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The purpose of this study is to contribute to an investigation of the role of European integration as a potential growth driver or convergence engine for emerging Europe. We classify emerging Europe into two groups of economies: (1) 11 new EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe; and (2) six EU candidate countries from the Western Balkans. Our results are also highly relevant for the so-called 'association trio' within the EU's framework of Eastern partnership. The more specific research objectives are to explore (1) what the main driving forces behind growth dynamics in post-communist economies in Europe are; and (2) whether the experience of fast-reforming new EU member states can be replicated or adapted to the EU candidate countries. We provide evidence that the process of European integration holds strong transformative power to accelerate institutional progress and support economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide insight into the behavior of Twitter conversations related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by Brazilian public universities (UPBs) using Natural Language Processing (NLP). To achieve this goal, it was decided to develop descriptive research as it explores the characteristics of conversations focused on Twitter, one of the world's most used social media channels. Natural language processing (NLP) techniques based on the R programming language were used to extract and treat conversations held by the UPBs about the SDG objectives on Twitter. The study period is comprised of the creation of the first Twitter account by the universities until the data collection date, that is, between 2008 and 2022, therefore, 15 years of study, during this period, 326,114 tweets were identified. Evidence points to a substantial evolution in tweet publications by universities over the 15 years of studies. Thus, the practically zero publications in 2008 jumped to more than 15 thousand tweets in 2020. These findings show and confirm that universities use this social media to interact with their stakeholders. In addition, the results indicate that the analyzed universities make few publications on their Twitter about SDGs. In fact, of the 46 universities, only 6 tweeted about the subject, representing 13%. During the 15 years of studies, only 31 tweets were made on the subject. We found that the conversations and positions of universities on this subject in their social networks are few, insufficient, timid, and weak. As a second practical implication of this study, universities as centers of research, knowledge construction, and humanistic training urgently need to position themselves more on this subject in their social networks in order to demonstrate the relevance of the subject and inform about their accomplishments, and the need to everyone got involved in the theme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes the speeches and interviews of high-level European Central Bank decision makers from 1997 to 2021 to identify clusters of prominent topics. Transparency is a crucial aspect of modern monetary policy, and public speeches and interviews by central bankers play a vital role in achieving it. Our study employs structural topic modeling to compare the prevalence of topics during the Global Financial Crisis, pandemic crisis, and periods of heightened inflation. Additionally, we explore the impact of central bank independence on official rhetoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's hybrid media environment, traditional news organizations extend their presence on Online Social Networks (OSNs) and compete with political and civil society organizations, public figures, and other influential digital storytelling individuals. This article examines conversations on Twitter, one of the most widely used OSNs, about Europe's refugee crisis in 2014 and 2015. We use, in particular, topic modeling techniques to deduce the existence of a complex network of Twitter topics formed in response to coverage of and opinion formation surrounding the European refugee crisis. We collected more than 11 million tweets in six different languages. One of our most significant findings is that while most conversations happen in English, the refugee crisis has had different rhythms in other languages. Our assumption is that this could be evidence that the power of mainstream local media on Twitter to set the agenda is considerable, at least regarding refugee-related conversations in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses structural entropy as a valuable method for studying complex networks in a macro-finance context, such as the European government bond market. We make two contributions to the empirical literature on sovereign bond markets and entropy in complex networks. Firstly, our article contributes to the empirical literature on the disciplinary function of credit markets from an entropy perspective. In particular, we study bond yield differentials at an average daily frequency among EU countries' 10-year Eurobonds issued between 1 January 1997, and 4 October 2022. Secondly, the article brings a methodological novelty by incorporating an entropy perspective to the study of government bond yield differentials and European capital market integration. Entropy-based methods hold strong potential to bring new sources of dynamism and valuable contributions to the areas of macroeconomics and finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a simple theoretical model emphasizing the importance of a multi-sided platform (MSP) in fostering innovation. This model aims to assess the effects of structuring industries around an MSP on innovation dynamics and emphasizes the impact of cross-platform competition. It teaches us how to encourage cross-platform competition in terms of competition policy. The outcome is threefold. To begin, the presence of an MSP is critical for market innovation. Second, our findings indicate that skewed market power in favor of the MSP may stifle innovation in this industry, even if the negative impact on the industry's rate of innovation is not immediately apparent. Finally, we demonstrate that industries with multiple MSPs have a higher rate of innovation. The model's conclusions emphasize the critical importance of preserving the contestability of digital markets through competition rules enforcement. Even if the inherent technical characteristics of this industry result in a situation of dominance, competition rules should aim to preserve the possibility of market competition through, among other things, interoperability requirements, data portability requirements, and control of exclusivity clauses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning in finance has been on the rise in the past decade. The applications of machine learning have become a promising methodological advancement. The paper's central goal is to use a metadata-based systematic literature review to map the current state of neural networks and machine learning in the finance field. After collecting a large dataset comprised of 5053 documents, we conducted a computational systematic review of the academic finance literature intersected with neural network methodologies, with a limited focus on the documents' metadata. The output is a meta-analysis of the two-decade evolution and the current state of academic inquiries into financial concepts. Researchers will benefit from a mapping resulting from computational-based methods such as graph theory and natural language processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates and evaluates the impact of global funding conditions on private sector credit growth and controlling for the Mundellian Trilemma configuration. We contribute to the empirical literature by investigating the role of other conditioning factors such as the size of economies and their level of economic development. The more specific research goals are as follows: (i) To explore the different Trilemma configurations by income group and size of the economies; (ii) to enrich international macroeconomics literature on the role of Trilemma configurations and countries' idiosyncrasies in assessing the impact of global financial conditions; and (iii) to formulate policy-relevant conclusions. We argue that — when assessing the impact of global financial conditions — the exchange rate regime and financial openness matter and the size of the economy and its income level. The high volatility in gross and net international capital flows redefined many trilemma configurations in the Great Recession aftermath. Many countries decided to shield their financial markets by reducing the degree of financial openness and moving toward intermediate or middle-ground positions in their Trilemma configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond financial stability as the European Banking Union's primary objective, the European capital market integration provides an impetus for deepening bank integration and greater financial market efficiency. This article proposes an empirical framework to assess the dynamics of euro area banks' business networking. We use banks' foreign claims across Europe, particularly the euro area, to see how banks react to various macroeconomic signals. Banks' foreign claims are particularly interesting due to their sensitivity. One of the main conclusions is that the euro area has seen a reallocation of capital in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. The financial picture of Europe is different after the recent financial crisis. Although we observe a re-concentration of capital from the periphery to the core countries, we also observe some signs of recovered confidence within the European banking framework for macro-prudential reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces natural language processing into the study of central banking. It studies the evolution of the ECB's communication through time, considering its three subsequent presidents (W. Duisenberg, J. C. Trichet and M. Draghi) and the pre- and post-2008 financial crisis era. It helps understand the history of the ECB since its inception. From a methodological standpoint, we study the evolution of the ECB's speeches. The speech analysis is based on text classification and sentiment/polarity analyses. For that purpose, we have built a unique dataset of the ECB's speeches. We have coded algorithms to run the text analysis through time. They help us capture the evolution in the ECB's understanding of the actual economic situation and also measure — for instance — the stress level at the ECB through a polarity analysis through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European sovereign debt crisis has increased the uncertainty regarding the benefits and costs of membership in the Economic and Monetary Union. In this article, we decided not to propose a general model but to focus on one of the important components of the European financial integration. In particular, we develop a structural gravity model, influenced by some very recent theoretical and econometric advancements. This new structural gravity approach provides needed theoretical underpinnings as well as strong support for the econometric estimation of gravity models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecolabelling is a market-based instrument and an important element of international environmental policies. In our day and age, there is a wide range of ecolabels, which may complicate the decision-making process when looking for the best outcome for consumers and producers. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) suggest a solution to align the various ecolabelling programs. For instance, ISO launched the ISO 14,001 framework, which includes the requirements for Environmental Management Systems (EMSs). The GEN harmonizes international ecolabelling schemes and improves exchanges of information among its country members. This article addresses how unaligned and aligned regulations impact international trade. Consequently, a database including the ISO 14,001 certifications of all countries and containing the exports from 153 countries to Canada from 2001 to 2015 as a dependent variable was created. The remaining variables will serve as independent variables, including gravity variables such as market size, market similarity, distance, and some other core variables such as GEN membership of the exporting country, WTO membership, binding in Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) with Canada. Findings show that holding ISO 14,001 certifications has a positive impact on exports to Canada; however, these impacts are not significant enough. Therefore, there is not strong evidence that ISO 14,001 creates barriers to export to Canada. In addition, GEN membership significantly promotes exports to Canada, especially for countries binding in an FTA or MRA with Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic benefits of reverse innovation are intuitively compelling, but this new innovation strategy presents several challenges to established firms, ranging from fears of product cannibalization to not-invented-here syndrome. French ophthalmic lens maker Essilor has experimented with reverse innovation over several projects; an examination of its experiences suggests how the specific challenges of reverse innovation may be anticipated and overcome to allow companies to better leverage the results of their global innovation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Interest in reverse innovation (RI) is increasing. According to the authors’ review, more than 350 reliable sources (scientific publications, academic books and working papers) examine or at least discuss the concept. As RI gains popularity among academic authors, some discrepancies have started to appear. This wealth of publications could impact prior advancements related to understanding of the phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to decrease fragmentation and focus on identifying and understanding RI.Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of RI was conducted. The review conformed to a rigorous set of core principles: it was systematic (organized according to a method designed to address the review questions), transparent (explicitly stated), reproducible and updatable, and synthesized (summarized the evidence relating to the review question).Findings This systematic review provides an improved theoretical and practical framework for the concept of RI. In terms of theory, the authors have demonstrated that the idea behind the concept is not entirely new. A consensus on the definition of RI is not reached in the literature, and descriptions in organizational theory contexts are sometimes misleading. The authors analyzed all the various definitions provided in the literature. From a practical point of view, the authors have explained the academic interest in RI in relation to organizational strategy, in particular the context in which strategies are adopted. The concept of RI has significant managerial implications, and the authors have proposed a conceptual framework to help managers understand and grasp the implications of RI. Finally, the authors have provided suggestions for future research on RI.Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first exhaustive literature review on RI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sizable and persistent external imbalances of European transition countries have attracted surprisingly little empirical attention. Although increasing external account deficits may be accompanied by accelerated growth rates, they also come with substantial risks. This article identifies and compares the main determinants of the widening and persistent external current account deficits of fifteen European transition countries vis-à-vis the EU-15 countries. It assesses the validity of the intertemporal approach of current account determination through bias-corrected least-squares dummy variable models (using three dynamic panel techniques) and data for thirty European countries during the 1994–2013 period. It concludes that the external accounts of European transition countries have been counter-cyclical and largely driven by faster growth of government consumption and investment as compared to their trading partners. After the outbreak of the global economic crisis, their external accounts improved due to lower private consumption and a significant rise in precautionary savings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article inserts the notion of systemic risk into the theoretical foundations of modern finance. By systemic risk, we mean risks because of interdependence among leading firms, in other words complexity. It builds upon the traditional mean-variance approach while reconsidering an inadequately contemplated source of risk: the actual organization of the financial market. As such, we take seriously the idea that some oligopolistic firms may be understood by market participants to be central to the fabric of modern financial markets, and in that sense can be deemed too big to fail. While we believe that much of traditional financial analysis is valid in its own terms, we also believe that important insights can be acquired from melding Modern Portfolio Theory with recent developments in Industrial Organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Management international / International Management / Gestiòn Internacional is the property of Management International 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.)

Copyright of Management international / International Management / Gestiòn Internacional is the property of Management International 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.)

This paper examines how herd behavior (mimetism) and network effects determine bilateral migration flows to thirteen EU-15 countries. Using an adapted gravity model controlling for economic activity, welfare progressivity, as well as geospatial and historic relationships, the results force us to question our explanations for migration flows. Herd behavior positively influences European migration flows, whereas network complementarities in the receiving country do not consistently predict, and may in some cases reduce, the likelihood of immigrant inflows. Moreover, economic activity, particularly labor market conditions, plays a lesser role in the migrants' choice of destination than was previously thought. The introduction of herd behavior as a determinant of European Migration in our empirical analysis hopefully will change the paradigm for understanding migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical assessment of the endogenous optimum currency area theory. Frankel and Rose (1998 ) study the endogeneity of a currency union through the lens of international trade flows. Our study extends Frankel and Rose's model by using FDI flows to test the original theory developed by Mundell in 1973. A gravity model is used to empirically assess the effectiveness of the convergence criteria by examining location-specific advantages that guide multinational investment within the European Union. A fixed effects model based on a panel data of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows within the EU-15 shows that horizontal investment promotes the diffusion of the production process across the national border. Specifically, our results suggest that economic convergence ensured by belonging to the common currency area helps double FDI flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical assessment of bilateral migration flows into the EU-15 countries. Using an extended gravity model, it identifies economic, welfare state, geospatial and linguistic variables as the principal determinants of migration flows into the EU-15 countries. As long as its effect is not offset by a high unemployment rate in the host country, the level of social protection expenditure influences migrants' choice of destination. However, albeit acting as a joint force with other economic, cultural and geospatial variables, the welfare state characteristics of the host country need to be reckoned with when studying European migration flows. Our empirical findings lend some support for a more unified or at least better coordinated social policy across the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature on political budget cycles (PBCs) looks at the temptation for incumbent governments to run a greater deficit before an election by considering the characteristics of the incumbent. We propose here to look at the signals the incumbent receives from the voters. For this purpose, we consider the votes from the previous national elections and see whether they may influence the incumbent government to run a sound fiscal policy or an expansionary fiscal policy. Since Europe has been equipped with two fiscal rules under the Stability and Growth Pact: a deficit and debt ceiling, the possibility of PBCs is particularly relevant. Can we find evidence of a 'political budget cycle' before 1993, and did the fiscal rules prevent the existence of a 'political budget cycle' afterwards? To address these questions, we use a cross-sectional time-series analysis of European countries from 1979 to 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopted in 1997 and implemented in 1999 with the euro, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) addresses concerns of budgetary discipline in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). After many breaches and the failure of the implementation of fines, Europe amended the SGP on 20 March 2005. In the new institutional design, the preventive element is now tighter, but the dissuasive element is laxer. Using a game theoretical approach emphasizing the notion of moral hazard, we find that the new design does not prevent countries from engaging in moral hazard behaviors and countries will thus be less inclined to abide by the SGP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question of the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). More and more authors and policymakers are bringing to light the negative impacts of the European deficit rule on the countries and their ability to respond asymmetric economic shocks, and some are asking for a redefinition of the pact. If the focus of the SGP is only fiscal, and two of the biggest countries in Europe have failed to abide by the pact since its implementation, it seems clear that the SGP needs at least a re-examination. Yet, on the contrary, if we introduce into the analytical framework the SGP's impacts on the European Union's structural policies, the conclusions are far different. Abolishing the SGP could hinder the presently up-to-date convergence prospective. This paper proposes a theoretical analysis of the SGP that emphasizes a new feature of the SGP: a strong incentive to structural reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of the liquidity management of the euro. We tested the influence of five variables (the exchange rate, the price of oil, the EU deficit, the EU interest rate, and the U.S. interest rate) on the euro liquidity supply in addition to the fluctuation of the liquidity supply before and after September 11, 2001. While the literature focuses on the internal European institutional environment, this study looks at the international systemic risks and their influence on the liquidity supply. Ultimately, we come to the conclusion that the ECB's liquidity supply is affected by international factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question of the social policy harmonization in the European Union. In adopting a common monetary policy, Europe is faced with structural and fiscal concerns, as national growth levels differ. Another possible factor in output shocks are the levels of various social expenditures in the member countries. OECD data on the level of social program expenditures in four EU countries will be compared to fluctuations in GDP growth to identify existing relationships. Significant relationships between independent social expenditure policy and GDP growth shocks suggest structural harmonization as an improvement if Europe is to take full advantage of the common market. However, the effects of expenditure levels may be easier to identify and predict than the dynamic effects of policy change. As the effects of future policy changes are more difficult to ascertain, harmonization may not consistently appear to be a Pareto-optimum solution to asymmetric shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper investigates the ability of the Stability and Growth Pact to prevent governments in the "euro zone" from running excessive budget deficits. It is shown that in a static two-country game, the Paretooptimal strategy of no excess deficits cannot be systematically enforced, whatever the toughness of the sanction under the Pact. However, in a multiperiod setting, the Pareto-optimal configuration of no excess deficits would prevail even if no sanctions were applied to deviant governments. In this case, neither a heavily punitive SGP, nor a centralized budget appears to be helpful in the EMU context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]