Search Results (49)

This study evaluates the impact of digital systems and IT audit frameworks on tax performance and integrity within tax administrations. Using international data from organizations like the World Bank, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), and IMF (International Monetary Fund), the research examines the relationship between tax revenue as a percentage of GDP, digital infrastructure, corruption perception, e-government development, and cybersecurity readiness. Quantitative analysis, including correlation, regression, and clustering methods, reveals a strong positive relationship between digital maturity, e-governance, and tax performance. Countries with advanced digital governance systems and robust IT audit frameworks, such as COBIT, tend to show higher tax revenues and lower corruption levels. The study finds that e-government development and anti-corruption measures explain over 40% of the variance in tax performance. Cluster analysis distinguishes between digitally advanced, high-compliance countries and those lagging in IT adoption. The findings suggest that digital transformation strengthens fiscal integrity by automating compliance and reducing human contact, which in turn mitigates bribery risks and enhances fraud detection. The study highlights the need for adopting international best practices to guide the digitalization of tax administrations, improving efficiency, transparency, and trust in public finance. Full article

This paper analyses the long-term care system in the context of Spain’s aging population from a comparative and multilevel perspective. Starting with the European regulatory framework, it examines the main characteristics of long-term care systems in Europe and the challenges of establishing a welfare system in Spain amidst two consecutive crises: the economic and financial crisis of 2008–2014 and the pandemic crisis of 2020–2022. To achieve this, in addition to a thorough review of international literature, the study utilises legislation and reports from the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the World Health Organization, databases from the National Institute of Statistics and the Ministry of Social Rights, and Spain’s Ministry of Health. The article concludes that Spain’s long-term care model has evolved over time and has established a universal system characterised by territorial inequality. This inequality stems from regional preferences for service provision versus monetary compensation and their varying degrees of reliance on direct management or involvement of private organisations. Full article

Estimating origin-destination (OD) demand is integral to urban, regional, and national freight transportation planning and modeling systems. However, in developing countries, existing studies reveal significant inconsistencies between OD estimates for domestic and import/export commodities derived from interregional input-output (IO) tables and those from regional IO tables. These discrepancies create a significant challenge for properly forecasting the freight demand of regional/interregional multimodal transportation networks. To this end, this study proposes a novel integrated framework for estimating regional and international (import/export) OD freight flows for a set of key commodities that dominate long-distance transportation. The framework leverages multisource data and follows a three-step process. First, a spatial economic model, PECAS activity allocation, is developed to estimate freight OD demand within a specific region. Second, the international (import and export) freight OD is estimated from different zones to foreign countries, including major import and export nodes such as international seaports, using a gravity model with the zone-pair friction obtained from a multimodal transportation model. Third, the OD matrices are converted from monetary value to tonnage and assigned to the multimodal transportation super network using the incremental freight assignment method. The model is calibrated using traffic counts of the highways, railways, and port throughput data. The proposed framework is tested through a case study of the Province of Jiangxi, which is crucial for forecasting freight demand before the planning, design, and operation of the Ganyue Canal. The predictive analytics of the proposed framework demonstrated high validity, where the goodness-of-fit (R²) between the observed and estimated freight flows on specific links for each of the three transport modes was higher than 0.9. This indirectly confirms the efficacy of the model in predicting freight OD demands. The proposed framework is adaptable to other regions and aids practitioners in providing a comprehensive tool for informed decision-making in freight demand modeling. Full article

Research background: Despite the fact that the issue of private, decentralized digital money (cryptocurrencies) is already quite extensively described in the literature dedicated to the financial system, especially its periphery, there is a deficiency in terms of research on the opinions of participants in the financial system, based on trust in money and its widespread acceptance. International comparative studies are lacking, particularly those conducted before and after the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The pandemic showed that people had significantly changed their willingness to use different forms of money. Being isolated at home and avoiding direct contact with others, people started to use digital money more frequently. Purpose of the article: In response to the identified research gap, this study reports research results on the perception of cryptocurrencies by young financial market participants. It attempts to provide answers to the following research questions: (1) Has the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown of economies caused changes at the international level in perceptions and attitudes toward the traditional monetary system and cryptocurrencies? (2) Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed perceptions of cryptocurrencies as a potential alternative to current fiat money? Methods: To evaluate respondents’ opinions, a survey in the form of a questionnaire was conducted. The respondent groups in 2019/2020 were N = 171 (Germany = 143 and Poland = 128), while in 2021, N = 157 (Germany = 95 and Poland = 62). For analytical purposes, statistical analysis using the Z ratio test was used to capture the characteristics of the response distributions and the relationships between them. These two moments in time allowed us to determine whether there were significant changes between opinions before and after COVID-19. Findings & value added: The study’s results showed that while there are significant differences in perceptions of the traditional monetary system and cryptocurrencies due to a variety of factors, the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown of economies did not cause statistically significant differences in this regard. Full article

After the cancellation of the temporary corn storage system in 2016, the price of corn in China returned to market regulation, resulting in increased price volatility. This study focuses on monthly data from April 2016 to March 2023 in China. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is employed to analyze the impact of corn supply and demand factors, substitute prices, monetary supply, international corn prices, and international energy prices on the volatility of corn prices in China. Results indicate that supply and demand factors are the most direct influencers of corn prices, with demand factors having the most significant impact. Monetary supply and substitute prices affect corn prices through the demand side. External factors mainly consist of international energy and corn prices. The impact of international energy on Chinese corn prices is achieved through international corn prices, which directly influence the prices in China. It is recommended to stabilize corn market prices by regulating corn supply and demand, to improve the monitoring and early warning mechanisms for international energy and corn prices, and to implement measures for prudent regulation of monetary supply. Full article

Different severe energy crisis episodes have occurred in the world in the last five decades. Energy crises lead to the deterioration of international relations, economic crises, changes in monetary systems, and social problems in countries. This paper aims to show the essential determinants of energy crises by developing a binary logit model that estimates the predictive ability of thirteen indicators in a sample that covers the period from January 1973 to December 2022. The empirical results show that the energy crises are mainly due to energy supply–demand imbalances (petroleum stocks, fossil energy production–consumption imbalances, and changes in energy imports by countries), energy investments (oil and natural gas drilling activities), economic and financial disruptions (inflation, dollar indices, and indices of global real economic activity) and geopolitical risks. Additionally, the model is capable of accurately predicting world energy crisis events with a 99% probability. Full article

To improve the efficiency of a diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), the waste heat carried out by the combustion gases can be recovered with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) that further drives a vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCRC). This work offers an exergoeconomic optimization methodology of the VCRC-ORC group. The exergetic analysis highlights the changes that can be made to the system structure to reduce the exergy destruction associated with internal irreversibilities. Thus, the preheating of the ORC fluid with the help of an internal heat exchanger leads to a decrease in the share of exergy destruction in the ORC boiler by 4.19% and, finally, to an increase in the global exergetic yield by 2.03% and, implicitly, in the COP of the ORC-VCRC installation. Exergoeconomic correlations are built for each individual piece of equipment. The mathematical model for calculating the monetary costs for each flow of substance and energy in the system is presented. Following the evolution of the exergoeconomic performance parameters, the optimization strategy is developed to reduce the exergy consumption in the system by choosing larger or higher-performance equipment. When reducing the temperature differences in the system heat exchangers (ORC boiler, condenser, and VCRC evaporator), the unitary cost of the refrigeration drops by 44%. The increase in the isentropic efficiency of the ORC expander and VCRC compressor further reduces the unitary cost of refrigeration by another 15%. Following the optimization procedure, the cost of the cooling unit drops by half. The cost of diesel fuel has a major influence on the unit cost of cooling. A doubling of the cost of diesel fuel leads to an 80% increase in the cost of the cold unit. The original merit of the work is to present a detailed and comprehensive model of optimization based on exergoeconomic principles that can serve as an example for any thermal system optimization. Full article

This study aims to evaluate the effect of global energy transformation and systematic energy change on climate change. The model is constructed from dynamic panel data which comprises 26 world regions from the World Database Indicators (WDIs), International Energy Atomic (IEA), and International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a span from 2005 to 2022. The Generalized system Method of Moment (sys-GMM) and pooled OLS and random effect models have been used to empirically evaluate the linked effect of global transformation and systematic change on climate change. The sys-GMM approach is used to control the endogeneity of the lagged dependent variable when there is an association between the exogenous variable and the error term. Furthermore, it omits variable bias, measurement errors in the estimation, and unobserved panel heterogeneity. The econometric applications allow us to quantify the direct effect of global transformation and systematic change on climate change. The empirical analysis revealed that renewable energy, alternative energy, technology and innovation, and financial climate have a negative effect on climate change. It means that increasing consumption of the transformation energies leads to reducing the effect of climate change. However, fossil energy is statistically significant and positively affects climate change. Increasing the consumption of fossil energy raises the effect of climate change. There is a global need for massive decarbonization infrastructure that will help minimize the global warming that leads to climate change. Policies that take an endogenous approach through global transformation and systematic change should be implemented to reduce the effect of climate change. The policy should reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy and increase the consumption of renewable energy. Full article

Financial development is often associated with significant economic growth, but studies have shown that a high level of financial development can be the cause of deepening income inequality in many countries. The main objective of the proposed study is to identify to what extent financial development influences income inequality in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Thus, for the model specification we used as dependent variable the Gini coefficient and as independent variable the financial development index. The sample period for the analysis was from 2004 to 2019, restricted by the lack of data on the Gini coefficient in CEECs. Data on the financial development index were collected from International Monetary Fund, and data on the Gini coefficient were extracted from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform. The study unravels several contributions. First of all, the use of quantile regression allowed for the examination of the effects of financial development across the entire distribution of income inequality. Second of all, the use of a comprehensive financial development index offered a more robust and comprehensive measure of financial development compared to single indicators. Taking into account that the Gini coefficient must be close to zero, this result was a positive one with, in essence, financial development reducing income inequality in CEECs. Thirdly, the specific focus on CEECs fills a gap in the literature. Finally, the findings of this study have important policy implications. The obtained results indicate a negative causal relationship between financial development and income inequality, emphasizing the fact that the relationship between these two components cannot be generalized for all regions. These might include measures to promote financial inclusion, improve financial literacy, and enhance the stability and efficiency of financial systems. Supporting financial development in CEECs and similar transition economies can be an effective strategy for tackling income inequality. Full article

What are the effects of Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) on inflation, unemployment, and GDP in Africa? Using geo-coded cross-sectional data taken from the World Health Organization and International Monetary Fund, we investigate the spatial distribution of COVID-19 and its effects on inflation, unemployment, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa by employing the Geographic Information System (GIS), multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and spatial statistics. The entire dataset was analyzed using Stata, ArcGIS, and R software. The result shows (1) that there is evidence of a spatial pattern of COVID-19 cases and death rate clustering behavior in Africa, verifying the existence of spatial autocorrelation. The result also reveals (2) that COVID-19 has a negative effect on unemployment, inflation, and GDP in Africa. We confirmed that (3) temperature, rainfall, and humidity were statistically significantly associated with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. The comparison of the GDP of African countries before and after the pandemic shows (4) a large decrease in GDP, the highest in Seychelles (23 percent). The result of the study shows (5) that there has been a significant increase in inflation and unemployment rates in all countries since the outbreak of the pandemic as compared to the time before the outbreak. There is also evidence that (6) there is a significant relationship between death rate due to COVID-19 and population density; temperature with COVID-19 cases and death rate; and precipitation with death rate due to COVID-19. Therefore, respective governments and the international community need to pay attention to controlling/reducing the impact of COVID-19 on inflation, unemployment, and GDP, focusing on the indicated demographic and environmental variables. 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

As China’s position in the global economy has gradually improved, the importance of debates on the role of the renminbi in the international monetary system has significantly increased. This paper uses bibliometric methods—Bibliometrix R-package and its web-based graphical interface Biblioshiny—applied to data imported from Web of Science and Scopus to investigate and synthesize the renminbi literature published in English between 1995 and 2021. Science mapping offers a visual representation of different networks and clusters of authors’ keywords. The performance analysis, a quantitative evaluation of the most published sources, authors and papers on renminbi internationalization in the last 25 years, shows that the interest on the topic has grown, particularly after 2009 and 2016, respectively. There is also a high degree of concentration in the field, considering that out of the 802 analyzed papers, published in 393 sources, five authors and four journals had the highest impact. The content analysis identifies the main directions in the renminbi internationalization literature and future research questions to further explore this subject. The COVID-19 pandemic and post-Ukraine war era could generate a deeper reform of the international monetary system, in which the Chinese currency will strengthen its global position alongside the US dollar and the euro. Full article

Due to the Aichi targets, the international community committed to the sustainable management of silvoagricultural activities and to the elimination or reform of detrimental subsidies relative to biodiversity conservation. In this context, countries should have implemented specific actions to address these commitments. In Chile, the Instruments of Productive Promotion to Finance Field Work (IPP-FFW) framework was used to fund activities related to silvoagricultural systems, including, irrigation, plantations with exotic species, and the recovery of soils. However, concerns have been raised that are associated with the need for evaluating their effectiveness, including whether impact assessments should be carried out systematically. Considering that these subsidized activities may negatively impact nature, whether IPP-FFWs had been allocated is analyzed regardless of the threat degree of terrestrial ecosystems at the commune level in Chile using the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ecosystem risk assessment methodology; moreover, the eventual relationship between changes in land use and ecosystem service provisions in case study for the Biobio region in Chile is also examined, for which the monetary consequences of the loss of ecosystem services—via the analysis of benefit transfers—are calculated. Evidence reveals that higher amounts of IPP-FFWs are allocated in communes with higher levels of threats and that a decrease in ecosystem service provision is associated with IPP-FFW’s allocation. Full article

This paper is founded on both the theoretical schemes of financialization, as a new regime of accumulation, and the shareholder value, the everyday finance, the structured finance, as well as the finance-led growth regime, whose special institutional forms concern the wage–labor nexus, the competition form, the monetary regime, the state–society relations, the insertion into the international regime, and the coherence and dynamic of the growth regime. It also aims to examine if the Greek social security system (the “system”) used financial logic in economic policy during the period of 2000q1–2021q3. It is econometrically approached through the short-run Granger causality tests but mainly the autoregressive distributed lag model in order to estimate the long-run relationships of the social contributions and benefits paid, with variables expressing the financialization either of the whole economy or particularly of one of the public sectors. So, these steady-state relationships proved statistically significant, and they are considered to be compatible with several mechanisms of the finance-led growth regime. Thus, the sustainability of the “system” should be insured by the policy makers in the economic progress and the creation of new jobs able to fund it. This article contributes to the literature by offering empirical evidence on the financialization and relevant compilation analysis. Full article

In this study, we explore the evolution and formation mechanism of urban housing investment resilience from three perspectives: theoretical analysis, model construction, and empirical testing. Based on the three-element theory of investment decision making and urban resilience system theory, a theoretical framework of urban housing investment resilience is constructed. Spatiotemporal analysis and qualitative comparison methods are used to divide 35 large and medium-sized cities into two categories, first-tier and non-first-tier cities, and their spatiotemporal characteristics and differences in terms of formation mechanism differences then explored. The results show that (1) the overall housing investment resilience of the 35 investigated cities is low, with the characteristics of periodic evolution, and there are obvious differences between the first-tier and non-first-tier cities as well as unbalanced development problems. (2) The three internal investment decision factors of returns, costs, and expectations and the five external support factors of economic growth, infrastructure development, labor market, policy regulation, and monetary policy do not, by themselves, constitute the necessary conditions for high levels of urban housing investment resilience, and there are three paths for the development of high levels of housing investment resilience in both first-tier and non-first-tier cities. (3) The twos types of cities have the same conformational path of "return- and cost-driven" but different dedicated conformational paths, including "cost-driven", "expectation- driven", and "return- and expectation-driven", and the core conditions in their driving paths are different, with real estate policy being the core condition in the path of first-tier cities and infrastructure development and labor markets being the core conditions in the path of non-first-tier cities. (4) There is a potential substitution relationship between the three configuration paths of first-tier and non-first-tier cities, and the substitution relationship between the two types of cities is also different. The findings of this study reveal that the complex interaction between the urban resilience system, represented by infrastructure construction, and multiple factors, including the three elements of investment, can have an impact on the resilience of real estate investment. Full article