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Global energy security is a growing worldwide concern in the presence of high economic policy uncertainty (EPU) that can be addressed by advancing sustainable energy diversification (ED) practices. Energy security can be estimated by combining ED and EPU indices; hence, this study uses a dataset covering three continents and 26 countries from 1995 to 2023 to measure energy security employing this approach. The study employs quantile regression and panel data analysis, finding a positive relationship between EPU and ED. The results reveal that when EPU increases, the spectrum of energy sources declines, negatively impacting energy security. Other factors of globalization, Gross Domestic Product, gross capital formation, and the labor force also have an impact on the spectrum of energy sources. To obtain a sustainable level of ED, policymakers should increase investment in gross capital formation because economic growth and openness via pro-global policies have less impact on ED. This study also demonstrates that labor capital shifts have a significant effect on ED. The quantitative results reveal the importance of clear and precise economic policies for increasing investment in carbon-free energy security. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a preface to a special issue of the Journal of Multiple-Valued Logic & Soft Computing. The special issue includes a selection of extended contributions presented at the XXII SIGEF Congress, which focused on methods for analyzing socio-economic uncertainty in the post-COVID era. The purpose of the special issue is to stimulate scientific exchanges, promote international cooperation, and disseminate international research results. The preface provides a brief overview of the papers included in the special issue, which cover topics such as business diagnosis, insolvency prediction, patient estimation, optimal clustering, classification of firms, explainable artificial intelligence, energy markets, fuzzy numbers, wheat prices, and economic policy uncertainty. The preface expresses gratitude to the referees and the editor-in-chief for their contributions. [Extracted from the article]

The recovery of the global economy in the aftermath of COVID-19 faces enormous challenges. Ensuring stable income growth of the population has become an important means for developing countries to ensure sustained economic development. Raising the overall income of the population is a public initiative that benefits all citizens; therefore, governments of developing countries should promote the implementation of relevant public policies and the provision of public goods to ensure that existing economic instruments can benefit the entire population. In this regard, public space, as a typical form of public good, may play an important role in promoting the benefits of existing economic policies for all residents. This paper examines how residents' use of public space contributes to their income growth through social capital. Hypotheses are tested based on an econometric analysis of 1565 questionnaires received from Chinese workers. The results show that residents' use of public space can indeed be an important way to increase their income, which is realized through the enhancement of social capital. The research presented in this paper provides a new influence variable of public space to improve residents' income. Further, it improves people's understanding of the three classical concepts—public space, social capital, and income—by establishing the logical connection and theoretical explanation of physical space, emotional space, and value space in human society. The conclusions of this paper highlight the important role of public space in urban and rural development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The farm sector is crucial for rural poverty alleviation, alongside the non-farm sector, which contributes to mitigating risks associated with crop failures. This paper investigates the effects of public policies on productive employment within both the farm and non-farm sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A meta-analysis is conducted exclusively on the results of the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP)-funded studies under the Policy Analysis on Growth and Employment (PAGE II) initiative. Selected studies focused on the impact of public policies on productive employment in rural farm and non-farm sectors, encompassing a total of nine sub-Saharan Africa countries in: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. Findings: The results indicate that public investments in rural areas and public policies that facilitate access to productive resources are likely to enhance productive employment. The overall effect size is positive and significant, ranging from 2% to 10% increases in productive employment. Sources of variation include the sector of activity and the policy instrument. In addition, the policy effects are gender-sensitive and seem more consistent in the non-farm sector. Research limitations/implications: Although the selected working papers addressed several aspects of productive employment, other aspects warrant further investigation. Policies involving restrictions or regulations have received little attention in the impact analysis. Researches to fill this gap would be important. Another suggestion for further research is the analysis of the relative importance of non-farm employment in rural areas in developing countries. It is always assumed that rural households depend heavily on agriculture for their subsistence. Originality/value: The contribution of the paper lies in the comparative analysis of numerous public policies implemented in nine distinct countries. By consolidating data from fourteen 14 different experiences into a single study, the paper offers valuable insights on factors that determine policy effectiveness and contribute to understanding what worked for whom and why. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green bonds are relatively new in the financial market compared to other financial securities but are useful in financing environmentally friendly projects. Just like other financial securities, green bonds are affected by various factors, such as economic policy uncertainty. Our aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic literature review of the impact of economic policy uncertainty on green bonds. We sought to do a thorough analysis of the existing literature on the assessment of the impact of economic policy uncertainty on green bonds and the techniques used in assessing the impact. Our findings showed that economic policy uncertainty had a strong impact on the green bond, with its intensity varying by location. This impact tended to be more pronounced in periods of heightened uncertainty. Also, our findings highlighted that the assessment of the impact of economic policy uncertainty on green bonds gained popularity in 2019, with China emerging as a prominent contributor. However, other countries, such as Finland, even though they had few published papers, their citations signified the production of quality papers in this field. Additionally, we found that the application of the quantile analysis method was utilized by many recent studies, which signified its importance in this field. Our findings highlighted the importance of considering appropriate techniques in assessing the impact of economic policy uncertainty on green bonds while taking into account the paper quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commodities are usually used to diversify portfolios. However, their prices are affected by uncertain phenomena such as economic crises, political events, climate risk, etc. This paper examines how Climate and Economic Policy Uncertainty (measured by the CPU and GEPU indices, respectively) affect to wheat prices in the spot and future markets. By combining the wavelet transform and coherence analysis it is possible to see, graphically, the relationship between two time series and also to analyze it at different time frequencies. Although wheat spot and future prices have a similar behavior, the main results obtained in this paper show that the relationships between CPU and GEPU with future prices are stronger than with spot prices. Furthermore, futures and CPU exhibit synchronous movements, whereas futures and GEPU demonstrate antiphase behavior. However, in both cases (futures and spots) their relationship with CPU/GEPU is bounded to several time periods and some frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented economic challenges worldwide, prompting governments to implement various expansionary economic policies to mitigate its adverse effects. Expansionary policies typically involve measures such as increased government spending, tax cuts, policy and interest rate cuts, and monetary stimulus packages to boost economic activity and support businesses and households during times of economic downturn. This research paper explores the relationship between current inflation rates and the effectiveness of expansionary economic policies adopted during the pandemic. The hypothesis posits that expansionary policies increase inflation rates across different countries. Through a comparative analysis of various countries' approaches, the study identifies the impact of these policies on inflation. Findings reveal varied effects, emphasizing the importance of contextual factors. This cross-country analysis will include developed and developing economies to understand the implications across different economic contexts. This study contributes to understanding the interplay between expansionary policies and inflation dynamics during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to income equality (IE) literature by examining four important issues. First, the study examines the effects of foreign bank presence (FBP) on IE. Second, the paper identifies the minimum threshold level of FBP which can lead to IE. Third, the effect of economic freedom on IE was investigated. Fourth, the paper determines whether economic freedom interacts with FBP to minimise IE. The findings are based on macro data for 33 African countries from 1995 to 2020. The findings from the two-stage system generalised method of moment indicate that unconditionally, FBP reduces income inequality. Also, results from the threshold effect reveal that whilst FBP reduces income inequality, if it exceeds 52%, it may contribute to it. Additionally, the study reveals that economic freedom dampens IIE. Furthermore, economic freedom conditions FBP to reduce IE. Based on these findings, policymakers are advised to exercise caution in attracting foreign banks and to promote local financial institutions. Policymakers are also advised to implement policies to promote economic freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi Terapan is the property of Universitas Airlangga and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

China is currently focusing on the cooperative control of air pollution and CO2 emissions, as well as the mitigation of economic policy uncertainty (EPU). By using panel data from 282 cities spanning from 2003 to 2017 and a newly constructed city-level EPU index, a spatial Durbin, two-way fixed-effects model is employed, with the aim of estimating the impact of EPU on the synergistic emissions intensity (SEI) of air pollutants and CO2. Additionally, this paper investigates the potential channels through which EPU influences SEI. It also explores how pressures related to environmental protection and economic development affect the impact of EPU on SEI. The results indicate that a unit increase in EPU will result in a rise in the SEI of local cities, adjacent cities, and total cities by 930.9%, 69,162.7%, and 70,093.6%, respectively. Moreover, the channel analysis suggests that EPU exacerbates SEI by undermining the upgrading of the industrial structure, augmenting industrial structure distortion, and escalating labor market distortion. Furthermore, the effect of EPU on SEI may be lessened by an increase in environmental protection pressure, while an increase in economic development pressure may exert a positive influence. Finally, this paper concludes by recommending that policymakers should prioritize the maintenance and stability of economic policies, facilitate the advancement of the industrial structure, enhance the efficiency of labor resource allocation, and underscore the significance of managing urban air pollution and CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the still unresolved issue of the growth impact of government size by analysing a historical panel data set of 17 developed countries that ranges from 1880 to 2016. The unique feature of the long-time dimension allows for conducting a kind of natural experiment. Government size is closely related to economic-policy paradigms. The time span covers different economic policy paradigms, in particular, ‘laissez-faire’ before World War II and Keynesian economic policy after World War II. Before WW II government size is small, after WW II it is (has grown) big. Furthermore, this paper contributes to filling a gap in the literature by testing the non-linear hypothesis (Armey curve). We take particular attention to a key shortcoming of panel-data analysis – parameter or individual heterogeneity. Overall, this analysis suggests a systematic positive, albeit quite small, linear relationship of government size with economic growth. As a consequence, rather than concentrating their attention to the sheer size of government, policy makers are advised caring for an efficiently run and high)quality government sector as a prerequisite for a steady growth path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Global Journal of Economics & Business is the property of Refaad for Studies, Research & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Economic policy uncertainty has had an important impact on trade and sustainable economic development. Especially in some specific industries, uncertainty has increased dramatically. The extant related literature mainly analyzes the nexus between uncertainty and trade across different industries and focuses less on a specific industry. Using Chinese customs data on HS 8-digit products over the period of 2000–2013, this paper first investigates the impact of both foreign economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and domestic intra-industry trade on China's mechanical and electrical product exports to 23 trading partners and applies pooled OLS regressions to conduct an empirical study. This paper finds that EPU has a significant inhibition effect on mechanical and electrical product exports; conversely, intra-industry trade can both significantly promote exports and alleviate the inhibition effect of EPU. In addition, the export impact of EPU varied with different trade patterns. It can significantly inhibit processing exports, while it has no effect on ordinary exports. The results of this paper indicate that in the context of increasing uncertainty, our findings could have far-reaching policy implications for China to build a new development pattern of domestic and international dual circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the present paper is to provide the reasons behind the rise and fall of resources for innovation policies in Brazil between 1999 and 2016. The paper also intends to provide a broad map of the financial relations between funding sources and financial agents in the Brazilian National System of Innovation (NSI). In order to do that, the paper uses mixed methods: a historical approach to cover the motivations of the political economy; principles of network analyses to map the institutional relations between funding sources and financial agents; and economic theory to understand the determinants of the cash flows that finance science, technology and innovation (STI) policies. The institutional arrangement of the Brazilian NSI led the financial cycle to rely, on a general level, on GDP dynamism; the strategy of selected public bodies; on the federal budget decision process; and on the external economic cycle. Between 2003 and 2014, political struggles led to economic policies that favoured GDP growth and public spending, while the opposite occurred from 2015 onwards. In general, institutions were not equipped to protect the financial resources from the political changes of the mid-2010s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP) is a key step in the European Semester, aimed at the coordination of the economic policies of the EU Member States to prevent excessive macroeconomic imbalances in the EU and support structural reforms. The MIP was originally envisaged as a legal tool for crisis prevention, allowing macroeconomic imbalances to be detected and then remedied, but is also used as an Early Warning System. However, the real strength of MIP indicators to predict crises has not been proved in practice and is widely contested in the literature. Aim: Fourteen scoreboard ("main") and 28 auxiliary MIP indicators are currently in use. This paper is aimed at the assessment of the power of all MIP indicators in predicting crises. Results: The added value of our research is to test the MIP's ability to predict changes in GDP, which may be considered as a proxy for the deterioration or improvement of the economic situation. Very little investigation has been done in this area so far. In addition, to our knowledge, no research papers have investigated the relevance of auxiliary MIP indicators. Our results show that only four main indicators (house price index, nominal unit labour cost index, general government sector debt, and export market shares) and another four auxiliary indicators (residential construction as percentage of GDP, activity rate, people living in households with very low work intensity, and export performance against advanced economies) seem to be able to predict the upcoming crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Development Research is the property of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Human capital is a nation's primary source of inner strength to achieve sustainable economic growth and development. Meanwhile, income inequality is a critical issue preventing sustainable economic growth and social transformation, especially in developing countries. This paper investigates the effect of human capital on income inequality in both the short and long term using the mean group, pooled mean group, and threshold regressions for the ASEAN-7 (including Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) from 1992 to 2018. The paper develops a theoretical linkage between human capital and income inequality by combining the learning theory and the Kuznets hypothesis. This linkage is then tested using data from the ASEAN countries. Findings from the paper indicate that human capital reduces income inequality in the short run in the ASEAN countries. However, the effect is reverted in the long run, suggesting that human capital may increase the income gap in these countries. Particularly, the inverted U-shaped relationship between human capital and income inequality is established for the ASEAN countries whose GDP per capita is lower than USD 8.2 thousand per year. In contrast, the U-shaped relationship is found for the countries with income per capital of more than USD 8.2 thousand. All these findings suggest that social policies targeting reducing income inequality should be prioritized and stay at the centre of any economic policies to achieve sustainable economic growth and development in the ASEAN countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper retraces the history of Italy's first-generation rent control—a strict system of nominal rent freezes—from its adoption in 1915 to its final dismantling in 1978. It investigates the political and economic reasons why this policy was adopted, removed, intensified, or lightened at different times. In addition, this paper reports data on the evolution of rents in various Italian cities over the period considered, drawing them partly from published statistical sources and partly from archival research. In particular, it presents original data on controlled and uncontrolled rents in nineteen Italian cities between 1953 and 1975 (with gaps), taken from the Istat historical archive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid Lebanon's multifaceted economic crisis, this paper explores the intricate dynamics between political patronage networks and financial stability. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of New Institutional Economics (NIE) and Project Management (PM), the study delves into how entrenched political elites and patronage networks have shaped Lebanon's financial system, exacerbating vulnerabilities and perpetuating the ongoing crisis. Utilizing qualitative methods including in-depth interviews, document analysis, and case studies, the research illuminates the pivotal role of political actors and their vested interests in economic policies and financial institutions. The findings reveal systemic governance failures, crony capitalism, and institutional decay as underlying causes of Lebanon's economic stress. In response, the paper proposes a comprehensive framework for governance reform that integrates insights from NIE and PM, emphasizing structured planning, accountability mechanisms, and institutional strengthening. The purpose of this study is not only to contribute to a nuanced understanding of Lebanon's challenges but also to offer actionable insights for policymakers, academics, and stakeholders to address the root causes of the crisis and pave the way for sustainable economic recovery and revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on how small (weak) states respond to the geopolitical rivalry of great powers often centers around the hedging strategy, where small states tend to maintain their diplomatic independence by taking nonexplicit sides and stances to better safeguard their security and interests in the face of increasing external uncertainty. This paper, however, provides another powerful way of explaining this from the perspective of nonstate actors through the changing attitudes and strategies of the Malaysian Rail Link (MRL) in the Malaysia-China East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project. This paper shows that due to the unique nature of firms, small state firms will choose to respond to external great power games with economic hedging, and performance legitimization and particularistic legitimization determine the strength of small states' economic hedging and when firms and the governments they represent choose performance as a way to enhance legitimacy, small state firms will choose to use economic soft hedging as their primary mode of response. Conversely, economic complex hedging is more pronounced when particularistic legitimization is used to enhance legitimacy. The findings of this paper also demonstrate that small state firms have a complex connection with the government. On the one hand, small state firms are the implement and influential representatives of the ruling government's foreign policy, inheriting the government's essential interest pursuits and expectations. On the other hand, the enterprise itself is also a vital interest organization. It will also formulate economic policy according to its own needs. However, the MRL shows that the Malaysian government firmly controls the tiny state firms and is an important tool and instrument for the foreign economic game of the small state government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of a circular economy (CE) is a sustainable development strategy aimed at minimising waste and maximising resource efficiency. This paper explores the transition towards a circular economy in Nigeria, providing an overview of the challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives. Nigeria is rich in natural resources and has significant economic potential. However, the country faces severe environmental, economic, and social challenges that could be met with a circular economy. Although Nigeria has abundant natural resources and great economic potential, it faces many significant environmental, economic, and social challenges that must be addressed to move to a circular economy as a viable solution. The methods used in research are based on a mixed-methods research approach; the study synthesises findings from a comprehensive literature review, case studies of Nigerian businesses adopting CE practices, and insights from a SWOT analysis conducted in consultation with experts. The conclusions of the SWOT analysis, enriched by discussions with experts, form the basis for a set of targeted recommendations. These recommendations are aimed at policymakers, business leaders, and practitioners, outlining strategic actions to overcome the identified barriers and harness the opportunities inherent in a circular economy. This paper contributes to the scholarly discourse on sustainability and serves as a practical guide for other developing countries navigating the transition to a circular economy. It underscores the urgency and feasibility of adopting circular economy principles in Nigeria, highlighting the path towards a more sustainable, efficient, and economically robust future. In the study, prospects for Nigeria to benefit from include increased resource efficiency, job creation, economic diversification, and environmental sustainability if the circular economy approach were applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public policy classification developed by Theodore Lowi is one of the most frequently referenced, utilized, and debated frameworks in political science. This paper delves into the question of whether the concepts of distributive, redistributive, regulatory, and constitutive policies can be applied to the context of Eastern Europe. To explore this issue, a subnational comparative research design was developed to examine six Croatian public policies (economic policy, social policy, education, gender equality, media, and culture). The primary method of data collection involved expert reports, akin to Lowi's original research approach. The characteristics of sampled sectors were summarized through open coding conducted at three levels, allowing for a comparison with Lowi's policy types. The findings indicate that the fundamental idea of this seminal taxonomy, which highlights the variation in links between policy and politics within a single country, remains relevant. Additionally, the analysis revealed that policy goals, policy instruments, non-state actors, and their relationships with state actors are fundamental features upon which classification should be based. Future research endeavors should aim to construct a robust methodological framework with clear indicators for selected features corresponding to each policy type. This would enhance the sophistication and empirical applicability of the theory, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of policymaking dynamics in diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important macroeconomic regulation methods, fiscal and tax policy is supposed to play an active role in green economic transformation. Industrial structure optimization is a fundamental approach to address environmental problems, which has been fully demonstrated in the current studies. It is necessary to identify whether the fiscal and tax policy can promote the green economic transition through optimizing industrial structure. Taking property tax policy as an example, this paper investigates whether fiscal and tax policy promotes the green transformation of the urban economy from the perspective of industrial structure upgrading. The results show that the fiscal and tax policy implemented for a certain industry has a significant positive spillover effect on the optimization of the city's overall industrial structure. Scientific and reasonable fiscal and tax policy accelerates the intensive development of urban economy by promoting the upgrading of urban industry. These findings suggest that in terms of cities in the new and old kinetic energy transformation period, government should consider the upgrading of industrial structure in the formulation of fiscal and tax policy and attach great importance to the green development of urban economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advocates for a deepening of the English Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) model as a mechanism for achieving better economic and social policy outcomes. It argues for greater alignment of financial resources with long-term goals, fostering co-creation and upholding democratic accountability. It explores the origins of the MCA model set within the context of wider UK devolution and successive waves of English government reform, identifies some key benefits of the MCA model such as scale, democratic legitimacy and potential for collaboration, before proposing some key areas for further development. The paper recommends a strategic focus on evolving the relationship between the MCA and public service reform, particularly in health, education and employment support. The story of North East devolution is presented as an important case study that provides lessons for the future trajectory of English devolution as a whole, while highlighting the necessity of continuous adaptation to achieve sustainable regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges faced by economic policy making in the years following the pandemic, particularly in relation to fiscal constraints. It highlights the uncertainty surrounding inflationary pressures and the limitations of macroeconomic models in predicting and addressing inflation. The article also explores the effectiveness of different fiscal strategies in stabilizing private consumption during the pandemic, the relationship between Germany's current account surpluses and monetary policy decisions, trends in corporate tax competition in Europe, and the determinants of international aid allocation to Ukraine. Additionally, it presents various policy proposals and debates on public finances, including the increase in public debt ratios, the need for EU funds to incentivize public investments, the reform of the German debt rule, and the transparency of the EU Recovery Fund. The article concludes by examining the divergent public finances of Germany and France, the fiscal prospects for Italy, and the success of Switzerland's debt brake rule. [Extracted from the article]

This paper investigates the effects of such CEO characteristics as gender, age, and education on the CEOs' risk-taking behavior during periods of economic policy uncertainty. The paper utilizes Execucomp, BoardEx, and Compustat data from 2005 to 2017 in order to give a novel perspective on how CEO characteristics may provide differing risk-taking positions when faced with varying levels of uncertainty. The results offer robust evidence that older CEOs generally take less risk—regardless of the level of economic policy uncertainty. However, more educated CEOs take less risk only during economically uncertain times. The results also indicate that while female CEOs tend to be younger and have lower levels of education, gender does not provide a significant difference in risk-taking behavior during periods of economic policy uncertainty. Furthermore, we do not find any significant effect of insider status or corporate governance variables on CEO risk-taking under economic policy uncertainty once gender, age, and education are controlled for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the quantile-specific short- and long-term effects of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on the efficiency of the green bond market. Design/methodology/approach: This study examines the long-term cointegration relationship and the short-term fluctuation relationship of EPU, WTI crude oil price (WTI) and European Union Allowances price (EUA) with the green bond market efficiency (GBE) using the quantile autoregressive distributed lag method. Additionally, the authors analyze the differences before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings: EPU has a significant positive impact on the GBE before the outbreak. However, during the crisis period, the impact of EPU and WTI was greatly weakened, whereas the impact of EUA was strengthened. Practical implications: This paper demonstrates the dynamics of GBE and its influencing factors under different periods. The findings provide insights for market participants and policymakers to gain a clearer understanding of the green bond market. Originality/value: This paper extends the study of green bonds by quantifying the GBE and elucidating the nonlinear relationship between efficiency and independent variables at different quantiles over different periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 44th issue of Financial Innovation (FIN), Volume 11, No.2 (2024) features 29 papers from authors and co-authors representing 18 countries. The papers are categorized into three sub-themes: Financial Stability and Risk Management, Market Sentiment and Behavioral Finance, and Economic Policy and Its Impact. The papers cover a range of topics including energy and metal price links post-COVID-19, systemic risk in cryptocurrency portfolios, sectoral returns in the US, prediction tools for China's systemic financial crisis, governance and macroeconomic impacts on financial stability, risk management models, supply chain transparency and stock price crash risk, sentiment-based strategies for stock price forecasting, the impact of emotions on crowdfunding success, the relationship between Google Search Volume Index and market volatility, the impact of social media sentiment on stock behavior, the relationship between crude oil and refined products prices, the impact of interest rate uncertainty on oil prices, the economic and environmental impacts of the 2020 oil price shock and COVID-19 on Nigeria, the impact of construction investments in Saudi Arabia, the impact of FDI and trade on Bangladesh's economy, the influence of digitization on inflation, sectoral market risks and macroeconomic effects in Vietnam, and the effects of COVID-19 monetary policy on banking stocks. [Extracted from the article]

In the context of China's new power system, various regions have implemented policies mandating the integration of new energy sources with energy storage, while also introducing subsidies to alleviate project cost pressures. Currently, there is a lack of subsidy analysis for photovoltaic energy storage integration projects. In order to systematically assess the economic viability of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects after considering energy storage subsidies, this paper reviews relevant policies in the Chinese photovoltaic energy storage market. It analyzes the cost and revenue composition of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects, and constructs a system dynamics model for the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of such projects. Taking a specific photovoltaic energy storage project as an example, this paper measures the levelized cost of electricity and the investment return rate under different energy storage scenarios. Combining energy storage allocation ratios and internal rate of return indicators, this paper analyzes the net present value of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects under different subsidy standards. The results indicate that, while the current energy storage subsidy policies positively stimulate photovoltaic energy storage integration projects, they exhibit a limited capacity to cover energy storage investment costs, thereby failing to incentivize capital market participation in the construction of such projects. Rational allocation of energy storage capacity and optimization of corresponding subsidy policies are crucial prerequisites for enhancing the economic viability and widespread adoption of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects. This study not only aids in investment decision making for photovoltaic power stations but also contributes to the formulation of energy storage subsidy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current situation of the Romanian economy must be understood beginning from the analysis of the main measures of fiscal-budgetary policy applied over the last years by the public authority. In general, the Romanian fiscal policy (before and after accession) was procyclical. However, we continue by presenting some of its characteristics for the past years when we underwent the last ascending phase of the economic cycle. Actually, Romania's GDP exceeded constantly the potential level, and the demand surplus became predominant, generating inflationary pressures. Maintaining the expansionist level of the fiscal policy, in the conditions of a positive deviation of GDP, as of 2017, and opting-out regarding the structural deficit target contributed to affecting the stability of public finances, on short-and medium-term. Romania entered into an extremely difficult economic context, generated by the pandemic, with an extremely narrow fiscal space which limited a lot the possibilities of combating the effects of the pandemic. In this paper we analyzed a period limited to the year 2020, because we consider this time as marking the end of an economic cycle in a period of peace and economic calm, as another is about to begin based on the new realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For several decades, multinational enterprises (MNEs) have offshored their manufacturing activities to low-cost countries to achieve significant productivity gains. However, changes in the relative competitiveness of countries, social effects of deindustrialization in advanced economies and the vulnerability of global value chains (GVCs) revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic have encouraged some firms, supported by governments, to "reshore" part, or all of their offshore industrial operations back to their home country. Reshoring decisions are motivated by a variety of endogenous and exogenous factors that are empirically analyzed in this paper to understand how reshoring policies implemented by governments can more effectively address the factors driving the firms' location decisions. A review of the reshoring policies implemented in Europe, the UK and the US is conducted to provide general policy recommendations regarding policy instruments, SMEs, innovation and regionalization of value chains. This paper fills a gap in the literature by connecting the micro-level supply chain management analysis of firms' reshoring drivers with the macro-level economic policy perspective on reshoring. The review of existing reshoring policies calls for an in-depth analysis by the manufacturing sector and at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper underscores the importance of securing strategic mineral raw materials for economic competitiveness, particularly in Germany. It highlights the dependency on imports, leading to reliance on resource-rich countries. The paper discusses the risks of this dependency, including supply disruptions from exogenous shocks. It explores national economic policies to increase supply security and presents a quantitative analysis showing that active resource policy can significantly reduce supply risk for national companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the influence of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and geopolitical risk (GPR) on the relationship between internal cash flow and external financing in an emerging market, Saudi Arabia. It also examines the role of asset tangibility and financial crisis in establishing this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: The sample was taken from non-financial sector companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange between 2002 and 2019. The data were analyzed using panel data regression analysis, including ordinary least squares and fixed effects model. The author addresses potential endogeneity through the generalized method of moments. Findings: This study found that both EPU and GPR reduce the sensitivity of external financing to internal cash flow. This implies that firms depend more on internally generated funds during periods of increased EPU and GPR. Besides, this study found that the influence of EPU and GPR on the sensitivity of external financing to internal cash flow is more (less) negative for more tangible firms (during the financial crisis period). This result implies that Saudi firms boasting a higher level of tangibility are more flexible when it comes to seeking external financing. However, the presence of uncertainty during the crisis period makes the external financing costly, and therefore, firms will be less likely to raise funds from external sources. Practical implications: This study has important implications for managers, policymakers and regulators. First, the paper findings provide insights for corporate decision-makers in helping them to focus on internal funds to finance their investment during uncertain times. Second, the findings help managers to understand the role of asset tangibility in raising external funding when firms face financial constraints due to uncertainty. Third, this study also helps corporates to focus on internal funds to finance their investment during the crisis period because EPU and GPR increase the cost of external finance. Finally, the results provide guidelines for policymakers and regulators to make appropriate policy measures to increase the easy availability of external finance during periods of increased EPU and GPR. Originality/value: This paper is the first to shed light on the impact of internal funds on external financing while paying close attention to the role of EPU and GPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the combined effects of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings on the level of leverage and its speed of adjustment (SOA). We find that both the EPU and ESG ratings are negatively associated with leverage when assessed separately. However, when EPU and ESG ratings are combined, we show that ESG ratings mitigate the detrimental impact of EPU on leverage. Our results also indicate that higher EPU levels force firms to increase their speed of adjustment due to tighter financing requirements, while ESG ratings overcome that issue and enable firms to maintain lower SOA. These results are robust to various robustness checks and are mainly driven by environmental and social factors. Our paper contributes to the growing ESG literature by showing that ESG ratings can alleviate the adverse effects of EPU on leverage and SOA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the dynamic linkages among economic policy uncertainty (EPU), the green bond market, the carbon market, and the macroeconomy using the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model with monthly data spanning from January 2016 to December 2021. Additionally, it assesses the robustness and accuracy of the empirical results through the Bayesian vector autoregressive (BVAR) model. The findings indicate that EPU negatively affects the green bond market in the short term but has a positive impact in the medium and long term. Conversely, EPU has a positive impact on the carbon market in the short term but a negative impact in the medium and long term. Furthermore, the green bond market negatively influences the carbon market in both the short and medium to long term. These results suggest that emerging markets, such as the green bond and carbon markets, are influenced by EPU. The adverse impact of the green bond market on the carbon market, however, contributes to expediting China's attainment of its low-carbon objectives. Appropriate economic policies can play a vital role in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. The study also reveals that the US-China trade war has expedited the development of green capital markets in China, despite its impact on the green economic transition in the country. These findings provide insights for the government and investors to formulate suitable strategies for risk mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of political uncertainty on Pakistan’s economy. Pakistan is grappling with the worst kind of economic crunch due to the cycle of political vengeance. The paper discusses the historical developments that how the country has been plowed by the constant cycle of changing regimes during the muddling nineties and Flat fifties. The constant power struggle and frightened political environment have deterred both domestic and foreign investors. In this research paper, qualitative research method has been used which includes data from research articles, journals, opinions and books. The piece highlights the severe consequences, including energy outages, reduced purchasing power, and mounting inflation due to inconsistent policies and governance anomalies. The path forward lies in establishing a consistent economic policy framework by appointing non-partisan economists and state leaders must address structural reforms as these two solutions are the only pathway towards economic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between uncertainty indices (Geopolitical Uncertainty Index and Global Economic Policy Uncertainty Index) and cryptocurrencies. This study evaluated the behavior of cryptocurrencies with the evolution of uncertainties (GPU, EPU) on returns and volatility in terms of safe heaven as in traditional specualtive assets it increases their volaitility and reduces risk. For this purpose, this study examines the relationship between uncertanities indices, gold returns and crptocurrency by using the OLS regression for the monthly data from April 2017 to April 2022. The findings of this study indicate that the return and volatility of cryptocurrency increases. In particular, we note that the cryptocurrency market could serve as a weak hedge and safe against GEPU during a bull market; It could be considered a strong hedge, but in most cases could not serve as a safety against GPR. However, in case of Gold it is found that it serves as weak hedge against uncertainity indices and is not considered as safe heaven against GEPU and GPR. This study expands the current research on uncertainity indices and provides unique insight about the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies and safe heaven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the link between financial market movement and economic policy uncertainty indices is well-established in literature, uncertainty in the form of 'foreboding' emanating from catastrophic events has not been explored in literature. This paper explores "foreboding", which reflects uncertainty at its extreme, following the Covid-19 pandemic. Using Natural Language Processing on minute-by-minute news data, I construct two Foreboding Indices, representing 'foreboding' or 'fearful apprehension', for 28,622 Covid-related news for the period July 2020–August 2021. The impact of foreboding on financial market volatility is explored using a logistic regression model. Both the indices show a marked increase in June–July, 2020, in January 2021, April, 2021, and July–August, 2021 and have a positive impact on volatility for hourly S&P 500 Index. Understanding of foreboding sentiment is crucial for central banks looking to monitor financial market volatility. Appropriate signaling in accordance to sentiment can help central banks handle detrimental impacts of market volatility. Moreover, FI can be used for market practitioners to gauge the sentiment and take effective trading decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic zones can be powerful drivers of economic growth in developing countries. However, less is known about their distributional impact on the local society. This paper provides empirical evidence from Indonesian provinces on the relationship between economic zones and within-province income inequality. We apply fixed-effects panel estimation to province-level data for the whole of Indonesia, which we then complement with separate studies on the opening of three economic zones in three provinces using the synthetic control method. The results suggest that the above relationship is positive overall. The estimated rise in income inequality after a zone opens is, however, relatively small on average and may be short-lived. Moreover, the average estimate masks large regional differences, which suggests that the inequality implications of economic zone policies depend on local conditions. One possible explanation for the rise in inequality is that the unskilled population benefits disproportionately less from the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial crisis caused by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States in 2006 has deeply plunged many Western capitalist countries into multiple political, economic and social crises. This has forced many financial institutions in developed countries to redistribute their assets to strengthen the stability of financial institutions, forcing many Europeans and Americans to return funds to their own countries. As a result, the domestic currency depreciated, and the economic growth slowed down or even went into recession. As an emerging economy, China has been faced with both opportunities and challenges. The financial market has long been regarded as the "barometer" of the national economy, so the deepening relationship, such as the research and cooperation between the financial markets in Hong Kong and the Mainland, can certainly improve the international financial status of both sides. It also promotes the process of building a fair, orderly and inclusive new international order. This paper systematically introduces the political and financial relations between Hong Kong and the Mainland, focusing on the relationships between Shanghai-Hong Kong and Guangdong-Hong Kong financial centers and advocating some suggestions on how to balance the relationship between the three financial centers while speeding up the construction of the national financial center. Using a variety of financial theories and statistics of Hang Seng AH Share Premium Index and Centaline City Leading Index, etc., this paper reaches the conclusion that the financial relationships between the Mainland and Hong Kong have always been close, while the differences between the two markets are more pronounced, steps can definitely be taken to benefit both of them (Zhu, 2013). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of protecting the rights and freedoms of entrepreneurs in a market economy – they are necessary "tools" and a driving force in the market relations that expand a country's gross domestic product, and as such should be directly involved in the socio-economic policy of the state. Due to a historical absence of the specialised legal means and procedural tools required to ensure the effective security and protection of the rights of entrepreneurs, Kazakh legislators have carefully studied examples from other countries to develop their own legislation relating to profit-making entrepreneurial activities during the early stages of the post-independent development of Kazakhstan. In this way, licensing processes, protections for entrepreneurs from unreasonable inspections and abuse of power by the authorities, the creation of special organisations to protect entrepreneur's rights, and a reduction in the number of administrative barriers in practice were all consolidated and codified into the regulatory structure. All the above allowed the authors to highlight the main purpose of this study – a comprehensive systemic study of the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs in socio-economic, political, and legal relations (as exemplified by the Republic of Kazakhstan). The main and practically significant results were obtained by employing both theoretical and methodological analysis of scientific publications covering the issues of legal security and the protection of entrpreneurial rights and freedoms at the national and international levels, as well as tools of comparative legal, comparative political, systemic and structural analysis, value-statutory and institutional methods, and content analysis of statistical data and official documents. This paper constitutes a study of a scientific and recommendatory legal and socio-political nature, which has unconditional practical significance, originality in clarifying certain issues, and is aimed at a broad study of the essential aspects of the legal protection of entrepreneurial activity in modern Kazakhstan. We recognize that the subject considered in this paper is promising for further scientific elaboration and detailing of certain points, which have been superficially touched upon in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of short-term economic dynamism in responding to crisis induced supply shortages. We focus on the domestic manufacturing ramp-up of surgical masks, respirators, and their intermediary products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We develop a novel method for timely identification and validation of the evolving state of domestic manufacturing. To unpack the activities of domestic manufacturers and related institutions, we triangulate across 56 qualitative interviews, certifications, Thomasnet.com®, industry associations, and other public data. We find that while large manufacturers could rapidly scale up, onshore, or diversify production to enter into domestic production of critical medical supplies, these large manufacturers alone were insufficient to meet the spike in demand. In face of this shortage, small and medium enterprises (SME), who entered into mask and respirator production as de novo firms, spin-offs, and by diversifying, were important in increasing overall domestic capacity and serving markets unmet by large hospital distributors. These firms often had fewer competencies and resources compared to larger firms, and received less effective government support. Despite these disadvantages, a number of SMEs succeeded in entering into domestic production, and our interviews suggest this capacity could have been better integrated into the national response. We propose new theory for how and when federal and state governments should support short-term economic dynamism (firm entry into target products and/or markets) during crises to address supply shortages, and the types of market and network failures federal or state governments may be most effective at addressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constraints and incentives of the ecological policy have an important impact on the coordinated development of ecological areas. Based on the panel data of 1613 counties in 23 provinces in China from 2002 to 2019, this paper analyzes the impact of this policy on economic development using the quasi-natural experiment of the transfer payment in national key ecological functional areas (TPNKEFA) and studies the impact of the transfer payment scale on economic development based on the panel threshold model. First, the results reveal that the TPNKEFA can significantly boost economic development, compared with the control group, TPNKEFA can increase gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita GDP by 6.14% and 10.72%, the results have been validated by some placebo tests, and the impact of this policy on economic development is sustained and effective. Second, heterogeneity results show that TPNKEFA has the greatest positive effect on the economic development in the eastern region, followed by the central region, and the least positive effect on the western region. Furthermore, the TPNKEFA facilitates local economic development primarily by increasing human capital in ecological functional areas. Third, the capital scale of TPNKEFA has the double-threshold effect on economic development, the larger the scale is, the stronger the effect is. The capital size of TPNKEFA has the greatest impact on regional economic growth in eastern region, whereas it has the weakest impact in western region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]