Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030070
Authors: Ashraf Mishrif Alessandro Antimiani Asharul Khan
Economic integration, which in today’s global trade is the fundamental component of linking economic ties between countries, is another important factor in the acceleration of economic growth. The provision of trade logistics services is essential to a nation’s economic success in international trade activities. It is essential for enterprises engaged in active international trade to achieve competitive advantages. The international trade and localised commercial activity, to a large extent, is dependent on the logistics and supply chain infrastructure and operational capacity. However, the area received little attention from the perspective of applied economics. The in-depth empirical studies on the impacts of logistics on trade efficiency are few and limited. The study aims to investigate the role of logistics and supply chains in international and national trade in a developing country. It uses secondary data for the analysis. The model and software used in the study are the gravity model and GTAP10a. The time horizon used spans 2014–2030. The results show that in order to enhance trading and commercial activities, a developing country should develop logistics and supply chain infrastructure, train people, and design a flexible logistics policy.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030069
Authors: Constantinos Alexiou Sofoklis Vogiazas Alex Benbow
This paper addresses the role of the U.S. dollar in fostering global economic growth during the post-war period. The existing literature lacks a comprehensive understanding of the true implications of the U.S. dollar’s status as a reserve currency and a dearth of studies examining its impact. In this study, we explore the dynamic long-run and short-run relationships between cross-border U.S. dollar claims, global GDP, and global trade while gauging the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, we use ARDL methodology for a data set that spans the period of 1980 to 2022. The estimation results reveal a robust long-run relationship between U.S. dollar claims, global GDP and global trade and no clear evidence of asymmetric effects. Our findings are of great significance for monetary authorities, emphasising the need for a nuanced understanding of the implications of the U.S. dollar’s conducive role in shaping global economic dynamics and fostering growth.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030068
Authors: Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu Oana-Ramona Lobonţ Tamara Maria Nae
In recent years, the issue of income inequality has ascended to the forefront of national and international agendas, underscored by the urgency to navigate the complexities of market-driven economies without exacerbating social disparities. These challenges are particularly pronounced in the post-communist nations of Central and Eastern Europe, where the transition legacy and the marketization forces present unique dynamics in the evolution of income disparities. This research investigates the intricate mechanisms through which marketization impacts income inequality within the Central and Eastern European countries context, aiming to uncover how economic transformations influenced by global sustainability goals can contribute to narrowing the income gap. By employing panel data estimation techniques and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) analysis, this study highlights the enduring nature of income disparities and the critical roles played by economic growth, education investment, labor market reforms, globalization, and governance quality in shaping equitable income distributions. Findings reveal that, despite the competitive nature of market economies potentially creating disparities, strategic policy interventions in education, economic policy, and labor market regulations can mitigate the adverse effects of marketization on income inequality. Additionally, this research emphasizes the importance of strong institutional frameworks and the nuanced role of the informal economy in influencing income distribution dynamics.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030067
Authors: Mucahit Kochan Cigdem Gonul Kochan
This study analyzes the impact of Chinese shipment volumes measured in TEUs on US stock performance in the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. The analysis indicates that, initially, US stocks were negatively affected irrespective of firms’ trade engagements with China; however, as the global pandemic unfolded, companies with elevated imports from China exhibited more pronounced abnormal returns. The findings further reveal an increased influence of debt level and cash holdings on stock performance as the crisis intensified in Europe and the USA. These results highlight the evolving nature of global trade dynamics and their implications for financial markets amid global crises. Furthermore, this study provides valuable insights into the resilience of global supply chains during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. The observed pattern, where companies with greater import volumes from China experienced better stock returns, underscores the importance of adaptable supply chains during disruptions.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030066
Authors: Md. Abu Issa Gazi Rejaul Karim Abdul Rahman bin S Senathirajah A. K. M Mahfuj Ullah Kaniz Habiba Afrin Md. Nahiduzzaman
The purpose of this study is to analyze significant variables that permit us to ascertain the profitability of Bangladeshi Shariah-based banks. In doing so, two profitability measurements, namely, return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), have been used as dependent variables, while capital adequacy, asset management quality, operational efficiency, credit risk, liquidity, and the size of the bank have been considered as bank-specific independent variables. In addition, the rate of interest, inflation, and GDP growth rate have also been taken as macroeconomic independent variables. This study examined panel data of eight Shariah-based Islamic banks over a thirteen-year period spanning from 2010 to 2022, applying different kinds of linear regression models, including pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, and random effects. Subsequently, the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach is also applied to assess the robustness of the findings. The results revealed that the profitability of Bangladeshi Shariah-based Islamic banks is positively associated with asset management quality, liquidity, and credit risk. In contrast, capital adequacy, operational efficiency, and bank size are negatively correlated with the bank’s profitability. Concerning the macroeconomic factors, the findings indicated a notable positive correlation between the profitability of Shariah-based banks in Bangladesh and both the inflation rate and the interest rate spread. However, this study has also found that the profitability of the sample banks of Bangladesh is not significantly influenced by GDP growth. By providing fresh empirical data, the current research aimed to close a significant vacuum in the body of knowledge on banks and provide important insights for policymakers, managers, and other stakeholders by focusing on particular bank-specific and macroeconomic aspects that influence the profitability of Shariah-based Islamic banks in Bangladesh.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030065
Authors: Elisa Di Febo Eliana Angelini Tu Le
In a European context in which the objectives of climate neutrality and digitalization appear fundamental, the work analyzes the relationships between the price of the main stock market indices and the most representative variables such as carbon emissions, digitalization, use of renewable energy, research and development expenses, environmental taxes, and all economic and management activities aimed at reducing or eliminating any form of pollution. The analysis was developed through three different regressions involving the long period 1995–2020 and the short period 2017–2020. The results show how increasing carbon emissions and environmental taxes positively impact stock indices. The former is linked to an increase in production and, therefore, economic growth, and the latter encourages sustainability. Taxes on transport and energy in the long term generate higher costs, which damage profitability and negatively impact the performance of stock indices. Finally, in the short term, implementing environmental protection measures or the sustainable management of resources may lead to higher operating costs for the companies involved. These cost increases can negatively impact profit margins and reduce the value of companies. These results, therefore, show us how environmental sustainability has a significant impact on European stock markets; consequently, the relevant regulations and policies should also consider the economic and managerial impacts that companies implement to achieve their objectives of the Green Deal.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030064
Authors: Yoochan Kim Erkan Topal Apurna Kumar Ghosh Mohammad Waqar Ali Asad
COVID-19 and SARS are epidemics which have influenced the largest global economic crisis in recent years. This research reveals that both SARS and COVID-19 have led to fluctuations in the prices of gold and the US dollar index; however, there is no direct causal relationship be-tween COVID-19 and the price of bitcoin. The USD index saw a significant increase during the SARS outbreak, while gold prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The notion that cryptocurrency will surpass the value of gold or traditional currencies seems improbable, given the lack of evidence linking bitcoin prices to COVID-19. Gold is expected to maintain its value in the long term, offering lower risk compared to other currencies.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030063
Authors: Anastasios I. Magoutas Maria Chaideftou Dimitra Skandali Panos T. Chountalas
This research thoroughly examines the dynamic relationship between the European Union’s economic growth and rapid advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Specifically, it assesses how certain ICT indicators are associated with significant economic growth. Utilizing an extensive dataset from the Digital Economy and Society Index 2022 (DESI), the Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study encompasses data from all 27 European Union member states. Employing structural equation modelling, our analysis illustrates the positive correlation between ICT development and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) index. Our findings highlight the critical role of swiftly evolving technological landscapes, emphasizing the growing influence of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in business sectors. Furthermore, this study showcases the need to enhance human capital and expedite the growth of e-government technologies. These advancements are pivotal in strengthening the infrastructure supporting citizens and public enterprises across European countries, thereby contributing to their economic vitality.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030062
Authors: Álvaro Hernández Sánchez Beatriz María Sastre-Hernández Javier Jorge-Vazquez Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso
This article highlights the complexity of taxation surrounding cryptocurrency transactions due to the lack of uniform regulation, creating uncertainty for both taxpayers and tax authorities. After determining the tax obligations of individuals in taxation, a survey has been conducted to assess the level of knowledge and compliance with tax obligations related to cryptocurrencies. The survey, in which 103 people participated, reveals the confusion and errors that prevail in perceptions of the tax obligations for cryptocurrencies, particularly in transactions such as swapping and staking in personal income tax. This results in almost half of the respondents (49.5%) not declaring any of their operations with cryptocurrencies. The reasons for this include the fact that the majority of respondents (66%) find the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Spain confusing and difficult to understand. Additionally, 87.4% believe that tax agencies should provide more information and resources on the taxation of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, and that there should be clearer and more comprehensive regulation. However, it should be noted that 41.7% also consider that tax regulation discourages investment in cryptocurrencies.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030061
Authors: Otilia Rica Man Riana Iren Radu Iuliana Oana Mihai Cristina Maria Enache Sofia David Florentina Moisescu Mihaela Cristina Onica Ibinceanu Monica Laura Zlati
The EU energy sector became a very important one as a result of the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, the EU started in defining and implementing new strategies regarding green economy and sustainability. Even though these strategies cover short and medium periods, they have as a main goal the decrease in the EU’s dependence of energy imports. This research is focused on present challenges, risks, and uncertainties related to energy production and consumption in all EU member states. In order to achieve the research objectives, a huge statistical database, which covered 2012–2021, was used. The analysis is based on specific indicators regarding primary energy production; imports and exports; gross available energy; final energy consumption; non-energy consumption; energy dependency; and energy intensity. There are at least three research procedures used in this paper: a meta-analysis, a statistical analysis, and an econometric analysis, as well. Finally, the analysis points out the disparities between member states regarding energetic resources and energy dependency using a new model for quantifying risk factors in the European energy system. Moreover, new public policies are proposed by the authors under a cluster approach of the EU’s regions.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030060
Authors: Abdelmoneim B. M. Metwally Shahd M. Nabil Mai M. Yasser
Although the movement of people from rural to urban areas has caused the increased use of energy, the abundance of water resources can be made into a form of renewable energy known as hydroelectricity. As European countries are ranked as the first users and exporters of hydropower, the production of renewable energy in developed countries such as the Nordic region has caused great impacts on economic growth and human development. The importance of this paper is to investigate the relationship between hydroelectricity and the Human Development Index by depending on some variables such as urbanization, rule of law, corruption, trade openness, and GDP per capita from 2002 to 2021 in Nordic countries. The results were estimated depending on impulse response function after conducting the Vector autoregressive model (VAR) model and Granger causality test. Results showed a negative impact from hydro plants in the short run but a significant positive impact in the long run in Nordic countries. The long-term sustainment of Human Development Index (HDI) is due to policies limiting the immigration of labor as well as protection of energy use. Water batteries are gaining popularity across Europe and their implementation is near mandatory.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030059
Authors: Weixin Yang Chen Zhu Yunpeng Yang
In order to explore the causal relationship between the level of urban digital construction and urban economic growth, this paper takes 280 cities in China as the research object and constructs a comprehensive indicator evaluation system covering digital infrastructure, overall economic level, innovation development level, digital industry development status, and ecological environment conditions. Using the entropy method to weigh various indicators, this paper has obtained the evaluation results of the digital construction level of each city from 2011 to 2021. Furthermore, a panel data regression model is used to empirically analyze the impact of urban digital construction level on urban economic growth. The results show that for every 1% increase in the level of urban digital construction, the GDP will increase by 0.974. Through the above research, we hope to further enrich the theoretical and empirical research in the field of the digital economy, provide a scientific and reasonable method for quantitatively evaluating the level of urban digital construction, and provide decision-making references for improving the level of urban digital construction and promoting sustainable urban development.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030058
Authors: Roberta Arbolino Raffaele Boffardi Konstantinos Kounetas Ugo Marani Oreste Napolitano
This paper investigates the impact in the short/medium term of M&As made by 14 Italian banks quoted on the stock exchange for the period 1999–2016. After dividing the banks into two groups by size and degree of internationalisation, we sought to ascertain whether different initial conditions produce different final effects. Based on three assumptions, supported by three separate econometric approaches, our empirical analysis shows that the stronger banks increased their competitiveness while the weaker banks did not achieve the same results since they were motivated to grow “by desperation”.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030057
Authors: Nikolaos A. Kyriazis
This study provides insights into food inflation by investigating the dynamic interconnectedness of the prices of olive oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil. Using data from January 1990 to October 2023, averaged dynamic and extended joint connectedness analyses are conducted by employing the innovative Time-Varying Parameter Vector Autoregressive (TVP-VAR) methodology. The findings reveal that olive oil presents a low connection with substitute oils and generates net spillover effects, especially at the onset of COVID-19 but also at later stages and during the Russia–Ukraine war. Palm oil transmits effects on the system of oils before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) but renders a net receiver afterward, while sunflower oil follows the opposite way. Systemic connectedness is the highest during the GFC and remains elevated during QE-tapering. It slightly increases during COVID-19 outbursts and illustrates higher spikes when the Russia–Ukraine conflict begins. These linkages are even stronger among only the substitute oils.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030056
Authors: John Anderson Dylan Sutherland Sean Severe
Strategic asset seeking foreign direct investment has undergone tremendous growth over the past decade. This paper first attempts to evaluate the location choice of such investments in Europe. We find that Chinese companies target strategic assets in Europe. The paper then moves to understand the efficacy of these investments in terms of the creation of strategic assets in the Chinese parent company. Our results show the intangible assets of Chinese domestic parent firms significantly increase in the wake of their investments. For greenfield investments, there is a longer time-lag in creation of intangible strategic assets than for acquisitions. However, greenfield investments result in a larger increase in intangible asset creation than acquisition investments.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030055
Authors: Vladislav Spitsin Darko B. Vuković Marina Ryzhkova Victoria Leonova
This study examines the ways in which firms recover from stagnation or sales decline, with a focus on two key aspects: traditional high-growth companies and growth restarts within the framework of organizational life cycle theory. Analyzing a dataset of 1883 Russian firms from 2013 to 2021, this research employs logistic regression to identify factors that promote growth. These factors include the youth of the firm, investment intensity, and significant sales drops during periods of stagnation. The study introduces a new economic category, termed ‘restarting growth’, which signifies a firm’s sustained expansion following an extended period of stagnation. This category is crucial for identifying factors that increase the likelihood of a company transitioning to growth after prolonged stagnation or production downturn. The findings of this study reveal that firms that are younger, invest more intensively in fixed capital, and have experienced a larger sales drop during a period of stagnation are more likely to transition to growth. These results are juxtaposed with the growth factors characteristic of traditional high-growth companies, as well as with the theoretical approaches explaining growth restarts within the framework of organizational life cycle theory. Such distinctions are pivotal both for academic understanding and practical applications in discerning how companies rebound from crises. Moreover, the research identifies several highly significant factors—indicators that can assist investors in selecting promising firms for financing.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030054
Authors: Hrvoje Serdarušić Mladen Pancić Željka Zavišić
This study delves into the dynamic interplay between green finance, Fintech adoption, digital awareness, and digital transformation in the Croatian banking industry. Amidst the emerging trend of sustainable banking practices and technological advancements, this research aims to examine the influence of green finance on Fintech adoption and banking sustainability. Employing a quantitative research design, this study gathered data through a survey questionnaire of 304 participants, comprising customers and employees of various banks in Croatia. The respondents’ insights were analyzed using IBM SPSS for the demographic analysis and SmartPLS for structural equation modeling (SEM). The results reveal a significant impact of green finance on Fintech adoption and digital awareness. Additionally, digital awareness significantly influenced Fintech adoption. However, the direct effect of digital transformation on Fintech adoption was not significant. This study also confirmed the significant influence of Fintech adoption on banking sustainability and identified the mediating role of digital awareness between green finance and Fintech adoption. This research contributes novel insights into the relationship between sustainable finance initiatives and digital banking trends. It underscores the need for increased digital awareness and the integration of green finance principles in the banking sector. These findings offer practical implications for banks in Croatia, suggesting a strategic focus on digital awareness programs, leveraging Fintech for enhanced customer experience, and fostering collaboration for a conducive Fintech environment.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030053
Authors: Waleed Kalf Al-Zoubi
This study aims to investigate economic development in the digital economy and uncover trends and insights that might contribute to future research. Furthermore, the study, examining English-language publications from 2000 to 2023 in the Web of Science Core Collection, employs bibliometric and content analysis to statistically evaluate the field of economic development in the digital economy. Co-citation, co-authorship, and bibliographical coupling analyses revealed China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and “Sustainability” as the leading influencers in terms of country, institution, and journal, respectively. Five key themes emerged: (1) the interplay between digital technologies and economic growth, (2) leveraging digital tools for businesses, (3) the applications and impacts of diverse digital technologies across sectors, (4) the broader social implications of the digital economy, and (5) government policies for fostering digital economic progress. The study concludes by proposing avenues for further investigation.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030052
Authors: Alice Bonou Sameen Zafar Suman Ammara
Floods destroy crop production; nevertheless, the extent of their impact on farmers’ livelihoods in developing countries has been poorly investigated. This paper contributes to the growing evidence-based assessment of the impacts of shocks on communities. It assessed the post-disaster livelihood of farmers affected by the 2012 flooding in the semi-arid zone of Benin. To this end, a survey was conducted on 228 farmers in two municipalities of the flood-prone part of the semi-arid zone of Benin (Malanville, Karimama). Information on the well-being of households was collected using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using income and consumption approaches focusing on poverty and on subjective assessment using happiness approach. Additionally, a probit model was used for a poverty assessment. The survey revealed that flooded farmers were amongst the poorest in the study system. Seven variables determined poverty in this study: household size, location, the percentage of the farm size that was flooded, fishing, the farmer’s gender, farm size, and “holding a secondary activity”. Regarding happiness, 99% of the flooded farmers were unhappier after the flood in 2012. The results clearly show that being subjected to floods increases the incidence of poverty. The capacity of flood risk management and governance should be strengthened in the study system.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12030051
Authors: Ana Maria Bocaneala Daniel Sorin Manole Elvira Alexandra Gherasim Bianca Motorga Livia Cristina Iliescu
Sustainable development is a core concept in regional development. Sustainability is characterized by supporting the building of resilient infrastructure and promoting the sustainable industry. In this context, sustainable transport is particularly important as it represents an opportunity for regional development. This research aims to quantify the impact of investments through structural instruments, specifically EU funds, on promoting a sustainable transport system and eliminating barriers from large-scale transport networks. This study focuses on the impact of these investments on regional economic development in Romania. The analysis used data from all eight development regions of the Romanian economy between 2014 and 2020. Panel data regression models, including the generalized difference method of moments (Dif-GMM) and the system GMM method (Sys GMM), were employed. This study confirms the idea that European structural and investment funds (ESIFs) play a positive role in promoting sustainable transport for regional economic development. Additionally, the quality of regional governance is identified as a key factor in economic development. This study, therefore, reveals a convergence effect between regions. Regions with a lower initial GDP per capita develop quicker compared to regions with a higher initial GDP per capita, indicating a “catch-up” effect. From a policy perspective, these issues can guide decision making and resource allocation.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020050
Authors: Weixin Yang Xiu Zheng Yunpeng Yang
Since the reform and opening-up, China has developed into the world’s number one manufacturing country. Meanwhile, China’s environmental protection efforts continue to strengthen. So, will changes in the intensity of environmental regulatory policies have an impact on the technological development level and international competitiveness of China’s high-tech manufacturing industries? In response to this issue, we have reviewed relevant research in the field of environmental regulation and export technology complexity, and then selected appropriate indicators to quantify the environmental regulation and export technology complexity of high-tech manufacturing industries in different regions of China. Furthermore, the entropy method was used to calculate the intensity of environmental regulations in different regions of China. In the subsequent empirical analysis, based on relevant indicator data from 30 provinces in China, excluding Tibet, from 2006 to 2021, we quantitatively analyzed the impact of China’s environmental regulations on the complex export technology of high-tech manufacturing industries. The degree of influence and the robustness of the benchmark regression results was proved through endogeneity testing and robustness testing. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) from 2006 to 2021, China’s environmental regulation intensity and the technological complexity of high-tech industry exports have shown an upward trend. (2) The empirical analysis results show that the increase in intensity has a significant “U-shaped” impact on the technological complexity of exports of high-tech manufacturing industries. (3) The “U-shaped” impact of environmental regulation on the technological complexity of exports of high-tech manufacturing industries has regional differences. However, the high-tech manufacturing industry does not show obvious industry differences. (4) Environmental regulations will affect the level of export technology complexity of the high-tech manufacturing industry through foreign direct investment, human capital, and innovative R D investment, which cause indirect effects. Based on those conclusions, this paper has suggested corresponding policy measures and future research directions.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020049
Authors: Amir Kia
This study shows that demand for money is a function not only of interest rate, real exchange rate, and personal consumption but also of fiscal variables like deficit, debt, and foreign-financed debt. It is stable over the short and long run. This study also covers the investigation of policy invariance of money demand, an important issue ignored so far in the existing literature on the demand for money in the United States. It was found that the behavior of agents in the money market changes as the real exchange rate, consumption, and interest rate change. Namely, agents in the money market are forward-looking, and their expectations are formed rationally. This also means that even though the parameters of money demand are stable, according to the stability test results, they can be unstable, as agents adapt their behavior based on any change in the exchange rate, consumption, and/or interest rate. In other words, the contemporaneous real exchange and interest rate variables are not superexogenous in demand for M1, and the contemporaneous consumption is not superexogenous in demand for M2.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020047
Authors: Jiong Liu Hamed Farahani R. A. Serota
We use house prices (HP) and house price indices (HPI) as a proxy to income distribution. Specifically, we analyze distribution of sale prices in the 1970–2010 window of over 116,000 single-family homes in Hamilton County, Ohio, including Cincinnati metro area of about 2.2 million people. We also analyze distributions of HPI, published by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), for nearly 18,000 US ZIP codes that cover a period of over 40 years starting in 1980’s. If HP can be viewed as a first derivative of income, HPI can be viewed as its second derivative. We use generalized beta (GB) family of functions to fit distributions of HP and HPI since GB naturally arises from the models of economic exchange described by stochastic differential equations. Our main finding is that HP and multi-year HPI exhibit a negative Dragon King (nDK) behavior, wherein power-law distribution tail gives way to an abrupt decay to a finite upper limit value, which is similar to our recent findings for realized volatility of S&P500 index in the US stock market. This type of tail behavior is best fitted by a modified GB (mGB) distribution. Tails of single-year HPI appear to show more consistency with power-law behavior, which is better described by a GB Prime (GB2) distribution. We supplement full distribution fits by mGB and GB2 with direct linear fits (LF) of the tails. Our numerical procedure relies on evaluation of confidence intervals (CI) of the fits, as well as of p-values that give the likelihood that data come from the fitted distributions.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020048
Authors: Olga Lingaitiene Aurelija Burinskiene
Mechanisms for sectoral change in the economy are being used to move towards a circular economy. Trade in recycled raw materials could contribute to circular economy development and is treated as the main circular indicator used to monitor progress toward a circular economy. However, the research area surrounding the transition to a circular economy lacks adequate tools, as until now, the circular economy has been investigated from an evolutionary and ecological perspective. In the article, the authors conduct a study identifying important variables for trade in recycled raw materials as the main indicator of CE development. The authors propose a two-step methodology for researching the links between main trade in recyclables and circular economy indicators. The authors found correlations between trade in recyclables and private investments in circular economy sectors. The authors used panel data analysis, compiled a regression matrix, and formed a dynamic regression model. The statistical tests showed that the formed regression model has no significant autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity. The framework can be applied in practice to serve policymakers and the academic community interested in analyzing the move toward a circular economy and its main circular indicators.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020046
Authors: Grace Alinaitwe Olvar Bergland
Charcoal is a dominant energy source in urban areas of Uganda, and increases in retail prices in the past have led to social unrest. This paper assesses the relationship between charcoal and fuel prices to determine whether fuel prices influence the retail price of charcoal. We specify a transportation cost model for charcoal supply and derive the reduced-form equilibrium price function. We estimate an error-correction model for the equilibrium price with monthly data from July 2010 to January 2021 to determine whether there are long-term and/or short-term relationships between the retail and supply prices of charcoal and the prices of diesel and other fuel types. As the price data are integrated of orders zero and one, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test is used. The results show that there is a long-term relationship (cointegration) between the retail price of charcoal and the supply price of charcoal and the price of kerosene, which is a substitute energy source for the end users. The prices of firewood and diesel are not statistically significant in the model. The long-term equation includes a positive trend, indicating that the retail price of charcoal is increasing more over time than implied by the supply price of charcoal and the price of kerosene. The increasing demand from a growing urban population and the reduced supply from deforestation are trends that will increase the equilibrium price of charcoal, as observed.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020045
Authors: Wichaya Peechapat Nattapong Puttanapong
This study quantitatively investigates the collaborative framework and competitive landscape of Thailand’s evolving music industry, driven by technological progress and changing consumer preferences. By examining data obtained from Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property, specifically 138,868 songs, it explores the complex network of relationships among music creators, artists, and various rights-holders, including those associated with recording, music, melodies, and lyrics. Utilizing social network analysis, this research uncovers a power law distribution in these networks, reflecting a scale-free market configuration. This characteristic is marked by a few dominant players exercising considerable market influence, contrasted with numerous less-interconnected participants. This investigation notes regular patterns of collaboration between artists and different rights-holders. Furthermore, the network of music creators displays small-world properties, with short collaborative distances fostering efficient information exchange and creative synergy. Crucially, this study identifies key influential players instrumental in directing the industry’s major trends, highlighting their role in market concentration. These significant findings will provide critical evidence for informing future policy development aimed at improving efficiency and equity in the digital content industries.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020044
Authors: Chukiat Chaiboonsri
The United Nations has promoted and supported the UNCTAD Creative Economy Programme since 2004 to help countries around the world understand how to promote economic development through creativity in industries. This research article aims to determine whether the creative economy will be the major engine to accelerate Thailand’s economic development in the coming decade or not, and what the major creative economy sectors are that must be prioritized or initiated and focused on. The data implemented in this research cover 2011–2018, which consist of creative economy sector income, the IO table, and the SAM table. The methodology utilized in this research was the ML model, the GREY model for predicting the growth rate of income from the major creative economy sectors contribute to Thailand’s economy between 2019–2025, and the CGE model. The study’s empirical findings show that the significant sectoral creative economy consists of fashion, advertising, Thai food, and cultural tourism, which need to be given more stimulus. Furthermore, the economies of Chiang Mai, and Thailand as a whole, would eventually be high-income economies if creative economy sectors were to be promoted and continuously supported by efficient policies. the economic growth of Thailand and Chiang Mai would eventually become high income whenever these economies allow creative economy sectors to be promoted or supported by efficient policies continuously.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020043
Authors: Jakša Puljiz Marina Funduk Ivana Biondić
The paper examines a paradigmatic example of post-conflict economic development of Vukovar, Croatia. It represents a pertinent case study for localities encountering analogous challenges, most notably urban areas in Ukraine in the near future. The war that broke out in 1991 brought significant human casualties, population displacement, and extensive destruction of residential, social, and economic infrastructure. The completion of the peaceful reintegration of Vukovar into Croatia’s legal system in 1998 marked the beginning of the socio-economic revitalization process. The research scrutinizes the primary impediments and prospects for Vukovar’s economic growth, probing why substantial investments in reconstructing housing, transport, communal infrastructure, and fiscal incentives for businesses have not paralleled its economic performance. It concentrates on the local business climate and influential factors as potential explanations for this discrepancy. The topic was designed as a case study and was covered by document analysis, survey method, and semi-structured interviews. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study collates perspectives from entrepreneurs and business support institutions. The results confirmed that reconstruction of housing and social infrastructure is necessary, but more conditions are needed for successful post-conflict economic development, and that the business climate in lagging local units highly depends on state- and locally designed business-support measures.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020042
Authors: Sandra Bernardo Maria Luísa Vasconcelos Fátima Rocha
This research compares the global debt trends in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on economies that frame the North and South divide. The research centers on debt ratios, which serve as indicators of countries’ ability to finance recovery and development projects. The study period runs from 2015 to 2022 and follows the IMF’s country classification, which divides the world into advanced economies (AE) and emerging market and developing economies (EMDE). The research employs panel data regressions to assess three key debt ratios—external debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), external debt to exports, and public debt to GDP—against various pandemic-related indicators and control variables. The analysis provides three major contributions. Firstly, an examination of external and public debt burdens is conducted, showing that escalated external and public debt burdens in EMDE contrast with increasing public debt in AE, primarily due to fiscal stimulus. Secondly, it is argued that the ongoing pandemic has intensified the widening economic gap between the North (AE) and the south (EMDE). Thirdly, a review is presented of both orthodox and heterodox policies identified in existing literature that are considered capable of mitigating external vulnerabilities in EMDE. Findings highlight the critical need for multifaceted measures to address debt vulnerability and promote sustainable economic recovery in a post-pandemic world.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020041
Authors: Kashif Zaheer Faheem Aslam Yasir Tariq Mohmand Paulo Ferreira
Analysis of the relationships among global stock markets is crucial for international investors, regulators, and policymakers, particularly during a crisis. Complex network theory was applied to analyze the relationship between global stock markets during the Russia–Ukraine war. Daily data from 55 stock markets from 6 August 2021 to 23 September 2023 were retrieved and used to investigate the changes in global stock market networks. The sample period was divided into 22 subsamples, using a 100-day rolling window rolled forward a trading month, and then long-range correlations based on distance matrices were calculated. These distance matrices were utilized to construct stock market networks. Moreover, minimum spanning trees (MSTs) were extracted from these financial networks for analytical purposes. Based on topological and structural analysis, we identified important/central nodes, distinct communities, vulnerable/stable nodes, and changes thereof with the escalation of war. The empirical findings reveal that the Russia–Ukraine war impacted the global stock markets’ network. However, its intensity varied with changes in the region and the passage of time due to the level of stock market integration and stage of war escalation, respectively. Stock markets of France, Germany, Canada, and Austria remained the most centrally connected within communities; surprisingly, the USA’s stock market is not on this list.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020040
Authors: María Gabriela González Bautista Eduardo Germán Zurita Moreano Juan Pablo Vallejo Mata Magda Francisca Cejas Martinez
Energy poverty represents a critical challenge in Latin America today, given the social disparities the region faces. In this context, this study focuses on exploring the effects of remittances on the energy poverty of 13 Latin American countries during the period 2000–2020. Panel estimations with fixed and random effects, along with the generalized method of moments, are employed to address potential endogeneity issues. The results suggest that remittances play a significant role in mitigating energy poverty in the Latin American region, particularly in rural areas. Furthermore, it is observed that economic growth and financial development act as mediators, allowing remittances to indirectly contribute to mitigating energy poverty. Although inequality was examined as a potential mediator, the findings suggest that it does not play a significant role in this context. It is concluded that remittances are an appropriate mechanism to improve the quality of life of the population, and their impact is strengthened in a more robust economic environment.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020039
Authors: Nkosinathi Emmanuel Monamodi
This study investigates the impact of South Africa’s current account balance on its economic growth from Q1 2015 to Q4 2022 using Auto Regressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) technique. This study incorporates qualitative variables like COVID-19 to understand its effect on the South African current account and economic growth rate. Generally, the results show that the South African current account deficit impacted economic growth in both the long and short run. COVID-19 also affected the current account significantly in both the long and short run, thus causing more deterioration on the South African current account and subsequently affecting the economic growth rate negatively. This study recommends more competitive export promotion and import substitution by investing in and developing domestic productivity. This study also recommends an acceleration of the tabled COVID-19 recovery initiatives through an alliance between the government and private sector.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020038
Authors: William Prieto Bustos Cristian Darío Castillo Robayo Jacobo Campo Robledo Juliana Molina Dominguez
Colombia experienced a substantial increase in annual migration flow from Venezuela from 2013 to 2019, accumulating 1.7 million migrants by the end of 2019. According to migration data, 2016 was a breaking point in migration growth, with an increase of 137.57% compared with 2015 and at which time the influx of migrant workers began to be massive, rapid, and involuntary. In this regard, the research paper investigates, using a difference-in-differences model, the impacts on the labor market across different definitions of the informal workforce, testing the hypothesis that short-term labor migration increased (1) the number of employed individuals in companies with a workforce of fewer than five people, (2) the number of employed individuals not contributing to the social security system, and (3) the relative participation of the informal workforce in total employment from 2015 to 2018. The main results indicate an expansion in the labor market’s informal segment, increasing the number of non-returned native workers in the informal workforce without significant increases in the participation of informality in total employment. The results remain robust across various samples in models adjusted for departmental-, municipal-, and individual-level data. Following the economic theory, the research findings seem to follow a transmission mechanism in which migrant workers reduce labor costs and increase production in informal markets, providing better conditions to increase informal jobs for native workers. Several national and international stakeholders implementing income-generation alternatives in the border departments focusing on migrant employment services could find the research findings helpful in at least two aspects: (1) fighting cultural stereotypes upon which basis native workers tend to see migration as a threat to their current job holdings requires evidence that shows migrant workers contribute to economic growth and employment; (2) promoting better public policies to take advantage of initial conditions that favor labor integration of migrant workers such as cultural and language similarities among natives and migrants works better when there is evidence of the migration’s positive impacts.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020037
Authors: Rasha Istaiteyeh Maysa’a Munir Milhem Ahmed Elsayed
This comprehensive study explored the efficiency landscape of the Jordanian banking industry from 2006 to 2021, utilizing a dual-pronged approach. First, we assessed the efficiency scores of 15 commercial banks, comprising 13 conventional and 2 Islamic institutions, through data envelopment analysis (DEA). Secondly, we investigated the determinants influencing relative efficiency using the Tobit regression model. Our dataset, spanning 240 observations over 16 years, provides a nuanced examination of industry dynamics. DEA, specifically focusing on variable return to scale (VRS), unveils efficiency scores by accounting for scale inefficiencies. The research contributes insights into the operational efficacy of Jordanian banks and provides a robust methodology for understanding efficiency dynamics in the broader financial landscape. The results reveal significant relationships between return on assets, return on equity, GDP growth, and efficiency. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Islamic banks demonstrate higher efficiency compared to conventional banks. Additionally, non-significant associations were observed with credit risk, bank size, and the ratio of loan loss provision over net income. The findings hold implications for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers aiming to bolster the resilience and competitiveness of Jordan’s banking sector.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020036
Authors: Viriya Taecharungroj
This study investigates the impact of various economic sectors on household income in Thailand. It is conducted in light of the substantial “digital wallet” scheme initiated by the Thai government, with the goal of providing empirical evidence and suggesting alternative policies for regional development informed by sectoral and spatial insights. The research aims to deepen the understanding of how different economic sectors affect household income, filling a gap in the current understanding of the relationship between sectoral productivity and income. Utilising spatial lag models (SLM), the study analyses data spanning from 2005 to 2021, testing the effects of 19 economic sectors comprising the Gross Provincial Product (GPP) of Thailand’s 76 provinces on the average household income. The findings indicate direct associations between agriculture, real estate, professional services, support services, and leisure sectors and household income, alongside pronounced spatial autoregression. This implies that income levels in one province can substantially influence those in neighbouring provinces. This research extends the understanding of economic influences at the regional level and highlights the importance of considering spatial factors in economic policymaking.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020035
Authors: Md. Tota Miah Szilvia Erdei-Gally Anita Dancs Mária Fekete-Farkas
The purpose of this study is to systematically analyze the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on workforce employability and skills in the South Asian region. The study investigates the driving success factors, challenges, and needed skills by analyzing 48 peer-reviewed articles. The authors searched keywords on the Web of Science database for articles published between 2013 and 2022. The review was conducted using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA 2020) and pareto principles. The analysis identifies nine critical success factors, such as artificial intelligence, digital skills, and big data analytics, that contribute to Industry 4.0’s productivity and efficiency. It also identifies six types of challenges, such as training and development, financial constraints, and regulatory issues that must be addressed to grab maximum potential. In addition, the research categorizes five different skills, including the technical, digital, and social skills that are essential for the evolving labor market. The proposed “Industry 4.0 SEI Framework” provides stakeholders with a comprehensive view of the dynamics of Industry 4.0, thereby facilitating policy and industry strategies.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020034
Authors: Francisco Javier Castellano-Álvarez Rafael Robina-Ramirez
Since their origins, rural development programs have considered the county level as the axis on which to implement their development strategies. Taking Tajo-Salor County (Extremadura, Spain) as a reference, this research analyzes the assessment that some of the agents directly involved in the implementation of these programs make of the suitability of the configuration of their territorial scope, as well as the achievement of their objectives. For it, the case study methodology is used, in which fieldwork is carried out where the main source of information will be interviews with promoters of tourism projects. The results show that Tajo-Salor County can be considered as a paradigmatic example of an “artificial” configuration of the territory, showing that, among those interviewed, there is no feeling of county. This has consequences on the assessment that local actors make of the implementation of the development program: those areas that do not feel part of the county have a much more negative assessment of the results obtained than the rest. This is a lesson that this case study offers; the political and technical managers of these programs should bear in mind in the future definition of the territories that apply this type of development strategy.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020033
Authors: Ljiljana Leskovic Sergej Gričar Raffaella Folgieri Violeta Šugar Štefan Bojnec
The human resources economic implications of nursing burnout amongst nurses working in retirement homes have become a critical concern within the healthcare industry. As the backbone of care provision in these settings, it is crucial to understand the consequences of burnout on the workforce’s well-being and organisational sustainability. This study aims to investigate burnout among nurses working in retirement homes in Slovenia. The reasons for burnout vary across countries and regions, so gathering data specific to this population is essential. Through surveys conducted among 253 nurses and medical technicians, factor analysis revealed three factors for burnout: emotional exhaustion, reduced personal fulfilment, and impersonality. This research aims to pave the way for reducing workplace stress by creating new opportunities for better working conditions. To achieve these goals, executive management in retirement homes should gain proficiency in the four elements of the quality management cycle: planning, execution, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Furthermore, a comparative analysis was conducted to collate the empirical findings with those from Croatia.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020032
Authors: Sara Casagrande Bruno Dallago
Economic integration and globalization are expected to promote economic growth and convergence. This article offers a comparative analysis of the pace of development in terms of GDP per capita in 79 economies from 1970 to 2019. Usually, economic convergence literature aims to establish whether catching-up processes have been successful. This article verifies the existence of growth path similarities to identify clusters of countries that grow at a similar pace and react in a similar way to crises, and compares their dynamics in time. According to the results, coherently with globalization pressures, clusters have become fewer and larger. However, growth path divergences persist and suggest a cluster-based convergence. Integration processes, such as the European Union, have not influenced this trend. The extent to which these clusters are composed of structurally similar economies has been investigated and some consistencies have emerged between the composition of clusters and the classifications provided by the varieties of capitalism theory.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020031
Authors: Hassan Alalmaee
This paper aims to examine the impact of natural disasters on banking stability across different levels of economic development. Utilizing bank-level data from 1242 banks in 72 countries, combined with natural disaster data from the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, we contribute to the literature in three ways. Firstly, we directly assess the influence of natural disasters on banking stability. Secondly, we focus on bank-level data instead of country-level data. Thirdly, we expand on existing research by using different thresholds for the total number of people affected to population ratio, surpassing the previously suggested threshold of 0.5%. Our panel regression analysis with banks and year-fixed effects reveals that natural disasters significantly affect bank stability, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. These effects are robust across alternative measures and estimations, leading to higher non-performing loans, lower return on assets, and decreased capital and return on equity ratios, indicating a negative impact on bank performance.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020030
Authors: Cristina Elena Badiu (Cazacu) Nicoleta Bărbuță-Mișu Mioara Chirita Ionica Soare Monica Laura Zlati Costinela Fortea Valentin Marian Antohi
Fiscal policy stands as a crucial pillar of economic development through its economic financing function. The regulatory effects of fiscality have been shown to reduce the ripple effects of uncertainties on economic growth within the EU. Unlike the average European economy, the Romanian economy has exhibited particularities concerning economic growth (ranking highly in economic growth among European nations in absolute terms), partly due to a more assertive fiscal policy applied to a consumption-based economy affected by hyperinflation (especially in the last five calendar years). The research issue stems from the premise of the lack of predictability in Romanian fiscal policy and its implications for the business environment. Our aim is to develop an econometric model of the fiscal effects of VAT on the business performance of the construction sector in Romania for the period 2010–2021. The methods employed involve empirical analysis and the development of consolidated industry-level databases followed by econometric modeling using the multiple linear regression method. The results of the research demonstrate that financial independence and solvency promote excessive taxation in emerging markets and developing countries, such as Romania, being correlated with the macroeconomic evolution of the respective state. Additionally, the results indicate that tax pressure can constitute a barrier to the sustainable development of firms, with direct repercussions for consumers. Attractiveness to investors is also affected, remaining a priority for companies. The study’s findings will enable the identification of the main impediments and opportunities brought about by VAT taxation on branch-level performance, proving useful for construction sector managers and fiscal policy makers in fostering sustainable industry development and establishing a sustainable fiscal regime to safeguard investors.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020029
Authors: Moses Herbert Lubinga Adrino Mazenda
Sustainable Development Goal 13 echoes the fact that all countries must make urgent and stringent efforts to mitigate against and adapt to climate change and its associated impacts. Climate financing is one of the key mechanisms used to enable countries to remain resilient to the hastening effects of climate change. In this paper, we empirically assess the effect of institutional governance indicators on the amount of climate finance received by 21 nations for which progress towards the internationally agreed-upon target of reducing global warming to 1.5 °C is tracked. We use the fixed-effects ordinary least squares (OLS) and the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) estimators, drawing on the Climate Action Tracker panel data from 2002 to 2020. Empirical results reveal that perceived political stability significantly enhanced climate finance inflows among countries that strongly increased their NDC targets, while perceived deterioration in corruption control negatively impacted the amount of climate finance received by the same group of countries. Therefore, governments should reduce corruption tendencies while striving to avoid practices and alliances that lead to any form of violence, including terrorism and civil war. Low developing countries (LDCs) in particular need to improve the standard of public services provided to the populace while maintaining a respectable level of autonomy from political influences. Above all, as countries work towards strengthening institutional governance, there is an urgent need for developed economies to assist developing economies in overcoming debt stress since the likelihood of future resilience and prosperity is being undermined by the debt crisis, with developing countries spending almost five times as much annually on repayment of debt as they allocate to climate adaptation.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020028
Authors: Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu Tamara Maria Nae Margareta-Stela Florescu
This study challenges the traditional reliance on GDP as the sole indicator of the success of the EU’s cohesion policy, aligning with the evolving academic discourse that calls for a broader spectrum of metrics incorporating social factors. The research aims to assess the impact of cohesion on economic performance and social progress at the regional level in Central and Eastern European countries, using regression analysis on panel data. Inspired by the call to move beyond GDP-focused assessments, this research re-evaluates cohesion policy within an expanded framework that prioritizes economic and social dimensions. Specifically, it addresses the escalating concerns of income disparity and poverty in Central and Eastern European nations. Utilizing panel data regression models, this study scrutinizes data from 2007 to 2018, covering two recent programming periods, to offer a comprehensive, multifaceted analysis of the impact of cohesion policy. It underscores the policy’s dual role in spurring economic growth and fostering social progress, particularly in mitigating income inequality and reducing poverty. The findings reveal that cohesion policies positively affect both economic performance and social progress, with notable impacts on narrowing the income gap and alleviating poverty in these regions. However, the economic benefits for poverty reduction materialize over a prolonged period, reflecting the gradual nature of policy impact and the time needed for investments to materialize. The study emphasizes the need for a long-term strategic vision in implementing cohesion policies. This includes enhanced data collection, a deeper focus on the social ramifications of policies, streamlined policy processes, capacity building, institutional strengthening, and prioritizing equitable opportunities to bridge income gaps effectively. This comprehensive approach aims to maximize the dual benefits of cohesion policies, promoting balanced economic and social progress across Central and Eastern Europe.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020027
Authors: Anna Tomková Jaroslav Gonos Katarína Čulková Martin Rovňák
The main goal of this contribution is to assess the development of the economic condition of the Slovak Republic in the context of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation regarding the development of and changes in the economic condition of Slovakia is compared with that in selected EU countries, considering the effects of previous global crises, with a focus on the impacts on small and medium-sized enterprises. The economies of European countries are mentioned to illustrate the ideas of the presented paper, with an emphasis on the economic dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent impact on the Slovak Republic. This research is conducted through basic analytical tools and an analysis of the development of macroeconomic indicators, and by addressing the issue through data from a globally available database. The results in this paper serve as proposals and recommendations for the mitigation of negative economic impacts.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12020026
Authors: Edoardo Beretta
The global financial crisis (2008–2009) represents a notable example of a generally unpredicted crisis in economic history. Nevertheless, it presented features comparable to almost any previous (monetarily related) crisis episode. For instance, it was characterized by a “vicious cycle” made by over-issued money and/or over-granted loans nourishing private and public indebtedness and—eventually—affecting asset prices with stable consumer price indexes. While the post-COVID-19 inflation presents different characteristics because of being a crisis “exogenous” to the economic system, the present Communication claims that future crises (if endogenous to the economic system) are likely to follow usual patterns. The approach used to analyse the transmission channels contributing to economic and financial crises is theoretical. Nevertheless, the present Communication still contains statistical evidence in support of the predictability of such crises as soon as their usual dynamics is understood. The statistical analysis carried out is rather descriptive than causal in nature. Finally, this Communication reminds that “typical” economic and financial crises in advanced economies behave along some consolidated patterns. At their origins, there are mostly over-issued money and/or over-granted loans by central and/or commercial banks financing private and public debt. This phenomenon exacerbates risks in the economy and—while it incentivises money issuers and credit granters in good times to over-issue money and over-grant credits to earn extra-profits—it over-exposes economic agents to the risk of (even greater) economic losses in negative times. As soon as the bubble to be defined as over-proportionally grown prices of specific assets due to over-issued money and over-granted credits pops and funds are rapidly divested, prices collapse and drive the economy into a severe crisis.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010025
Authors: Garen Avanesian Marina Borovskaya Marina Masych Ludmila Dikaya Victoria Ryzhova Valeria Egorova
Youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET) refers to the most vulnerable group in the transition from school to work. While much research focuses on institutional factors behind the NEET incidence, the current study approaches the problem of the NEET youth from the perspective of non-cognitive skills. For measuring non-cognitive skills, the Big Five personality characteristics (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) as well as grit were analyzed. The analysis was carried out using propensity score matching based on the data of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS HSE) for 2016. This study shows that the majority of young people in the NEET group come from the poorest families. Nearly half of the NEET youth are not only not working, but they are also not looking for a job either. The analysis revealed that NEET youth fall behind in different non-cognitive abilities, with statistically significant differences in conscientiousness, extraversion, and grit, as well as a greater severity of neuroticism.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010024
Authors: Pankaj Thakur Piyush Mehta Priyanka Lal Rashmi Chaudhary Saswat Kumar Pani Akash Gaurav Singh Chhaya Devi Kamlesh Verma Prashant Sharma
Vegetables are important for both nutritional and economic stability and contribute significantly to the agricultural landscape of India. The demand for vegetables is rising, driven by population growth and increased awareness of their benefits. This empirical study highlights the dynamics of agricultural production supply chain networks of capsicum crops in the northwestern Himalayan region, specifically Himachal Pradesh, India. The study employs the Acharya approach to analyse the various marketing channels utilized by farmers in the capsicum supply chain. This methodology sheds light on the economic nuances at each stage and examines marketing channels, costs, margins, price spread and marketing efficiency. Simultaneously, the Garrett ranking method is applied to discern and prioritize constraints faced by farmers. This comprehensive approach ensures a nuanced understanding of the economic and logistical intricacies of capsicum marketing. The analysis of marketing channels reveals five distinct pathways employed by farmers, with Channel-C (Producer–Commission Agent–Retailer–Consumer) standing out as the most dominant, representing 47.25% of the total quantity. Moreover, Channel-A (Producer–Consumer) proves to be the most cost-effective for producers and boasts the highest producer price, while Channel-C, involving commission agents, incurs higher costs. This suggests a preference for intermediaries, emphasizing factors like market access and negotiation skills, whereas Channel-D (Producer–Local Trader–Wholesaler–Retailer–Consumer) has the highest gross marketing margin, emphasizing the trade-offs between efficiency and transaction volume. The results indicate that while Channel-A is the most efficient, it is not the preferred choice due to the lower transaction quantity. Further, the absence of market consultation services, inadequate road infrastructure, high commission charges, nonremunerative prices and untimely availability of vehicles are the major constraints in marketing. The findings of the study call for targeted interventions to create a more robust and farmer-friendly marketing environment for capsicum crops in the region. The study proposes targeted recommendations, emphasizing collaborative efforts between stakeholders, government bodies and farmers. This research contributes to the academic discourse and also offers actionable insights for researchers and policymakers, fostering sustainability, profitability and equity within the capsicum supply chain.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010023
Authors: Mosab I. Tabash Yasmeen Elsantil Abdullah Hamadi Krzysztof Drachal
Around the world, people are becoming more and more worried about how globalization will affect their standard of living. According to the literature, globalization has resulted in the marginalization of the impoverished populations in developing economies and has exacerbated inequality, while the opposite may also be true. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of globalization on income inequality. The study used two-stage least squares (2SLS) to study the influence of globalization on income inequality in 18 developing countries from 1991–2021. Utilizing the KOF index of globalization, it is determined that globalization, together with its three aspects, has a negative effect on income inequality among developing economies. Evidence demonstrates that the combination of trade openness and foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a significant role in reducing inequality among developing economies. We recommend developing economies actively support globalization in terms of trade and FDI in accordance with the findings. By expanding trade opportunities and opening up markets, globalization can benefit developing nations. This may result in a rise in FDI, the creation of jobs, and technological developments. Governments can contribute to raising the living standards of their inhabitants, lowering rates of poverty, and closing the income gap by promoting globalization. Although the study emphasizes the well-established link between globalization and income inequality, it focuses on the effects of various globalization dimensions, emphasizing the need to comprehend how different dimensions of globalization, namely economic, political, and social globalization affects inequality in developing economies.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010022
Authors: Josephine Wuri Yuliana Rini Hardanti Laurentius Bambang Harnoto Caecilia Wahyu Estining Rahayu Christina Heti Tri Rahmawati
The recent multidimensional crisis has harmed the global economy because countries are currently integrated. In this study, we examine the spillover effect of the United States (US) interest rate on the output gap of ASEAN+3 countries using the dynamic spatial Durbin model from 2010 to 2020. After controlling for various institutional variables, this analysis further examines the effect of the exchange rate and the COVID-19 pandemic on the output gap. This model captures the spatial interactions and short- and long-term effects of interest rate monetary policies. The findings indicate a negative spillover effect of the US central bank interest rate on ASEAN+3 countries’ output gap. The result had significant direct and indirect short-term effects. Additionally, exchange rates negatively affect the output gap. The output gap decreased because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is expected to be useful for monetary authorities in developing the best monetary policy for economic recovery.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010021
Authors: José Carlos Trejo-García Ramón Valencia-Romero María De Lourdes Soto-Rosales Francisco Venegas-Martínez
The effects of various geopolitical tensions, conflicts between countries and the global post-pandemic COVID-19 have caused an acceleration in the price level in many countries around the world. This research focuses on Mexico since its monetary policy has created intricate interactions between inflation and growth in the short and long term, maintaining recently one of the highest real interest rates in Latin America (on average 5.75% vs. the US 2.3%). This paper examines the asymmetric link between the National Consumer Price Index and the Global Economic Activity Index in Mexico during the period 1994–2023. To do this, a Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Delay (NARDL) model is used with monthly data, which will allow the relationship between both variables to be more adequately investigated. The main empirical finding is that upward or downward shocks to the consumer price index have caused different effects in magnitude and sign on economic growth over time. Finally, several reasonable, practical, and feasible recommendations are provided for the design of the monetary policy considering non-linear effects.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010020
Authors: Sithembiso Felix Mthimkhulu Dev Tewari
This paper investigates the intergovernmental transfer systems in South Africa, more specifically, the underlying determinants and formula of the unconditional grants of the education component of the Provincial Equitable Share (PES). The PES formula is a weighted shares formula that depends on the demographic shares of the provinces (population) to determine the equitable share outcomes to be transferred to individual provinces. We find that the variables used have two main weaknesses: Firstly, the enrolment variable, which could be contaminated with school repeats and dropouts, is too broad to be an effective measure for representing the real beneficiaries of the transfers. Secondly, infrequent updates about the school-age cohort population variables render the desired PES grant transfers for education outdated as well as serially inconsistent. The paper also provides an analysis of the PES formula’s mathematical construct, followed by a few suggested variables to improve the relevance and accuracy of the formula of the revenue transfer. One such improvement is demonstrated by the inclusion of the Enrolment Survival Measure (ESR). More research and data are required to extrapolate nuanced results and to understand the socio-economic impacts of adopting these new variables in the PES formula going forward.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010019
Authors: Mindaugas Butkus Laura Dargenytė-Kacilevičienė Kristina Matuzevičiūtė Dovilė Ruplienė Janina Šeputienė
The results of previous research suggest that the elasticity of employment with respect to output is not constant within each phase of the business cycle and might depend on the maturity of that phase. Nevertheless, empirical evidence is almost non-existent. Using the unemployment gap as the proxy for the maturity of the business cycle phase, this paper seeks to determine heterogeneous elasticity across different business cycle phases. Furthermore, we aim to evaluate specific elasticities for separate demographic groups, considering gender, age, and educational attainment level, to identify the most vulnerable to jobless growth. Our specification is based on the employment version of Okun’s law, and estimates are provided for the whole EU-27 panel covering the period from 2000 to 2022. Our results suggest that elasticity is higher when the unemployment gap is positive and increasing and lower when the gap decreases, regardless of the business cycle phase. Thus, it can be argued that the possibility of growth increasing employment is very limited when the economy operates at its potential level (full employment) for all demographic groups.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010018
Authors: Mesbah Fathy Sharaf Abdelhalem Mahmoud Shahen Badr Abdulaziz Binzaid
This paper augments the sparse literature on the inflationary impact of foreign debt in Brazil while addressing methodological caveats in previous studies. We depart from the linearity assumption and employ two nonlinear techniques: the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model and a Markov Switching Regression (MSR) to investigate the connection between foreign debt and inflation within a multivariate framework. The analyses consider the presence of structural breaks via assessing variable stationarity using the Zivot and Andrew unit root test and incorporating a residual-based cointegration test proposed by Gregory and Hansen. Additionally, we apply a multiple structural breakpoints test by Bai and Perron to determine the presence of structural breaks in the impact of foreign debt on inflation. Our findings robustly indicate that the domestic money supply has a statistically significant positive effect, while the nominal effective exchange rate has a negative effect on inflation in both the short and long run. The NARDL model reveals that only positive changes in foreign debt have a statistically significant negative effect on inflation in the short run, whereas both positive and negative foreign debt changes significantly affect inflation in the long run. The results from the MSR model are generally consistent with those of the NARDL model.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010017
Authors: Andrea Janáková Sujová Václav Kupčák
The objective of the paper is to analyse and compare the consequences of the coronacrisis on the entrepreneurship of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Slovakia and the Czech Republic with the aim of identifying the determinants of changes in entrepreneurship. The secondary empirical research was carried out based on the analysis of secondary and primary data. The analysis used economic indicators of SMEs, governmental measures and surveys of the views of entrepreneurs. The analysis used data from statistical databases and official reports from government institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as data from primary surveys conducted by NGOs. Descriptive statistics, financial analysis and cross-comparison methods were used to process the data. The results revealed changes in the business of SMEs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia during the crisis, such as the adaptation of business strategies, improvement of flexibility and acceleration of digitalisation processes. These changes highlighted the importance of building business agility. The summary of the main changes in SME business based on both secondary data and primary surveys and the perception of state anti-pandemic aid by managers as feedback to governments represent the main contributions of the paper.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010016
Authors: Priya Bijalwan Ashulekha Gupta Anubhav Mendiratta Amar Johri Mohammad Asif
One of the most significant areas of local government in the world is the municipality sector. It provides various services to the residents and businesses in their areas, such as water supply, sewage disposal, healthcare, education, housing, and transport. Municipalities also promote social and economic development and ensure democratic and accountable governance. It also helps in encouraging the involvement of communities in local matters. Workers of Municipalities need to maintain their services regularly to the public. The productivity of the employees is just one of the main important factors that influence the overall organizational performance. This article compares various machine learning algorithms such as XG Boost, Random Forest (RF), Histogram Gradient Boosting Regressor, LGBM Regressor, Ada Boost Regressor, and Gradient Boosting Regressor on the dataset of municipality workers. The study aims to propose a machine learning approach to predict and evaluate the productivity of municipality workers. The evaluation of the overall targeted and actual productivity of each department shows that out of 12 different departments, only 5 departments were able to meet their targeted productivity. A 3D Scatter plot visually displays the incentive given by the department to each worker based on their productivity. The results show that XG Boost performs best in comparison with the other five algorithms, as the value of R Squared is 0.71 and MSE (Mean Squared Error) is 0.01.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010015
Authors: Hind Alnafisah Lama Alwohaibi
Over the last two decades, the regulators of the financial services sector in Saudi Arabia have aimed to develop a level of fair competition in the provision of banking services across the country. This paper utilizes non-structural approaches, the H-statistic developed by, and the Granger causality test. The second approach involves determining the Granger-based causal relationship between banks’ cost efficiency and competition via data envelope analysis (DEA) using the generalized method of moments (GMM) panel. The study’s data were drawn from 11 traditional banks in Saudi Arabia, covering the period from 2015 to 2021 (yearly data). The results of the non-structural approach, i.e., the H-statistic, demonstrate that the average fund rate had a positive effect on competition; however, the physical capital price index, the index of leverage, and the credit risk negatively affect the total revenue. Furthermore, a positive H-statistic value reflects the positive causality between competition and cost efficiency (higher efficiency results in a higher level of competition). The DEA results indicate that competition in the year 2021 was influenced by the competition level of the previous year (2020); moreover, the relationship between the previous year’s cost efficiency Granger value, the greater availability, and the lower prices of banking products had a significant influence on the competition in the years under consideration (since a positive significant result from the test is available), which reflects the higher level of market structure and the greater availability and lower prices of banking products. Cost efficiency in the year 2021 was also positively influenced by the cost efficiency level of the previous year (2020), with competition forcing efficiency via the cutting of costs.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010014
Authors: Rasa Subačienė Ramunė Budrionytė Jolanta Žemgulienė Ivita Faituša Kristina Rudžionienė
In recent years, economic uncertainty has been heightened, including as a result of the economic shocks generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia–Ukraine War, and the unstable international political situation. These had a global impact on various spheres and influenced all economic processes. However, the lack of available data has made it difficult to investigate the latest global events and their consequences. The latest studies continue to concentrate on the COVID-19 economic crisis. This study investigates accounting specialists’ perceptions of the changes in employee and company efficiency and changes in the main performance indicators during the economic crisis provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The research employed an online questionnaire administered to accountants at various levels. Descriptive statistical data analysis methods were used for the evaluation of the survey results. The results show that 86% of respondents had the possibility of working online before the quarantine period, around 30% of respondents indicated an increase in work efficiency when working online, and more than 40% of respondents indicated that the company’s main performance indicators (revenue, cost of sales, profit) remained stable under the quarantine regime. During the pandemic, Latvia experienced greater fluctuations than Lithuania in the main performance indicators, but overall, both countries maintained a positive tendency toward stability and recovery.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010013
Authors: Jarle Aarstad Olav Andreas Kvitastein
This paper primarily studies how wages predict long-term absenteeism in enterprises. In addition, it studies who disappears from the workforce when downsizing. Analyzing Norwegian enterprise data using dynamic unconditional quasi-maximum likelihood fixed-effects panel regression and general methods of moments panel regression with instrumental variables, we find that increasing average wages decreases average long-term absenteeism. As the effect barely abates the following year, it likely reflects highly skilled and motivated employees in good health receiving a wage premium and not a stimulus boosting overall work attitudes, which is likely short-lived. Wage inequality increases absenteeism, indicating that increasing low earners’ wages relative to those earning high ones decreases absenteeism, but the effect is short-lived and disappears the following year. In addition, average age and education tend to decrease absenteeism, but female labor participation increases it, likely due to maternity leave. Also, increasing the workforce increases absenteeism, indicating that handling many new employees is challenging. When enterprises downsize, young and low earners initially disappear from the workforce, but the following year, older and high earners share the same fate.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010012
Authors: Arūnas Burinskas Viktorija Cohen Jolanta Droždz
This paper explores the impact of COVID-19-induced disruptions on supply chains, specifically focusing on the interconnectedness of supply chains and the transmission effects they cause. The gravity model framework, together with difference-in-differences analysis, is employed to analyze monthly trade patterns among Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, Western European countries, and other trading partner countries. The model presented accounts for the country’s roles in global value chains (GVCs) by incorporating data related to exports, imports of intermediate and capital goods, and imports of final consumption goods. CEE countries have demonstrated a certain resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, they were not immune to adverse consequences due to disrupted supply chains, primarily in the imports of intermediate and capital goods. We find that the countries that suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic the least demonstrated remarkable resilience against disrupted GVCs. The findings of our study enrich the literature on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically for the CEE region, by providing a framework for understanding the pandemic’s impact on international trade. The results show that supply shock might be greater than demand shocks on production and trade dynamics. Furthermore, our results suggest that policymakers seek adaptability to changing supply and demand patterns, while enterprises should consider broader diversification both within the region and locally.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010011
Authors: Aigerim Duisenbekova Monika Kulisz Alina Danilowska Arkadiusz Gola Madina Ryspekova
In modern times, the risk of food insecurity is a concern for policymakers at the global and national levels, as the issue of hunger and malnutrition still exists. Food security is vulnerable to any crises. The main goal of this paper is to create a neural-network-based predictive model to forecast food consumption trends in Kazakhstan, aiming to reduce the risk of food insecurity. The initial phase of this study involved identifying socioeconomic factors that significantly influence food consumption behaviors in Kazakhstan. Principal component analysis was used to identify key variables, which became the basis for modelling artificial neural networks. It was revealed that the poverty rate, GDP per capita, and food price index are pivotal determinants of food consumption in Kazakhstan. Two models were prepared: to predict food consumption on a national scale per capita per month, and to predict the percentage distribution of various food categories. The prediction of the percentage distribution of various food categories in Kazakhstan demonstrates the positive modelling quality indicators and strengthens the assumption that network modelling can be used. Predictions for total food consumption over the next three years indicate declining metrics, raising concerns about the potential food insecurity risk in Kazakhstan.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010010
Authors: Guzmán A. Muñoz-Fernández Angela Bertucci José E. Ramos-Ruiz Maria Luisa Garo
The European Union aims for territorial cohesion, with human capital as a key factor. Assessing how investment in regional human capital enhances this cohesion is therefore essential. This study assesses the impact of the EU Structural Funds (ESFs) in Calabria (Italy), a region grappling with economic challenges and a brain drain phenomenon. Aimed at fostering regional cohesion, ESFs have been directed towards supporting Calabrian graduates’ pursuit of master’s degrees, intending to incentivize their retention or return postgraduation. A comprehensive survey of the beneficiaries of these subsidies was carried out to determine their employability in the region and the probability of the return of migrants, analyzed by logistic regression of the data. Results demonstrate a dual effect: while the quality of education and EU funding positively influence graduates to work in Calabria, acquiring advanced skills paradoxically diminishes this propensity. Moreover, although the likelihood of returning to Calabria for those working elsewhere does increase, ESF support counterintuitively reduces this probability. The findings reveal a vicious cycle; they equip graduates with high-level skills that facilitate their access to the labor market but simultaneously encourage their migration due to more favorable conditions elsewhere. It is suggested that synergies between ESF-funded policies and those supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) should be encouraged.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010009
Authors: Emilia Madudova Tatiana Corejova
Household consumption expenditure is an important measure of economic activity as it reflects the spending behavior of households and their purchasing power. The measurement of household consumption expenditure is critical for analyzing economic growth, inflation, and overall economic performance. In order to create budgets and financial plans, it is necessary to know and understand the relationship between the size of households in terms of the number of members, the number of children, and their consumption needs. The aim of the research was to determine the statistical significance of the relationship between household size and consumer spending at the national (Slovak Republic) level and also to analyze the relationship between household size and spending on food as a significant component of consumer spending. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to examine the relationship between household size and consumer spending. Regression analysis with linear regression and fitting was used to determine the relationship between consumer spending and household size with different numbers of children. The results analyze the correlations and test the hypothesis of a significant difference in the types of consumption expenditure in relation to different household sizes (number of children). Results confirm significant differences in consumption expenditure between different household sizes, which confirms the importance of these results.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010008
Authors: Demissew Diro Ejara Kamal Upadhyaya
The euro was launched, on 1 January 1999, as a common currency for members of the European Union that complied with the Maastricht Treaty. The Maastricht Treaty calls for the coordination of major macroeconomic policies, such as inflation, budget balance, public debt, and long-term interest rates. Theoretically, the coordination of these policy issues and the launch of a common currency will increase the degree of market integration among member countries. This paper empirically tests the impact of the euro on the degree of market integration by looking at the comovement of the European equity markets and a sample of OECD equity markets. Weekly stock market indices for the period covering seven years before the euro and seven years after the euro was implemented was used. The results show that cross-country divergences in stock markets continued after the euro. There is no evidence of cointegration after the adoption of the euro. Cross-country portfolio diversification continues to be beneficial even among euro countries.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010007
Authors: Edi Harsono Andi Kusumawati Nirwana Nirwana
Developing nations have the task of effectively managing their external debt. The government is urged to comprehend the decisive component in managing its external debt, despite the varying viewpoints among economists. In addition, the world sees the need for institutional quality to optimize its economic policy. Institutional quality shows accountability, stability, effectiveness, quality, law, and trust. Our research examines the determinant factors of external debt and discusses the policy to manage external debt. We regress the inflation rate, exchange rate, interest rate, trade openness, and institutional quality on external debt. This study also uses moderated regression analysis to examine the interaction between institutional quality and macroeconomic indicators on external debt. We selected 52 samples from five ASEAN developing countries from 2008 to 2019. The first study found that the inflation rate, interest rate, and institutional quality have a negative impact on external debt, while the exchange rate and trade openness have a positive impact on external debt. Next, we were surprised that institutional quality could not moderate the relationship between the inflation rate, exchange rate, and interest rate on external debt. Further, it only moderated the relationship between trade openness and external debt. In the end, we discuss the external debt determinants from the selected ASEAN developing countries with the theories.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010006
Authors: Elena Lasso-Dela-Vega José Luis Sánchez-Ollero Alejandro García-Pozo
This study analysed the presence and influence of educational mismatch in the service and industry sectors in Spain, due to the lack of studies of this phenomenon in the latter sector. We also analyse its effect on wages and its role in creating a gender wage gap in the returns to a set of professional and personal characteristics. The heterogeneity in the improvement of workers’ qualifications between sectors in Spain and the lack of studies of this phenomenon in the industrial sector motivates interest in this comparative research between industry and services, which includes a gender perspective, given the interest of this topic in wage studies. To this end, an extension of the Mincer wage equation was applied to data from the 2018 Wages Structure Survey conducted by the Spanish National Statistics Institute. The results suggest that educational mismatch has a greater impact on women’s wages in the service sector than on those in the industrial sector and on men’s wages in both sectors. We also found wage differences in the returns to a set of professional and personal characteristics that suggest that the gender wage gap is greater in the service sector than in the industrial sector.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010005
Authors: Elise S. Brezis
This paper analyzes the effects of the revolving door, concentrating not only on the dynamics between regulators and firms but also on whether regulating the revolving door is optimal from the point of view of society. The study explores the trade-off between two interconnected aspects related to the revolving door: the ‘lack of competence’ and ‘greed’ of regulators. On the one hand, the revolving door facilitates the recruitment of highly qualified regulators by the government, drawn by the prospect of lucrative future compensation packages. On the other hand, it allows regulators to succumb to greed, enabling them to receive revenues after their term in office. This paper emphasizes that this propensity toward greed can manifest through two distinct channels: ‘regulatory capture’, which is illegal, and ‘abuse of power’, which, while legal, is unethical. This paper highlights that distinguishing whether the behavior of the regulator is either unlawful or unethical is of utmost importance for analyzing the optimal policy concerning regulators. On one end, the capture models advocate for regulated oversight of the revolving door to prevent corruption. On the other end, models of abuse of power, characterized by regulators generating ‘bureaucratic capital’, contribute to the acceptance of the revolving door practice.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010004
Authors: Kongolo Musampa Joel Hinaunye Eita Christelle Meniago
The aim of this study is to assess the response of the South African stock market returns to oil price volatility, based on the daily South African stock market index, using the GARCH-Copula modelling technique. The results of the analysis show evidence of an asymmetric impact of fluctuations in oil prices on South African stock market returns, using a copula model specification, particularly the bivariate symmetrized Joe-Clayton (SJC) copula. The results also revealed that the EGARCH process is the best univariate model to capture oil price volatility. Interestingly, this study also revealed that the tourism industry is most dependent on oil price fluctuations, due to its heavy reliance on transportation costs. The economic implications of this study also suggest that sectors affected by oil price fluctuations need specific long-term and short-term monetary policy strategies. It is recommended that in the short term, expansionary monetary policy could assist in mitigating the impact of higher oil prices, while in the long-term, policies aimed at reducing the volatility in oil prices would be of great help in alleviating its harmful effect on stock market returns.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010003
Authors: Diego León Peña-Orozco María Eugenia Londoño-Escobar Andrés Mauricio Paredes Rodríguez Jesús Gonzalez-Feliu Gonzalo Navarrete Meneses
Despite the growing global interest in promoting rural development as a strategy to guarantee food security, in developing countries there are large gaps to achieve a sustainable countryside, mainly in rural areas. This research work delves into a methodological approach definition to establish the baseline for the public policy implementation and prioritize the intervention needs in the different items considered in an integral rural development public policy. The proposed methodology combines a qualitative characterization of needs and goals, a social cartography, a quantitative characterization of indicators and the use of multicriteria classification for prioritizing development policies. Eight localities with sixteen small rural settlements are taken as a research unit, to apply the proposed methodology and determine the implementation level of a public policy. The results show that a set of priority policies that both meet the authorities’ objectives and the population’s needs can be defined. Moreover, a vector of priority is proposed to define the weakest items, as a guide to local government administrations to focus efforts on interventions to achieve greater impacts on the rural community development under study. Finally, via a double field validity assessment, those strategic lines are hierarchized and analyzed regarding their potential relationships, as a social system.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010002
Authors: Ebenezer Toyin Megbowon
(1) Background: Labor market outcomes can be directly or indirectly influenced by the health behavior patterns of the labor force. This study assesses the association between patterns of physical activity and smoking behavior maintenance (and their transitions) and the labor market outcomes of employment participation and formal employment participation. (2) Methods: The sample evaluated in this study comprises adult individuals aged 18 and above from wave 5 of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a chi-square test, and bivariate probit regression techniques. (3) Results: The bivariate probit regression results regarding the impact of health behavior transition and maintenance patterns on labor market outcomes show that transitioning to physically active behavior or maintaining physically active behavior increases the likelihood of participating in the labor market and being employed in the formal sector compared to those ceasing to be physically active over time. Surprisingly, both the maintenance and uptake of smoking behavior increases the probability of the occurrence of both labor market outcome variables. (4) Conclusions: These findings have both explicit and implicit implications that can serve to increase labor force participation probability and to promote healthy behavior. There is a need for community-wide campaigns via promotions and media coverage to promote active physical activity among the labor force group. Also, interventions to support individuals who lack extensive social networks is necessary. The results further highlight the importance of education, rural economic development, and good health status for desirable labor market outcomes.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies12010001
Authors: Pascal L. Ghazalian
Economic growth is deemed to be a conducive factor in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) as it often confers location advantage to host countries and fosters business confidence. This paper examines the short-run and the long-run effects of economic growth on FDI inflows. The empirical analysis is conducted through the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) System estimator for dynamic panel models. The main results show significant positive effects of economic growth on FDI inflows, and they indicate that the magnitudes of these effects are statistically comparable over time and do not diminish with higher economic growth levels. They also reveal important variations in the magnitude of these effects across geo-economic regions and over pertinent economic variables such as economic development level, international trade and foreign investment openness, and endowment in natural resources. These findings underscore the significance of developing growth-enhancing policies that are designed on the basis of the economic and geo-economic characteristics of host countries. Such policies could be coupled with international trade and foreign investment openness directions to stimulate stronger responses of FDI inflows to economic growth and mitigate the implications of unfavorable global and regional political conditions.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120303
Authors: Mohamed Sadok Gassouma Adel Benhamed
This paper examines the effects of Islamic economic and social systems within a democratic environment on the causal relationships among uncertainty, informal economy, corruption, and economic growth. For this purpose, we considered a set of Middle East/North Africa MENA countries considered to be in economic difficulty and undergoing the democratic transition process (Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Iraq) for the period of 2000–2018. Our contribution is to use the social index that measures the degree of Islamicity in each country in terms of economic and political matters. We examine the effects of Islamicity and democracy on uncertainty, informal economy, corruption, and economic growth using a vector autoregression (VAR) model. Our empirical findings show that, if a theoretical Islamic system is applied in practice, it must be accompanied by a democratic regime to effectively mitigate uncertainty, informal economy, and corruption and contribute to economic growth. Democracy is a necessary component for achieving an optimal level of Islamicity.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120302
Authors: Nadezhda Kvasha Olga Bolotnikova Ekaterina Malevskaia-Malevich
To ensure development sustainability, the linear economic approach is being transformed into a cyclical model. For the pulp and paper industry (PPI), which occupies a significant place in the Russian economy, the shift of circular principles to the field of bioeconomics is becoming more important. This requires the development of basic biotechnological approaches implemented in closed cycles (biorefining). The aim of this study was to develop the biotechnological foundations of the circular economic system of the pulp and paper industry. To achieve the goal, the factors for the implementation of the circular mechanism in the pulp and paper industry were established. The composition of pulp and paper waste was systematized, taking into account the places of their occurrence; the directions and forms of the biorefining of pulp and paper secondary renewable resources were determined; and the principal possibility of obtaining bioethanol, based on the whole complex of sugars from cellulose production wastes, is shown. A wide range of general scientific methods was involved (analysis, synthesis, classification, modeling, etc.). Statistical methods were used to process experimental results in the field of pulp and paper waste bioconversion. The biotechnologies involved included methods of destruction, detoxification, and conversion of useful resources into secondary raw materials and final products. From the standpoint of the environmental approach, there are serious efficiency imbalances in the pulp and paper industry, which justify the implementation of circular mechanisms for organizing economic systems. The overall efficiency is ensured by the use of renewable resources and obtaining environmental effects. Algorithms and parameters of green biotechnological regulations for pulp and paper industry waste recycling provide the possibility of microbiological production of a complex of products: biocomposites, bioplastics, medical products, fertilizers, feed additives, vitamin supplements, and bioenergy resources. A strategy for the efficient biochemical processing of pulp and paper waste into green ethanol was determined. The possibility of increasing the efficiency of alcoholic fermentation using various biocatalysts was experimentally confirmed. The technological features of this method, associated with the need for microaerobic fermentation modes, were determined.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120301
Authors: Lidia de Castro Romero Víctor Martín Barroso Rosa Santero-Sánchez
In this paper, we analyse the impact of gender equality in managerial positions on wages and the gender wage gap in 22 European countries. We draw on the employer–employee microdata from the European Structure of Earnings Survey (E-SES) for the year 2018, which allows us to include firm fixed effects in our econometric specifications, thus controlling for both observed and unobserved heterogeneity at the firm level. The analysis is carried out not only at the mean but also across the wage distribution through unconditional quantile regressions. The results on the impact of gender equality in management on wages are mixed. However, we find that gender equality has a predominantly positive effect in the upper part of the wage distribution, and a negative effect in the middle and lower parts. The results on the impact on the gender wage gap show that in many cases, a more gender-equal management reduces the gender wage gap. Furthermore, gender equality in management reduces the gender wage gap mainly in the middle and lower part of the wage distribution.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120300
Authors: Nini Johana Marín-Rodríguez Juan David Gonzalez-Ruiz Sergio Botero
This scientometric analysis delves into the current trajectory and anticipated prospects of assessing fiscal sustainability, emphasizing methodologies, trends, and pivotal literature in this critical economic realm. This study analyzed 324 studies from Scopus and Web of Science databases to generate the dataset through scientometric networks, using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix tools. Through a comprehensive review of scientific literature, this research traces the developmental trajectory of fiscal sustainability, trend topics, influential studies, and key contributors employing bibliometric and scientometric tools. The study maps the landscape of fiscal sustainability exploration, underscoring an evolving shift towards interdisciplinary methods encompassing environmental, social, and political factors. Furthermore, the keywords analysis accentuates three emergent trends, mainly (i) the relation between fiscal sustainability and economic growth, (ii) the methodologies and models for assessing fiscal sustainability, and (iii) demographic concerns and their impact on fiscal sustainability. This research provides insights into the evolving terrain of fiscal sustainability exploration and anticipates promising avenues for further studies. The examination reveals the significance of methodologies such as panel data, multicointegration analysis, probabilistic debt analysis, Markov-switching models, and wavelets analysis in assessing fiscal sustainability. By offering a comprehensive overview, this analysis aspires to direct forthcoming inquiries and contribute to the ongoing discussion surrounding the assessment of fiscal stability.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120299
Authors: Marius Sorin Dincă Valentin Marian Antohi Maria Letiția Andronic Monica Răileanu Szeles Camelia Mirela Baba
This paper makes a comparison between the financing of health systems in six European Member States: France, Denmark, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, starting from the structure of financial allocations to health systems in the context of fluctuating macroeconomic developments marked by multiple economic crises and the onset of the pandemic, which posed a real challenge to maintaining the health security of the European population and beyond. The need for this research is connected to the gap in the literature regarding economic development, health management and health financing performance. The main objective of the research is to determine the performance aspects of health systems financing and efficient financing models in relation to the evolution of macroeconomic indicators such as gross domestic product, household final consumption, general public expenditure and population. Empirical and analytical methods consisting of literature review, database construction, econometric modeling and statistical model validation were used. The results of the study highlight the performance of financial allocations for the six countries analyzed and could help decision-makers adjust health financing strategies in line with the insights provided by the current research. The novelty of this research is the comparison between different EU member states according to their economic development level in direct connection with health financing performance. This paper identifies the key aspects of health systems’ financing and of efficient financing models in connection to the evolution of main macroeconomic indicators.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120298
Authors: Anna Y. Veretennikova Daria A. Selezneva
Regulating the sharing economy is one of the most important aspects in the development of a business model that has developed rapidly due to the widespread adoption of digital technologies and is closely linked to the fast pace of institutional changes. The present study aims to develop strategies for regulating the sharing economy through the application of game theory. The authors identify common cooperative and non-cooperative strategies in the interaction of two participants: the state and the company. The matrix of strategies is based on the results of the analysis, which considers the interaction benefits, costs, and the positive and negative effects of this process. These strategies are exemplified in scenarios of interaction between the state and the sharing economy company in relation to three possible problems: environmental pollution, parking deficiency, and budget deficit. Furthermore, the study presents a comprehensive payoff matrix and provides a description of various sustainable and long-term scenarios. It also highlights the key parameters that should be taken into account when selecting a behavioral strategy for economic agents. In addition, the study establishes that supporting industries and projects of the sharing economy, as well as creating conditions or attracting investments, increasing public trust in government and business, and involving various social groups in resolving social problems are essential elements in the harmonious development of the sharing economy. These elements contribute to its potential to raise living standards. The practical significance of this study lies in the possibility of applying its results in the implementation of social and ecological objectives through the advancement of sharing economy initiatives.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120297
Authors: Zsolt Hollósy Muhammad Imam Ma’ruf Zsuzsanna Bacsi
Recent technological advancements have revolutionized agriculture in Asia, leading to significant changes in crop yield stability. This study examines the changing face of crop yield stability in Asia resulting from the increasing adoption of innovative technologies in agriculture. Through a review of current research and case studies, the impact of technology-driven changes on yield levels, variability, and predictability is explored. The study applies a yield stability index (YSI) to evaluate the yield stability of six crops in seven Asian countries during two periods (1961–1994 and 1995–2020), comparing the countries, crops, and stability changes between the two segments. The novelty of the research is the application of YSI, which, contrary to usual stability metrics, can distinguish between rare large extreme yields and frequent minor fluctuations, and based on this feature, evaluates the suitability of the prevailing technologies to local environmental conditions. The YSI is used to evaluate the stability of technologies, indicating whether the technologies can respond well to the annual variations of environmental conditions. Positive YSI values indicate stable technologies that can respond well to the annual variations of environmental conditions, and the concept of a well-technologized crop is used for crops in countries with stable positive YSI values, indicating the suitability of the actual crop to the actual geographical environment. These results can guide production technology developments and the introduction or abandonment of certain crops in certain geographical zones, especially regarding the implications of climate change and global warming. This study highlights the transformative power of technology in improving crop yield stability and food security in Asia, while discussing the potential challenges associated with these changes and the need for continued research to address them.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120296
Authors: Safet Abdullahu Nexhmie Berisha Vokshi
This research aimed to identify and understand the key factors influencing the effectiveness of online learning, with a specific focus on accounting courses. To achieve this goal, the study relied on the assessments and perceptions of students in the accounting department engaged in online learning. This study provided a model example to uncover the key factors and connections between the quality of online learning and its advantages in accounting education. The research was organized into three main phases: initially presenting the research concept, defining the goals and the essential components of the study. Subsequently, the research continued with a review of the literature, integrating scientific contributions from around the world and linking them to the research hypotheses. The research revealed three key factors in the quality of online learning: Factor 1, Access and communication between students and professors in online learning, emphasizing the importance of interaction and accessibility in this context; Factor 2, The security of platforms and the content of electronic learning, identifying the significance of technology safety and content security; and Factor 3, The ease of use and flexibility of access in online learning, improving student autonomy and global access to content. Hypothesis 1 confirmed that the factors of online learning quality were influenced by the context and the structure of online learning, including specific requirements. Hypothesis 2 asserted that the advantages of online learning were linked to the acceptability of electronic assistance, self-efficiency, and students’ intention to use electronic learning. Hypothesis 3 confirmed that quality factors had a strong correlation with the advantages of online learning in the field of accounting. This research, through student feedback and perspectives, contributed to a deeper understanding of online learning and the importance of quality factors in promoting it in the accounting field. In summary, this research highlights the crucial link between quality attributes and the benefits of online learning in accounting education. It is recommended that educators and institutions prioritize these attributes to enhance the effectiveness of online education, offering valuable insights for the development of more efficient and advantageous online learning environments.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120295
Authors: Akifumi Kuchiki
This paper identifies the importance of reducing fixed costs for establishing industrial zones as part of an agglomeration policy. China’s economic growth has been driven by the agglomeration of manufacturing firms via industrial zones that attract foreign direct investment. This investment enables the export of products by importing intermediate capital goods. According to the new trade theory of spatial economics, the number of firms in an agglomeration is inversely proportional to the fixed costs. The main accelerator of agglomeration after the master switch is the formation of segments that reduce firms’ fixed costs. Via a factor analysis of manufacturing agglomeration segments in sequencing economics, this paper finds that “leased” industrial zones are accelerator segments in the formation process of manufacturing agglomerations.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120294
Authors: Suhut Sinaga Mahjus Ekananda Beta Gitaharie Milla Setyowati
This study investigates tax buoyancies in Indonesia. It analyzes the cointegration relationship between the regional gross domestic product (RGDP), along with several control variables, and tax revenues. Focusing on personal income tax (PIT), corporate income tax (CIT), and value-added tax (VAT), it employs a dynamic analysis from 2015 to 2021. This research utilizes the Wald test to evaluate long-term buoyancies and the PMG-ARDL model to assess tax dynamics and cointegration coefficients. The results revealed tax revenues’ consistent tendency toward equilibrium in the long term, with fluctuations across Indonesian provinces. PIT displayed the highest buoyancy and adjustment speed, followed by VAT and CIT. This analysis highlights tax types’ diverse responses to underlying factors, offering crucial insights into fiscal dynamics. The research illuminates the intricate relationship between economic indicators and tax categories, providing valuable lessons for future policies, especially concerning structural changes like tax amnesty programs and tax rate modifications.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120293
Authors: Georgiana-Alina Crisan Madalina Ecaterina Popescu Eva Militaru Amalia Cristescu
Digital technologies are being integrated into everyday life worldwide, constantly transforming our society and labor markets. The EU requires digitally smart people in the labor market and has promoted this through the Digital Agenda. In this context, our paper aims to investigate the diversity of the EU member states in terms of the digitalization of the labor market in the post-pandemic context. Using a multidimensional perspective, we considered indicators reflecting not only labor market specificities but also the degree of digitalization and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the strength of the association between digitalization and the labor market indicators was quantified through a Pearson test, while the cluster analysis highlighted some patterns for the high-tech EU economies compared to the medium- and low-tech EU economies. Among the high-tech economies cluster, Finland stands out as the frontrunner in the EU’s digital transformation, with the most digitally skilled workers. At the opposite pole are the South-Eastern countries, which have the most to do to recover and still lack an effective digital policy framework to support youth workers’ access to digital training. The practical implications of our study consist mostly of providing decision-makers with directions on issues to tackle when implementing EU digital policies.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120292
Authors: Eka Purna Yudha Julian Roche
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were significant restrictions on the transportation of food products in Indonesia. The research objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which these restrictions impacted changes in marketing margins at the provincial level in Indonesia. The approach taken was through the examination of trade and freight margin statistical data before the pandemic (2019) and after the pandemic (2020) across a number of different commodity markets: rice, shallots, red chilli pepper, beef, chicken meat and eggs, sugar, and cooking oil. The evidence indicates that the pandemic brought a rapid rise in Indonesian domestic prices as a result of purchasing panic at its start. But after the imposition of transportation restrictions, there were wide variations: some durable food options experienced increased marketing margins, whereas non-durables tended to experience decreased marketing margins in some regions, as fresh products such as red chillies and shallots were discarded as a result of declining consumer purchasing power. The conclusion for policymakers is that any future restrictions should take into account this likely difference in response, in order to minimise economic disruption by calibrating support along the supply chain.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120291
Authors: Nuno Carlos Leitão
This investigation evaluates the performance of Portuguese exports by focusing on the 11 main partners for 1990–2021, considering panel data. Country risk analysis has been frequently used to assess the determinants of international trade in recent years. Empirical studies demonstrate that country risk can affect bilateral relationships between economies, especially in economies with greater geopolitical risk. Next, we refer to the methodology used in this research. In this context, we assessed the stationarity of the variables used in this study. Subsequently, models were used to eliminate bias and endogeneity between the variables. The panel quantile regression model allows us to understand the behaviour of variables across different quartiles. The empirical study shows that countries with low country risk promote the performance of Portuguese exports. On the other hand, the size of the economies, both the exporting country (Portugal) and the importing countries (commercial partners), is decisive for increasing Portuguese exports. This finding can be explained as a monopolistic competition with the economy’s scale and industrial concentration serving as theoretical support. As noted with previous studies on the gravity model, the common language of Portuguese-speaking countries reduces communication costs and increases Portuguese exports. Furthermore, the econometric model also validates the issue of geographical distance, where this variable has a negative impact on exports, demonstrating that geographical proximity reduces transport costs.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120290
Authors: Abdelmonem Lotfy Mohamed Kamal Mostafa E. AboElsoud Khaled Abdella
The primary objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between finance and economic growth in a cohort of 16 economies within the MENA region spanning a four-decade period from 1980 to 2021. This study employs panel unit root and panel co-integration analyses to investigate this long-term nexus. The fully modified and dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) approaches are utilized to estimate the long-run coefficients. The findings underscore the existence of cross-sectional interdependence among these nations. Furthermore, Pedroni’s panel co-integration research robustly supports the idea of a long-term co-integrating relationship between financial development and economic growth. Our long-run panel estimations reveal a positive and statistically significant impact of financial development on GDP per capita income growth. In addition to this broad analysis, this paper conducts a detailed time-series examination focused on a specific country to validate the robustness of the results. These findings further substantiate the favorable influence of financial development on income growth in the majority of MENA nations. Notably, private sector participation in these economies is found to be alarmingly low. As a result, a significant policy implication of this study underscores the urgent need for policymakers to prioritize measures conducive to private sector expansion. Moreover, enhancing financial inclusion, addressing the crowd-out effect, and tackling non-performing loans are critical areas requiring attention within the MENA region. Furthermore, our research highlights the potential benefits of developing stock markets as part of an optimal strategy to enhance both economic and income growth rates. In conclusion, this study contributes valuable insights into the finance–growth nexus in the MENA region, emphasizing the importance of financial development as a driver of economic prosperity and the need for targeted policy initiatives to support private sector growth and financial stability.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120289
Authors: Christine de la Maisonneuve Balázs Égert David Turner
This paper uses a new measure of human capital, which distinguishes both quality and quantity components, to estimate the long-term effect of the COVID-19-related school closures on aggregate productivity through the human capital channel. Productivity losses build up over time and are estimated to range between 0.4% and 2.1% after 45 years, for 12 weeks and 2 years of school closure, respectively. These results appear to be broadly consistent with earlier findings in the literature. Two opposing effects might influence these estimates. Online teaching would lower economic costs while learning losses in tertiary education (not considered here) would inflate them. Policies aimed at improving the quality of education and adult training will be needed to offset or, at least, alleviate the impact of the pandemic on human capital.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120288
Authors: Bruno S. Sergi Svetlana Balashova Svetlana Ratner
This study analyses the influence of economic growth on inequality, concentrating on the role of governments as mediators. The period studied is from 2000 to 2020, encompassing 11 post-Soviet countries. The primary estimation method used is the two-stage least squares for panel data. Despite the differences in the economic and political systems at the current development stage, the post-Soviet countries share a common pattern in terms of the relationship between economic growth, the labour income share and the level of inequality, which we first show in this article. Government expenditure has the potential to reduce inequality. However, its effectiveness depends largely on government efficiency and the development of democratic institutions. Despite the increase in government spending on education, more is needed to reduce income inequality. Increased economic performance, productivity, and high-quality state institutions are necessary for this change.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120287
Authors: Julija Bužinskė Jelena Stankevičienė
The objective of this study is to establish a decision-making algorithm for issuing green bonds by municipalities in inter-municipal cooperation in Lithuania with a focus on zero-waste projects. The research methodology comprises four parts. The first part of the research methodology corresponds to a literature review that examines the concept of inter-municipal cooperation and its development in different countries. The second part of the research methodology is dedicated to the formulation of the valuation approach for the inter-municipal cooperation possibility and approbation of it in the selected municipalities. The third part of the research methodology covers the development of the decision-making algorithm for issuing green bonds by municipalities in inter-municipal cooperation in Lithuania. The last part of the research methodology summarizes the results of the survey and proposals for its further development. The findings suggest that the selected municipalities for the valuation of inter-municipal cooperation possibility could improve municipal performance for better inter-municipal cooperation results. The results also show that a smaller municipality corresponds to moderate municipal performance, which can be expected in comparison to a larger municipality. The findings of the construction of the decision-making algorithm suggest a 12-step process for the issuance of green bonds in Lithuania. The practical implications of the study are based on the notion that findings can be applied by municipalities willing to issue green bonds, smaller municipalities having challenges finding financial sources, and municipalities in inter-municipal cooperation sharing the same goals. An original aspect of this paper is its study focus on inter-municipal cooperation valuation and the issuance of green bonds in the municipalities of a smaller country which can serve as a reference point for considering the potential issuance of green bonds in municipalities of similar size.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11120286
Authors: Udit Chawla Rajesh Mohnot Harsh Vikram Singh Arindam Banerjee
The primary aim of this research is to thoroughly examine the determinants that influence customers’ intention towards embracing FinTech products and services, thereby enriching our understanding of the adoption and utilization trends within the FinTech industry in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is quantitative research in the context of India covering five major tech-savvy cities—Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pune, and Chennai. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the mediation effect of Perceived Trust was examined in order to see the relationship between the retrieved constructs and their attributes. Predominantly, the data delve into the utilization of financial technology and the prevailing embrace of this transformative innovation by contemporary Indian society. From the findings, it has emerged that the three factors influencing Customer Intention to Adopt FinTech products are “Perceived Security”, “Perceived Risks”, and “Perceived Trust”. The significance of Perceived Security in the realm of defending against cyber risks and safeguarding personal information has been discovered to have a profound effect on individuals’ inclination to embrace FinTech. Likewise, acknowledging the potential risks and uncertainties that come with FinTech has proven to have a favorable impact on the intention to adopt. Notably, the perception of trust, which encompasses aspects such as the credibility of the company and the user-friendly nature of the technology, has been identified as a significant driver towards adoption.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110285
Authors: Gour Gobinda Goswami Munim Kumar Barai Mahnaz Aftabi Atique Mostafizur Rahman
Remittances are one of the major driving forces of economic growth in Bangladesh. The paper’s main objective is to empirically investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the remittance inflow to Bangladesh using a gravity model framework. We have employed monthly data of remittance inflow to Bangladesh from January 2018 to September 2022 with its top twelve partners, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Libya, the United Kingdom, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan. Using the gravity equation, we tapped the COVID-19 dummy as the critical variable of our interest, along with COVID transmission, mortality, and vaccination data at home and abroad. Using Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML), fixed-effect (FE), and random-effect (RE) estimations, we find that during the COVID-19 pandemic, remittance inflow to Bangladesh increased significantly after controlling for other Gravity variables.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110284
Authors: Philip Haynes David Alemna
The configurative comparative method, Dynamic Pattern Synthesis (DPS) is used to replicate previous research into the impact of the euro on economic convergence. The DPS method ensures a forensic examination of the diverse variable patterns that influence cluster memberships. As with previous research conclusions, there are multiple patterns of convergence and divergence. Consistent clusters across the time periods compared are Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Ireland; Slovakia and Estonia; Italy, Spain, and Slovenia; and Portugal and Greece. The variable patterns most likely to influence cluster definitions are differences in GDP per capita, productivity, and investment, although there are other differing variable patterns that influence specific smaller cluster memberships and the consistency of memberships over time. Externalities undermine nominal convergence. An example is the divergence of the experience of consumer inflation between 2016 and 2022. Nevertheless, some convergence in long-term interest rates is achieved. There is also divergence in the real convergence target of GDP per capita. As regards structural changes, productivity differences widen, and investment as a percentage of GDP converges during COVID-19. The theoretical implications are that the complex dynamics between collaboration, competitive markets, and global instabilities makes convergence unlikely. Real convergence, such as reducing the distribution differences of GDP per capita, is only likely to be possible over many decades, and needs considerable government interventions. Complex systems theory informs us that limits to convergence are inevitable in dynamic systems where events bring unplanned divergences.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110283
Authors: Mónica González Morales José Antonio Cavero Rubio
The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the restaurant industry. Temporary shutdowns and seating capacity restrictions led to a sharp drop in sales. In this scenario, digitalization emerged as a crucial strategy for business survival, offering opportunities to increase restaurants’ competitiveness and revenues. This study examines the financial profitability of restaurants during 2020, comparing establishments with digital sales tools to those without. Multiple linear regression results indicate that liquidity, sales growth, restaurant size, and having a website directly influenced profitability. In addition, restaurants with their own online ordering and home delivery services or associated with delivery platforms experienced lower profitability losses. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of digitalization in the restaurant sector during the pandemic, providing valuable practical and theoretical implications for the industry in similar contexts.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110282
Authors: Jing Liu Chin-Hong Puah Mohammad Affendy Arip Meng-Chang Jong
This study aims to investigate the influence of digital financial inclusion on China’s urban–rural income disparity. A comparative analysis on income differences between western and eastern regions in China was conducted in this paper. The study utilized a static panel approach as it consisted of 22 provinces in China that covered the period from 2011 to 2020. This paper employs Stata software for the data analysis. The dependent variable of this study is the urban–rural income gap. Meanwhile, the independent variables consist of the total index level, breadth of coverage, depth of use, degree of digitization, digital payment level, digital insurance level, and digital credit level. The control variables employed in this article are education level, financial support, economic transformation, technological progress, and trade openness. The empirical outcomes indicate that the seven independent variables potentially minimize the urban–rural income gap between the two regions. However, digital financial inclusion appears to have a more significant effect in lessening the urban–rural gap in the western region compared to the eastern region in China. The findings demonstrate that all the variables exhibit a higher degree of influence on the urban–rural income differences in the west than in the east, except for the credit index. The outcome reveals that the effect of the credit index in the western region (0.10%) is slightly lower than the eastern region (0.11%). In general, the present findings can provide valuable insights for policy makers in their efforts to address the urban–rural income gap in the two regions through the implementation of digital financial inclusion initiatives. The study should be conducted regularly to observe the trend of the income disparities between the western and eastern regions in China. Future studies can also focus on other regions or narrow the focus to provincial and city levels to capture more detailed information.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110281
Authors: Robert Zenzerović Danijela Rabar Ksenija Černe
Economic activities’ efficiency represents the level of performance that uses the lowest quantity of inputs to achieve the highest possible amount of output. This paper presents the process of calculating the relative efficiency of separate non-financial activities in an economy using the DEA methodology. The purpose of this paper was to create the DEA model for monitoring the relative efficiency of individual non-financial activities of the economy. The purpose was achieved through the realization of two objectives. The first one included the determination of the relative efficiency of the above-mentioned activities in the period from 2002 to 2020 using the data from non-financial entities in the Republic of Croatia. The second objective consisted of ranking the economic activities according to their relative efficiency. An output variable that measures the efficiency was presented using the return on assets, while the total debt to EBITDA, EBITDA per employee, assets turnover and human capital efficiency were used as input variables. Research results indicate that the DEA methodology could be used as an economic activity’s relative efficiency measurement tool, giving the possibility to rank it according to its relative efficiency using the accounting ratios. Research results show that service sectors’ economic activities were the most efficient ones according to the lower assets engagement and the respective sources of financing that dominate. The highest average relative efficiency in 19 years was scored using wholesale, retail and repair activities as well as information, communication and education. The lowest average relative efficiency was achieved in construction, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities as well as accommodation and food service activities, which is the consequence of their low level of activity and profitability and high indebtedness in the analyzed period. The relative efficiency scores calculated using the DEA methodology could be used as a benchmark for companies on a micro level, while on the macro level decision-makers can obtain a deeper insight into the relative efficiency of the nonfinancial activities.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110280
Authors: Vesna Buterin Barbara Fajdetić Barbara Funarić
Throughout history, women have struggled to find their place in the labour market. Their participation in the labour market is usually characterised by worse working conditions; they tend to work in lower-paid jobs, under worse social conditions, and in the vast majority of cases their work in the household is not credited. Women make up half of the world’s population, and their non-participation in the labour force has negative consequences for economic growth. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of women’s participation in the labour market on living standard in the European Union. Data on women’s participation in entrepreneurship and politics were also analysed as part of this work. Panel data analysis was conducted for the period 2009–2022 for 27 members of the European Union, using fixed and random effects. The results show that long-term unemployment has a negative impact on GDP per capita. Moreover, a higher share of women in parliament and better education of women is confirmed to be crucial for GDP per capita growth. Failure to include women could have serious consequences for economic growth. The key to success is education and social change that enable women to play the same role as men in the labour market.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110279
Authors: Stefan Stojkov Emilija Beker Pucar Olgica Glavaški Marina Beljić
The process of deepening the economic integration of European economies reached its peak with the formation of a supranational entity for conducting monetary policy. However, the high degree of financial integration of the market also implied the vulnerability of the economic union in terms of prompt reaction to external shocks with divergent effects. Oil price fluctuations are of essential importance for macroeconomic performance, which is particularly reflected in countries more dependent on the import of this raw material. This research aims to apostrophize the asymmetric effects of oil price fluctuations on the stock market indices on a sample of higher (Germany, Italy, France) vs. lower (Croatia, Bulgaria, Ireland) oil importers. The empirical findings are determined based on impulse response functions derived from the VAR model as well as the Granger causality test of the relationship between stock market indices and oil price fluctuations. In order to identify the isolated impact of oil price movements on stock market indices of selected European economies, the VAR (Vector AutoRegression) model is evaluated in the time period 2013M1-2023M1. The results of the research indicate an asymmetric mechanism of the impact of oil shocks on the financial markets of EU member states.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110278
Authors: Roman Fedorenko Galina Khmeleva Marina Kurnikova
In this research, our primary objective is to dissect the influence of specific locational elements—proximity to international borders, substantial ports, and significant railway junctions—on the economic vitality of Hungary’s counties from 2001 to 2020. The aim is to reveal how these factors individually contribute to economic disparities and to demonstrate their compounded effect on regional prosperity. This analysis is particularly timely and pertinent as regional inequalities are becoming more pronounced globally, making understanding such disparities crucial for effective policy formulation and regional planning. Utilizing GDP per capita as a fundamental indicator of economic health, we meticulously categorized counties, revealing a clear correlation between these locational advantages and economic performance. We innovatively employed Python to script a unique code, creating a matrix that enriches the presentation of our results, thereby facilitating a more nuanced understanding of these correlations. Our findings are significant in the current socio-economic climate, highlighting the need for tailored strategies considering unique regional attributes. This study is instrumental for policymakers and stakeholders in formulating informed, targeted strategies to harness these locational advantages, fostering balanced development, and narrowing the economic divide within the nation. The actuality of our research lies in its immediate relevance, offering insights critical to current discussions and decisions in regional development planning.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110277
Authors: Seunghun Chung Oudom Hean
As the population in affluent countries has been experiencing rapid aging, understanding its impact on the regional economy has become an important research topic. In this study, we investigate whether regional population aging has affected the economy in the United States. Using instrumental variables based on age structure, we have identified significant positive impacts on employment growth and negative impacts on the population growth rate. Additionally, there was no significant impact on local wages but a positive impact on rent levels. This can be interpreted as evidence that a higher proportion of the elderly population actually enhances local production and consumption amenity levels, as suggested by the spatial equilibrium model. These results imply that regional population aging may not have a significant negative impact on the regional economy.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110276
Authors: Haider Mahmood
Natural resource rent (NRR) can be a blessing for the economic growth of resource-rich economies but may cause environmental problems. The present research explores the effects of NRR, economic growth, trade openness (TO), and foreign direct investment (FDI) on the carbon intensities of different sources of carbon emissions in Saudi Arabia from 1968 to 2021. The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is substantiated in the relationship between economic growth and the carbon intensities of gas emissions and cement emissions in the long run. The EKC is also validated in models of the carbon intensities of oil emissions, gas flaring emissions, and aggregated CO2 emissions in the short run. TO reduces the carbon intensities of oil emissions, gas emissions, and cement emissions in the long run. FDI mitigates the carbon intensity of gas flaring emissions but increases the carbon intensity of cement emissions. NRR increases the carbon intensities of all investigated sources of emissions in a linear analysis. In a nonlinear analysis, increasing NRR increases and decreasing NRR reduces the carbon intensities of all sources of emissions except aggregated CO2 emissions. In the short-run results, TO decreases the carbon intensity of gas flaring emissions and increases the carbon intensities of gas emissions and cement emissions. FDI decreases the carbon intensities of all sources of emissions. In a linear analysis, NRR reduces the carbon intensities of oil emissions and cement emissions and increases the carbon intensities of gas emissions and gas flaring emissions. In a nonlinear analysis, increasing NRR reduces the carbon intensity of cement emissions and increases the carbon intensities of gas emissions and gas flaring emissions. Moreover, decreasing NRR reduces the carbon intensities of gas emissions, gas flaring emissions, and aggregated CO2 emissions and increases the carbon intensities of oil emissions and cement emissions. The effect of NRR is asymmetrical in models of the carbon intensities of aggregated CO2 emissions, oil emissions, and gas flaring emissions and symmetrical in models of the carbon intensities of gas emissions and cement emissions.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110275
Authors: Ramón Rueda-López María F. Muñoz-Doyague Jaime Aja-Valle María J. Vázquez-García
This research presents a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature on collective bargaining between 2012 and 2021. The main objective of this research is to analyze how scientific research on collective bargaining has evolved during this period and to identify current trends and future lines of research on the institution of governance of labor relations. For this purpose, 1676 documents collected in the Web of Science Core Collection and 1971 in Scopus have been analyzed. This analysis has made it possible to determine which have been the scientific papers with the greatest impact, the most relevant researchers, and the most used keywords. As a contribution, note the classification made in relation to which are the most relevant scientific journals, the most cited papers, or the most influential researchers in the field of collective bargaining. As conclusions and future lines of research identified, this research points out the need to delve into studies related to the promotion of dialogue between human resources management and the legal representation of workers about working conditions that positively affect workplace well-being, as well as investigations related to the power and legitimacy of negotiation by social and economic agents.
]]>Economies doi: 10.3390/economies11110274
Authors: María P. García-Alcober Ana Isabel Mateos-Ansótegui María Teresa Pastor-Gosálbez
Business innovation is fundamental for sustained economic growth at the regional level. Knowing the common characteristics of innovative companies and their location is essential to carry out appropriate economic policies. To this end, we have carried out a double analysis: one grouping of companies according to characteristics and another by geolocation. This study focused on one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities, the Comunitat Valenciana, a region characterised by significant industrial diversity. Our results show, among other things, that size is not a differentiating factor when it comes to innovation, and that there is a positive relationship between physical clustering and productivity.
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