Scientific Annals of Economics and Business
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Environmental Convergence in the Context of Integration between Ukraine and the EU: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications
Get PDFThe European Green Deal will play a key role in the development of the environmental policies of the EU and its neighbouring countries (i.e. Ukraine). Accordingly, the implementation of environmental policies will contribute to the development of national economies on a convergent basis of Ukraine and the EU. The aim of this study is to analyse environmental convergence between the EU and Ukraine, taking into account the complex specificities of combining economic growth and reducing environmental impacts. In addition to the classical models of beta, sigma, gamma and delta convergence, we use methods to study environmental convergence that are based on increasing the level of economic development of less developed countries rather than reducing the unevenness of their development and include club convergence and distributional dynamics approaches. Such methodologies emphasise the importance of efforts and policies aimed at bringing countries closer together and creating favourable conditions for them to achieve higher levels of development. The result of the empirical analysis of the environmental convergence of economies using different methodologies shows that the Ecological Footprint is characterised by different results. In this context, a narrowing of the Ecological Footprint gap between countries is shown, indicating common development trends and that countries with lower levels of development are on a faster growth path to catch up with countries with higher levels of development. Another finding is that Russia’s armed invasion has affected Ukraine’s convergence with the EU and will continue to have a negative impact on the country’s economic development and influence on convergence processes
Financing and the Challenges of Developing the Innovation Capacity of Enterprises in Developing Countries: The Case of the MENA Region and Africa
Get PDFInnovation currently represents a significant source of added value and competitiveness for companies on the international scale. However, financing innovation activities is a real challenge to overcome in order to successfully achieve the goals in emerging countries. The main objective of this paper is to conduct an empirical analysis on the identification of different sources of financing for firm innovation in the MENA region and Africa. To do this, we have constructed a battery of measures of the innovation capacity of firms: product, process, invention and innovation intensity of firms. In addition, the sources of financing were assessed by financing investments and working capital through bank debt, non-bank financial institutions, capital increase, equity, commercial debt and other sources of financing. The empirical study is based on the World Bank survey of more than 34,000 firms in the MENA region and Africa over the period 2011 and 2020. Through the use of several econometric modeling, the estimation results indicate the importance of bank financing, non-bank financial institutions, and trade credit in financing innovation of MENA and African firms
Knowledge-Based Regional Economic Growth: The EU Perspective
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to address the research gaps by conducting an empirical analysis of the relationship between variables determining Knowledge-Based Economies (KBEs) and GDP growth within the regions of the European Union at the NUTS 2 level. Findings indicate that gross expenditure on research and development and employment in the knowledge-intensive sector are positively associated with gross domestic product per capita at the regional level. Additionally, this paper shows evidence that innovation does not tend to be concentrated in regions with higher student numbers, which were used as a proxy for the concentration of research and educational institutions
Hedge and Safe Haven Properties of Green Bonds and Clean Energy Stocks during COVID-19 and Russian-Ukraine War: A Comparison With Gold
Get PDF Successions of crises are currently affecting the world, which have had an impact on the worldwide financial market. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have caused significant disruption, slowing global economic and financial developments. As safe havens for their portfolios, foreign investors are focusing on more dependable assets. This paper examines the safe-haven and hedging characteristics of gold, green bonds, and clean energy. According to the Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC)-GARCH model, the hedging ratio and hedging effectiveness index show the hedging potential of gold, green bonds and clean energy in stable and volatile market phases. Our research shows that clean energy assets can effectively reduce portfolio risk during financial uncertainty by providing stronger hedging effects than gold. However, gold remains the more cost-effective option, balancing affordability with risk mitigation. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, both gold and clean energy assets displayed weak safe-haven characteristics, which highlighted their ineffectiveness in protecting investors during extreme market turbulence. These insights underscore the need for cautious evaluation by investors and policymakers when considering these assets for crisis portfolio strategies.
Impact of Cost of Capital on European Economic Growth: The Role of IFRS Mandatory Adoption
Get PDFSince 2005, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) mandatory adoption in the European Union has played a pivotal role to reduce financing costs which has influenced positively economic growth across member states. Thus, this study examines the effect of Cost of Capital on Economic Growth under IFRS mandatory adoption in 17 European countries between 1994 and 2021 using Pooled Mean Group Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PMG-ARDL) and System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM-system) methods. The findings reveal a positive correlation between the Cost of Capital and Economic Growth under IFRS adoption. Specifically, the model estimates indicate that the Cost of Capital contributes to a 0.58% increase in Economic Growth in the PMG-ARDL framework. Moreover, the GMM-system model underscores the significance of IFRS adoption in reducing the Cost of Capital, leading to a 0.52% increase in Economic Growth. These results provide insights into the benefits of adopting international accounting standards and highlight the importance of institutional and financial factors in shaping the economic impact of adopting accounting standards
Heterogeneous Dependence Between Green Finance and Cryptocurrency Markets: New Insights from Time-Frequency Analysis
Get PDFGreen finance is becoming more and more important as a way to fund environmentally friendly initiatives and lower carbon emissions. Green bonds have emerged as a significant financing tool in this context, and it is critical to understand how they interact with other components of the finance ecosystem, such as cryptocurrency and carbon markets, particularly during recent crises such as the COVID-19 outbreak and the Ukraine invasion. This study aims to empirically investigate the lead-lag associations between major cryptocurrency markets and green finance measured in terms of green bonds. For empirical estimation, the wavelet analysis and spectral Granger-causality test are employed to analyze the daily data, covering the period from 2018 to 2023. The results show that the correlation between the returns of the green bond market and cryptocurrencies is not stable over time, which rises from the short- to long-run horizon. However, the co-movements between these assets tend to be different and, in some cases, strong, especially during recent crises. Furthermore, the Granger causality test demonstrates the existence of a bi-directional causality between the prices of the cryptocurrencies and green bonds. These findings have significance for portfolio managers, investors, and researchers interested in investing strategies and portfolio allocation, suggesting that green markets may be used as a hedge and diversification tool for cryptocurrencies in the future
Technological Disruption, Ease of Doing Business, and Manufacturing Resilience: A Study of Competitiveness and Efficiency in Developing Countries
Get PDFThis research aimed to analyze the determinants of efficiency and competitiveness in the manufacturing sector, encompassing GDP per capita, ease of doing business, technology, and several variables indicative of governance quality, such as corruption control and government effectiveness. Competitiveness in this study is measured using the concept of Revealed Comparative Advantages (RCA) introduced by Balassa (1965) employing Panel Corrected Standard Error (PCSE) estimation technique. Simultaneously, manufacturing efficiency is gauged utilizing the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, a nonparametric approach applied to compute the efficiency of a group of decision-making units (DMU). The findings reveal that GDP per capita, Technology, Government Governance Index, and Nominal Exchange Rate significantly and positively influence RCA. Conversely, Ease of Doing Business is found to exert a significant negative impact on RCA. Furthermore, the DEA efficiency scores indicate values of 1 for several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, and Burundi, and also find high efficiency in certain Asian countries such as China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Efficient allocation of capital (Gross Fixed Capital Formation) and labor (Labor Force in the Industrial Sector) optimizes output (Manufacturing Share of GDP). This study holds implications for enhancing the driving factors of competitiveness and optimizing efficiency in the manufacturing sector across developing countries worldwide
Evaluating Cognitive Factors of Attitude Formation: The Impact of the Consumer’s Level of Education on the Formation of Attitudes Towards Health Behaviour
Get PDFThe article reviews the impact of cognitive factors on the formation of consumer attitudes towards health behaviour. Following a short overview of the cognitive component (level) of attitude formation and its factors, as well as a theoretical model of the formation of attitudes towards health behaviour, the results of the empirical study are presented to measure the impact of the consumer’s level of education on the formation of consumer attitudes towards health behaviour. The evaluation of the results provides some insights, conclusions and directions for future research
Exchange Rate Changes and Trade Flows in East Asia
Get PDFThis study investigates the impact of exchange rate changes on trade flows among East Asian countries spanning 1990–2021, using pooled mean group estimator, within the framework of panel data analysis. Findings indicate that world income, trade openness, and the real effective exchange rate strongly affect trade balance, and that the real depreciation of exchange rate exerts strong positive benefits on trade flows in the long run. The study also infers that trade openness and real effective exchange rate had strong influence on exports and imports for Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea in the short run. However, the depreciation of their currencies discouraged imports in the long run. More so, world income strongly affects the exports and imports of Hong Kong and Japan, while trade openness is advantageous for all the countries. The study recommends the continuation of the prevailing trade-growth pattern, and the existing bilateral pegged exchange rate policy with their trading partners
Impact of Innovation and Trade Participation on Economic Growth Among Selected African Countries
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of innovation and trade participation on economic growth among selected African countries from 1996 to 2021. This study applied nonstationary heterogeneous panel models utilizing pooled mean group estimators, mean group estimators and dynamic fixed effects estimators. Based on the results of the Hausman test, the PMG estimator was considered for the data analysis. The study revealed the significant role of industrial design, patents, trademarks, research and development, exports, and balanced trade policies in driving long-term economic growth in Africa. The synergies between innovation and trade participation are studied, emphasizing their amplified impact on economic growth. The study suggests practical policy recommendations for the selected African countries, urging governments to establish innovation ecosystems, encourage investments in design, strengthen intellectual property protection, prioritize infrastructure development, and develop balanced trade policies. Focusing on SMEs, offering incentives for research and development, and establishing trade promotion agencies are also recommended to create a conducive environment for innovation, trade, and sustained economic growth