Search Results (29)

This study expands the tourism development literature by examining how currency valuation and financial sector maturity influence the tourism–growth relationship. While prior research emphasizes direct or bidirectional causality, this study distinguishes itself by exploring the mediating and moderating roles of financial development and exchange rate stability. Using an instrumental variables approach and empirical data from Africa, we find that exchange rates and financial development partially mediate tourism’s effect on economic growth, particularly in economies with weaker currencies and more developed financial systems. Our results challenge the tourism–growth neutrality hypothesis by demonstrating that exchange rates not only influence tourism demand but also actively shape its growth effects. A panel ARDL analysis confirms bidirectional causality, which reinforces the interdependence between tourism and growth. However, unlike previous studies that view tourism as an isolated driver of growth, we demonstrate that its economic impact depends on a country’s financial maturity and exchange rate competitiveness. Policy recommendations aimed at enhancing economic growth through improved tourism and financial infrastructure are offered. Full article

This article presents a game-theoretic model analyzing the strategic competition between hard and fiat money, involving a representative player and a consolidated bank (including the central bank). The findings reveal counterintuitive interactions between inflation, interest rates, and monetary policy. When hard money becomes more favorable, through higher interest rates, lower transaction costs, or stronger preferences, the bank responds by withdrawing fiat money, reducing inflation but paradoxically lowering the player’s utility. Conversely, increasing the fiat money interest rate leads to money printing and inflation, benefiting both the player and the bank, but ultimately driving hard money out of existence. The model demonstrates how banks use selective fiat money printing and withdrawal to optimize their holdings at the expense of individual players. This study provides insights into currency competition, inflation control, and strategic monetary interventions, relevant for policymakers, financial institutions, and individuals navigating dual-currency economies. By analyzing 26 key parameters, the research uncovers both intuitive and unexpected economic dynamics, offering a structured approach to understanding the power of fiat money in shaping financial systems. These results highlight the importance of monetary policies, transaction costs, and interest rate adjustments in determining the long-term viability of competing monetary systems. Full article

The rise of cryptocurrencies over the past decade has promised to challenge the dominance of fiat money systems and reshape monetary policy. However, recent developments, including market volatility and the collapse of key exchanges like FTX, have eroded public trust, raising skepticism of a feasible transition to a crypto-based monetary system. This paper explores why cryptocurrencies have not met the expectations of their proponents, particularly those who saw them as a step towards Friedrich Hayek’s vision for competitive currency issuance. While cryptocurrencies reflect some aspects of Hayek’s model, their instability—especially in Bitcoin-like assets—undermines their role as a reliable alternative to fiat money. The paper also considers how central bank independence and regulatory gaps further hinder the development of a robust cryptocurrency framework. Despite the continued relevance of Hayek’s ideas in today’s monetary landscape, the entrenched structures of modern central banks and the rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies suggest that a decentralised currency order remains unlikely in the near future. Full article

We use a theoretical model to set up the conditions for a country to attain monetary stability by allowing for two freely tradable currencies to circulate in parallel. For this parallel system to function properly, confidence in the good behavior of the monetary authorities in charge of the two currencies is key. Our model shows how a floating exchange rate between the two can keep the issuers of the local currency in check. The results from our model show the conditions under which a parallel currency system disciplines the issuers of the currencies and thus maintains their purchasing power. In non-volatile economies, it also discourages governments (or private issuers) from inflating one of the currencies as a means to raise seigniorage, as this policy results in the displacement of the currency from the market. When foreign payments shortfall—such as in Greece and Cyprus during the ‘euro crisis’ in the mid-2010s, or intractable hyperinflation—leave the country without a medium of exchange, our model shows how currency choice can restore monetary circulation and offer a path to achieving and maintaining monetary stability. Full article

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) acts as the universal energy currency that drives various biological processes, while nucleic acids function to store and transmit genetic information for all living organisms. Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) represents the common principle for the formation of membrane-less organelles (MLOs) composed of proteins rich in intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) and nucleic acids. Currently, while IDRs are well recognized to facilitate LLPS through dynamic and multivalent interactions, the precise mechanisms by which ATP and nucleic acids affect LLPS still remain elusive. This review summarizes recent NMR results on the LLPS of human FUS, TDP-43, and the viral nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2, as modulated by ATP and nucleic acids, revealing the following: (1) ATP binds to folded domains overlapping with nucleic-acid-binding interfaces; (2) ATP and nucleic acids interplay to biphasically modulate LLPS by competitively binding to overlapping pockets of folded domains and Arg/Lys within IDRs; (3) ATP energy-independently induces protein folding with the highest efficiency known so far. As ATP likely emerged in the prebiotic monomeric world, while LLPS represents a pivotal mechanism to concentrate and compartmentalize rare molecules for forming primordial cells, ATP appears to control protein homeostasis and shape genome–proteome interfaces throughout the evolutionary trajectory, from prebiotic origins to modern cells. Full article

On an international scale, it can be argued that the key currency of business entities is human resources. They are a dominant part of corporate assets. They are also decisive determinants of competitiveness if they work with adequate performance, which is influenced by motivation. Managers are aware of this and pay increased attention to the study of factors that increase the performance and motivation of employees. In Slovakia, the importance of human resources increased gradually after the transformation of the economy to market conditions; currently, the management of human resources corresponds to international standards. However, it is necessary to increase attention in the management of some areas that personnel managers have competence in. Motivation can be included among these. The submitted contribution deals with the motivation of employees, as the subject area is not sufficiently addressed in the conditions of the Slovak Republic. According to the analysis of motivational processes in selected manufacturing companies operating in Slovakia, changes are proposed in the motivational system to increase employee motivation. The aim is to reveal the important aspects of motivational policy. To achieve the research objective, a qualitative study of data collection was carried out using an unstructured questionnaire survey. A questionnaire was used to develop the hypotheses. After data collection, established hypotheses were tested using the chi-square test of independence. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. According to the analysis, proposals for changes in the incentive system were developed. The recommendations are presented in the form of individual concrete proposals and measures in various areas within motivational processes, which, after implementation, have the potential to increase the level of employee motivation. Full article

To achieve sustainable economic growth, Saudi Vision 2030’s target is to improve Saudi Arabia’s ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index from 25 in 2015–2016 to within the top 10 by 2030. Saudi Arabia also aims to increase the share of non-oil exports in the non-oil GDP from 16% in 2016 to 50% by 2030. For policymakers to make informed decisions to achieve these goals, they need to understand the driving forces of Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness. To this end, we consider the real effective exchange rate (REER) as a measure of external price competitiveness, as it captures domestic and global price changes. We then examine the REER using a two-stage modeling framework. First, we estimate the REER equation, which allows us to assess the impacts of the determinants and evaluate currency misalignments as a competitiveness indicator. Second, we extend the KAPSARC Global Energy Macroeconometric Model (KGEMM) with the estimated equation, which provides a framework for simulating the competitiveness impacts of the theoretically formulated determinants and other variables relevant to policymakers. The framework also allows us to account for feedback loops. We conduct a policy scenario analysis to quantify the competitiveness effects of the Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) new strategy for 2021–2025. We derive the following policy insights. Authorities may wish to implement initiatives boosting future productivity and, thus, competitiveness, such as PIF investments. Policymakers should be regularly informed about currency misalignment. Government consumption and public investment projects should consider substituting imports with locally produced goods and services. Local content development would also help to diversify the Saudi economy. Finally, attracting more foreign investment and other assets from the rest of the world may lead to technological development and improvement in the economic, financial, and social infrastructure and business environment, all enhancing competitiveness. Full article

Blogs remain a popular and reliable form of online communication. As the number of dining blogs continues to rise, competition is increasingly fierce. Thus, it is important to not only draw the attention of users but to also secure followers. To increase reader loyalty, bloggers must consider blog marketing from a blog reader’s perspective. Although previous studies have explored how blog narratives influence consumer behaviors, few studies have focused on exploring the enablers of contagious content for dining blogs from a blog reader’s perspective. Creating contagious content helps to achieve the maximum benefits from blog marketing. Therefore, this study identifies the enablers of contagious blogs and models their interrelationships to aid dining bloggers in framing a consistently popular blog. Based on Berger’s six principles—social currency (S), triggers (T), emotion (E), public (P), practical value (P), and stories (S) (STEPPS)—13 main factors were first compiled through a literature review. Qualitative content analysis was then applied to extract the 31 enablers related to the main factors within the context of dining blogs. In order to identify the hierarchical relationships among the extracted enablers, this study applied interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Based on the results of ISM, cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) describes the driving and dependence behaviors of the enablers. The results of ISM and MICMAC show areas of priority on which dining bloggers should focus to create contagious content. The most important areas include emotional stimulation, storytelling, and gamification. Finally, the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings were provided. Full article

The construction industry is continuously affected by external and internal agents that modify and define its competitiveness. Changing markets, currency fluctuations, and tremendous competition have made the issue of competitiveness increasingly important. The literature highlights factors that determine the competitiveness of construction firms, including easy-to-measure elements, such as financial, sales, return on investment, etc., while other elements are not as easily measurable, such as customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, loyalty, and leadership, among many others. Within these factors, Human Resources (HR) has occupied a central place in the last decade, due to the enormous impact that labor has on project execution. This research mainly focuses on the study of HR and its components to reach a deeper understanding of the impact that HR has on the competitiveness of construction companies. After defining the most relevant variables, an interrelationships model was proposed with the Partial Least Square (PLS) technique. These HR variables impact the competitiveness variables: cost, utility, time, quality, Staff retention, and Health & Safety. The PSL analyses met the evaluation criteria using the structural model, confirming its viability. It was found that there are three important variables related to competitiveness: (i) leadership, (ii) innovation, and (iii) competitiveness. Full article

The article is time relevant, since a number of countries, such as China and Russia, started pilot testing their digital currencies in 2020, due to the necessity of contactless means of payment during the coronavirus pandemic. The purpose of this research is to revisit the phenomenon of the virtual money. What is new here is that this is one of the first papers concentrated on a digital currency for a group of countries. The article offers an econometric representation of how the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) currency may be utilized when hypothetically coined on a crypto-exchange of the BRICS monetary union. This research contains data condensed in a table and graphical form. The major idea of this article is that only a digital unit of account for a group of countries such as the BRICS, unlike a cryptocurrency, may help create a sustainable financial stability environment and solid monetary infrastructure. The author conducts a detailed analysis of a digital currency compared to a cryptocurrency. The hypothesis is that a shared digital currency for the BRICS may promote financial risk diversification through a risk-sharing mechanism. The author’s results include a formula that may provide a way of calculating the quantity of the BRICS’ digital currency, as well as a simulated representation of a would-be BRICS currency’s dynamics. The practical significance of this paper is that the proposed BRICS digital currency can find its use in investment portfolios as an asset. This asset may provide stable returns and benefit from the growth prospects of the BRICS economies as ones of the most rapidly developing markets in the world. Potential investors in the currency of the union may profit from the abundance of natural resources of Brazil, Russia, and South Africa in terms of energy and other minerals offered at the best world market prices, as well as the technology, labor, and durable goods of India and China priced at competitive valuations. The assets expressed in the BRICS currency have the potential of growing over the years, so a dollar invested today may turn an enormous return on investment within this decade, unlike stagnant markets in Europe, Japan, and the US. The author proves that a cryptocurrency cannot serve a shared currency function for the BRICS, and it stresses the very significance of circulating the shared digital currency in particular. Finally, the author simulates the dynamics of the BRICS’ digital currency and proposes an approach to calculating its exchange rate relative to some of the leading currencies in the international monetary system. Full article

Knowledge of better farming methods has been a crucial step upon which agriculture has grown over time. Knowledge, on the other hand, is a currency transferred from one person to another with the vision to improve the quality of life of the other person. Agricultural knowledge has been transferred from one generation to the next based on the experience of one society and whatever knowledge they have developed in their existence. This shows that possession of a better and deeper understanding of agricultural processes and strategies is vital in developing the agricultural sector within a particular society. Therefore, better ways of acquiring agricultural knowledge together with improved methods of transmission of the same knowledge is primary in the advancement of agriculture within a group of people. In the last years, farming and agriculture have made significant strides in utilizing Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly in the realm of growers’ reach to market-based knowledge. Information and communication technology is being incorporated in several interventions that aim to properly educate producers about agriculture. In this context, ICT also helps them hold a competitive advantage in the process. This article addresses numerous cutting-edge initiatives that use Information and communication technology’s purpose of providing agricultural knowledge to farmers. Its assessment focuses primarily on answering the question of the intensity of change brought about by ICT and advisory services in agriculture. This focus enables this review to give a clear and conclusive view of how the two factors are creating a competitive advantage amongst different farmer groups and localities. Full article

Foreign investment in renewable energy generation projects is a critical part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Under the background of the market economy, the electric energy will participate in power market competition among the countries along the line, and the sales revenue will be settled in the local currency. The exchange rate of the countries along the Belt and Road fluctuates frequently and widely, thereby posing significant risks to the investment income of the projects. To address this problem, this paper proposes the concept of Ek as the effective exchange rate expressed by the on-grid price, investment cost per kilowatt electricity generation equipment, and annual operating cost rate of unit power generation capacity. Moreover, this paper presents a model of power generation cost, income, and earning expressed by the real exchange rate. The flexibility formula of the fluctuation of power generation cost, income, profit, and internal rate of return relative(IRR) to Ek is derived, and the effect of exchange rate level and fluctuation on projects is analyzed. With the wind power projects invested by China in Pakistan taken as an example, the trend during the entire life cycle is calculated. The changes in net profit rate, IRR, and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) are calculated under Chinese currency appreciation of 10%, 20%, and 35% and 5% and 10% reduction of investment cost per unit. As the Chinese currency appreciates and the project IRR declines significantly, LCOE decreases slightly, but this decrease is not sufficient to compensate for the losses caused by the decline in IRR. The following effective measures are proposed to deal with the exchange rate fluctuation of foreign renewable energy generation projects: building energy Internet, reducing project cost, and using Chinese currency as the settlement currency. In this paper, a solution is provided for investments in renewable energy projects in regions where exchange rates fluctuate greatly. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on payment systems and preferences around the world, reducing the use of cash in favor of digital payment instruments and accelerating the discussion around the need for a central bank digital currency. This article presents the digital payments and cashless agenda before and after the pandemic, focusing on how the changing payments landscape has influenced the priorities and decisions of regulators, banks and other financial intermediaries, with regards to the future shape of payment systems. It finds that while the pandemic demonstrated the benefits associated with building an advanced, competitive and integrated digital payments eco-system, it has also brought to the forefront more fragmentation than convergence between payment systems in different regions of the world. Full article

Stress is a defining trait of our modern societies. The correlations between economic and social developments and the state of ill-being of populations have long been demonstrated. Today, negative environmental factors such as climate change, war and health crises have consequences on populations. Regardless of gender or age, more and more people are suffering from stress, of which there are many effects. According to studies, stress is an emotional response resulting from human–environmental interaction. They define stress as a state of discomfort and tension caused by external factors. This author believes that stress has a negative impact, which leads to frustration and increased difficulty in addressing issues. Authors describes stress as a physical and psychological state experienced by someone facing a real or potential. For students, stress can be caused by a number of factors. Some of these may include how the university functions, exam periods, relationships with teachers, the pressure that parents put on academic achievement, competition with other students, financial problems, uncertainty about the future, and lack of self-confidence. Symptoms of stress are now well identified. Students suffering from stress report feeling unhappy, having stomach pains, difficulty relaxing and sleeping, mental health problems, and even depression. When it comes to stress, Romanian students are no exception, especially because of the particularly volatile situation faced by the nation. The country has high immigration of skilled and qualified labour, inflation, and depreciation of the national currency. Students also claim to be stressed by the challenges of student life and the demands of the working world. They have a constant fear of failure and doubt themselves, their academic skills, and success in their careers after graduating. Our sociological study aims to deepen our knowledge in this field in Romania. In an already anxious context, it successively examines stress factors, symptoms experienced by students, conditions for organising studies, and ways to improve students’ quality of life. To conduct our study, we sampled students at the Dunărea de Jos University of Galați. We analysed 151 questionnaires sent to a sample of students listed in various first-year university courses. The results of this survey ultimately allow us to better identify the time-related, financial, and social factors of stress and the resulting symptoms. It is very clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental effect on this already fragile young population. Our study is also an opportunity to discuss ways to better manage student stress. Full article

This article studies the estimation of the precision matrix of a high-dimensional Gaussian network. We investigate the graphical selector operator with shrinkage, GSOS for short, to maximize a penalized likelihood function where the elastic net-type penalty is considered as a combination of a norm-one penalty and a targeted Frobenius norm penalty. Numerical illustrations demonstrate that our proposed methodology is a competitive candidate for high-dimensional precision matrix estimation compared to some existing alternatives. We demonstrate the relevance and efficiency of GSOS using a foreign exchange markets dataset and estimate dependency networks for 32 different currencies from 2018 to 2021. Full article