Search Results (68)

This mixed-methods study examines the associations among fintech advancement, green finance, and financial inclusion in Jordan, an emerging economy. It draws on a distinctive three-part dataset: survey data from 21 commercial banks (N = 21), a national household survey, and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. The quantitative results indicate that the positive association between fintech adoption and the provision of green finance is statistically consistent with full mediation by banks’ absorptive capacity, particularly their digital maturity and data analytics capabilities. Proactive regulatory support significantly moderates this mediated relationship. Market demand, by contrast, has no statistically significant moderating effect. At the household level, the combined use of digital and green financial products is associated with higher formal account ownership and with the use of a greater number of financial products. The interviews support these results, pointing to institutional capacity and regulatory clarity as essential enabling factors. Given the cross-sectional bank-level data (N = 21) and the exploratory scope of the mediation analysis, causal interpretations should be avoided. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine temporal dynamics. Even so, these findings offer policymakers an initial empirical framework: channeling fintech toward sustainable development will likely require targeted interventions to build institutional digital capacity and establish clear regulatory frameworks, rather than depending solely on market forces. Full article

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations have become an increasingly important component of sustainable finance, investment decision-making, and banking regulation. As financial institutions face growing pressure to integrate sustainability objectives into their business models, understanding how sustainability performance relates to market valuation has become an important issue for investors, regulators, and bank management. Despite the growing ESG literature, evidence regarding the valuation relevance of individual ESG dimensions remains limited, particularly in the European banking sector. This study examines whether ESG dimensions are uniformly associated with the market valuation of European banks or whether financial markets differentiate among individual ESG pillars. Using a panel dataset of European banks covering 2021–2024 and Bloomberg ESG indicators, the study estimates panel econometric models to evaluate the associations between disaggregated ESG pillars and market-based valuation measures. The empirical findings reveal substantial heterogeneity across ESG dimensions. The social pillar is positively associated with market valuation, whereas the environmental pillar is negatively associated, while governance exhibits weak or statistically insignificant associations. The findings remain robust across several alternative model specifications. The results indicate that investors in highly regulated European banking markets differentiate between ESG dimensions, suggesting that financial markets differentiate among ESG dimensions and that analysing ESG at the pillar level provides a more nuanced understanding of market valuation than aggregate ESG measures. Full article

This paper investigates how restrictive monetary policy impacts long-term strategic infrastructure financing under conditions of geopolitical fragmentation and supply-side inflationary pressures. The analysis focuses on Poland, a medium-sized European economy exposed to energy transition requirements, post-pandemic supply chain disruptions, and regional geopolitical instability. Using quarterly data for 2005Q1–2024Q2, the study employs a Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model to evaluate the transmission of monetary policy shocks to inflation dynamics and sectoral credit allocation. The research examines bank lending directed toward infrastructure-intensive sectors, including energy, utilities, transport, and strategic industrial investments. Empirical results demonstrate that while monetary tightening contributes to a statistically significant reduction in inflationary pressures over the medium term, it simultaneously triggers unintended consequences. Specifically, higher policy rates are associated with a persistent contraction in long-term infrastructure-related credit volumes. Impulse response analysis reveals that this decline in strategic infrastructure financing is disproportionately stronger and more enduring than the drop observed in aggregate corporate lending. These findings highlight asymmetric monetary transmission effects across investment categories. Consequently, the paper suggests implementing targeted macroprudential and liquidity-support instruments to protect strategic sectors without compromising inflation stabilization objectives. Full article

The accelerating digital transformation of urban economies is reshaping labor markets at unprecedented speed, generating skills mismatches, employment volatility, and widening inclusion gaps that current smart city governance frameworks are insufficiently equipped to address. While the smart city literature has advanced substantially in the areas of digital infrastructure, mobility, and e-government services, the governance of labor market transitions in data-driven urban environments remains conceptually underdeveloped. In particular, no integrated analytical framework currently links smart city governance, labor market intelligence, and workforce resilience into a coherent tool for assessing urban preparedness for technology-driven employment change. This study addresses that gap by developing the Urban Workforce Readiness Framework (UWRF)—an integrated conceptual model designed to evaluate how prepared urban labor markets are for accelerating digital and technological transformation. Methodologically, the framework is constructed through a structured synthesis of peer-reviewed scholarship published between 2015 and 2025 across five domains—smart city governance, labor market regulation, human capital development, workforce resilience, and data-driven public administration—complemented by a thematic review of policy documents issued by the OECD, ILO, European Commission, and World Bank. On this basis, the UWRF identifies five interdependent dimensions of urban workforce readiness: (i) digital infrastructure capacity, (ii) labor market intelligence and analytics, (iii) workforce skills adaptability, (iv) institutional governance capacity, and (v) social inclusion mechanisms. A multi-criteria operationalization is proposed, enabling comparative diagnostic assessment across cities and supporting evidence-based prioritization of policy interventions. The analysis demonstrates that institutional governance capacity and real-time labor market intelligence function as critical mediators within the system: in their absence, even substantial investments in digital infrastructure fail to produce resilient, inclusive, or sustainable labor market outcomes. Theoretically, the study extends data-driven governance scholarship beyond service delivery into the domain of workforce management, thereby integrating three traditionally separate research streams—smart city studies, labor market governance, and digital public administration—under a single analytical architecture. Practically, the UWRF provides policymakers, municipal authorities, labor market institutions, and urban planners with a structured diagnostic instrument for aligning digital transformation strategies with sustainable and equitable employment outcomes, and offers a replicable foundation for future empirical validation across diverse urban contexts. Full article

The European sustainable finance agenda has increased the demand for ESG information, yet most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain outside mandatory sustainability reporting requirements, which are largely designed for large listed firms. This creates an information gap for banks required to integrate ESG risks into credit assessment, while SMEs often lack proportionate tools to disclose and signal their sustainability-related practices. This paper addresses this gap by examining how an SME-oriented ESG rating can structure sustainability information in bank lending and which criteria and data can support a proportionate assessment framework for resource-constrained firms. Using Banca Etica’s internal socio-environmental rating model and a unique dataset of 2395 Italian SMEs, the study provides descriptive evidence on ESG score patterns by firm size, legal form and economic sector. The results suggest that Social and Governance dimensions are more readily assessable within the rating model, as they rely on observable organisational practices such as labour conditions, gender balance, stakeholder relations and governance structures. By contrast, Environmental scores are systematically lower, suggesting that environmental practices are more difficult to formalise and document through standardised assessment tools, especially when they require monitoring systems, certifications, technological adaptation and upfront investments. The paper contributes to the literature by linking the SME regulatory gap with a parallel gap in ESG rating research and by documenting how an internal bank-based ESG rating can structure SME sustainability information and support credit assessment processes. Rather than providing direct evidence of improved creditworthiness, the study shows how such ratings may function as potential signalling mechanisms for SMEs within relationship-based lending. Full article

The assessment of humanity’s ecological footprint has become increasingly critical in contemporary discourse due to growing environmental challenges. This study examines the economic evaluation of the ecological footprint with a particular focus on forest ecosystem services and food productivity. Using harmonized secondary data from FAOSTAT, EUROSTAT, the World Bank, and IPBES, the analysis covers selected developed and emerging economies, including the European Union, the United States, China, Brazil, and other representative countries. This study investigates the macroeconomic implications of natural capital degradation by applying a panel data econometric model to European Union countries over the period 2010–2023. Moving beyond descriptive approaches, the research formulates and tests three hypotheses linking biodiversity, environmental pressure, and green transition variables to economic performance. Using harmonized data from Eurostat and Statista, the study employs a fixed-effects regression framework to estimate the impact of biodiversity indicators, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy share, and environmental protection expenditures on GDP per capita. The results demonstrate that biodiversity preservation and resource efficiency are positively associated with economic performance, while environmental degradation—proxied by greenhouse gas emissions—exerts a statistically significant negative effect. Additionally, the findings confirm that investments in renewable energy and environmental protection contribute to long-term economic stability. By providing a transparent data structure, explicit variable operationalization, and reproducible econometric specification, the study offers an original empirical contribution to ecological economics and addresses the limitations of prior literature that relied primarily on descriptive synthesis. Full article

This study delves into how the literature conceptualizes banking efficiency as a capability shaping sustainability-oriented pathways under conditions of systemic uncertainty, including recurrent economic–financial disruptions and geopolitical shocks. Using records indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, the study combines bibliometric mapping with conceptual structuring to examine publication dynamics, collaboration networks, and the thematic evolution of research linking bank efficiency, green finance intermediation, sustainable digital innovation, and risk governance. The study reveals a multidimensional knowledge base organized around two converging streams: (i) research on efficiency, stability, and crisis transmission emphasizing intermediation quality, performance under stress, and prudential responses; and (ii) sustainability and innovation scholarship focusing on how financial systems enable eco-innovation diffusion and low-carbon transition through capital allocation, governance mechanisms, and digitally enabled transformation. Across these streams, banking efficiency is increasingly discussed not merely as a performance ratio, but as a strategic capability that becomes particularly salient in crisis environments: it can reduce intermediation frictions when funding conditions tighten, strengthen screening and monitoring of green projects amid elevated uncertainty, and support the continuity and scaling of eco-innovations by improving decision speed and resource allocation through digital tools. Collaboration patterns indicate growing interdisciplinary engagement—especially among European and Asian institutions—where crisis, sustainability, and innovation perspectives are integrated into systems-based approaches to green finance. Building on these insights, the article outlines a research agenda oriented toward innovation outcomes in turbulent contexts, emphasizing (a) measurement strategies that connect efficiency to eco-innovation diffusion and adoption rates during stress periods; (b) comparative analyses of how policy incentives and green market signals interact with bank efficiency across crisis episodes; and (c) hybrid methodological designs combining econometric identification, network analytics, scenario-based stress framing, and AI-enabled analytical tools to capture nonlinear dynamics in efficiency–innovation linkages. Overall, the study clarifies how banking efficiency may condition the capacity of financial institutions to sustain green investment intermediation and advance eco-innovation pathways when uncertainty is systemic rather than episodic. Full article

This study examines the evolution, heterogeneity, and short-term prospects of export performance in seven Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies—Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia—over the period 1995–2024. Using annual World Bank data, exports are modeled as a share of GDP to ensure cross-country comparability and to capture differences in trade dependence. The analysis combines descriptive and inferential statistics with Augmented Dickey–Fuller tests, non-parametric comparisons, Granger causality analysis, and country-specific ARIMA models to investigate export dynamics, the role of foreign direct investment (FDI), and future export trajectories. The results reveal a common long-term upward trend in export intensity across all countries, driven by European integration and structural transformation, but with pronounced cross-country differences in export dependence and volatility. Highly open economies such as Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic exhibit strong export performance alongside greater exposure to external shocks, while larger domestic markets such as Poland and Romania display lower export intensity and greater stabilization. Granger causality tests indicate that FDI contributes to export growth in several economies, often with multi-year lags, highlighting the importance of absorptive capacity and institutional quality in translating investment inflows into export competitiveness. ARIMA-based forecasts for 2025–2027 suggest continued export expansion and relative stabilization despite recent global disruptions. This study’s primary contribution lies in integrating comparative export analysis, causality testing, and short-term forecasting within a unified econometric framework, offering policy-relevant insights into export-led growth and economic convergence in post-transition European economies. Full article

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of how banks apply artificial intelligence (AI) in digital and mobile banking to implement and communicate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies, with particular emphasis on environmental dimensions of sustainable finance. The study adopts a mixed methodological approach combining desk research, encompassing a synthesis of academic studies, industry reports, and European regulatory frameworks on AI and ESG, and case study analysis of selected banks implementing AI-based sustainability solutions. The findings reveal that AI supports ESG strategy implementation primarily through green investment recommendations, carbon footprint analytics, automated sustainability reporting, and ethical communication with clients. AI-driven tools enhance the operational efficiency, transparency, and customer engagement of financial institutions while simultaneously fostering low-carbon financial behaviors. However, the study also highlights ethical and governance challenges related to algorithmic transparency, data bias, and responsible AI oversight. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature on AI-driven digital transformation and sustainable finance by identifying research gaps and outlining future directions for exploring the role of AI in accelerating the transition of the banking sector. Full article

Background: This study examines how national innovation performance shapes the diffusion of advanced diagnostic technologies across European healthcare systems. Strengthening technological capacity through innovation is increasingly essential for resilient and efficient health services. The analysis quantifies the influence of innovation capacity on the availability of medical imaging technologies in 26 EU Member States between 2018 and 2024. Methods: A balanced panel dataset was assembled from Eurostat, the European Innovation Scoreboard, and World Bank indicators. Dynamic relationships between innovation performance and the adoption of CT, MRI, gamma cameras, and PET scanners were estimated using a two-step approach combining General-to-Specific (GETS) outlier detection with Robust Least Squares regression to address heterogeneity and specification uncertainty. Results: Higher innovation scores significantly increase the diffusion of R&D-intensive technologies such as MRI and PET, while CT availability shows limited responsiveness due to market maturity. Public health expenditure supports frontier technologies when strategically targeted, whereas GDP growth has no significant effect. Population size consistently enhances technological capacity through scale and system-integration effects. Conclusions: The findings show that innovation ecosystems, rather than economic growth alone, drive the modernization of diagnostic infrastructure in the EU. Integrating innovation metrics into health-technology assessments offers a more accurate basis for designing innovation-oriented investment policies in European healthcare. Full article

Our study examines the relationship between fintech adoption and liquidity management in European banking, investigating how digital transformation influences Basel III liquidity compliance and default risk. Using a sample of 45 European banks from the STOXX 600 index over 2019–2024, we employ textual analysis of annual reports to construct a fintech adoption index and examine its effects on liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and net stable funding ratio (NSFR). Our findings demonstrate that fintech adoption significantly enhances banks’ liquidity management capabilities. However, ESG performance moderates this relationship, with higher ESG commitments weakening the positive fintech-liquidity association, suggesting resource allocation conflicts between sustainability and technological investments. Through mediation analysis, we find that liquidity management partially mediates the fintech-default risk relationship, revealing complex trade-offs where fintech-driven liquidity improvements may increase default risk through alternative channels. Robustness tests using lagged variables, propensity score matching, alterative proxies, and size-based subsamples confirm our findings. Notably, smaller banks derive substantially greater liquidity benefits from fintech adoption compared to larger institutions. Our results provide the first comprehensive analysis of how digital transformation affects regulatory liquidity compliance in European markets, offering important implications for bank management and regulatory oversight in the post-Basel III era. Full article

This article addresses the role of human capital in socio-economic development processes during Europe’s energy transition. The main empirical objectives are firstly to diagnose the overall level of human capital in the energy transition economy based on the original synthetic measure, HCIe, and secondly to analyse and assess the variation in its spatial distribution across the European socio-economic landscape, which serves as a foundation for developing a targeted policy typology directly linked to the identified cluster profiles and their specific weaknesses. The general research question is: what is the level and degree of variation in the internal structure of human capital across the European socio-economic landscape? What actions should individual European countries take to support the development of human capital in the context of the energy transition? The research concept adopted also raises additional questions. Firstly, how can the importance of human capital be captured in an economy undergoing an energy transition? Secondly, are there appropriate indicators for measuring this based on the adopted research approach? European countries were selected as the subjects of the study. In the empirical section, taxonomic methods were employed to develop a proprietary synthetic measure of human capital in a transforming energy economy (HCIe), which was then used for the hierarchical classification of entities. The internal structure of human capital was explored using multi-criteria cluster analysis with the k-means algorithm. This approach resulted in a non-hierarchical classification of entities (typologisation). The main data sources used to construct the synthetic measures were international databases: IRENA, OECD, EUROSTAT, and the World Bank. Analysis of the HCIe measure and the clustering of European countries revealed that the key risk factor for transformation is the absence of integrated human capital within individual groups of countries. This highlights the urgent need for targeted investment in health and the development of systemic and green competencies. Full article

In the area of the European Union (EU) energy policy, among the entities involved in the process of financing investments in renewable energy sources (RESs), the European Investment Bank (EIB) plays a particularly important role. Therefore, the aim of the research was to identify the relationship between the EIB’s financing of RES projects and the level of energy transition, measured by the share of RES in gross final energy consumption (RE). The goal was achieved using quantitative methods and a two-way fixed-effects panel model FE (country and year), based on data from EIB, Eurostat, World Bank, OECD, EDGAR, and Our World in Data for 2012–2023. As a result of the research, it was determined that the scale of EIB financing alone does not translate into short-term growth of the RE in the examined sample (EU countries). Indeed, the effectiveness of funding depends on the regulatory and institutional context; the grid’s ability to absorb new capacities (throughput, storage, demand flexibility); and from the time horizon (delayed materialization of effects). Increasing the efficiency of converting euros into RE percentage points requires better targeting (power + grid), simplification of procedures and good financial assembly with the right allocation of risks. Full article

The rise of fintech has disrupted traditional financial services, prompting banks and asset managers to respond strategically, often through mergers and acquisitions. This study investigates the short-term market reaction to M&A announcements involving fintech targets by incumbent financial institutions. Using an event study methodology centered on different event windows and cumulative abnormal returns computed via the market model, the analysis incorporates regression models with bidder-, deal-, and target-level variables to identify the drivers of performance. The results show that, on average, financial institutions experience negative abnormal returns around announcement dates, suggesting limited short-term value creation. Higher market-to-book ratios and tax rates are positively associated with CARs, while lower profit margins are linked to better market reactions. Subsample comparisons reveal that U.S. acquirers underperform their European peers, commercial banks fare worse than asset managers and investment banks, and pre-COVID-19 deals yield more favorable returns than post-COVID-19 ones. Robustness checks using different market benchmarks demonstrate that key patterns—especially those related to geography and timing—are sensitive to benchmark selection. Overall, this study highlights market skepticism toward fintech acquisitions by traditional financial institutions, particularly in specific contexts, and emphasizes the importance of controlling for structural factors when interpreting abnormal returns. Full article

The European Union (EU) has positioned itself as a global leader in digital regulation, with landmark frameworks such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and relevant AI Act. These initiatives reflect the EU’s ambition to balance technological innovation with consumer protection, market fairness, and digital sovereignty. Yet, a growing body of research suggests that the EU may be lagging its global competitors—namely the United States and China—when it comes to scaling high-growth digital enterprises and attracting investment in frontier technologies. This study investigates the paradox of regulation versus innovation in the EU by comparing key performance indicators such as R&D investment, venture capital availability, and digital innovation output with those of the U.S. and China. Drawing on datasets from WIPO, the OECD, IMF, and the World Bank, the paper incorporates both cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis to assess the EU’s digital trajectory. Findings suggest that while the EU excels in institutional frameworks and research output, structural barriers—such as regulatory fragmentation and underdeveloped capital markets—limit its global competitiveness. The article concludes by discussing policy implications and the need for adaptive governance to maintain Europe’s digital leadership. Full article