We investigate the developmental consequences of slave-raiding in Eastern Europe, the largest source of slaves in the early modern world after West Africa. Drawing on a wide-ranging new dataset, we estimate that at least five million people were captured from hundreds of locations across Eastern Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. We hypothesize that, over time, raids encouraged an economically advantageous process of defensive state-building linked to raided societies’ resistance to and lack of integration into the slave trade. Using difference-in-differences and instrumental variables strategies, we find that exposure to raids is positively associated with long-run urban growth and related indicators of demographic and commercial development. Consistent with our posited mechanism, raided areas constructed more robust defensive infrastructures and attained higher levels of military, administrative, and fiscal capacity. Our findings suggest that the structure of slave production conditions its developmental legacies, cautioning against drawing generalizations from the African context.

This paper examines how tourism served as a vehicle for informal political propaganda in postwar Taiwan under Guomindang (GMD) rule. Following the Second World War, when the GMD began governing Taiwan, the government recognized tourism’s potential for ideological projection and national legitimation. Through analysis of tourism promotional materials, policy documents, and news reports from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia, this paper demonstrates how Taiwan deliberately positioned itself as the authentic guardian of ‘Cultural China’ within a competitive regional context. The GMD government strategically deployed Chinese cultural traditions and landmarks as tourism attractions to establish Taiwan’s cultural legitimacy, particularly targeting overseas Chinese communities through ‘returning home tourism’ initiatives that framed Taiwan as the authentic homeland for all ethnic Chinese. Significantly, while Hong Kong promoted itself under the banner ‘The Orient is Hong Kong’ primarily to Western tourists, Taiwan’s dual strategy sought to attract both international visitors interested in experiencing ‘mysterious China’ and overseas Chinese through tourism experiences that showcased ‘Free China’ or ‘Cultural China’. This approach constituted a systematic attempt to legitimize Taiwan’s claim to represent China proper, even as its formal diplomatic position deteriorated in the 1970s. The paper argues that Taiwan’s tourism strategy represented a deliberate political calculation that transcended economic objectives, transforming cultural tourism into a powerful tool for asserting sovereignty and maintaining international relevance despite growing diplomatic isolation.

The black soldier fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens) has gained global economic relevance as a sustainable resource for animal feed, organic waste bioconversion, and the production of nutrient-rich frass for agricultural use. Its ability to convert low-value waste streams into high-value proteins, lipids, and fertilisers makes BSF a key component of emerging circular-economy models. However, the influence of vegetable and fruit waste (VFW) substrates on insect performance, nutrient composition, frass quality, and economic efficiency remains poorly defined. This study evaluated five substrate levels obtained by mixing laying hen feed with VFW at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, assessing their effects on the growth performance, body measurements, chemical composition, frass characteristics, and economic traits of BSF larvae and prepupae. The results showed that up to 75% VFW can be used to rear BSF up to 23 days of age without compromising growth traits. Substrate reduction ranged from 67.2% to 89.4%, and larval-to-prepupal conversion increased with feed intake. VFW level significantly affected larval and prepupal nutrient profiles, including dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, nitrogen-free extract, and chitin. Frass from the 100% VFW substrate exhibited the highest nutrient concentration, although this inclusion level impaired feed conversion due to elevated fibre content. Economic analysis indicated that using VFW can reduce substrate costs without negatively affecting revenue. Overall, a VFW inclusion level of up to 75% is recommended as the optimal balance between insect growth efficiency, nutrient recycling, and frass fertilising potential.

Coordinated urban and rural development is crucial for reducing inequality and achieving common prosperity. Using panel data from 57 counties in Zhejiang Province from 2015 to 2019, this study examines the impact of digital economy development on the urban–rural income gap, with particular attention to its role in digital poverty alleviation and the underlying transmission mechanisms. The results show that while digital economy development contributes to poverty alleviation by significantly increasing household income in both urban and rural areas, it simultaneously widens the urban–rural income gap. The analysis of mechanisms reveals that nonagricultural employment (NAE), innovation, and entrepreneurship mediate this relationship, disproportionately benefiting urban areas. The heterogeneity analysis further indicates that human capital (HC) and business environment (BE) disparities amplify the widening effect of digital economy development on the urban–rural income gap, while improved infrastructure reduces barriers to resource flow, mitigating the gap. These findings highlight the dual effects of digital economy development, offering critical policy insights for promoting digital poverty reduction while addressing regional disparities to achieve common prosperity.

Hydrocalumite, a natural Ca-Al Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH), also known as a hydrated calcium aluminate and an aluminate ferrite monosubstituted (AFm) phase in cement chemistry, has been studied by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis and Raman spectroscopy on a sample from Boisséjour, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The mineral is monoclinic, space group P2/c, a = 10.0234(3), b = 11.5131(3), c = 16.2989(5) Å, β = 104.205(3)°, V = 1823.39(9) Å3 and Z = 4. The crystal structure has been refined to R1 = 0.0505 based on 6296 unique reflections. The empirical chemical formula of the mineral (Ca, Al, Cl according to electron probe microanalysis; CO2, OH and H2O on the basis of crystal-structure refinement and Raman spectroscopy) is Ca3.96Al2.04(OH)12.04Cl0.96(CO3)0.5˙5H2O that can be idealized as Ca4Al2(OH)12Cl(CO3)0.5·5H2O. The presence of (CO3)2– and (OH)– anionic groups and (H2O)0 molecules is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The strongest reflections in the powder X-ray diffraction pattern are (d in Å, Irel in %): 7.89, 100; 3.951, 34; 3.860, 59; 3.753, 26; 2.884, 73; 2.527, 27; 2.501, 38; 2.453, 64; 2.433, 30; 2.327, 25. The crystal structure study reveals the ordering of interlayer species: Cl– and (CO3)2– anions and H2O molecules, which means that both anions play a species-defining role in contrast to the previous suggestions on mono-anionic end-members (with either Cl or OH or CO3 anions). The ordering of two different anions is usually not observed for other LDHs and appears to be a crystal-chemical feature of the Ca-Al LDH members. This work is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland. Hydrocalumite is a mineral with a 90-year history starting from North Ireland, UK, and is a good example of joint efforts of different mineralogical scientific societies in deciphering scientific puzzles.

Do voters take into account the deaths of family members and close friends when evaluating the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic—particularly when that response is problematic or even negligent—as in the case of Mexico under the Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) administration? Using data from the 2021 Mexican Election Study, this research shows that opposition partisans who lost close friends or relatives to COVID-19 are more likely to evaluate the government’s response to the pandemic negatively. In contrast, National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) partisans do not hold accountable their co-partisan government. They are no more likely to evaluate the government’s response negatively, even when they experience the same losses. Experimental evidence further shows that MORENA partisans do not lower their evaluations of government performance after being informed about the country’s high COVID-19 mortality. They are also more likely to underestimate the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country, even after being presented with official mortality figures. These findings underscore how partisanship can cloud accountability, leading some voters to dismiss objective information and to judge government performance primarily through the lens of partisan loyalty. Partisanship can distort the accountability mechanism at the core of retrospective voting even during a major health crisis.