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Business and Economics
Effective decision making uses various databases including both micro and macro level datasets. In many cases it is a big challenge to ensure the consistency of the two levels. Different types of problems can occur and several methods can be used to solve them. The paper concentrates on the input alignment of the households’ income for microsimulation, which means refers to improving the elements of a micro data survey (EU-SILC) by using macro data from administrative sources. We use a combined micro-macro model called ECONS-TAX for this improvement. We also produced model projections until 2015 which is important because the official EU-SILC micro database will only be available in Hungary in the summer of 2017. The paper presents our estimations about the dynamics of income elements and the changes in income inequalities. Results show that the aligned data provides a different level of income inequality, but does not affect the direction of change from year to year. However, when we analyzed policy change, the use of aligned data caused larger differences both in income levels and in their dynamics.
Business cycle synchronisation and the similarity in the sectoral structure of exports are key conditions for the successful implementation of common monetary policy, as shown by the theory of Optimum Currency Areas. This paper examines the degree of correlation between the aggregate euro area and 12 member states’ business cycles and the role of their exports specialisation dynamics vis-à-vis the euro area over the period 1981–2012, focusing in particular on Southern European countries. Overall, we find that since the inception of the European Monetary Union, the business cycles of euro area member states have been increasingly synchronised with the aggregate euro area cycle, with the exception of Greece. We also document that changes in the Greek, Portuguese, and Spanish export structures brought these countries closer to the euro area structure as a whole. Furthermore, we find a positive and significant relationship between the similarity of export structures and GDP cyclical correlations.
The consultative referendum held on June 23, 2013, showed that a majority of British voters are in favour of leaving the EU. Markets reacted and adapted, and politics made the first steps towards a UK outside the EU and an EU without Britain. This paper looks at the expected effects of Brexit in different fields: political and social effects, consequences for production and trade, and financial and fiscal effects. It then presents the institutional process of leaving the EU, stressing its indeterminacy, and considers the first steps undertaken so far. It concludes that the EU negotiation position is weak because of its internal problems and calls for the priority given in reforming the EU.
The series of adverse shocks of both economic and political character that Europe has suffered since 2008, the last of them coming from the Brexit referendum, revealed numerous institutional gaps and asymmetries in the EU integration architecture. They originate from the voluntary nature of the EU project and the necessity to obtain unanimous approval of all member states to take new integration steps. To increase the resilience of the EU project against current and future shocks, its major institutional gaps and asymmetries should be addressed as quickly as possible. In this paper, we use the theory of fiscal federalism and subsidiarity principle to set the agenda of the EU reform. This includes the identification of areas such as completing the EMU and Schengen projects, foreign, security, and defence policies, environmental and climate change policies where further integration can offer substantial returns to scale and better provisions of global and pan-European public goods. On the other hand, there are also areas such as agriculture policy, products, services and labour standards, and fiscal surveillance rules, where deregulation in favour of market forces could ease business environment and make EU regulations less bureaucratic. Developing integration beyond the traditional economic sphere will also have an impact on the size of the EU budget, balance of power between the EU governing bodies (a bigger role of the European Parliament) and the democratic legitimacy of the EU project.
This article combines a rational choice framework with an analysis of contemporary European Union institutions to elucidate the causes of Grexit and Brexit. It shows that the sustainability of the EU in part or whole in “normal” times depends on member compatibility and coercive adaptation. If members share the same values, including a common vision of transnational governance and a commitment to mutual support (solidarity), the EU should be able to stick together through thick and thin. If, on the contrary, members hold incompatible outlooks on the distribution of transnational powers and solidarity, then the EU will be vulnerable to dismemberment. The EU today is prone to disunion because its members no longer share a common view of mutually acceptable transnational government and policy; powerful members insist upon bending recalcitrant members to their will (coercive adaptation), and participants hold contradictory attitudes towards solidarity on a variety of issues. Winston Churchill and Robert Schuman in the late 1940s hoped that their post-war Europe project would be something more than a “single market”; that it would become the cornerstone of European peace. They appreciated the value of cooperative economy, but considered material benefits icing on the cake. Brexit and Grexit are best seen in this larger perspective underscoring the wisdom of conciliation.
Ever since Goldin (1995) proposed the idea that there is a U-shaped female labor force participation rate function in economic development, empirical research is stunned by the question why the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are characterized by such low rates of female labor force participation. This gap in labor economics research is all the more perplexing since gender equality, particularly in education and employment, significantly contributes to economic growth. The research strategy of this paper is within a relatively new tradition in labor market research, initiated by Besamusca et al. (2015), which does not exclude the “religious factor” and what the authors call “gender ideology”. Our analysis of the “gender ideology” of Islamism and gender values is based on an empirical analysis of World Values Survey data. In recent economic theory, Carvalho (2013) maintained that Muslim veiling is a strategy for integration, enabling women to take up outside economic opportunities while preserving their reputation within the community. The empirical data clearly support a pessimistic view. We show that Muslim Feminism, which according to our analysis implies the rejection of Islamism and the veil, and the democracy movement in the Muslim world, are closely interrelated. Thus, it is imperative that Western Feminism develops solidarity with Muslim Feminism, and that labor economics stop excluding the religious factor from the analytical frameworks explaining low female labor force participation rates.
While in the decade prior to 2010 Hungarian local governments had been a notorious contributor to budgetary slippages and growing public indebtedness, the sector’s balance has subsequently turned to positive in the context of a wide-ranging centralisation effort and the corresponding revamp in subnational financing arrangements. The fiscal indicators therefore, prima facie, point to a transformation of a regular sinner into a source of stability. Based on a detailed account of the recent reform steps and the preliminary assessment of their first impacts, this study argues that it is too early to conclude that the observed positive developments are the structural results of the measures taken over the last five years. The enacted institutional streamlining, the new debt authorisation rule and the increased tapping of the local tax potential should all have a lasting positive impact on public finances. Nonetheless, the intended efficiency gains due to economies of scale in service provision are not yet apparent, insofar as no reduction has been achieved in the headcount of the concerned branches. Moreover, the observed non-differentiation in the debt assumption may raise the spectre of moral hazard for the municipalities in the longer run.
Based on a literature review, we develop a research profile that illustrates that survey-based, trustrelated empirical research has severe limitations. It usually carries out general relationship analysis using single end or quasi two-sided sampling and classic statistical constructs. We designed and carried out an empirical research that was highly situational, applied dyadic operationalisation, pairwise sampling, and dyadic data analysis — a special statistical approach and toolset developed by psychologists and used to analyse interdependencies in relationships. Our main contribution is methodological and theoretical since the paper gives a structured overview on the methodological challenges in analysing mutuality in trust, but also in other relational attributes. The paper not only makes these methodological problems explicit, but also offers a potential solution to overcome some of their limitations.
Since the crisis of 2007–2009, sovereignty, government and politics are on the agenda of social sciences and of international policy platforms, most recently in Davos. This is a departure from anti-statist, free-tradist visions of global market development in the 1980s and 1990s when sovereignty was simply associated with freedom of action of economic actors (most significantly, global corporations and banks) and governance simply referred to technical rules serving the ends of these actors posed in terms of dictates of the market. This paper points to societal dislocations (e.g. income discrepancies, unemployment) incumbent on global market development and to a time lag in which these made themselves felt in the developed and developing world. It argues that the developing world experienced the disillusionment with markets in the latter part of 1990s and early 2000s and sought solutions in effective governments, putting them in the service of reaping the benefits of global market expansion for individual regions. It meant non-liberal ways of governing markets, distancing from abstract formulations of individual rights, turning the ‘rule of law’ into living law deeply rooted in societal concerns not limited to commercial actors but including those of both blue-collar and white collar workers, of migrant populations, and women. At issue is an introduction of politics, of political agency and initiatives. The developed world rejected what is labeled as an ‘autocratic turn’; and is lost for a solution to market woes, except for further measures to maximize gains by major commercial actors, as in the case of the Greek crisis.
This study explores cross-country variations in the size of the effects of a monetary policy shock on output using the sample of 48 developed and developing countries. The structural vector autoregression model is used to estimate monetary policy effects for each country separately. Based on the estimated impulse responses, we construct a measure of the short-run monetary policy effect on output, which is used as the dependent variable in a cross-country regression. Our results suggest that the effects of monetary policy shock on output are significantly influenced by trade openness, exchange rate regime, correlation with the US and for European countries with the German economy, and the development of the banking sector.
The system paradigm revisited
Clarification and additions in the light of experiences in the post-socialist region
The term paradigm was introduced to the philosophy of science by Thomas Kuhn — he used this term to denote the specific approach applied by a school of reasearch to examine its subject matter. Researchers using the same paradigm seek answers to similar questions, and employ similar methods and concepts. In an article published in 2000, the author of this essay introduced the term system paradigm, which focuses on the systems functioning in a society. This study develops the theoretical considerations outlined in that earlier article on the basis of experience on post-socialist transition. The first part compares the socialist and capitalist systems, describing their main characteristics, and concludes that the capitalist system has become established in former socialist countries, except for North Korea and Cuba. The second part analyzes varieties of capitalism within a typology which classifies prevailing forms of politics and government. Three markedly different types are identified: democracy, autocracy, and dictatorship. Huntington wrote about the “third wave” of democratization. This study concludes the third wave has dried up: for the 47 post-socialist countries, only a tenth of the population live in democracy, while autocracy or dictatorship prevails in all other countries in this group. The third part of this essay applies the conceptual and analytical apparatus to Hungary, where capitalism exists, and autocracy is the prevailing politico-governmental form — here we can find important characteristics common to other capitalist countries or other autocracies. This finding is compatible with the observation that there are some, less fundamental, characteristics unique to Hungary, or “Hungarica”, which differ from the characteristics of all other countries. 1
This paper offers some ammunition to better understand Hungary’s position in the IMD World Talent Report 2015 (IMD WTR 2015). First, it gives a brief overview of the methodology of the IMD WTR by highlighting its main features. Second, it presents the 2015 ranking and puts the focus on Hungary’s withering talent competitiveness. The paper conveys the message that an overarching and consistent reform package is a must in the education system to foster talent utilisation. However, such a package is likely to be insufficient unless economic policy addresses the relevant shortcomings of the Hungarian innovation ecosystem.
This paper investigates the technical efficiency and productivity of Kazakh commercial banks over the period 2000–2013. Non-parametric approaches, namely the Data Envelopment Analysis and the Malmquist index are employed to calculate technical efficiency and productivity. In addition, a second-stage regression is also estimated to identify the determinants of efficiency. The results indicate that banks in Kazakhstan operate below their optimum levels, with larger banks being more efficient than smaller ones. The results also indicate the presence of economies of scale for banks of all sizes. The efficiency of banks is found to be significantly and positively related to profitability, capitalisation, bank size, and liquidity. The results further indicate that Kazakh banks seem to have experienced a significant productivity growth over the sample period.
Competitiveness is defined at the level of firms, clusters, regions, and nations. Although researchers have extensively explored the concept of competitiveness in each of these respective categories, an understanding of the relationship between levels of competitiveness is lacking. The simple aggregation of indicators to approximate broader categories of competitiveness is challenged as a robust solution. This paper proposes an alternative solution to aggregating firm-level competitiveness, based on the profit—growth nexus. Using data collected from SMEs in two ICT clusters, the size— profit—growth relationships were tested. Based on 83 Hungarian and 71 Australian responses, positive relationships were found in both samples, demonstrating high cluster-level competitiveness. It is argued that this outcome better represents cluster-level competitiveness based on firm-level data, than other — linear and additive — aggregation methods. However, a comparative examination of the data across the clusters showed significant differences between the results of the two samples, ascertaining limitations for the generalisability of the results.
We test whether the discouraged worker or added worker effect prevails in the Polish labour market. The discouraged worker effect implies that the participation rate is procyclical with respect to the GDP and countercyclical with respect to the unemployment rate. The added worker effect yields contrary findings. We analyse the period 1994–2014 with quarterly data. We focus on the working age population, both males and females. We apply a range of methods to obtain robust results, some of which have never been employed to resolve this problem. They include ad hoc filtration, spectral analysis, unobserved component model, time-varying parameter model, and frequency domain regression. The results indicate that the added worker effect prevails in most of the business cycle frequencies. It is significant and varies over time. It is true for both males and females. It is considerably stronger in contractions than in expansions. In low business cycle frequencies, the discouraged worker effect prevails. Although the last case is rare, it proves the heterogeneity of labour force behaviour over the business cycle.
This article examines the effects of inflation targeting (IT) policy on inflation and output performance. I employ the propensity score matching method for the sample of CEE countries from 1990 to 2010. The evidence suggests that the IT regime does not have a significant effect on the inflation level or the inflation volatility; however, the IT framework can help to increase GDP per capita. The effects on inflation indicators are inconsistent with previous studies. The results are robust to different methodologies.
The pro-cyclical effect of provision is generally agreed and widely discussed in the context of the current financial crisis. The new model of the dynamic provisions applied in Spain showed countercyclical effects on the credit and business cycle. We simulate development of the dynamic provisions during the financial crisis and discuss the possible consequences. We apply a panel data model of the past credit cycle to calibrate the parameters following the same approach as in the Spanish dynamic provision. Our contribution is in the application of dynamic provisions on the banking systems for the V4 countries.
The European Union countries tend to strongly prefer indirect taxes. This tendency results in the increase of the value added tax rate. In the economic reality, the legal burden of the consumption tax is distorted and it consequently leads to distribution and shift to other entities participating in market transactions. The aim of the paper is twofold. First, to determine the primary value of the relative distribution of the burden on the seller and the buyer. Second, to adjust it for those values which suggest that the increase in the tax burden may result in a reduction in sales prices. Furthermore, the paper aims to follow the conservative approach for determining the minimum values of the shift of the tax burden onto the consumer. The strict determination of the limits of burden distribution is presented within the limits of the actual tax burden. Finally, the partial shift of the increased tax burden onto consumers in the minimum amount of 1/3 is identified together with a significant negative correlation between the size of change of the tax burden and the rate of shift of the tax burden.
The purpose of the study is to conduct a statistical analysis and to perform a quantitative assessment of the degree and the dynamics of the interregional differences in youth unemployment in Russia between 2005 and 2013. We decompose the interregional differentiation into “within-group” and “between-group” differences. We also analyse the dynamics of the within-group and between-group differences and estimate their contribution to changes in the interregional differentiation of youth unemployment. Additionally, we estimate the degree and the dynamics of the interregional differences of the youth labour market in Russia in times of crisis and recovery growth. The results show a reduction in the interregional differences in unemployment rates between 2005 and 2008, while in 2009–2013, the interregional differentiation of the labour market increased. We found that the socio-economic effects of youth unemployment, as well as the behavioural response to economic shocks in the age groups of 15–19 and 20–29 years were significantly different.
The agrifood sector belongs to traditional industries often supported by the national governments. The quality of the output is directly related to human health and, therefore, several initiatives within the EU have been introduced. These initiatives support the consciousness of the broad public, including the individual agrifood businesses. Besides the marketing standards, geographical indications and organic farming, there are also national and private certification schemes. All these tendencies aim to promote the socio-ethical principles of the business to support the non-monetary issues related to the agrifood sector. This paper provides a closer exploration of the socio-ethical aspects of companies in the Spanish agrifood sector. Any awareness of these principles in the daily business routine can be considered as a potential competitive advantage for an individual company. The objective of the paper is to examine whether there are significant differences among individual sub-industries within the Spanish agrifood sector in terms of social and ethical aspects. A sample of 66,047 different agrifood companies in the year 2012 was examined. Results of empirical tests prove that there are significant differences between the agricultural producers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.
With growing evidence of natural resource depletion and environmental pollution, environmental issues became complementary to economic goals. Reduction of negative effects of human activities on the environment while enhancement of the use of alternative and renewable resources are now required together with satisfactory economic performance. The European Union made declarations to follow these goals in the Lisbon Strategy and consequently in the Strategy 2020. This paper examines to what extent these goals are fulfilled vis-à-vis EU member countries. Specifically, by performing Data Envelopment Analysis we provide an alternative way of assessing the ability of the individual EU countries to achieve these objectives. This ability is represented by relative efficiency scores of the EU members which reflect both economic and environmental goals. The paper finds that Denmark, Luxembourg, and Sweden are the most efficient countries, and also identifies the areas to be improved by the inefficient countries to reach the frontier.
The attention and support that R&D receives from economists and politicians reflects its importance as a key element of competitiveness and growth in advanced economies. But the real effect of policy upon public support depends on the technological level and structure of the economy and on the ability of beneficiaries to use the support effectively. We should also ask whether the current measurement of R&D outcomes and their subsequent assessment actually reflects real-world situations. The paper presents results of a research focused on the effectiveness of R&D subsidies on the performance of private enterprises in the Czech Republic. We deliberately focus on financial data and compare beneficiaries with unsuccessful applicants using techniques of counterfactual analysis. Although supported actors exhibit higher values of certain variables like assets, personnel expenditures or value added, these cannot be claimed to be the result of R&D support. These findings suggest the very limited effectiveness of R&D support to private actors in the Czech Republic, at least in the short run.
This article presents the transformation of foreign trade in 10 post-socialist countries, current members of the EU. Special focus is given to the more significant role these countries began to play in global value chains (GVCs) as a result of liberalisation processes and integration within the EU. In addition, the article evaluates their place in global vertical specialisation. To locate each country on a global value chain and to compare them with selected countries, more complex methods of measuring the level of participation of European post-socialist countries in GVCs were employed. These methods allow the position of a country downstream or upstream in GVCs to be established. We concluded that (a) post-socialist countries differ in the levels of their participation in GVCs. Countries that have stronger links with Western European countries, especially with Germany, are more integrated; (b) a large share of post-socialist countries’ exports pass through Western European GVCs; (c) most exporters in Central and Eastern Europe are positioned in downstream segments of production rather than upstream markets.
Foreign competition in domestic markets is still strengthening and for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) internationalization may be one way to deal with this growing rivalry. Pangarkar (2008) states that for SMEs the benefits of internationalization outweigh its disadvantages and that with the increasing degree of involvement in the internationalization process the performance of SMEs also improves. However, for SMEs from some sectors of our economy, involvement in internationalization is more complex than for large enterprises; moreover, they are often inclined to enter foreign markets due to different motives. The authors carried out several surveys among Czech SMEs during the last three years and found that SMEs from some sectors of the Czech economy mentioned the EU accession of the Czech Republic as their motive for internationalization. The aim of this paper is to find out whether EU membership represents the determining factor of the SMEs’ decision to get involved in internationalization, and what its advantages or disadvantages are as perceived by SMEs in connection with their international activities. Conclusions are drawn on the basis of primary data obtained from Czech SMEs through electronic questionnaire surveys.
The effect of the exchange rate is often discussed in connection with economic performance, net export and inflation rate. Within the context of current discussions, we aim to examine the influence of the CZK/EUR exchange rate on changes in liquid assets in the Czech banking sector. The scope of our examination also covers the effects of GDP, CPI, one-month PRIBOR rate and the effects of ten-year government bond yield. The selected period is 2003–2014; monthly data taken from the CNB ARAD database is used. To verify the effect of the monitored variables on liquid assets in the Czech banking sector, we employed the regression analysis methods applied on financial and economic time series. The results show the effect of the CZK/EUR exchange rate and PRIBOR on changes in the liquid assets of Czech banks. The paper analyzes the identified causes and connections, and discusses possible consequences.
International competitiveness is influenced by globalization processes in the world economy. This process changes the comparative advantages of each country and thus the shares of individual countries in world trade. BRICS countries have quickly strengthened their influence in international trade, and thus the European Union must face new pressure in competitiveness from their side. The aim of this paper is to define key factors of foreign trade competitiveness by an application of factor analysis and identify countries with similar characteristics of competitiveness factors by an application of cluster analysis. Factor and cluster analysis contain indicators of foreign trade which describe the driving forces of competitiveness, also in terms of long-term potentiality, and those which are direct or indirect outcomes of a competitive society and economy. Based on the results of the factor analysis, it is possible to classify the evaluated territories according to the level of foreign trade advancement by cluster analysis.
The concept of money neutrality is an important pillar of the mainstream economic literature. It implies that autonomous changes in the money supply have no influence on real macroeconomic variables in the long run. The goal of this paper is to test the validity of (long-run) money neutrality proposition in the CEE (EU member) states. The empirical research is based on panel cointegration analysis which utilises annual data on real output and broad (M2) as well as narrow (M1) monetary aggregates over the 1995–2013 period for 11 ex-socialist EU countries. The results suggest that the money neutrality proposition could be rejected in both cases when narrow or broad measure of money supply is applied, meaning that an active monetary policy could and should be used as a stabilisation instrument as well as in stimulating real economic activity.
This study seeks to show the impact of stock recommendation reports on the efficiency of investments in the Polish stock market. The study is carried out in two stages: the first takes place at the micro-level and is based on a behavioural experiment, while the second focuses on the verification of our results obtained on a real market. The main assertion is that stock recommendations create heuristic effects among investors near the publication date of the recommendation. The ambiguity of the recommendations hinders investors’ reliable and unequivocal evaluation in investment decisions. There are studies in this field for different stock markets and periods of time, but our research added significant new knowledge about the functioning of the Polish stock exchange. Our study fits into the mainstream analysis of outlining the behaviour of investors in the capital market. The research findings underpin our pessimism about the impact of stock recommendations on investors’ behaviour.
Different valuation methods and determinants of housing prices in Budapest, Hungary are examined in this paper in order to describe price drivers by using an asking price dataset. The hedonic regression analysis and the valuation method of the artificial neural network are utilised and compared using both technical and spatial variables. In our analyses, we conclude that according to our sample from the Budapest real estate market, the Multi-Layer Preceptron (MLP) neural network is a better alternative for market price prediction than hedonic regression in all observed cases. To our knowledge, the estimation of housing price drivers based on a large-scale sample has never been explored before in Budapest or any other city in Hungary in detail; moreover, it is one of the first papers in this topic in the CEE region. The results of this paper lead to promising directions for the development of Hungarian real estate price statistics.
At the onset of the mass protests in 2010–2011, many politicians and experts suggested that Arab countries could learn from the experiences of the post-communist transition of the early 1990s. However, the geopolitical, historical, and socio-economic context of the Arab transition was different in many respects from that of the former Soviet bloc countries 20 years earlier. These differences became even more obvious five years later, in early 2016, when most Arab transition attempts ended either in a new wave of authoritarianism, or protracted bloody conflicts. Nonetheless, there are some common lessons to be learnt from the history of both transitions. They concern interrelations between the political and economic transition, the role of institutional checks and balances and the rule of law, the speed of reforms, the dangers of ethnic and sectarian conflicts, and the role of external support.
In this paper, the convergence in R&D expenditure across 21 European Union countries is examined by applying fractional integration analysis. Data are annual and cover the period 1990–2010. Results show that there is certain degree of convergence in R&D intensity. However, the speed of the convergence varies across countries. For most of the countries, the speed of convergence is higher in the R&D expenditures of governments than in the R&D expenditures of higher education institutions and businesses. Differences in the speed of convergence could be explained by differences in industry structures, in cultural trajectories, in macroeconomic conditions, or in internationalisation. The more dissimilar countries are in terms of these factors the more likely they are to have divergent paths. Furthermore, differences in R&D convergence by institutional sectors could be due to the different goals of each sector and to the relative weight of each sector in the entire economy.
The main purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it aims to estimate the effect of the tightening of regulatory capital requirements on the real economy in periods of credit upswing. Second, it intends to show whether applying a counter-cyclical capital buffer measure as set down in the Basel III rules could have helped to reduce the pace of FX lending growth in Hungary, mitigating the buildup of vulnerabilities in the run-up to the global financial crisis. In order to answer these questions, we use a Vector Autoregression-based approach with the aim of understanding the impact of shocks to capital adequacy in the pre-crisis period. Our results suggest that although regulatory authorities could have slowed down the increase in lending temporarily, they would not have been able to avoid the upswing of FX lending by requiring counter-cyclical capital buffers even if such a tool had been available and even if they had reacted quickly to accelerating credit growth. Our results also suggest that a more pronounced tightening might have reduced FX lending substantially, but at the expense of real GDP growth. The reason is that unsustainable fiscal policy led to a trade-off between economic growth and the build-up of new vulnerabilities in the form of FX lending.
This paper provides an empirical evaluation of the effects of income taxation on personal savings in Serbia, by taking into account both transmitting channels: the direct impact of capital income tax on the rate-of-return and the indirect impact of labour income tax on disposable income. The estimated elasticity of bank deposits to the rate of return of 0.3 and the estimated elasticity of employment income to a labour tax wedge of −0.38 suggest that income tax function aimed at minimising the efficiency losses should not considerably differentiate the tax burden on labour and capital income. We show that in the case of the introduction of a revenue-neutral income tax, with a single marginal tax rate of 15% and considerably larger labour income exemption, households’ savings in Serbia would decline by 0.27%. This means that the negative impact of a rise in the capital income tax wedge on savings would prevail over the positive effects of a labour tax wedge cut. The results imply that the overall possibility to boost savings using tax policy is modest.
The study uses a cross-sectional data set for 209 countries in order to test whether the regulation of social life by Islamic norms and values is related to gender inequality and whether the impacts differ for the MENA countries, as well as Arab- and Muslim-majority countries. The study finds that the impact of gender inequality differs for the MENA, Arab- and Muslim-majority countries only when control variables are excluded from the regressions. The paper obtains empirical evidence against the belief that religion and oil are culprits responsible for holding women back in Muslim countries.
The paper examines the motivational drivers behind the participation of Hungarian consumers on a special shopping event, also known as Glamour Days. The study encompasses a variety of related conceptualizations such as hedonic/utilitarian shopping values, self-gifting as well as impulsive buying practices. After the introduction of relevant consumer behaviour concepts and theoretical frameworks, the paper presents a qualitative research on adult and adolescent female consumers’ shopping experiences during Glamour Days. By building on phenomenological methodology, this study also portrays the ways this shopping event has changed consumer society within an originally strongly utilitarian attitude driven Hungarian culture. The phenomenological interview results highlight differences within the motivational drivers of pleasure-oriented shopping for the two age groups. For teenagers, the main motivation was related to the utilitarian aspect due to their financial dependence and the special opportunity to stand out of their peer group by joining an event that is exclusively held for adult women. On the other hand, adult women are motivated by combined hedonic and utilitarian values manifested in self-gifting and impulse buying within an effectively planned and managed shopping trip. Based on the results, retail specific strategies are provided along with future research directions.
The project management literature on project success is rich. Numerous papers focus on the evolution of the understanding of project success, identification of success criteria and critical success factors. Critical success factors increase the potential for achieving project success, while project success can be evaluated with the help of success criteria. Although the interrelationships between critical success factors and success criteria are rarely analyzed, yet there is a strong demand for it. The aim of this paper is twofold. One of the aims is to identify the impact of one of the critical success factors, the project manager’s project management attitude on project success. The other aim is to highlight the interrelationship between the project manager’s personal characteristics and project management attitude and leadership style, which are three critical success factors. These aim to address the shortcoming mentioned above, which is considering the lack of the interrelationships between critical success factors and success criteria. The research outcomes are drawn from qualitative field research at the Hungarian subsidiaries of multinational companies operating in the ICT sector.
The primary aim of this paper is to give a comprehensive overview of social media marketing solutions which can be used by companies. Many authors and researchers dealing with specialised subjects examine certain areas of this topic — and, in particular, with the influence of the social media on marketing communication. An overview of current literature and practical solutions enabled us to create a framework usable in the corporate sphere for creating a social media marketing strategy and for measuring the efficiency of social media activity. The framework helps companies to identify which social media solutions are worth taking advantage of to support their business processes, how they are able to measure the effectiveness of social media and it also provides a basis for the identification of additional research directions.
In 1961, Staffan Linder attacked mainstream trade economics by diverging from the generally accepted factor endowments theory and focusing on alternative explanations of why countries trade with each other. He was among the first economists to recognise the growing importance of intraindustry trade and presented his hypothesis that the more similar the per capita income levels of countries, the more they tend to trade with each other. This observation has since become one of the main pillars of modern trade theory. The present paper assesses the empirical validity of the Linder hypothesis in the Visegrad countries. Using a variant of the gravity model, it finds that when controlling for other factors, the Visegrad countries tend to trade more with countries with similar per capita income levels than with significantly richer or poorer countries. This observation is consistent with the Linder hypothesis. OLS regressions, Tobit regressions, and robustness checks all support the hypothesis.
The aim of this study is to shed some light on the factors determining the investment decisions of Sovereign Wealth Funds. Using the financial data from companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the author employs a logit model to analyse the probability that firms are targeted for investment by the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund. These findings suggest that not only the growth of earnings per share increases the probability of such investment, but that also a company whose shares have been bought by the Government Pension Fund Global has, on average, a higher level of earnings per share than companies not targeted by the Fund. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the investment activities of the world’s largest Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Although Western Balkan countries are quite different, they can all be characterised by their one shared goal, to achieve the quickest possible accession to the European Union. Even though agriculture plays an important key role within all Western Balkan states, it’s share is the highest in Albania and only Serbia has a trade surplus. Land is a key production factor but all the analysed countries can be characterised by fragmented land structure and low average farm sizes. Mostly based on land ownership issues, a land reform index can be calculated. The major contribution of this paper to the literature is the reevaluated land reform index for the Western Balkans.
The purpose of this paper is to characterize the level of maturity of management accounting in Portuguese industrial SMEs. Specifically, the study classifies firms using Kaplan’s Four-Stage model; and introduces a new model to classify them better. The research design is exploratory. The data were collected through interviews with those responsible for management accounting in 58 Portuguese industrial SMEs. The analysis used descriptive and inferential statistics and a cluster analysis was performed to classify firms according to their management accounting characteristics. The results showed that all the SMEs belong to stage 2 of Kaplan’s model and that it is possible to classify them in one of the four stages of the proposed new model. Moreover, the type of firm and the source of capital have no influence on the level of maturity, although larger firms tend to have greater maturity. The study offers evidence that there is a clear difference between management accounting knowledge and practices, which should motivate top management to focus on the continuous training of firm employees on the latest developments in management accounting methods.
Despite the large body of research on foreign direct investment, domestic savings, domestic investment and economic growth, little has been done to investigate the relationships among them. This paper examines the relationships among foreign direct investment, domestic savings, domestic investment, and economic growth in 16 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1981 to 2011, using various techniques. The results of VAR estimation and Granger causality tests demonstrate that there is a unidirectional causality from foreign investment to growth and domestic investment, savings to growth, and a bidirectional causality between growth and domestic investment as well as savings and domestic investment. The results of the variance decomposition analysis reveal that foreign investment exerts more influence on growth. Savings are more important in explaining domestic investment, growth is more important in explaining foreign investment, and domestic investment is more important in explaining savings. Based on the results of the impulse response analysis, there is a positive unidirectional causality from foreign investment to growth and domestic investment, savings to growth, and a positive bidirectional causality between savings and domestic investment, both in the short and long-run. Although there is feedback causality between domestic investment and growth, the impact from investment is negative in the short-run and positive in the long-run. Thus, policies that encourage foreign investment and savings are required to boost domestic investment and promote growth, and policies that raise domestic investment will lead to higher savings and growth in SSA.
The paper intends to give an insight into the relations of the economic and political systems of the Central Asian republics using the theoretical framework of the “rentier economy” and “rentier state” approach. The main findings of the paper are that two (Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) of the five states examined are commodity export dependent “full-scale” rentier states. The two political systems are of a stable neo-patrimonial regime character, while the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, poor in natural resources but dependent on external rents, may be described as “semi-rentier” states or “rentier economies”. They are politically more instable, but have an altogether authoritarian, oligarchical “clan-based” character. Uzbekistan with its closed economy, showing tendencies of economic autarchy, is also a potentially politically unstable clan-based regime. Thus, in the Central Asian context, the rentier state or rentier economy character affects the political stability of the actual regimes rather than having a direct impact on whether power is exercised in an autocratic or democratic way.
The paper analyses the impact of the factors of production on economic growth in Poland in the years 1992–2012, with particular focus on the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI), and strives to verify whether a causality relationship occurred between GDP and FDI, i.e. whether high GDP dynamics attracted FDI inflows and whether this investment contributed to GDP growth. The Vector Error Correction Method impulse responses and variance decomposition analysis confirmed the bi-directional relationships between FDI and GDP in Poland. However, the impact of GDP on attracting FDI inflows to Poland is stronger than that of FDI on GDP growth. Polish developmental policy should concentrate on three essential determinants (pillars) of growth, namely employment growth, attracting FDI (with emphasis on improvement in the type of inflowing investment), and increasing the value and productivity of domestic investment.
