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AbstractAustrian engineer, philosopher, and political economist Josef Popper-Lynkeus (1838–1921) was a renowned public intellectual of Viennese Late Enlightenment. In this article, we unearth and explore Popper-Lynkeus’s social program. It sought to implement social conscription to unconditionally guarantee a basic level of goods and services for every human individual. We appraise the economic and ethical justifications provided by Popper-Lynkeus for his allegedly “rational” proposals and the intended consequences for the discipline of economics. Finally, and based on our disambiguation of different notions of “unconditionality”, we clarify similarities and differences between Popper-Lynkeus’s social program and contemporary proposals for a universal basic income, characterising both as alternatives to traditional welfare states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions are the effect but also the cause of eating behaviors, including the purchase and consumption of snacks. As snacks become an increasingly prevalent segment of the food industry, their consumption has been linked to rising rates of overweight, obesity, and diet-related diseases. Understanding how emotional valence influences consumer attitudes and behaviors toward snacks is therefore crucial. This study explores the relationship between emotional eating and the propensity to consume unhealthy snacks, both sweet and salty. A survey of 707 representative participants revealed distinct emotional patterns in snack consumption, with choices significantly influenced by consumers' emotional states and personal preferences. Furthermore, individuals who frequently opted for unhealthy snacks typically exhibited poorer health and financial profiles.

The objective of this research is to construct a multifactorial model facilitating the assessment of the interrelation between aspects of Chinese consumers' attitudes towards luxury items and their psychological intent to acquire such goods. The paper presents a factorial model of the evaluation system, which encompasses factors such as luxury brand awareness, materialism, social comparison with peers, fashion novelty, and consumer engagement with fashion. The research findings indicate that: (1) there exists a positive correlation between the attitudes of Chinese consumers towards luxury items and their intention to acquire them; (2) Chinese consumers, overall, tend to disregard fashion innovations as a significant factor in luxury item purchasing decisions; (3) however, materialism as a motivation for conspicuous consumption and status has become a pivotal stimulating factor; (4) substantial influence is also exerted by the impact of luxury item acquisition on the owner's social status; (5) individuals possessing knowledge of fashion trends demonstrate a higher propensity to acquire luxury items. Theoretically, this study contributes to the broadening of the understanding of luxury goods consumption within the context of the Chinese market. This contribution holds value for researchers of this market, as well as those examining other regional markets, facilitating a comparative analysis of consumer behavior factors. From a practical perspective, the model is oriented towards expanding the toolkit available to managers and marketers. It enables an understanding of the psychological motives attracting Chinese consumers to the luxury goods market. This understanding, in turn, facilitates the formulation of an effective strategy for introducing new items into this market.

Since the beginning of formation of societies (families, tribes), people have looked for ways of arranging mutual relationships so as to improve safety, comfort and development and to be able to differentiate between what is good and what is evil, on the level of everyday life. In their struggles with nature, they sought support in faith. Priests became the intellectual elite, and guidelines how to act became the content of religion. On the higher level of integration, the role of rulers became prominent, and guidelines were sought in the law established by them, with specific contribution from more important subjects (hierarchs). In the background of this process, wise men (philosophers) and theologians made efforts to create and arrange a system of cultivated values in important fields and circumstances of life. The paper deals with the question of ethics in the healthcare sector and during the pandemic.

Concerns have been raised regarding the erosion of fiscal responsibility caused by economic policy uncertainty as a result of global pandemics and economic uncertainty. However, no systematic examination of the link between energy poverty and economic policy uncertainty has been conducted to date. This study adds considerably to the literature on energy poverty by investigating whether economic policy uncertainty affects energy poverty and if economic policy uncertainty moderates the relationship between government spending and energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The link was confirmed using data from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lags (CS-ARDL), and panel quantile regression (PQR) models. The results from CS-ARDL show that (1) economic policy uncertainty (EPU) exerts energy poverty, (2) government expenditure hampers energy poverty, and (3) the interactive influence of economic policy uncertainty on government expenditure on energy poverty is negative. The results of PQR are diverse. Regarding the interaction effect, we find a positive and significant impact of the interaction of EPU with GXP on energy poverty in the 50th and 75th quantiles of 0.116 and 1.347, respectively, thus corroborating the results of the non-interactive model. By contrast, a significant negative interaction effect is observed only in the 25th quantile. The study offers some policy crucial policy implications for policymakers to make energy accessible to the SSA population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamic of consumers' perceptions of GM food and explore whether their knowledge of GM technology is associated with a significant change. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents a meta-analysis of 156 primary studies reporting a total of 225 attitudes toward genetically modified foods. To identify the impact of consumers' knowledge of GM technology, the authors estimate multivalued treatment effects model. Findings: The results of this study show that consumers' attitudes show a U shape during 2001–2022. That is, the rise in opposition to genetically modified foods has been reversed. In addition, this study also shows that the increase in consumers' knowledge of genetically modified technology contributes to their changes in attitude. Originality/value: This paper is the first study that empirically investigates the dynamics of Chinese consumers' attitude to genetically modified foods, and shows the rise in opposition to genetically modified foods has been reversed, which has important implication for commercialization of genetically modified crops in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of food outlet choice patterns of Alternative Food System consumers (local and organic consumers) and evaluate if these patterns differ from that of conventional consumers. We conducted a nationwide online survey collecting data from U.S. food shoppers monthly. The data utilized in this study were collected and compiled from July 2016 to November 2019, resulting in 21,135 observations. We measured choices of eight food outlet formats within four categories (high-end, traditional, broad-assortment, and limited-assortment). Further, we examined the varying effects of demographic and household characteristics on food outlet format choices. We found that relative to conventional consumers, alternative food system consumers, who are local- and/or organic-minded, tend to be diversity-seekers who patronize various formats of food outlets. Among the four food outlet categories, we identified several complementary and substitute relationships. The occurrences and strengths of these relationships vary across consumer segments identified based on their preferences for local and organic food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the sustainability of their purchases. The coffee industry has been a leader in developing initiatives that promote the adoption of sustainable practices along the value chain. Labels on coffee packages that denote sustainable attributes are intended to inform the consumer and encourage sustainable consumption. The main objective of this study was to analyze consumers' knowledge of, and preference for sustainable labels (Fairtrade, Organic USDA, Rain Forest Alliance, and 4C) on coffee in Honduras, a developing low-income and high-quality coffee exporting country. The study also evaluated the consumer's visual attention to sustainable coffee labels. Data were collected using a questionnaire (including a choice experiment) from a sample of 450 consumers, as well as eye-tracking technology (a subsample of 65 consumers). Although Honduran coffee consumers have low levels of familiarity and knowledge about sustainable labels, they are willing to pay premiums for coffee with these labels (10% to 27% relative to average prices). Consumers pay more attention to the Organic USDA label, which is also the label with the highest willingness to pay value. Overall, the study's results indicate that there is a domestic market for coffee produced sustainably in Honduras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the cross-sectional properties of household's food and non-food consumption expenditures conceptualized as inter-dependent spatial random processes within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). To this end, the paper applies spatio-temporal econometric methods to data extracted from the first edition of the Harmonized Survey on Household Living Conditions (EHCVM, 2018/2019). The findings from the unconditional distribution of household economic wellbeing (measured by nominal per-capita food and non-food expenditures) using the inequality indicators of the Atkinson and Gini coefficients, suggest the presence of cross-sectional inequalities in household food and non-food wellness within WAEMU. However, food wellness inequality appeared lower than that of non-food wellness across the 8 countries. In addition, the economic security analysis, based on the indices of Watts, Sen, and Foster (aplha=1), highlight important spatial heterogeneity in household's vulnerability to poverty within-and-between WAEMU country members. Moreover, estimation of the semiparametric bivariate Gaussian copula model of food and non-food consumption expenditures, shows their significant dependence with household's demographic and geospatial characteristics, as well as the economic and health characteristics of the household head. Indeed, among other key findings, a gender based gradient in household's food and non-food wellness at respectively 3.6 and 4.4% is observed in favor of male headed households; along with an Urban/Rural divide in food and non-food wellness at 20.7% and 27.3%, respectively, in favor of urban households. Therefore, in line with goals 1, 2, 4, 5, 9 and 10 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, the paper provides key insights for evidence based policy making within WAEMU.

We conducted a non-representative online questionnaire survey among inhabitants of the Szeklerland region in Romania with a view to looking into their second-hand shopping habits. Based on an adapted version of an international scale, the present analysis aims to explore the motivational background of these shopping activities. The exploratory factor analysis indicated five motivational dimensions: economic/austerity, critical/environmental, originality, social interaction, nostalgic and self-expression. The three latter motivational dimensions resemble the hedonic motivational dimensions indicated by the literature. The motivational dimensions can be explained by a series of independent variables; however, the explanatory power of regression models is marginal. As a second step, we adopted a cluster analysis in order to model second-hand shoppers’ typical consumer segments. We found three clusters: austerity social interactionist, originality seekers, and nostalgic critics.

Research purpose. To quantify such a subjective phenomenon as deprivation, we can use direct questions or more objective composite indicators, including more characteristics of the situation of individuals. Moreover, when ageing is of interest, the usually used indicators should be updated to reflect the needs of ageing citizens. The European Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe provides a vast database connected to the European population over 50. Two indicators for material and social deprivation from the survey are used to describe both types of deprivation in European welfare countries. The well-being of elderly inhabitants is a challenging problem for European economies; for this reason, information on the development of deprivation might be helpful to address future problems even before they become.

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced an extensive aggravation of people's anxiety level. Different policies aimed at fighting the spread of the virus could affect anxiety in various ways. We built an ad hoc web-based survey, administered to the student population of three Italian universities at the beginning of the pandemic and at one year's distance, to collect information on retrospective and current anxiety levels and the underlining reasons. The survey also included questions concerning sociodemographic, economic, labor, lifestyle, academic career, and on-line teaching features, which prevents students from identifying the main survey topic to be anxiety. This research aims at assessing the change in anxiety levels between the analyzed periods and the main determinants of such change, focusing on students' economic expectancies. Results from a Poisson regression model show that anxiety has increased compared to both the pre-pandemic level and the one quantified during the first lockdown. This increase is revealed to be mostly driven by economic and career-related uncertainties, rather than by job loss and proximity to COVID-19. Thus, policymakers should take action to provide certainties both in terms of economic prospects and reopening strategies, especially to avoid that the resulting increase in anxiety translates into an amplified suicide risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subject and purpose of work: The study focuses on the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic globally and regionally, particularly in Poland.

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Prior to the publication of P 46 (P.Beatty II; LDAB 3011), at Heb. 11.37 the earlier critical editions printed one of the longer readings, though from Erasmus onwards the passage was subject to a considerable number of conjectural emendations. With P 46, the evidence for the reading ἐπρίσθησαν gained significant early manuscript support, thus impacting subsequent editorial practice and textual analysis. This study offers a reinvestigation of this textual problem and brings a new proposal based on a fresh evaluation of external and internal criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider how the possibility of international migration affects an individual’s educational choices in their home country. Educational choice dictates skill, and the paper refers to the highly educated, highly skilled as “professionals”; others are “non-professionals.” Without the opportunity to emigrate abroad people choose their educational investment (and hence their skill level) as we might expect. To this normal choice the higher status given professionals is also accounted for. Consider now how the opportunity for international migration to a higher paying job affects both professionals and non-professionals. Despite the higher status a professional enjoys, once an individual takes the possibility of migration to a different country into consideration, he may well decide to choose education leading to non-professional employment. A result of this paper is that if there are low chances of obtaining professional jobs in the host country, individuals may well choose an educational track leading to a low occupational profession in order to increase their chances of obtaining a job in the host country after migration. Thus, all home country students may choose the non-professional education track. Those who might have otherwise pursued higher, professional education may forgo that schooling. The theory developed here explains the forsaken schooling phenomenon. This phenomenon shows that low-skilled and skilled home country workers are willing to accept low-skilled positions in host countries. This leads to the forgoing of professional schooling in the home country since it is not optimal for the worker in the home country to choose a high skilled education since, they will be overqualified in the host country. This will have a long run affect. As time goes on, therefore, people who consider migrating abroad will have either lower years of schooling, or generally have not completed professional schools (technical-vocational or tertiary).

In today’s economy, which is extremely challenging and competitive at the same time, many people want to have their own business and manage their own incomes. Entrepreneurship is a key driver of today’s economy. This observation underscores the need to ensure adequate entrepreneurial education, in line with the demands on the labor market. The purpose and role of this experience are to educate students to understand the entrepreneurial activity, to develop their entrepreneurial skills and competencies and the intention to run a business. The learning environment is crucial for a successful entrepreneur and he can generate change. This article describes experiences from developing and using the entrepreneurial learning environment in high schools with a technological profile. In this study 1200 students from three technological high schools were observed, the behavior and the results obtained after studying the specialized economic modules were analyzed. Our goal was to identify the main challenges of these students. In our study, we used a mixed-method: questionnaires, topic-based interviews, direct and participatory observation as data collection methods. According to our results, the main challenges were: difficulties in understanding new entrepreneurial notions due to traditional teaching methods, lack of ICT skills, lack of team learning principles and inefficient communication within a group.

Due to geographical proximity and trade links with China, Southeast Asian countries were among the first to be exposed to and affected by COVID‐19. However, despite shared challenges including protecting population health and economic security, policy responses by national governments have been varied and remain so a year into the pandemic. This article critically reviews Southeast Asian countries' approaches to COVID‐19 with reference to individual country experiences and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. We discuss key policy responses: leadership, public risk communications, health system preparedness and resilience, economic support and social protection, aid and global health diplomacy, digital technologies, and the region's multilateral response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finally, Oshitani warns that the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving, and the pandemic's negative impacts are likely to continue to occur in the coming months or probably years and it is too early to determine which countries are more successful than others in reducing the impact of COVID-19. Keywords: E00; E12; E31; E52; F13; I10; I14; I15; I18; I19; P46; P48 EN E00 E12 E31 E52 F13 I10 I14 I15 I18 I19 P46 P48 1 17 17 01/05/22 20220101 NES 220101 The COVID-19 Pandemic and Asia The COVID-19 pandemic has been both a public health and a socio-economic crisis on a global scale. Atsushi Miyawaki and Yusuke Tsugawa (2022) review the pandemic's impact on public health in Asian countries, with a special focus on why Asian countries experienced fewer COVID-19 cases and deaths during the initial few months of the pandemic before vaccines became available and propose perspectives on how we can be better prepared for future pandemics. Miyawaki and Tsugawa also find that the COVID-19 pandemic has indirectly impacted on non-COVID-19 diseases, as health care systems for acute and chronic diseases have been disrupted due to the concentrated workload generated by the care of COVID 19 patients. [Extracted from the article]