Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · May 6

🚨 5 Fully Funded PhD Scholarships at the University of Hertfordshire's CFSR

Topics include:
🌍 Public Banks & the Just Transition
🌿 Drivers of Green Discontent
⚡ Geopolitics of Green Hydrogen

Apply here 👉 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMT230/f...
More topics 👉 www.herts.ac.uk/research/cen...

Please share!

hulya-dagdeviren.bsky.social @hulya-dagdeviren.bsky.social · Apr 23

📢📢Financing #netzero at local level - in partnership with
@londoncouncils.bsky.social, we explained why central funding is more sensible for scaling-up #local netzero investments.
londoncouncils.gov.uk/news-and-pre...

@christina-wolf.bsky.social @benbraun.bsky.social @bbonizzi.bsky.social

Financing Local Net Zero policy paper | London Councils – Home

London Councils has partnered with the University of Hertfordshire to produce Financing Local Net Zero - a policy paper on the public finance routes available to councils to address barriers to climat...

londoncouncils.gov.uk

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hulya-dagdeviren.bsky.social @hulya-dagdeviren.bsky.social · Apr 23

Great to see this piece by on our #netzero work with
@londoncouncils - www.themj.co.uk/comparing-fu...: central government is in a better position to borrow at the scale required to fund netzero.
@christina-wolf.bsky.social @bbonizzi.bsky.social

Comparing funding options for local decarbonisation

Securing funding for the work councils are doing to get to net zero is essential – whether it's to make homes cheaper and greener to heat or to build charging infrastructure...

www.themj.co.uk

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Pauline Kohlhase @pkohlhase.bsky.social · Mar 21

To all female scholars, working in the broad field of political economy: Apply for the Max Planck Summer School for women in political economy! Two years ago we had a blast!
www.mpifg.de/1343511/2025....

Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy

www.mpifg.de

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Dustin Voss @dustinvoss.bsky.social · Mar 14

*Call for Applications*

We’re excited to announce the Second Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy!

Link to the conference website: www.mpifg.de/1343511/2025...

Please share widely!

@mpifg.bsky.social @palmapolyak.bsky.social

Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy

www.mpifg.de

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Feb 25

@jomichell.bsky.social @anninak.bsky.social @bbonizzi.bsky.social @karstenkohler.bsky.social @christiankoutny.bsky.social @hulya-dagdeviren.bsky.social @redjen.bsky.social

#PhD #Economics #PluralistEconomics #AcademicConference #Networking

Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Feb 25

📢The 2025 PKES-YSI PhD Conference will be hosted at the University of Hertfordshire!
If you are PhD student in pluralist economics, apply by Fri 7 March, to receive feedback on your work from a senior academic + connect with like-minded researchers.

More info: ysi.ineteconomics.org/event/16th-p...

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Jeff Powell @powelljr.bsky.social · Feb 25

🚨Great funded PhD opportunity working on decarbonising public transport in the Global South - pls share! www.gre.ac.uk/docs/rep/com...

Decarbonisation Through Public Ownership: Transforming Public Transport in the Global South | Documents | University of Greenwich

Closing Date: 23 March 2025

www.gre.ac.uk

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Feb 20

📣 Calling PhD candidates in pluralist economics and political economy! Do apply for our PhD workshop held at University of Hertfordshire this year 👇

Bruno Bonizzi @bbonizzi.bsky.social · Feb 20

The PKES PhD conference this year will be at Herts.

If you are a PhD student with interest in pluralist economics consider applying! You will get your work discussed by a senior academic, and meet like-minded people.

More details (incl application link) here ysi.ineteconomics.org/event/16th-p...

16th PKES PhD Student Conference (supported by YSI) – YSI INET

ysi.ineteconomics.org

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Bruno Bonizzi @bbonizzi.bsky.social · Feb 20

The PKES PhD conference this year will be at Herts.

If you are a PhD student with interest in pluralist economics consider applying! You will get your work discussed by a senior academic, and meet like-minded people.

More details (incl application link) here ysi.ineteconomics.org/event/16th-p...

16th PKES PhD Student Conference (supported by YSI) – YSI INET

ysi.ineteconomics.org

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jan 2

It’s over 1,000km from Berlin to Paris

There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.

And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight

www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...

High-speed Paris-Berlin daily train service debuts

The route is the first directly linking the two capitals' city centres.

www.euronews.com

170 1.6K 6.8K

Julius Kölzer @juliusk.bsky.social · Jan 2

The last General Election has seen much talk about Reform UK's popularity in so-called 'left-behind places, characterized by socioeconomic deprivation. Looking at variation in deprivation levels across the UK's constituencies suggests this pattern exists, but only partially. A short thread. 🧵

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hulya-dagdeviren.bsky.social @hulya-dagdeviren.bsky.social · Dec 16

📯 PhD Scholarship opportunity at University of Greenwich. Applications by 3 Jan 2025.
www.gre.ac.uk/__data/asset...

www.gre.ac.uk

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Andrés Rodríguez-Pose @rodriguez-pose.bsky.social · Dec 6

The term 'left-behind' conceals more than it reveals.
#Europe’s vulnerable #regions differ: some bear scars of deindustrialisation, others face demographic collapse, while rural areas grapple with isolation.
@sanne_velthuis et al. show that policy must grasp this complexity.
doi.org/10.1080/0034...

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Nicholas Jepson & Oyuna Baldakova: Chinese State Capital as a Partner for Resource-Based Structural Transformation? The Belt and Road Initiative and Downstream Linkages in Bolivia and Kazakhstan
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Chinese State Capital as a Partner for Resource-Based Structural Transformation? The Belt and Road Initiative and Downstream Linkages in Bolivia and Kazakhstan - The European Journal of Development Re...

Lee argues that outbound Chinese state capital (CSC) is distinct from global private capital in terms of a greater willingness to accommodate recipient country priorities. This article uses the cases ...

link.springer.com

Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Lorena Lombardozzi: Structural Transformation Through a Multi-vector Geo-economic Governance? BRI and Upgrading of the Uzbek Gas Industry
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Structural Transformation Through a Multi-vector Geo-economic Governance? BRI and Upgrading of the Uzbek Gas Industry - The European Journal of Development Research

Gas is a strategic source of energy and Uzbekistan ranks 11th in the world for mining and 14th for reserves. The article investigates whether and how the BRI and Chinese capital have contributed to Uz...

link.springer.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Yunnan Chen: Technology Transfer on the Belt and Road: Pathways for Structural Transformation in Ethiopia’s Standard Gauge Railways
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Technology Transfer on the Belt and Road: Pathways for Structural Transformation in Ethiopia’s Standard Gauge Railways - The European Journal of Development Research

In the surge of outward finance that coalesced into the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this article examines how the intersection of Ethiopia’s industrialisation ambitions, in tandem with Chinese inf...

link.springer.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Christina Wolf: Construction as a Springboard for Industrialisation: Chinese Overseas Construction Projects and Structural Transformation in Angola, Ethiopia and Nigeria
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Construction as a Springboard for Industrialisation: Chinese Overseas Construction Projects and Structural Transformation in Angola, Ethiopia and Nigeria - The European Journal of Development Research

This paper looks at Chinese construction projects in Angola, Nigeria and Ethiopia—the three countries that registered the highest cumulative value of construction projects completed by Chinese firms i...

link.springer.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Linda Calabrese: Diversifying Away from Extractives -The Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese Capital and Industrialisation in the Kyrgyz Republic
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Diversifying Away from Extractives: The Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese Capital and Industrialisation in the Kyrgyz Republic - The European Journal of Development Research

With its infrastructural offer and emphasis on connectivity, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to support developing countries aiming to industrialise. The literature on industrialisatio...

link.springer.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Guanie Lim & Andrew Jia-Yi Kam: Chinese Investment in Malaysia: (De)Industrialization amidst Greater Financial and Trade Connectivity
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Chinese Investment in Malaysia: (De)Industrialization amidst Greater Financial and Trade Connectivity - The European Journal of Development Research

China–Malaysia economic engagement has deepened since the 1990s. The scale and scope of this relationship has also expanded significantly following the 2013 announcement of the Belt and Road Initiativ...

link.springer.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Weiping Li & Saite Lu: Assessing Structural Transformation and the Potential Impacts of Belt and Road Initiative Projects in Africa
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Assessing Structural Transformation and the Potential Impacts of Belt and Road Initiative Projects in Africa - The European Journal of Development Research

Infrastructure development, central to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is crucial for facilitating structural transformation. However, numerous critics contend that the Initiative serves as a tool...

link.springer.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

Here is an overview of the papers in the SI

Linda Calabrese, Rhys Jenkins & Lorena Lombardozzi: The Belt and Road Initiative and Dynamics of Structural Transformation
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Belt and Road Initiative and Dynamics of Structural Transformation - The European Journal of Development Research

Structural transformation is among the core questions in development economics, but in recent decades, the discipline has shifted its focus away from production and transformation in favour of analyse...

link.springer.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Dec 3

What is the role of the BRI in promoting structural transformation in low- and middle-income countries? @lorena-lombardozzi.bsky.social and @lindacalab.bsky.social have put together this fantastic SI, which will be launched on Wed 11 Dec 2025 at 12.30pm. Join us!👇

Lorena Lombardozzi @lorena-lombardozzi.bsky.social · Dec 3

Please join us for a great IKD Roundtable on: The Belt and Road Initiative and Dynamics of Structural Transformation (launch of the special issue on EJDR @eadi.bsky.social)
🗓️Wed 11th December
⌚️12.30-14.00

Register now here bit.ly/3V6OKUQ

The Belt and Road Initiative and Dynamics of Structural Transformation

Innovation, Knowledge, Development (IKD) Seminar Series

bit.ly

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Lorena Lombardozzi @lorena-lombardozzi.bsky.social · Dec 3

Please join us for a great IKD Roundtable on: The Belt and Road Initiative and Dynamics of Structural Transformation (launch of the special issue on EJDR @eadi.bsky.social)
🗓️Wed 11th December
⌚️12.30-14.00

Register now here bit.ly/3V6OKUQ

The Belt and Road Initiative and Dynamics of Structural Transformation

Innovation, Knowledge, Development (IKD) Seminar Series

bit.ly

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Rosie Collington @rosiecollington.bsky.social · Nov 30

So you got the plan, but have you got the state capacity? (To misquote Shania Twain)

Looking forward to presenting this paper on state capacity for decarbonisation next week at @mpimmg.bsky.social's conf on 'The Fragmentary State'

Paper has been a v long time coming but I think it's nearly there 🙏

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Tim Baxter @timinclimate.bsky.social · Nov 30

Gorgon CCS is the world's largest pure carbon capture and storage operation. Since 2019, it has been weakly sputtering away out on Barrow Island at Australia's highest emitting industrial facility.

You may have heard it's a failure. Do you know why it's a failure?

A long article and accompanying 🧵

Gorgon carbon capture and storage project: The failure of the world’s largest CCS facility

After decades of abject failure, these days even the most enthusiastic proponent of carbon capture and storage can at best mount a muted…

medium.com

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Nov 28

for some reason the maps with current and planned green H2 production did not post. Here again:

Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Nov 28

18/ Even in a more limited market, demand certainty is crucial: Governments can drive this by setting standards and linking contracts to the use of green steel and cement.

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Nov 28

17/ Rissman et al (2020) suggest minimising material overuse (buildings use 2x the steel required for structural integrity), avoiding premature demolition (buildings can last up to 200 years instead of the typical 60-80) + alternative building materials. doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...

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Christina Wolf @christina-wolf.bsky.social · Nov 28

16/ Even then, if sustainability is the goal, demand for energy-intensive products needs to reduce. This is bad news for steel producers already facing global excess supply but perhaps the creed needs to be producing less but better?

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