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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
Does evidence exist of convergence clubs in global climate change vulnerability/readiness? This question is pivotal as it dictates the necessity for policy collaboration in addressing climate change. This study investigates the climate change convergence hypothesis utilizing climate vulnerability index data from 136 countries spanning 1995–2020. Employing club convergence methodology, which clusters countries with similar characteristics while accommodating country heterogeneity, the analysis reveals an initial classification comprising 14 clubs. The study identifies that the first four clubs consist of low- and medium-low-income countries in Africa and South Asia, while the last four clubs comprise high-income countries situated among the USA, Canada, and Europe. These findings show high, low- and middle-income countries' responses to climate change.
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to determine the effect of corruption, using human development index (HDI), and its sub-indices: education, life expectancy and gross national income in 135 developed and developing countries over the period of 2005–2021. A dynamic estimation (sys-GMM) method was employed and the transformation of Prais-Winsten with corrected standard errors for correlated panels (PCSE) and GMM were used for robustness check. The findings show that corruption, in any of the indices, serves as a human development constraint for both the overall country sample, and for the countries grouped by income level. An interesting result is that the education index in the lower-income countries is more sensitive to corruption, while corruption affects the income index to a greater extent in the higher-income countries. The analysis also confirms that democracy, economic freedom, investment, social public spending, as well as, globalisation and information and communication technologies are influencing factors of HDI.
Abstract
The study aims to determine the influencing factors of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems adoption in the Romanian small and medium companies (SMEs). Our research is based on a national level representative survey with 374 personal interviews of CEOs. The conceptual framework is based on a detailed literature review and adopts the main dimensions of the Technological Organisational and Environmental (TOE) model. Applying a binomial logistic regression model, the significant factors for ERP adoption are identified. The main result is that the ERP system is an operative, necessary tool of business transactions for SMEs, not a cutting edge, IT innovative implementation. The adoption of ERP is positively impacted by a wider market scope since ERP systems support the expanded business partnerships and market extension procedures. Further results of the model show that business performance indicators do not affect ERP adoption, however the managers' perception of the competitive pressure and the top management support toward IT applications increase the likelihood of adoption.
Abstract
The study examines the role of social capital in the process of economic growth with a special focus on its relationship with the institutional structures of economies. Within this framework, the study first explores whether the impact of social capital on economic growth can be assessed under different regimes based on the government size. Subsequently, in order to highlight the significance of the effective presence of the government, we analyze the threshold impact of government size for lower and upper mean values of government effectiveness. We employ a dynamic panel threshold procedure by utilizing the data from 91 countries (34 developed and 57 emerging economies) over the period 2007–2021. Our findings reveal that social capital does not always have a positive impact on economic growth. Particularly in emerging economies, when government effectiveness is below the mean value (<−0.10), regardless of the identified threshold for the government size, social capital negatively influences economic growth.
Abstract
In Hungary, initial pensions are indexed to average net wages, reported by official earnings statistics (ES). However, there is an alternative statistical source on labour income, the national accounts (NA). The latter indicate a markedly lower rate of growth in wages than the ES for the period between 2010 and 2020. We claim that the ES overstated the actual increase in wages at the national level during the 2010s, and make our own calculations regarding the path of net wages and implied (hypothetical) initial pensions. The main implications are as follows: (i) the actual increase in initial benefits was excessive; (ii) the ratio of average benefits to the revised average net wages fell much less; (iii) the accumulation of major tensions between cohorts retiring in subsequent years might have been reduced by relying on the more plausible wage statistics reported by the NA.
Abstract
Today's world is characterised by the rapid spread of digital technology in the financial industry. Strongly connected with this development, financial products have become increasingly complex. Globalisation has increased the number of financial products offered worldwide, and almost every daily decision has a financial aspect. Thus, for the last three decades, a widening government-level agreement has emerged that individuals, particularly young people, need appropriate financial literacy to handle their finances successfully, prevent financial exclusion, and protect themselves against possible financial fraud. This deficiency is even more severe in the CEE countries, where savings, borrowing opportunities, and financial self-care options were limited; financial markets were practically non-existent.
This paper reviews the existing efforts in financial education, drawing lessons from traditional methods and established channels. It also highlights recent initiatives that aim to bolster financial literacy.
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to assess the extent to which digital transformation policies in Bulgaria are modernized and receptive to new multi-sectoral reform approaches. Criteria were developed to evaluate the alignment of government documents with one or more strategic paradigms. An analysis was conducted on eight strategic documents related to digital transformation in Bulgaria, developed after 2010. This analysis utilized the Grounded Theory Coding procedure for inductive category development and applied codes from the criteria framework. Atlas.ti software was used for textual analysis, which provided quantitative data on the frequency of codes meeting the defined criteria for each strategic paradigm. The initial document evaluation was complemented by a qualitative content analysis to clarify the criterion-based findings and further explore the influence of different paradigms. In-depth interviews with representatives from public sector organizations confirmed and enriched some of the conclusions drawn during the analysis. The study finds that (1) the traditional approach dominated the early strategic documents but was gradually displaced by New Public Management; and (2) the network approach is insufficiently represented in the vision and strategic goals of Bulgaria's digital transformation process.
Abstract
We propose a novel probability approach to examine the sustainability of the current account balance by generating density forecasts and calculating the probability that the current account balance will be lower than a specified threshold. We define a current account as sustainable by having a low probability of the current account deficit exploding. We use a vector autoregressive model to generate density forecasts up to five years ahead. We apply the method to ten countries that had high current account deficits in the past and find cases with both high and low probability of sustainability. We analyse historical episodes to illustrate the predictive capability of our framework and find that our method would have worked well in the past. We further find that the sustainability risk does not relate to whether the government or the private sector is the main driver of the deficit.
