnO2. The introduction of the redox mediator results in exceptional redox reversibility and outstanding cycling stability of the MnO2/VOSO4-Zn battery at high areal capacities, with 900 cycles at 5 mAh cm-2 and 500 cycles at 10 mAh cm-2. Notably, even in the flow battery device, the battery exhibits a stable cycling performance over 300 cycles at 20 mAh cm-2. These research findings shed light on the potential large-scale application of electrolytic MnO2-Zn batteries.

This book introduces a novel Ti-Sb-Te alloy for high-speed and low-power phase-change memory applications, which demonstrates a phase-change mechanism that differs significantly from that of conventional Ge2Sb2Te5 and yields favorable overall performance. Systematic methods, combined with better material characteristics, are used to optimize the material components and device performance. Subsequently, a phase-change memory chip based on the optimized component is successfully fabricated using 40-nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology, which offers a number of advantages in many embedded applications.