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Economies
Special Issues
Economic Development, Labour Markets, and Education in the Digital Age
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Economic Development, Labour Markets, and Education in the Digital Age

A special issue of Economies (ISSN 2227-7099).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 3886

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Laura Mariana Cismaș

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics and Economic Modelling, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timișoara, Romania
Interests: sustainability issues regarding labor markets; sustainable development; national and regional development; regional and European macroeconomics; European regional economics; institutional economics; European/regional economic and social policies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rise of populism and the recurring crises have led to the emergence of a new term called "permacrisis", which refers to the persistent state of emergency, characterized by uncertainties caused by various factors such as rapid digitalization, increasing inequality, and disparities in living standards and employment opportunities. The post-pandemic effects and the push to "green" economies further complicate matters, leading to increased polarization among different socioeconomic groups and institutional uncertainties arising from various governance approaches.

The papers in this section will examine how rigid or flexible governance is at the national level regarding policies, strategies, and mechanisms for the labor market and business environment. They will identify the changes in job supply and demand caused by the global and regional volatility in "greening economies" as well as the major impacts of these changes. Additionally, the papers will explore investments in skilling, upskilling, and reskilling to address skill deficits and the core reasons and possible interventions to improve the workforce's ability to adapt to rapid changes in the labor market at strategic and operational levels.

The current society and economy are heavily reliant on digitalization and knowledge, which is a combination of abstract and practical skills gained in various contexts. Achieving the goals of sustainability and resilience while facing the risks of disappearing occupations due to high digitalization levels and emerging AI requires a multidisciplinary perspective. This means building an improved framework that considers governance, education, and the business environment's essential pillars and shared understanding about preserving the moderating role of the state. Such an approach is critical in addressing multiple crises and avoiding economic imbalances and social unrest.

Prof. Dr. Laura Mariana Cismaș
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Economies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • labor markets
  • education in the digital age
  • permacrisis
  • greening economies
  • AI

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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20 pages, 2210 KiB  
Article
The Digital Edge: Skills That Matter in the European Labour Market after COVID-19
by Viorel Țarcă, Florin-Alexandru Luca and Elena Țarcă
Economies 2024, 12(10), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100273 - 8 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1553
Abstract
Following the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the emphasis on digitization and robotization has grown at an unprecedented rate in the global economy, resulting in significant changes to the labour market composition and increasing the value of digital skills. The aim of this article is [...] Read more.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the emphasis on digitization and robotization has grown at an unprecedented rate in the global economy, resulting in significant changes to the labour market composition and increasing the value of digital skills. The aim of this article is to emphasize the ways in which people’s digital abilities and appetite for online activities are connected to job productivity (salary levels) and to determine which individual internet-based digital skills are genuinely important and correlated with better wages. We employed a Principal Component Analysis (PCA-type factorial analysis) with orthogonal rotation to gain a general understanding of the main components that synthesize the digital capabilities of individuals from the European countries analyzed. We decreased the dimensionality of our initial dataset to two major components, namely comprehensive online skills and digital social and media skills, keeping more than 80% of the overall variability. We then evaluated the potential association between the two created components and the average hourly wages and salaries. Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have observed an important shift in the impact of digital and internet skills on the job market in Europe. Thus, the development of comprehensive internet skills is highly correlated with individuals’ more effective integration into the labour market in Europe in general and the EU in particular, evidenced by better wage and salary levels (r = 0.740, p < 0.001). On the other hand, we found no correlation between the possibility of obtaining higher salaries for employees and the second component, digital social and media skills. The novelty of our research lies in its specific focus on the unique and immediate impacts of the pandemic, the accelerated adoption of digital skills, the integration of comprehensive individual internet skills, and the use of the most recent data to understand the labour market’s characteristics. This new approach offers fresh insights into how Europe’s workforce could evolve in response to unprecedented challenges, making it distinct from previous studies of labour market skills. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Development, Labour Markets, and Education in the Digital Age)
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18 pages, 346 KiB  
Article
The Effect of ICT Usage on Economic Growth in the MENA Region: Does the Level of Education Matter?
by Mohammed N. Abu Alfoul, Ibrahim N. Khatatbeh and Ayman Hassan Bazhair
Economies 2024, 12(10), 267; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12100267 - 1 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1637
Abstract
This paper examines the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) usage on economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a focus on how education levels modulate this relationship. Covering data from 2000 to 2020 and employing a [...] Read more.
This paper examines the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) usage on economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a focus on how education levels modulate this relationship. Covering data from 2000 to 2020 and employing a panel ARDL model for analysis, this research finds that, while ICT is prevalent across MENA, its impact on economic growth is negative. Furthermore, it reveals that education plays a crucial role in determining ICT’s effectiveness on economic growth. However, the positive impact of education is overshadowed by the adverse effects of brain drain, which negates the potential benefits ICT could have on the economy. This study highlights the importance for MENA policymakers to address the brain drain issue to enhance the positive impact of ICT on economic growth, suggesting the need for strategies that leverage both ICT and education to effectively foster economic development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Development, Labour Markets, and Education in the Digital Age)
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