1955 research outputs found
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Skills development as an indicator of the Serbian tourism digitalization progress
Get PDFIn the tourism and hospitality sector, digital skills become one of the
critical factors as they enable organizations and professionals to effectively
utilize and adapt to the latest technological developments, improving the
overall travel experience and/or operational efficiency of service providers.
Based on the previous, this paper aims to evaluate the digital skills of
supply-side stakeholders in Serbia’s tourism and hospitality sector and
to determine the main factors that influence their level of proficiency.
By analyzing primary data from 418 respondents, the findings indicate
a notable gap in advanced digital skills, which is particularly emphasized
among administrative officers, primarily tourist inspectors. Additionally,
multinomial logistic regression shows that the education and employment
sector (catering, tourism agencies, tourism guides, tourism organizations,
tourism inspectors and administrative officers) are factors associated with
the level of digital skills. The results allow stakeholders to review the
possibilities for improving skills, especially in the public sector, to address
current skills gaps and prepare the workforce for future technological
developments to ensure the sector’s resilience and competitiveness in
the global market
Digital Marketing as a Tool for Inclusive Employment
Get PDFPersons with disabilities (PWDs) represent the largest minority in the world who are still not adequately represented in the labour market and are therefore at higher risk of poverty and material deprivation. Digital marketing has the potential to close this gap by enabling PWDs to work remotely and access a wider range of employment opportunities. With the right support and accessibility measures, PWDs can use their skills and talents in digital marketing to contribute to their economic empowerment and inclusion in society. Considering that participation in digital labour platforms is an accepted labour practice in Serbia, this paper represents a pilot study aimed at gaining insights into the requirements of the digital labour market with a focus on digital marketing. To this end, the requirements of entry-level marketing positions on one of the most popular platforms for freelancers – Upwork - were investigated. The main objective of this analysis is to provide sound suggestions for the development of training programmes and mentoring initiatives tailored to enable PWDs in Serbia to become self-employed and increase their chances of earning additional income
A Commentary on US Sovereign Debt Persistence and Nonlinear Fiscal Adjustment
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to show how the self-exciting threshold autoregressive (SETAR) model might be a suitable econometric framework for characterizing the dynamics of the US public debt/GDP ratio after the Bretton Woods collapse. Our preferred SETAR specifications are capable of capturing the main stylized facts of the US public debt/GDP ratio between 1974 and 2024. In addition, the estimated SETAR models are consistent with theoretical frameworks that look to explain the behavior of the US public debt/GDP ratio before and after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Finally, under the assumption of public debt/GDP ratio stationarity, for which we find only limited and inconclusive evidence, this paper provides some arguments for why previous studies, which use the exponential smooth threshold autoregressive (ESTAR) models, logistic smooth threshold autoregressive (LSTAR) models or SETAR-type models for the first differences of the US public debt/GDP ratio, are potentially misspecified on both econometric and economic grounds
The Evolution of Intellectual Capital Research: a Bibliometric Analysis of Highly-cited Papers
Get PDFThis study presents and evaluates the development of research on intellectual capital (IC) using bibliometric analysis of highly cited research papers. It also uses social network analysis (SNA) to decipher the complex patterns of collaboration, influence, and knowledge diffusion in the field of IC research. Data for the SNA were extracted from the top 1% of highly cited papers identified through bibliometric analysis. The extracted data were processed using BibExcel, which allowed for the extraction of important metadata, statistical calculations, and an in-depth examination of the selected documents. Pajek, a network analysis tool, was used to visualize and understand the complex network of these influential articles. Our analysis shows the evolution of intellectual capital from a niche interest in the mid-20th century to a dynamically growing field of study. The number of publications increased from double digits in the early 1990s to over a hundred publications per year in the early 2000s. From the mid-2000s to the present, the field experienced almost exponential growth, peaking in 2022 with 796 publications. Analysis of the 103 most cited papers in intellectual capital identified a total of 212 authors. Remarkably, 92% of these authors contributed to only one publication each. The co-authorship analysis unveils a decentralized structure characterized by several smaller research clusters embedded within the broader network. The results of this study enhance our comprehension of intellectual capital research by identifying influential authors, highly cited journals, and co-publication networks, thereby providing valuable insights into the field's dynamics
Profitability determinants in the Serbian insurance sector: a panel data approach
Get PDFThe aim of this paper was to analyze profitability determinants in the insurance sector of the Republic of Serbia. The study relies on empirical research that involves the evaluation of panel regression models including all insurance companies that operated in the Republic of Serbia in the period 2005 – 2021. The data are collected from the financial statements published by the National Bank of Serbia, covering unbalanced panel that includes a total number of 32 life insurance, non-life insurance and reinsurance companies. The results of the panel regression models indicate that insurance-specific variables have a significant and robust role in determining financial performance, whilst macroeconomic variables seem to affect profitability to a lesser extent. Besides insurance-specific variables, market concentration also appears as the significant determinant of insurance sector performance, being positively associated with profitability indicators
Legal Environment as a Factor in the Inflow of Foreign Direct Investment: Case of Serbia
Get PDFThe economic growth and development of a country depend on the inflow of foreign direct investment,
and the legal environment factors play an important role in securing it. Compared to other countries in
South-Eastern Europe, Serbia has achieved remarkable results in terms of FDI inflows over the last ten
years. The research goal of this study is to examine the impact of the legal environment on FDI inflows
in Serbia. The study was conducted using a quantitative approach and a survey technique based on a
structured questionnaire. The basic set of the research consists of the 300 most prominent foreign
investors (response rate of 28%) who invested capital in Serbia in the period 2011-2019. The results of
the conducted research show that ownership in Serbian companies is the most important factor in the
legal environment that influences a foreign investor's decision to invest capital in these companies.
Also, the results show that labor legislation, law enforcement, and confidence in the legal system can
significantly contribute to a foreign investor's decision to invest capital in Serbia. The legal
environment's implications on FDI inflows are diverse, influencing investor decisions and shaping the
overall investment climate of a country. A well-structured and investor-friendly legal framework will
increase Serbia's competitiveness and attractiveness for foreign investments
Driving factors of the montenegrin economy - FDI and tourism
Get PDFThe aim of the paper is to assess the level of competitiveness of Montenegro and the possibilities for
future progress based on the analysis of the level of foreign exchange inflows from foreign direct
investment and tourism as factors contributing to the development of the Montenegrin economy. The desk
research was conducted on the basis of officially available data from the Central Bank of Montenegro and
the Statistical Office of Montenegro (Monstat). The period covered by the research is from 2019 to 2022.
The research results show that a foreign investor in Montenegro is legally treated in the same way as a
domestic investor, that the tax system is very attractive and among the most competitive in the whole of
Europe, which provides investors with an attractive business environment, a low tax burden and thus
maximizing their profits. Furthermore, one of the main priorities of the Montenegrin economy should be
focused on the development of tourism, as tourism in Montenegro is the foundation of the country's
prosperity and well-being. In this regard, those responsible for economic policy in Montenegro should
continuously evaluate and adapt their strategies to global economic trends in order to create an
appropriate business environment and thus the country's prosperity
An Econometric Policy Evaluation of Fiscal Management in PIGS Economies
No full textIn this chapter we propose a non-linear self-exciting threshold autoregressive (SETAR)
model as a potential econometric framework for evaluating fiscal policy management. Contrary to the previous studies, the results suggest the absence of corrective non-linear fiscal adjustment in the case of Portugal, Italy, Spain, and Greece (PIGS) after the Bretton Woods collapse, which helps to explain a staggering debt build-up in these economies in the last couple of decades. Although our preferred parsimonious SETAR (2,1,1)
model estimates are incapable of encompassing large shocks to overall fiscal balances due to the Great Recession and the COVID-19 crisis, policymakers could update and improve the econometric results from this chapter by using real-time fiscal policy measures with the inclusion of structural intervention dummy variables in our preferred baseline SETAR (2,1,1)
model specification to quantify significant fiscal outliers due to the Great Recession and the COVID-19 crisis for the PIGS economies between 1971 and 2021
Sino-Russian economic relations amidst global uncertainties
Get PDFThe study aims to examine the current development of economic cooperation between China and Russia in the context of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The particular focus is on the analysis of investment and the dynamics of bilateral trade, including the identification of the main challenges and prospects for the coming period. Based on secondary data analysis, it can be concluded that Chinese investment in Russia has sharply declined over the past three years, while total Sino-Russian trade has significantly increased. Although bilateral trade has exhibited a positive trend, it is characterised by a significant structural imbalance stemming from the fact that Russia mainly supplies raw materials and China exports high-tech products to Russia. Regarding investment, despite the declared “no limits partnership” between China and Russia and the opening up of the space for deeper cooperation after Western companies withdrew investment from the Russian market, China has been acting rather cautiously, taking into account sanctions and geopolitical risks. In the coming period, trade cooperation is expected to expand further while China will most likely pursue a cautious investment policy, engaging exclusively in particularly profitable projects. In the long term, however, if the relationship deterioration between Russia and Western countries persists, a new economic system may emerge, with China taking the lead in investment activities