South East European Journal of Economics and Business
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REGIONALIZATION BASED ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – EXAMPLE OF FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Full text linkThis study classifies local self-government units (local communities) in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH) according to socio-economic characteristics by applying the following multivariate methods: principal component analysis (PCA), regression and cluster analysis. The selection of variables was based on literature and adjusted by FBIH specifics, covering the four hypothetical dimensions of regional differentiation: macroeconomic, demographic, infrastructural and socio-cultural indicators. PCA has identified five components: the productivity component, demographic component, component of economic activity potential, spatial component and employment component. Further analysis showed that all identified factors are significant predictors of local communities’ development, measured by the development index. The cluster analysis resulted with four clusters in the FBIH with significant differences in development level. Considering that FBIH municipalities are administrative units of local government and that the classification is based on socio-economic dimensions, identified clusters correspond to the NUTS principles
THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTIES ON JOB PERFORMANCES AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN TELEWORKERS
Full text linkThe paper presents the results of research on the impact of national culture, big five personality traits, and emotional intelligence on job performances and organizational commitment in teleworkers in West Balkan countries. These impacts were also determined for employees in conventional working arrangements, which enabled a comparison of the results for these two groups of respondents. The research was conducted in the countries of the West Balkan and included 313 respondents. National culture and emotional intelligence have a greater impact on job performances and organizational commitment for employees in conventional working arrangements than in teleworkers. Big five personality traits in some cases affect stronger for employees in conventional working arrangements, while in some cases they affect more powerfully in teleworkers. Teleworkers are less influenced by the environment, and thus less influenced by national culture. Also, teleworkers have fewer opportunities to use emotional intelligence in achieving business goals
UNDERSTANDING CONSUMERS’ INTENTION TO PURCHASE GI CHEESES BASED ON THE SEM-LOGIT MODEL
Full text linkThis study aimed to investigate determinants of purchase cheeses with GIs in developing country and to ana- lyze to what extent these factors affected individuals’ purchasing intention, because there is a growing inter- est in geographical indications of origin (GIs) as a tool for product differentiation. An extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used as the framework of the study. To get a deeper insight into the influence of unobserved exogenous latent variables on consumers’ intentions to purchase GI cheeses, SEM and Logit models were combined and the SEM-Logit integration model was constructed. The study supports extended model of TPB, which includes trust and loyalty, as a useful framework to understand the consumers’ intentions to buy the investigated product category. The results from SEM-Logit show that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, trust, loyalty, education and monthly income have significant impacts on intention to purchase cheeses with GIs. The findings of this research provide important contribution for understanding GI cheeses’ consumption intention and behavior
ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE COST OF GOVERNMENT BORROWING IN EUROPEAN TRANSITION ECONOMIES
Full text linkGiven the need of transition economies to fund the investments necessary for development partly through borrowing, this paper investigates empirically the economic consequences of the government cost of borrowing for European transition economies during the period 2003-2016. The investigation analyses the impact of sovereign borrowing costs, in turn, on interest rates on loans to businesses and households, on the growth rates of investment and consumption, and, ultimately, on general economic activity. By utilizing a panel VAR technique our results indicate that consequent upon a positive shock to the cost of sovereign borrowing, the cost of borrowing for loans to both Non-Financial Corporations (NFCs) and households increases. We find that the price transmission from government borrowing costs to the private sector is at play with respect not only to borrowing rates but also to macroeconomic activity at large. Following an increase in sovereign borrowing costs, we observe substantial negative responses in the growth rates of investment, household consumption, and GDP growth. Also, while a price of borrowing increase for NFCs is found to negatively affect investment, household consumption is unaffected by an increase in household borrowing rates. These findings have valuable policy implications for policymakers and stakeholders in transition economies. Specifically, the results suggest that efforts to reduce the cost of sovereign borrowing could have a positive impact on the economy by lowering borrowing costs for households and businesses, promoting investment and consump- tion, and ultimately boosting economic growth
THE THE INFLUENCE OF WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT ON THE PROFITABILITY OF MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES - THE CASE OF CROATIA
No full textThe aim of this research is to examine the relationship between working capital management and the profitability of Croatian manufacturing enterprises and to provide empirical evidence on the effects of working capital management on the level of profitability of manufacturing enterprises in the Republic of Croatia in the period from 2018 to 2021. The collected data were analyzed through multiple regression analysis, using a panel regression model with random effects. By analyzing panel data, the impact of receivables from customers, inventories, liabilities to suppliers, sales growth and GDP growth on the profitability of Croatian manufacturing companies was examined. The analysis of panel data examined the impact of trade receivables, inventories, payables, sales growth and GDP growth on the profitability of Croatian manufacturing enterprises. The obtained results also suggest that the variables the days sales outstanding, the days inven- tory outstanding and GDP growth are not statistically significant
LINKING FARMERS’ BARGAINING POWER IN TRADE TO THEIR PLANS FOR FUTURE ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Full text linkThis paper aims to examine the relationship between the bargaining power of farmers in trade and their plans for future economic activity. While there is existing evidence shedding light on the factors influencing trading power and its consequences, there remains a compelling exigency for scientific substantiation clarifying the aforementioned nexus. A questionnaire was designed and utilized to collect primary data from farmers in Albania (with a sample size of 640). Factor analysis, reliability test and non-parametric statistical methods were used. Evidence was found in support of the aforesaid relationships. Hence, farmers who have plans for investments reflect a higher bargaining power in trading, as opposed to those without such plans. Moreover, interest in increasing farm activity is significantly associated with improved bargaining power in trade. This study enriches the literature, especially in the agribusiness field, by offering additional insights from a transition and developing country
ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION ON FINANCIAL LITERACY AND FINANCIAL BEHAVIOUR: A RANDOMIZED FIELD EXPERIMENT IN CROATIA
Full text linkIn this paper, we examined the financial attitude and financial behavior of students and determined their level of financial literacy through a survey. We found that female students report less interest in finance, have less confidence in their financial abilities, and have a lower financial literacy score than male students. On average, we can conclude that students have a low level of financial literacy. In this study we found factors that influence financial literacy which are age, student’s GPA, whether they already took some form of personal finance course, a proxy for numeracy, and place of birth in terms of a capital city. Furthermore, based on controlled experimental field research, we conducted financial training, and investigated causal evidence of the effectiveness of financial education. A training intervention to increase financial literacy was effective and improved financial attitude but increasing financial literacy through means of education was insufficient for making better financial decisions since students did not report a lower frequency of impulsive buying or a higher hypothetical savings rate. We found no evidence that female students were affected by this training any differently than male students
THE DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACT OF SOCIAL SPENDING ON IN-KIND AND CASH CHILD TRANSFERS IN CROATIA
Full text linkSocial spending in Croatia is mainly based on social protection, public healthcare and education policies. There are two forms of investing in children through the social spending provided by central and local governments: cash and in-kind transfers. This paper describes the impacts of such social spending on households with children in Croatia and its capital, Zagreb. Making use of a microsimulation model, the income distribution of cash and in-kind transfers and their impacts on poverty and inequality are assessed. Com- pared to cash transfers, in-kind transfers, including local government subsidies, are relatively evenly distributed, income independent, and thus roughly equally important for the entire population. Their value greatly exceeds that of monetary transfers. Results demonstrate the progressive effect of transfers in kind on income distribution by reducing income inequality and poverty. This research seeks to emphasise the importance of using augmented income in the analysis of income inequality and poverty, instead of solely monetary disposable income
NOT JUST EMPTY RHETORIC: THE ECONOMIC COST OF WARMONGERING IN A POST-CONFLICT ENVIRONMENT
Full text linkThe post-conflict literature is consistent in reporting that wars leave a painful and lasting legacy on those that experience it directly. This article aims to contribute to this broad body of literature by exploring how threats of possible new conflict affect the generation born after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our study relies on primary data collected through a controlled experiment amongst business students at three universities dominated by three different ethnicities across the country. The students were exposed to a tailored, yet fictional media report discussing the possibility of a new war. The outcomes from our Structural Equation Model reveal that the threat of a new conflict is associated with lower entrepreneurial intentions of business students and mediated by greater risk aversion. As a result, we provide evidence that the permanent warmongering in a post-conflict context, which is often a regular occurrence in such environments, cannot be dismissed as just empty rhetoric. Rather, it can potentially have severe economic consequences that might hamper economic development and prospects in the medium and long run
COMPETENCE PROXIMITY TO EMPLOYERS’ REQUIREMENTS AND LABOUR MARKET SUCCESS OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS GRADUATES
Full text linkThis research concentrates on Croatia with threefold aims: (1) to identify and quantify key competences developed by economics-and-business graduates; (2) to assess the degree of proximity between competences acquired at universities and those required on the labour market; and (3) to investigate how this proximity translates labour market outcomes for graduates. This research is based on primary data, collected through two questionnaires, one for graduates and one for firms. Key competences were identified using factor analysis. Proximity between employers-required and graduates-acquired competences were then used as covariates in explaining differences in graduates’ employability and wage premiums using standard regression model, Heckman selection model and instrumental variables approach. Results show that university education is highly skewed towards the acquisition of economics-and-business practical competences, while employers put greater emphasis on generic competences. Results also point to a penalty of having a competence gap on graduates’ probability of being employed and on their wages