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Fintechs et inclusion financière en Afrique : quelles implications pour la transformation structurelle ?
No full textThe rapid rise of financial technologies (fintechs) in Africa has significantly expanded access to financial services, especially through mobile money. While this growth has improved financial inclusion and household resilience, its impact on structural transformation remains limited. This paper examines whether and how fintechs can serve as a driver of productive modernization, drawing on a literature review, case studies (Kenya, Nigeria, Francophone Africa), and a stylized analytical framework. Findings show that digital finance enhances transaction efficiency and access to basic services, but generates lasting macroeconomic effects only when integrated with industrial policy, productive financing, human-capital development, and stronger links between firms and modern value chains
Legal Origins, Labor Regulations, and Labor Market Outcomes
No full textUsing data from 50 economies, we re-examine the role of legal origins in shaping labor regulations and explore the consequences of these regulations on labor market outcomes. We find that civil law countries tend to adopt more protective labor regulations while common law countries emphasize flexible employment regulations. We document that de jure protective labor regulations create barriers to labor market entry while de facto flexible employment regulations have adverse informal employment and labor productivity consequences. Our results suggest that flexible employment regulations without adequate labor protection laws can encourage labor exploitation, reduce labor productivity, and are insufficient to draw firms and workers into the formal sector
The Investor Social Network Sentiment, Commodity Prices and Ukrainian war impact; Evidence from the S&P500 and the ESG Indexes
No full textPurpose: Through an empirical analysis, taking into account of the investor social network sentiment effects and the impact of fluctuations in the international prices of crude oil, natural gas and wheat on US stock markets (SMs) performances, this study seeks to compare between the S&P500 and the ESG SMs behaviors pre- and post-Ukrainian war declaration (PUWD).
Methodology: In a first step, this study propose an original method for measuring investor sentiment from tweeter in the US SM. In a second step, Student t and ANOVA tests are used to prove the behavior instability of the conventional and ESG US SM, the investor sentiment (IS), and the world economic environment. In a third step, besides the GARCH-X and the augmented TGARCH-M models for a comparative analysis pre- vs PUWD, a robustness check of the persistence and the asymmetry is based on the new impact curves (NICs) and the sign and size bias tests is considered for the conventional US SM return (SMR) and volatility.
Results: Regarding the IS SENTG (SENT) effect, results reveal significant positive effect on the ESG return pre- and PUWD (S&P500 return and its volatility only PUWD). In addition, the ESG return is found to have significant effect on its volatility. Finding show also that only PUWD; economic factors such as the prices of raw materials have as expected significant positive effects on return of the ESG (return and volatility of the S&P500) index, while the market volatility (VIX) affect negatively the conventional SMR and positively its volatility either pre- or PUWD. NICs and sign and size bias tests confirm graphically results about S&P500.
Originality: In this study, the approach used to calculate the SENT and SENTG index from investors' tweets is based on combination of the BERT model of face hugging for natural language processing and the python language. The S&P500 and the ESG indexes are found to behave differently via different models vis à vis the investor sentiments and the geopolitical and economics evolutions pre- and PUWD.
Георги Петров и моделът на пазарното социалистическо стопанство в България
No full textThe article presents the Bulgarian economist Georgi Petrov and his importance for the political economy of socialism. The debates surrounding the economic reform in Bulgaria in the 1960s. A general view of Georgi Petrov's creative project and its logic. The basis of prices – not value and cost price, but production prices (production prices). Theoretical problems of the planned economy and property. Planning, economic levers and economic growth. Summary notes. Bibliography
Financial Technology and Financial Stability: Evidence from Emerging Market Economies
No full textThis study explores the influence of financial technology adoption on financial stability across 35 emerging market economies over the period 2015–2024. A fintech adoption index is constructed using data from the GSMA mobile money metrics, World Bank database, and Bank for International Settlements Fintech Statistics, including indicators such as mobile payment transactions, transaction volumes, and the number of fintech startups. Principal component analysis is employed to reduce dimensionality and enhance the validity and comparability of the index across countries and time. To assess the relationship between fintech adoption and financial stability, this study applies the cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag model, which is particularly suitable for panel datasets with mixed integration orders and cross-sectional dependence features commonly observed in macroeconomic analyses of emerging economies. Regulatory quality, measured using the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, is examined as a moderating factor. The results reveal that higher levels of fintech adoption improve financial stability, especially in environments with stronger regulatory frameworks. Robustness is confirmed through several diagnostic checks, including the CIPS unit root test, alternative model specifications, and interaction term analysis
Gobierno electrónico, economía y desigualdad.
No full textThe present paper has the objective to analyze the influence of the policy of e-government through the digital government index related to the income concentration. The theoretical connection to establish this approximation derives from the ideas of new public management and the strengthening of governance from the improvement in the flows of communication, information and interactions of the relation State-Society as a result of the implementation of the information technology in the public administration. The methodology consists of a set of panel-data regressions which considers the Gini coefficient and the digital government index, and also a number of covariates associated to the macroeconomic context in each department. The results evidence that the index is statistically significant to explain the income concentration and its inverse relation across estimations, the process of implementation of the information technology which strengthen the governance at a departmental level tend to reduce the concentration, finally the rate of occupation, inadequate employment and sector added-value tend also to reduce the phenomena of income concentration
Market Concentration and Innovation Horizon: Evidence from the US Firms
No full textThis study investigates how market concentration, specifically, the degree of competition within a sector impacts different innovation strategies, with particular emphasis on the distinction between long-term and short-term innovation approaches adopted by corporations. The research utilizes a dataset comprising an unbalanced panel of U.S based firms. To generate robust and valid conclusions, the analysis incorporates a suite of statistical and econometric methodologies, such as regression analysis, multicollinearity diagnostics, tests for endogeneity, and comprehensive robustness assessments. These tools are employed to examine the connection between market concentration, measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, and the innovation horizon, defined as the interval between initial research and development investments and the attainment of innovative outcomes. Furthermore, the robustness analyses confirm the reliability of the findings across various modeling specifications, providing empirical evidence that heightened market concentration correlates significantly with a reduced innovation horizon. The results reveal that firms operating in markets characterized by high concentration are inclined toward short-term innovation strategies, likely as a result of intense competitive dynamics among a limited number of dominant players striving to retain market share. These insights advance the understanding of how market structure shapes the strategic timing of innovation within firms, yielding important implications for innovation policy as well as managerial decision-making
Macroeconomic Drivers of Foreign Capital Inflows: Revisiting Taxation and Foreign Direct Investment Nexus in Pakistan
No full textForeign direct investment plays a critical role in the economic development of emerging economies, including Pakistan, by fostering job creation, industrialization, and the transfer of technology. Tax policy is a central determinant in shaping investor confidence and influencing the inflow of foreign direct investment. This study examines the impact of taxation policy on foreign direct investment in Pakistan, while also considering gross domestic product growth, exchange rate, and domestic interest rate as control variables. Annual time-series data from 1975 to 2024, sourced from the World Bank, the Economic Survey of Pakistan, and the State Bank of Pakistan, are utilized for empirical analysis. The findings reveal that both the tax rate and exchange rate exert statistically significant and negative effects on foreign direct investment inflows, indicating that higher tax burdens and unfavorable exchange rates act as deterrents to foreign investors. In contrast, the domestic interest rate exhibits a strong positive association with foreign direct investment, while gross domestic product growth does not show a significant impact. Diagnostic tests confirm the robustness of the model and indicate the absence of major econometric issues. The results underscore the pivotal importance of an investor-friendly tax regime in attracting and sustaining foreign direct investment in Pakistan. Policymakers are therefore encouraged to reduce the overall tax burden and maintain macroeconomic stability to enhance Pakistan’s attractiveness as an investment destination on the global stage
Hidden Drivers of Financial Success: Exploring the Role of Trade Secrets in U.S. Corporate Performance
No full textThis study aims to analyze the impact of trade secrets, i.e., intangible assets, patents, on an entity’s financial performance in respect of varying elements, e.g., revenue, leverage, capex, especially the profitability measured in terms of return on assets. We used a dataset of US firms and statistical and econometric methods, including regression analysis, multicollinearity test, endogeneity & robustness tests, were employed during this research to study the impact of ownership of trade secrets on a firm’s performance, and the dataset used consisted of an unbalanced panel of US firms. The outcome of this study establishes that the entities that own trade secrets tend to be more profitable as compared to those that do not. More specifically, a directly proportional relationship also exists between the amounts of trade secrets owned by a firm versus its return on assets. Further, regardless of the selected model, the use of robustness checks also establishes the validity of these findings, which solidifies the importance of trade secrets being a source of competitive advantage and profitability for the firm
Management of Guaranteed Debt: Shortcomings and Ways for Improvement
No full textState-guaranteed debt arises from borrowings by economic entities for the implementation of infrastructure projects under state guarantees, which offers advantages provided there is effective control and minimal corruption risks. However, the imperfection of Ukraine’s practice in managing guaranteed debt leads to an increase in residents’ indebtedness, which transforms into guaranteed debt, while a significant portion of projects remains unimplemented, highlighting the need for improving the monitoring system.
To assess the role of state-guaranteed debt within Ukraine’s system of obligations, with an emphasis on the challenges of managing and providing state guarantees.
The research is based on a normative analysis of the legislative framework, statistical methods for assessing trends in guaranteed debt, and theoretical methods for generalizing the fundamental principles of managing guaranteed debt and the process of providing state guarantees.
State-guaranteed debt constitutes a contingent liability that arises due to the inability of residents to fulfill debt obligations obtained under state guarantees. The absence of a clear methodology for assessing the creditworthiness of economic entities, a specialized management body, and transparent project selection procedures increases corruption risks and threatens debt security. International experience confirms that ineffective management of guaranteed debt leads to a crowding-out effect on investments, hindering economic development. Inadequate control over the use of loans exacerbates the financial burden on the state budget. This necessitates a revision of approaches to providing guarantees to ensure their effectiveness.
The shortcomings in the management of guaranteed debt in Ukraine, particularly the lack of transparency and creditworthiness assessment, create fiscal risks. There is a need to improve legislation, project selection procedures, and establish a specialized body to enhance efficiency and strengthen debt security. Further research should focus on developing clear criteria for assessing borrowers’ solvency and creating a specialized body for managing guaranteed debt to reduce corruption risks and increase the effectiveness of state guarantees