Economies, Volume 11, Issue 8 (August 2023) – 18 articles

The Millennials and Generation Z use online shopping for a holistic experience and buy more expensive or better-quality products with buy now pay later payment methods for their highly demanding needs. The authors aimed to deepen understanding of this phenomenon by finding related knowledge fields and discovering the type of economy that will represent an increasing market share for the method of domestic e-commerce payments. The methodology used combined computer-assisted review, descriptive statistics, and linear regression to explain the market share of 23 economies worldwide. Student credit card use, myopic consumer law, buying tendencies. and dark financial triangles were identified as related topics. Logistics performance, ease of doing business, and postal development were found to be significant factors. Finally, economies with medium ranks are inclined to adopt this kind of payment easily. Hence, major implications, both managerial and academic, must be addressed. High responsibility should be borne by industry associations, which should run information campaigns by collaborating with public institutions. From the point of view of theoretical implications, studying the buy now and pay later concept and its outcomes might deepen understanding of consumer behaviour, decision-making processes, risk perception mitigation, debt behaviours, and credit adoption. Full article

The issue of polarization, as opposed to inequality, has been little explored in European countries. In this paper, using data provided by the Luxembourg Income Studies Database, we look at the trend of income polarization in 12 European countries, the only ones available with two comparable years, using the relative distribution method. The results clearly show a trend toward polarization in almost the cases analyzed, with a concentrated prevalence in the lower tail of the distribution, thus observing a worsening in the distribution. Next, we look at drivers that may have contributed to these changes, using the RIF-regression method. It is interesting to observe how these characteristics are in many cases common across all countries: the occupational sector, level of education and area of residence have the same impact, albeit with different intensities, in all countries. This suggests the possibility of coordinated intervention across these nations, acting on the same variables for all of them. Full article

This study aims to investigate the relationship between creditor protection and the debt maturity structure of corporations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The GCC countries enjoy large GDPs, growing capital markets, especially the Islamic bonds (Sukuk) market, and negligible tax environments. Nonetheless, the GCC countries’ financial systems are still dominated by banks, and their private investments are held by concentrated investors. The study utilizes firm-level financial data and country-level institutional data obtained from the World Bank Governance Indicators and Doing Business databases and applies the two-stage least square estimator to test its hypotheses. The findings indicate that stronger regulatory effectiveness is associated with long debt maturities, while better creditor protection is associated with short debt maturities. The latter finding suggests that managers and owners have incentives to utilize short-term debt in economies characterized by stronger liquidation and insolvency rules to avoid the loss of control in the case of a firm default. This finding has policy implications in terms of the importance of considering the dual influence of institutional reforms on the supply of and demand for long-term capital. Full article

This paper explores the impact of investment and employment on Egypt’s agricultural growth during the period 1991 to 2021 using annual time series data. We use the ARDL approach to examine the long-run and short-run relationships among agricultural investment, agricultural employment and agricultural GDP. The results reveal that the variables of interest are bound together in the long run. The long-run relationship and the error correction model are estimated. The accompanying equilibrium correction proves that long-run linkages exist in a meaningful way. Results show that agricultural investment and agricultural employment are major short- and long-run determinants of the agricultural GDP. In the long run, every 1% increase in agricultural employment (AEMP) results in an increase in the agricultural GDP (AGDP) of 3.73%, while every 1% increase in agricultural investment (AINV) improves the AGDP by 0.43%. In the short run, 26% of all disequilibrium-causing motions are adjusted for in a single session. Therefore, it takes 3.85 years for the Egyptian agricultural GDP to achieve the transition from a short-term disequilibrium situation to a long-term equilibrium. Thus, decision makers should increase the rates of investment in the agricultural sector, in parallel to the development of the agricultural labor force in Egypt. Moreover, the increased allocation of public investments and the injection of private investments are highly recommended. In addition, the Egyptian agricultural sector needs improvements regarding human capital development and agricultural training. Finally, the government must initiate comprehensive farmer support services, bolstered farm/non-farm links and the promotion of rural SMEs to serve as the foundation for agricultural and rural development. Full article

Poultry production in Mozambique occupies a prominent place in the agricultural sector, especially because it is attractive for the promotion of entrepreneurship and self-employment. These facts are due to the short cycle and a large increase in the consumption of poultry products. However, despite the opportunities it presents, challenges do exist, namely, the strategic organization of producers and the access to the market, which give producers a weak capacity to compete, and thus favoring imports to the country. To analyze competitiveness, stochastic models were used to determine the efficiency of producers and to define good practices. The results clearly show that producers with a more organized and well-planned structure, producing more than 2000 chickens per cycle of production, tend to be more efficient when compared to those with less organized structures and without commercial agreements that facilitate market access. Full article

Bank lending to SMEs plays a vital role in economic growth, contributing significantly to employment and GDP. Access to bank lending is crucial for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as they contribute significantly to global employment and GDP. New financial technologies promise better bank operations, fewer costs, and enhanced credit supply to SMEs. However, there is still a lack of empirical findings on how these technologies can solve demand-side bank lending problems for small- and medium-sized firms. This study gathered data from a sample of 381 respondents, comprising CEOs, managers, officers, loan managers, IT consultants, and other relevant stakeholders. The findings indicate that the adoption of blockchain technologies, as well as the adoption of Big Data technologies encompassing cloud computing, data analytics, algorithms, and programming, along with the adoption of mobile banking technologies, have had a substantial positive impact on bank credit supplies for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. This novel study contributes to existing knowledge in two ways. First, it provides knowledge to SMEs looking to adopt new technologies; second, it provides knowledge to a manager looking to finance the SMEs with information asymmetries. This research also provides key findings for researchers and policymakers. Full article

The aim was to identify the determinants of female labour participation and willingness to work in one of the poorest agricultural areas of the Ecuadorian Andes with a high indigenous population. A stratified random sample of 268 women by parish was used to collect the information. Social, demographic, and economic variables, as well as norms, values, beliefs, and social structure were consulted. A hypothesis test of means was used to identify possible differences in cultural variables. In addition, the identification of the determinants of labour market insertion was estimated through discrete choice models (logit), selecting the one that best classified the data by means of the confusion matrix. Significant differences were identified in the beliefs analysed based on prejudice towards women’s work (gender roles), attitudes towards children, and intersectionality (discrimination based on ethnicity) by estimating mean differences, considering education, marital status, ethnicity, and labour insertion as grouping variables. The results of the estimations indicate that female labour force participation depends on age, marital status, experience, number of children, education, ethnicity, head of household, social structure (ethnicity), and dimensions of beliefs and values. Willingness to work is explained by attitude towards children, experience, and age. Beliefs and social structure can therefore enhance female labour. Full article

The agro-industrial complex plays a vital role in driving economic growth and sustainable development. This study investigates the direct and indirect impact of technological innovations, knowledge transfer, and value chain governance on intersectoral integration through the mediatory role of innovation diffusion and the moderating role of the regulatory environment. This study adopts a time-lagged quantitative survey research design, utilizing a multistage random sampling technique to collect data from employees within the agro-industrial complex in Kazakhstan. The findings reveal that technological innovations, knowledge transfer, and value chain governance positively influence intersectoral integration within the agro-industrial complex. Furthermore, innovation diffusion mediates the relationship between these variables, indicating that the diffusion of innovative practices, technologies, and ideas plays a crucial role in facilitating intersectoral integration. This study also demonstrates that the regulatory environment moderates the relationship between innovation diffusion and intersectoral integration, highlighting the importance of supportive regulatory frameworks in facilitating collaboration and innovation diffusion. The results contribute to the theoretical understanding of intersectoral integration and provide practical implications for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and managers. Full article

This study investigates the heterogeneous effects of the green credit policy (GCP) on firms’ green innovation and transformation and upgradation. Using a comprehensive dataset of companies operating in the green sector, we employ panel regression models to examine the interaction between the policy and firm characteristics among SMEs in Kazakhstan. The results reveal significant heterogeneity in the effects of the policy across different scales of enterprises. In terms of green innovation, the policy has a positive and significant impact on large enterprises, while its effects are not significant for small- and medium-sized enterprises. Similarly, for transformation/upgradation, the policy demonstrates a positive effect on large enterprises but lacks significance for smaller firms. These findings suggest that larger enterprises may have a greater capacity and more resources to capitalize on the policy incentives and implement greener practices effectively. Additionally, the study identifies technological capability as a mediating factor and regulatory environment as a moderating factor influencing the relationship between the policy and green outcomes. The theoretical implications highlight the importance of considering firm characteristics and contextual factors in understanding the heterogeneous effects of environmental policies. From a practical standpoint, policymakers should tailor policy interventions to account for the varying needs and capacities of different scales of enterprises. Moreover, fostering technological capability and improving the regulatory environment can enhance the effectiveness of green policies. Full article

The purpose of the study was to analyze social innovations in a broader context in order to achieve sustainable development goals. In terms of a response to the research questions, a comprehensive analysis of an alteration process in rural development was conducted while identifying the social innovations, highlighting the good practices, and conceptualizing the social innovation typology of peripheral rural areas. The methodology included a comparative analysis addressing three European regions, namely Northern, Central, and Western Europe, represented by Finland, Croatia, and France, respectively, together with their nine good practice examples during a biennial RUR’UP project period. The results demonstrate the typological differences between the selected examples of social innovations that stimulate the rural development of peripheral rural areas. These examples were formulated by the different social conditions in which these innovations were created. As a traditional economic activity in rural areas, agriculture is a great challenge for the application of innovations, can effectuate changes in the economic activities of the rural population, and can promote social and economic sustainability. In conclusion, significant differences among the regions were proven on the basis of social, environmental, and economic impacts arising from the application of social innovation. Full article

Time series analysis is a method of key importance for systems of various hierarchies’ economic security studies. This article’s main goal is to develop an economic security rapid indicators system, introducing threshold values and utilizing indices with a one-month sampling period, and its approbation during Russia’s economic security operational monitoring. In order to develop such a system, the authors accumulated economic security world experience including reliability, visibility and tree structure principles. The authors’ monitoring system includes four spheres: real economy, social, monetary and foreign economic, each of which contains three indicators. In order to organize economic security monitoring, it is proposed to use the index method, which converts indicators into a dimensionless form with integral values in subsequent calculations. Based on integral indices values, the economic security generalized index is synthesized, which can be used to analyze a system’s development trends. We present economic security normalized indicators and integral indices dynamics for the years 2020–2022, which show two crises dynamics. The first is due the COVID-19 pandemic, while the second is associated with economic sanctions against Russia, implemented in 2022. The proposed economic security operational monitoring indicators system can be used effectively in the government’s practical tasks in order to ensure the required level of economic security. This is especially true for rapid diagnosis of crisis phenomena in countries and individual regions. Full article

We study whether remote sensing (RS), a set of technologies with global reach and a variety of applications, can be considered instrumental to the provision of global public goods (GPG). We exploit text information from patent data and apply structural topic modeling to identify topics related (or relevant) to GPG provision, and trace their participation in the evolution of remote sensing technology over time. We develop a new indicator of affinity to GPG (and other themes) using meta information from our dataset. We find that, first, RS displays features of a general-purpose technology. Second, while peripheral, GPG-relevant topics are present in the RS topic space, and in some cases overlap with topics with high affinity in AI and participation of public sector actors in invention. With our analysis, we contribute to a better understanding of the interplay between the dynamics of technology and (global) political economy, a field of research yet under-explored. Full article

Improving the efficiency in the links in the supply chains of agri-food products is relevant in terms of the assessment methodology and practical aspects for ensuring and supporting sustainable supply chains of products not only in individual channels of product movement but also in the end-to-end supply chain of products, i.e., from the field to the end consumer. However, it is still unclear which supply chain opportunities in commodity distribution channels are more effective for creating end-to-end sustainable supply chains for agri-food products. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodology for assessing the impact of agri-food supply channels on the efficiency and link in supply chains, taking into account the factors affecting them and developing recommendations for their improvement. Quantitative methods based on correlation and regression analysis using the EViews program on the basis of Kazakh statistical data for 2008–2022 were used. A methodology is proposed for assessing the effectiveness of the functioning and links in commodity movement in the supply chains of agricultural products at the macroeconomic level based on the consideration and use of important factors affecting the efficiency and links: production and sales volumes, total costs, and profitability for each supply channel: “production–processing–industrial production–trade”. The relationship between the efficiency and the links in supply chains and also the key factors that affect them have been established. The results showed that the increase in the efficiency in supply channels in the commodity distribution system leads to a decrease in the coefficient of the link in commodity movement and inventory availability. To reduce the link ratio in the supply chains of agri-food products, it is necessary to increase the efficiency in supply chains in each supply chain link and reduce the share of retail trade in the gross turnover. Recommendations are proposed to improve supply chain efficiency and reduce links to support and create end-to-end sustainable supply chains of agri-food products. The study makes an essential contribution to providing empirical evidence of the relationship between the effectiveness of agri-food supply channels and the link in the supply chain. Since few works describe the relationship between the links of product distribution and the efficiency in supply chains in the literature, in this work, it was possible to propose a methodology and identify factors and gaps in research to identify potential areas for future research. Full article

This research note addresses the question of how permanent workers perceive their individual job security if their firm employs temporary workers with fixed-term contracts and temporary agency workers. One the one hand, the core-periphery hypothesis predicts that permanent workers should have fewer concerns about job security if the firm employs temporary workers to deal with demand fluctuations. On the other hand, a counteracting substitution effect might increase concerns about job security. Using linked employer-employee data and estimating regression models at the worker level with establishment fixed effects, evidence supports the core-periphery hypothesis for temporary agency work but not for fixed-term contracts. Full article

The Latin American export in the manufacturing sector is 18% lower than the world average. Although between the 1980s and 1990s, the sophistication of exportable products increased by 13%, it is evident to see the low progress of the Latin American region to consolidate the change in its productivity and its dependence on oil extraction activities, minerals, and other raw materials. This article evaluates and quantifies the impact of human capital, globalization, and the role of the efficiency of institutions in the sophistication of production in Latin America compared to economies with greater complexity. This is conducted using panel data methodology with cointegration techniques, using data from 17 countries that belong to the continental part of Latin America and 10 countries with the greatest economic complexity according to the Atlas of Economic Complexity Index. These countries are classified by their income level, data compiled by the United Nations Development Program Indicators, the Harvard Growth Lab Atlas of Economic Complexity, the Swiss Economic Institute database, and the Heritage Foundation. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between the explanatory variables and economic complexity. However, the nature of the relationships differs between the different income levels, finding the same trend in the cointegration analyses. It requires the adoption of public policies in the curricular and evaluative field of knowledge and skills as well as the fight against corruption in public and private sectors, motivating the improvement of bilateral relations with other countries in an economic, political, and social way. Full article

The main object of this research is to find out the nexus of banks’ competition, ownership structure, and economic growth on credit risk and financial stability. In addition, it examines the level of financial stability, economic growth, and ownership structure in the Middle East and North African (MENA) economies. The generalized method of moments (GMM) method was used to examine this study. The study used an unbalanced panel dataset from 2011 to 2021 in MENA countries. This research demonstrates a negative relationship between economic growth, credit risk, and financial stability in MENA economies; nevertheless, it proves an insignificant effect among them. It also shows that the lower the level of bank competition, the lower the level of bank risk taking, and the better the level of financial stability. It further found that market competition and bank ownership structure had a homogenous effect on financial stability when looking at the impact of competition and bank ownership structure. In the long-term sense, the square term of competition is highly favorable with financial stability models ((Lerner square × Islamic banks), (Lerner square × commercial banks), (Lerner square × specialized government institutions)). However, financial stability improves with time, as seen by the competition square term bank ownership structure (a square measure of competition) with the Lerner index (LI) and the Herfindahl–Hirschman index total assets (HHIA). This finding of the square measure of competition is supported by competition stability theory. However, this study also proved that Islamic and commercial banks are less vulnerable to credit risk than specialized government institutions (SGI). This study scrutinized how MENA economies can remain stable through banking competition. This study builds a new brand of literature review. As a result, this research gives MENA policymakers better ideas for making policies that help the banking environment. Full article

This paper examines Croatian Regional Value Chains (RVCs). We use the value chain approach to study supply chains, examining data specifically for Croatia and its proximate trading partners in the European Union, as well as some other European countries. The value added in Croatian exports is statistically related to the value added in the exports of Croatian trading partners. We argue that Croatian RVCs are organized around regional production centers, with proximity to production capacity, raw materials, and customers as driving factors, and thus most of the value added originates in these RVCs. This paper emphasizes the advantages of representing trade through value added over traditional gross trade statistics and highlights the robustness of RVCs in Croatia to global shocks and transportation reliability issues. We conclude that despite its small absolute size, the Croatian economy is dynamically well-integrated into the EU RVCs, which is crucial for increasing business efficiency and competitiveness, notwithstanding the constraints of relatively low returns to scale. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of RVCs in Croatia and their potential benefits for Croatia in the global production organization. Full article

An array of global events, including the global financial crisis, natural disasters, and the recent coronavirus pandemic, have consistently shown the vulnerability of global systems and humans to externally undesirable contagions. In order to further provide alternative approaches to information valuation, this study utilized the economic policy uncertainty (EPU) of 21 leading developed and developing economies (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America) over the period January 1997 to May 2021. The information theory reveals the hierarchy of degrees of randomness in the EPU indices; it shows the information flow among the EPU indices through the mutual information metric and the graphical illustration of the information flows using network theory. Importantly, the Entropy measures indicate higher predictability of the Netherlands and Ireland’s EPU indices, suggesting that they have less randomness than other indices. Contrarily, Greece and the United Kingdom share the lowest predictability of the EPU indices. Moreover, the complex networks analysis shows that the EPU indices is generally shaped by geographic location. In order of significance, the United States of America’s EPU index exhibits the strongest correlation with other countries’ EPU indices and followed by the EPU indices of France, the United Kingdom (UK), and Germany. In general, the result of the investigation communicates relevant policy measures that potentially ameliorate shocks from external contagions. Full article