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Abstract
This study aims to investigate the relationship between China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) by assessing their impact on the economies of both the CEECs and China. By analyzing this connection, the paper seeks to gain insights into the economic dynamics and potential benefits derived from investment and trade activities between China and the countries in this region. The paper employs a regression model to examine the influence of foreign direct investment on trade with data from 2008 to 2022. The findings indicate that a one percentage point increase in China's OFDI corresponds to a 0.054 percent boost in bilateral trade between China and the 16 CEECs. In conclusion, the findings highlight a significant link between OFDI in CEECs and bilateral trade. OFDI opens up new trade opportunities and fosters economic growth in CEECs, thereby promoting the development of bilateral trade. Additionally, Chinese investment drives industrial upgrading and structural adjustments in CEECs, enhancing the competitiveness of bilateral trade.
Abstract
Subjective entrepreneurial success has emerged as an area of academic interest. However, no research study has yet been conducted on startup founders as a specific group of entrepreneurs. Although ‘success’ has been prominently covered in existing startup literature, studies predominantly focus on the possible reasons behind startup success, measuring it solely in economic terms. Drawing upon the qualitative analysis of 22 in-depth interviews with Hungarian startup founders, this paper aims to explore the complex structure of subjective startup success from the founder's perspective along with its gendered patterns. The five dimensions of subjective startup success emerging from the data are similar to those of subjective entrepreneurial success: firm performance, team, personal fulfilment, community impact and personal financial reward. Nevertheless, results reveal that there exists considerable difference between the substance of firm performance dimension in the subjective entrepreneurial success model and in our subjective startup success model. Further, it is found that the interplay among indicators of success could range from synergies to tensions. Finally, personal fulfilment is found to be the only dimension that reflects a marked gender difference in the sample.
Abstract
In this article we analyze the Hungarian shadow banking system. We point out that the Hungarian shadow banking system is not only much less developed than that of the EU's developed countries, but also structurally different. A further specific feature of the Hungarian financial system is what we call the secondary shadow banking system, through which foreign shadow banking funds do not finance the domestic banking system directly, but through foreign interbank funds and related cross currency basis swaps. The aim of our analysis is to explore the reasons for these specificities, to analyze the risks of the Hungarian shadow banking, and secondary shadow banking systems, and to show that the interconnectedness between banking and shadow banking may not only occur through direct exposure, but also indirectly through the presence of secondary shadow banking.
Abstract
In 1994, we examined the Fed's abandonment of monetary targets in favor of “omens of impending inflation” (Papadimitriou – Wray 1994). Here we are, three decades later, and the Fed is still fumbling around with unobservable indicators of inflation in its quest to target stable prices. In what follows, we examine the evolution of the Fed's thought and practice over the past three decades, a period in which the Fed has increasingly turned to unobservable indicators that are supposed to predict inflation and unobservable tools that are supposed to fight inflation. We will show that our criticisms have also been raised by the Fed's own members and research staff. Moreover, we suggest that the Fed has far less control over inflation than is presumed, and, at worst, might have the whole inflation-fighting strategy backwards. We conclude with an assessment of the latest round of rate hikes.
Abstract
Market rules, changes in regulations for users and producers, technological innovation and economic development are important factors shaping energy transitions. Therefore, explaining energy transitions requires a multidisciplinary insight to investigate these factors. The study of energy transitions faces an analytical and methodological challenge, particularly in communicating trends shaping the energy systems in developing economies. The existing literature is not consistent in identifying these disciplines nor proposing how they can be combined. In this sense, this paper proposes a new and simple methodological path to assess variables and theories. It conceptualizes energy transitions as a co-evolution of two types of systems: system innovation with its roots in evolutionary, institutional economics, science and technology studies (STS); and energy systems with its roots in neoclassical and evolutionary economics. From how to conduct a systematic literature review, to how best integrate theories and the analytical framework in which key questions can be answered, the paper elevates the role of political science, as policies play a prominent role in shaping energy transitions. This paper responds to those who have pointed out that the political economy of energy transitions is a vastly understudied area.
Abstract
In recent years, policymakers and academics have shown interest in understanding how universities could drive regional innovation. Universities are not solely focusing on research and education as their primary missions but are also asked to participate in the development of their regions. This has compelled universities to forge what is called a third mission, encompassing all social and economic activities of universities. Several attempts have been made to evaluate this concept, aiming to highlight the evolving role of universities and their relevance to policy and society. In this vein, this paper showcases existing attempts that aim to measure the impact of the third mission in European universities. This study consists of a systematic literature review studying journal articles published between 2001 and 2021. The purpose of this paper is to enumerate the existing measurements of the third mission and identify the different tensions related to it. This study shows that the literature encompasses three approaches for assessing the third mission. First, some studies incorporated the third mission into the overall evaluation of university performance. Second, other investigations aimed to capture this concept as a whole. Finally, several studies evaluated individual dimensions of the third mission independently.
Abstract
There exists a vast empirical literature on Financial Sector Development (FSD) and the income inequality nexus; however, it lacks consensus. To study this, 24 studies with 87 regression estimates on financial institution depth and income inequality were collected. This paper used the most common method of economic meta-analysis, the Partial Correlation Coefficient (PCC), to answer the question: What is the magnitude and impact, if any, of financial institution depth on income inequality? In addition, a multivariate meta-regression model was used to find moderator variables that produced mixed results in the literature. The results show that the global average comovement of financial institution depth (domestic credit) on income inequality is very small but positive; suggesting that growth in domestic credit may widen income inequality. The positive correlation between domestic credit and income inequality highlights how financial institutions use household income and collateral as a signal when deciding on credit applications. Finally, the multivariate regression results suggest that the present heterogeneity within the literature stems from different methodologies and control variables included in the econometric models, and panel studies that mix countries with heterogeneous characteristics. These suggest that different components of FSD may impact income inequality differently.
Abstract
The article analyses the current issues contributing to the volatility of Bitcoin as the reliability of this new technology diminishes, leading to increased unpredictability of its value. Legal efforts and literature regarding Bitcoin have primarily focused on protecting society from the illegal use of this digital technology, with little emphasis on integrating it as an asset. However, this article proposes that countries adopt Bitcoin-related legislation, incorporating recognition and regulation clauses to transform Bitcoin into a stable, less volatile and functional digital asset. In the context of legal history, primary legal domains, such as contracts, family, trade and others, have been integrated through recognition and regulation processes. Therefore, we argue that adopting Bitcoin-specific legislation that recognizes this new technology while comprehensively regulating the associated risks would enhance the coin's stability and reduce volatility, ultimately increasing trust among digital investors and users.
Abstract
The objective of this research is to identify factors that determine the moral hazard in banks by using discrete choice models (probit and logit regression). A specially constructed indicator was used to quantitatively assess moral hazard as the average difference between the better rating of a client in a bank and the most conservative rating of the same client in the banking sector. This is an example where moral hazard manifests itself as the tendency of management in banks to underestimate credit risk. The results showed that state-owned banks and foreign privately-owned banks with evident problems at the level of their headquarters had higher values of this quantitative indicator of moral hazard. Also, banks whose financial result and capital are highly sensitive to a small increase in non-performing loans, as well as banks that at any time in the observed period had a problem with meeting regulatory capital requirements, showed a greater propensity to moral hazard, as measured by this indicator. In the above cases, in the absence of quality corporate governance, management in banks tends to show performance better than it actually is. The obtained results for Serbia in comparison with the previous research give the possibility to quantitatively confirm additional specific factors important for explaining moral hazard (composite variable of the type of ownership and capital restrictions, variables that perform only the transmission of certain forms of management behaviour, size, capital and profit sensitivity, credit risk level, etc.), in addition to the common factors of moral hazard, such as the type of ownership in the bank, capital restrictions, etc.
Abstract
Economic freedom is crucial in determining policies for economic performance of nations and monitoring changes in the international economic order. Evaluating economic freedom requires the use of multiple indicators related to each other. Traditional statistical analyses used as an evaluation tool are often constrained by the probability distribution of indicators or sample size. To overcome these shortcomings, this paper uses grey factor analysis (GFA) to evaluate the economic freedom of countries. GFA can be used with multiple interrelated indicators without requirements about the probability distributions or sample size. The absolute degree of grey incidence matrix is used instead of the correlation matrix in factor analysis and GFA integrates the advantages of grey system theory into factor analysis. The analysis covers data for 2010 and 2020 about 20 economic freedom indicators in 36 selected countries. Two factors explain a significant part of the variance for both years. The scores for countries were obtained using the explained variance ratio as a weight. Our results show that GFA provides more accurate results than traditional statistical analyses.
