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Georgi Petrov and the model of socialist market economy in Bulgaria
Get PDFWe provide brief information about the context of the 1963 reform. This is followed by a presentation of the main themes and ideas in Georgi Petrov's life research project, which systematically and logically derives the need for decentralisation of the economy, a transition from directive planning to economic levers, granting full autonomy to enterprises included in market mechanisms and profit incentives
Corporate Governance and Firm Profitability: Analyzing Leadership Structure and Board Diversity in the Dubai Stock Exchange
Get PDFCorporate governance has become an important measure of the company’s performance, risk management, and strategic decisions. This study investigates the relationship between selected corporate governance mechanisms and firm financial performance, focusing on the segregation of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer roles and gender diversity on corporate boards. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as agency theory and resource-based theory, the research examines whether these governance attributes influence firm profitability, a common indicator of financial outcome. The analysis employs a quantitative research design using secondary data from 20 firms from Dubai Stock Exchange and applies ordinary least squares regression to assess the impact of the independent variables on profitability. Governance variables are operationalized as binary indicators, with profit measured in millions of US dollars. The findings reveal that both segregation of leadership roles and gender diversity exhibit a positive association with profitability, although neither relationship is statistically significant. The study contributes to the ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of board structures in enhancing financial outcomes in Dubai Stock Exchange. It underscores the need for more nuanced and multidimensional approaches to measuring governance quality, especially in cross-sectional research. Future studies are encouraged to adopt longitudinal data, incorporate broader governance indicators, and control for external variables to capture the complexity of governance-performance dynamics. Ultimately, while the presence of role segregation and board diversity may signal improved governance, this research cautions against simplistic assumptions about their direct influence on profitability without considering broader organizational and contextual factors
Advancing ESG Integration in Stock Market: A Sectoral Study of Sustainability Reporting in Pakistan
Get PDFThis study examines sustainability reporting practices among firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, focusing on sectoral differences, reporting patterns, and the interconnection between economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The research analyzes standalone sustainability reports from sixty-two organizations across fifteen sectors between 2016 and 2020, using content analysis aligned with the global reporting initiative standards. The findings indicate that although sustainability reporting has increased in Pakistan, it remains uneven and largely motivated by compliance. Disclosures heavily emphasize economic indicators such as financial performance, with leading firms disclosing at a rate of 94.4 percent, while lagging firms report significantly less on environmental issues such as emissions and energy consumption, and social concerns including labor rights and child labor, ranging between eleven and twenty-three percent. Sectoral analysis reveals that banking, oil and gas, and cement sectors report more frequently, largely due to regulatory obligations and stakeholder scrutiny, while retail and engineering sectors lag behind. The presence of integrated reporting positively correlates with comprehensive performance across the three sustainability dimensions i.e., economic, environmental, and social, but remains limited due to the voluntary nature of frameworks, inadequate resources, and weak enforcement mechanisms. The study highlights the need for mandatory reporting, capacity development programs, and strategic alignment with global frameworks such as the global reporting initiative and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Policy reforms, tailored sector-specific guidelines, and active stakeholder engagement are essential to bridge the divide between symbolic gestures and meaningful sustainability disclosures. This research contributes to the discourse on environmental, social, and governance reporting in emerging markets, offering insights for policymakers, corporate executives, and investors aiming to advance sustainable development in Pakistan
Enhancing Tariff Shock Analysis in East and South Asia through Empirically Grounded Delayed Differential Equations
Get PDFThis research paper provides an empirical and regional extension to the original research paper, ”Comparative Asymptotic Analysis of Economic Modeling Frameworks Under Tariff Perturbations: Establishing the Superiority of Delayed Differential Equations.” The original work rigorously establishes the theoretical superiority of Delayed Differential Equations (DDEs) for modeling the macro-economic impacts of tariff shocks. This superiority stems from DDEs’ unique capacity to capture delayed feedback mechanisms, nonlinear adjustment dynamics, and inherent policy lags.
Purpose– The primary objective is to guide the transformation of this theoretically sound, stylized DDE framework into an empirically robust model, specifically tailored for application to the diverse economic landscapes of East Asia and South Asia.
Design/methodology/approach– The approach involves building upon the foundational DDE framework, which demonstrates superior capability in modeling nonlinear, lagged, and oscillatory features of policy shocks compared to traditional methods like Laplace Transforms, Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs), and Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). A core strength is its dual-delay structure, reflecting both endogenous market inertia τ1 and exogenous policy implementation lags τ2. The methodology emphasizes integrating real-world data, country-specific policy contexts, and unique regional economic
characteristics.
Findings– The empirical research highlights the critical necessity of incorporating real world data, country-specific policy contexts, and unique regional economic characteristics to significantly enhance the model’s policy relevance and predictive accuracy.
Originality/Value– The ultimate value lies in advancing regional economic forecasting capabilities and enabling the design of more resilient policies under complex, time-lagged economic conditions. This work provides a crucial step in moving from stylized theory to
practical empirical application in a region of diverse economic landscapes
Unemployment Rate: Concepts and Indicators
Get PDFUnemployment is a central indicator in macroeconomic analysis, reflecting both the performance of an economy and the well-being of its population. This paper examines unemployment from theoretical, empirical, and policy perspectives, with a particular focus on the Republic of Moldova. It begins by defining unemployment and its role as an economic and social indicator, followed by an overview of key theoretical frameworks, including Classical and Keynesian perspectives, the natural rate of unemployment, NAIRU, and the Phillips Curve. Various types of unemployment—frictional, structural, cyclical, and seasonal—are analyzed alongside methods of measurement such as labor force surveys and the employment-to-population ratio.
The paper identifies major causes of unemployment, ranging from economic downturns and technological change to globalization, skill mismatches, and demographic factors. The consequences are explored in economic terms, such as GDP loss measured by Okun’s Law, and in social terms, including poverty, inequality, and political instability. Policy responses are discussed, including fiscal and monetary measures, education and training programs, active labor market policies, and structural reforms.
A case study of the Republic of Moldova provides insight into recent unemployment trends, underlying causes, and the effectiveness of government responses. Emerging challenges—such as the impact of artificial intelligence, the rise of green jobs, global economic uncertainty, and labor mobility—are examined to assess the country’s future labor market trajectory.
The findings highlight that unemployment is a multidimensional issue requiring integrated strategies that balance economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. For Moldova, success will depend on its ability to strengthen domestic job creation, enhance workforce skills, and reduce dependence on external labor markets, thereby ensuring a resilient and inclusive labor market in the face of global change
Barriers to circular economy adoption in MSMEs: a WINGS analysis of challenges in developing economies
Get PDFThe transition to a circular economy (CE) is a crucial global goal aimed at promoting sustainable production and consumption. However, its adoption among Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in developing economies remains constrained by multiple barriers. This study builds upon prior research that identified sixteen key barriers to CE adoption through a systematic literature review. Employing the Weighted Influence Non-linear Gauge System (WINGS) method, the study ranks the barriers in terms of their internal strength as well as their intensity to influence other barriers in the specific context of MSMEs. Expert evaluations indicate that lack of investment support, financial constraints, lack of resource efficiency, inadequate infrastructure, and limited potential knowledge are the most influential barriers. The WINGS analysis also reveals that lack of investment support and lack of information are the two primary barriers affecting the greatest number of other barriers. Hence, the findings of our study suggest the urgent need for targeted policy interventions to enhance financial capacity, knowledge dissemination, and infrastructural support, collectively facilitating MSMEs’ transition to CE practices. This study contributes to the literature by identifying and prioritising the key barriers, as well as identifying the interconnectedness among them, which serves as a guide in order to design effective strategies supporting MSMEs in overcoming CE adoption barriers, thereby fostering sustainable economic growth in developing economies
Unemployment invariance hypothesis and labor supply: a test for 31 American countries
Get PDFThis study examines the empirical validity of the Unemployment Invariance Hypothesis (UIH) using a sample of 31 American countries and annual data from 1991 to 2023. While previous literature often focused on single-country analyses, an existing study for Latin America covers only six countries and relies on short time spans, limiting their ability to capture full economic cycles. This paper expands both the temporal and geographical scope, enabling more accurate cross-country comparisons. The results generally reject the UIH, with significant implications for economic policy in both cases—whether the hypothesis is accepted or not. In countries where UIH is rejected, the discouraged worker effect (DWE) tends to outweigh the added worker effect (AWE). These findings highlight the need for country-specific labor policies, which can be better designed based on the estimates presented
Sustainable intensification and the land sparing mechanism
Get PDFThe analysis of the malagasy “land rebound effect,” conducted using an ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regression model and panel data of 27 countries on World Bank time series data from 1990 to 2022, quantitatively demonstrates the relationship between agricultural value added and the expansion of cultivated land areas. The findings suggest three priority interventions: contextual adaptation of technologies through participatory approaches, strengthening land tenure security via formal certification tools, and building the capacities of local producers including training, financing, and economic diversification. However, there are methodological limitations due to the lack of detailed data on land dynamics and institutional constraints within rural communities, calling for complementary field studies to ground the econometric analysis in territorial realities
Transformation in the U.S. Labour Market Artificial Intelligence and Occupational Polarization in the 21st Century
Get PDFThe improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) and data processing technologies have renewed the question posed by John M. Keynes in Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. Particularly regarding the expectation of human emancipation from material survival as a result of technological progress, the possibility of seeking purpose and fulfillment is revived. However, new technologies have driven the economy towards an ontological reduction that subordinates the human being to abstract economic relations, reducing labor and work to exchange-value. Hence, labour ceases to be a process aimed at satisfying concrete needs and becomes, instead, an economic function restricted to the market and production. This paper is organized into two primary sections. The first provides a diagnosis of the U.S. labor market, which is characterized by an increasing polarization between high- and low-skill occupations, alongside a narrow labour structure of typical middle-class jobs. The segmentation of the labor market takes shape as the manufacturing sector loses its centrality and the service sector becomes more significant to the U.S. economy. This dynamic unfolds as financial deregulation and neoliberal policies shift economic structures toward speculative wealth accumulation, diminishing industrial job opportunities and polarizing the labor market into highly skilled, well-paid roles and precarious, low-skilled positions. The second section examines how AI technologies have transformed the tasks performed by certain jobs and the hierarchical and economic interaction within firms, altering the qualification requirements, especially for corporate-level jobs. The competition for high- and low-skill occupations intensifies. In the first case, the demand for constant updating of technical competencies and knowledge to complement AI systems increases. For low-skill occupations, fierce competition takes place due to the simplification of tasks, allowing less-skilled workers to perform the same functions. Therefore, the integration of AI into the labor market exacerbates wage disparities and affects opportunities both across and within different segments of the working class, increasing the demand for highly skilled workers while simultaneously reducing opportunities for those in low-skilled positions
Financial Inclusion or Financial Vulnerability? The Dual Effects of Digital Payment Platforms on Consumer Behaviour
Get PDFThe rapid expansion of mobile wallets and digital transaction platforms has transformed financial systems worldwide, reshaping the way consumers interact with money and manage spending. In Pakistan, services such as Easypaisa, JazzCash, and Raast have accelerated financial inclusion and improved efficiency, yet their behavioural consequences remain underexplored. This study aims to examine how the adoption of digital transaction platforms influences consumer spending behaviour, with a particular focus on psychological factors such as impulsivity, budgeting discipline, and mental accounting. To test the determinants of adoption and spending outcomes, was performed using multiple regression and the generalised method of moments was used. The findings reveal that income, education, digital literacy, mobile penetration, and financial inclusion positively influence digital payment adoption, whereas age and cultural orientation act as constraints. Behavioural analysis further indicates that frequent users of digital platforms experience a reduced “pain of paying,” which encourages impulsive purchases, weaker adherence to budgeting, and diminished financial control, particularly among younger consumers. These results highlight the dual nature of digital finance: while it enhances inclusion and economic activity, it also increases risks of overspending and financial vulnerability. The study recommends integrating financial literacy into education systems, encouraging fintech providers to embed budgeting and savings tools, and strengthening regulatory oversight to ensure that the benefits of digital transaction platforms are maximised while their behavioural risks are mitigated