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Economics and business journals focus on publishing papers coming from the fields of applied economics, corporate finance, financial investments, markets, institutions, industrial organization, international trade, marketing and similar.
Business and Economics
Abstract
In this paper we investigate the drivers of efficiency of Central and Eastern European schools as a function of their inputs, outputs, and the environmental factors that influence their efficiency. The data contains 3,608 schools across 17 countries in the Europe-East region. We use a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis approach with a double-bootstrap truncated regression in the second stage to achieve our objectives. Our results show that on average many countries seem to have bottlenecks in their schools' performances in math subjects while reading subjects seem to be a major positive contributor to their efficiency. Moreover, food insecurity (as a result of financial troubles) has a severe negative impact on our sample's efficiencies, a similar effect was observed as well for the average level of parents' education.
Abstract
In our rapidly changing world characterised by globalisation, economic crises, a pandemic, and regional integration, the structure and functioning of welfare states have undergone significant transformations. These forces have shaped and continue to redefine welfare state models worldwide. This study examines the trajectories undertaken by European Union member countries regarding their welfare state models, particularly focusing on the transformative experiences of former communist states. Based on a critical assessment of previous research by a bibliometric analysis, our study comprehensively investigates five categories of factors (fiscal, economic, social, institutional, and political factors) influencing the configuration of welfare state models. Considering these five categories and using cluster analysis, we split European countries into five welfare state models. Our main contribution is the investigation of the migration of European Union states across various welfare state models during the 2003–2021 period. Policymakers can use these results to increase the well-being of former communist states within their clusters.
Abstract
Although the Feldstein-Horioka (1980) puzzle has been one of the most widely discussed problems in macroeconomics literature, long-run evidence regarding the validity of the Puzzle is missing. To extend the existing literature, we revisit the Puzzle for the case of the United Kingdom (UK) using data that covers almost two centuries, 1830–2016. We analyze the data using conventional and novel econometric methods to capture the stochastic properties of the variables and ensure robustness. To this end, well-known autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and recently developed nonlinear ARDL and Fourier ARDL (FARDL) models are implemented. The coefficients derived from the ARDL, NARDL, and FARDL are 0.58, 0.64, and 0.56, respectively. All results show a long-term relationship between investment and savings rates in the UK. The obtained empirical results indicate that even in the long run, there is evidence for the existence of the Puzzle.
Abstract
This study investigates the technical efficiency of insurance companies in five Western Balkan countries between 2015 and 2022, using a two-stage double bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA). In the first stage, bias-corrected DEA efficiency scores are calculated. The second stage employs the bootstrapped truncated regression to investigate relationships between firm characteristics and these efficiencies. Our findings indicate that insurance companies in Serbia exhibit the highest level of technical efficiency, while their counterparts in Albania display the lowest level. Five key drivers of insurer efficiency are identified: firm size, specialisation, growth, solvency, and profitability, while the effect of ownership structure is not statistically significant. Further analysis of returns to scale indicates that most large and medium-sized insurers in Western Balkan countries operate under decreasing returns to scale (DRS). In contrast, most small insurers exhibit increasing returns to scale (IRS). This research contributes to a better understanding of factors influencing the efficiency of insurance companies in developing countries, with implications for insurance regulators, strategic management within the industry, and future research endeavours.
Abstract
This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion surrounding the influence of institutions on the distribution of entrepreneurial talents across productive, unproductive, and destructive activities. Existing literature suggests that societies can exhibit purely destructive, unproductive, or productive entrepreneurship characteristics. Employing a game theoretic framework that integrates insights from entrepreneurship and institutional studies, we explore the dynamics of entrepreneurial talent allocation. Introducing an institutional parameter into the Prisoners' Dilemma Game, we clarify the mechanism by which a society transitions between different forms of entrepreneurship, contingent on the value of the parameter (ranging from −1 to +1). Our findings underline a continuous transition, revealing the prevalence of either a predominantly rent-seeking society or one characterized by productive entrepreneurship, with variations based on the proximity of the institutional parameter to perfection or imperfection.
Abstract
Millions have adopted tools like ChatGPT in recent years, yet indifference and resistance among employees remain. This qualitative study employs monodramatic projective techniques to explore employees' hidden assumptions and unconscious beliefs in a division attempting to integrate Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI, GAI). Through pretensive work, soliloquy, symbolic representation, modeling with intermediate objects, concretization, and role reversal techniques, the interviewees' internal representations of GAI and trust were materialized in physical artifacts, such as a ball of straw or a potted plant. The study identified three principal themes: GAI's appearance as a Janus-faced presence, unmet performance promises, and avoided proximity. Findings highlight ambiguities in acceptance and show that adoption was driven more by industry hype and normative pressures than genuine organizational needs, leading to disorganized implementation dependent on individual employee characteristics, mistrust, and disenchantment. The study's main contribution lies in refining human-robot interaction (HRI) models and psychodrama methods for GAI, emphasizing the significance of physicality and embodiment in technology-mediated relationships, identifying trust as a complex phenomenon with potential reciprocal causation, and emphasizing the importance of affective attitudes, illustrating how adoption projects can falter despite cognitive openness – all insights crucial for understanding self-driven, bottom-up GAI adaptation in an organizational context.
Abstract
This study explores the diversity in the personality profiles of solopreneurs in high- and non-high-tech sectors during the initial business phase, driven by the need to determine whether sector-specific personality traits are crucial for entrepreneurial success. Utilizing the Big Five personality traits (BFPT), we analyze data on 4,470 solopreneurs from the IAB/ZEW Start-up Panel (2018 and 2019 waves). This study incorporates comprehensive Big Five personality, exploratory factor, cluster, and heatmap analyses. These methods reveal significant differences between solopreneurs and the general population, particularly regarding openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The analysis identifies three main industry sectors that reflect the range of entrepreneurial approaches. Despite sectoral diversity, Big Five profiles of entrepreneurs are homogenous, challenging the assumption that different sectors require distinct personality profiles. The findings underscore the importance of self-awareness and accurate self-perception in fostering innovation and making prudent decisions during the early stages of entrepreneurship.
Abstract
The paper employs a cross-sectional data set comprising the main dimensions of the European Union's International Digital Economy and Society Index (I-DESI) and utilises grouping methods based on objective weights to evaluate the relative digital readiness of Hungary and other Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states of the EU. The objective was not to establish a total ordering (ranking) of the countries in the data set, but rather to identify the most appropriate means of grouping the CEE countries into homogeneous units, utilising multivariate statistical and decision-theoretical techniques (tiered DEA, partially ordered sets and clustering). Despite the disparate methodologies employed, the findings are consistent in that the CEE countries (including Hungary) exhibit a general resemblance to one another and demonstrate comparatively lower levels of digital readiness than Northern and Western European countries. The notable exception is Estonia, which exhibits a distinctive level of digital advancement.
