Search

The subject matter of this paper is the analysis of the influence of international migrations on income convergence in European transition countries in the period 2000-2020. Convergence can be defined as the process of catching up richer countries by poorer ones, consequentially leading to the reduction of disparities in income per capita among countries. Theoretically, human migrations are a mechanism of the adjustment of the regional imbalance that contributes to the strengthening of convergence. The regression panel model was used in the research. The research results have shown that, if observed at the level of the entire sample of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkan countries (CEE-11+WB), there is a positive and statistically significant influence of emigration on income convergence. Also, there is a positive influence of emigration on the income convergence per capita of the CEE-11 countries towards the average income of the developed countries of the EU-15. On the other hand, observed only at the level of the Western Balkan countries, there is no statistically significant influence of emigration on income convergence. The contribution of the research study reflects in filling the gap that exists in the literature on this field, since there is no large number of papers that have examined the influence of migrations on income convergence in the CEE-11 countries, as well as the Western Balkan countries.

The main goal of the paper is to investigate the intraregional trade performance of the Western Balkan region in the last five years and identify future intraregional trade opportunities and potentials for the period from 2023 to 2027. The methodology applied in order to explore intraregional trade is based on an analysis of the growth sources of trade at the country and product levels, while the identification of untapped regional trade potentials is based on the methodology developed by the International Trade Center (ITC), which applies the Export Potential Indicator (EPI) at the product level. The results estimated in the paper found that intraregional trade inside the Western Balkan region had had positive trends in the last five years. However, regional trade is still highly concentrated and based on a small number of traded products. The paper, however, found significant untapped regional trade potentials in the future which should be a huge motivation for each country and policymakers to work on further improvements of trade and economic conditions and circumstances for the purpose of intensifying regional trade and accelerating economic growth in these countries through it.

In this paper, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the savings of Slovenian households in banks is explored. For this purpose, an econometric model is developed and the macroeconomic variables exerting a statistically significant impact on household deposits in banks are identified. Among all the macroeconomic variables considered in the paper, the research study has shown that there are only two macroeconomic variables with a statistically significant impact. These two macroeconomic variables are the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA) reference interest rate used as a proxy variable for the rate of return, and the price of one Bitcoin as a yield on an alternative investment opportunity. The results of this research study are important for both the Central Government in Slovenia and for Slovenia’s banks as household deposits are a source of funding for banks in the time of a crisis as well, and because of the fact that the volume of the loans granted accelerates the GDP growth, which shows the successful implementation of the economic policy.

This paper explores youth unemployment in Morocco using the Labor Force Survey of the 2019 data to estimate a logit model. The paper provides the evidence for the three categories of possible determinants of youth unemployment in Morocco. The first set of determinants are the geographic and sociodemographic characteristics such the sex, age, the marital status and the area of residence. Secondly, the socioeconomic factors such as the young people’s family background and the number of workers per household play a decisive role in explaining youth unemployment in Morocco. Thirdly and finally, the results obtained in this study show that (regardless of their diplomas) young graduates are more likely to be unemployed than persons without a diploma. However, the influence a diploma type has on the probability of being unemployed varies according to the diploma type. The results obtained shed a light on the important characteristics of youth unemployment in Morocco and should serve as a guide for future research in more specific knowledge gaps.

Using websites for commercial purposes has been noticeable in numerous areas in recent years, including the organic food market, among others. The era of digitalization has implied that an increasing number of consumers form their views on organic food based on information that is marketed via websites, instead of going to traditional stores. In accordance with that, the aim of the paper is to examine whether the quality of a website, measured by its usability, design and the quality of information, affects consumers’ cognitive and affective attitudes towards organic products. In this paper, exploratory factor analysis is carried out along with multiple regression analysis. The research results indicate that, in the organic food sector, it is very important to have a website which is both usable and visually appealing, simultaneously containing quality and updated information, which all can greatly influence the formation of users’ attitudes towards organic food, their attitudes being made of the rational emotional dimensions as well. The contribution of this research study is particularly significant bearing in mind the fact that attitudes towards organic food are mostly examined in a traditional environment, not so much in an online environment.

In this paper, the quantitative aspect of economic growth, i.e. its dynamics, is dealt with. Although it is common to observe the growth rate (intensity) when analyzing the growth dynamics of countries while neglecting growth variability, the fact that covering fluctuations in growth rates has clear motivation and practical significance is presented. On a sample of European countries, including Serbia, growth intensity and stability are analyzed in the paper in order to construct a growth dynamics indicator and an adjusted growth rate based upon these two components. Based upon the two constructed indicators, the position of each country in the sample and in the region (Western and Eastern Europe) which they belong to is analyzed. The detailed analysis and results indicate the importance of this approach when analyzing and comparing the economic growth of individual countries in the medium term and in the long term and when assessing effects on future economic growth and wellbeing.

The influence of energy prices on macroeconomic stability is analyzed in this paper. Energy prices represent significant supply-side shocks, which have been leading cyclical fluctuation triggers through economic history. The analysis includes the countries that were the members of the former SFRY, as well as the countries the members of the Višegrad Group. The indicators under observation are presented for the EU27 for the purposes of comparison. In accordance with economic theory, the main conclusion of the paper is that supply-side shocks can be a significant source of cyclical fluctuations and an inflation trigger. Therefore, policymakers have a complex task to minimize the effects of these shocks. Nowadays, when energy prices are reaching historically high levels, the scientific contribution of supply-side shocks can be found in the deep analysis and well-grounded estimations of the role of those shocks in the preservation of macroeconomic stability and the economic policy measures necessary for the minimization of their negative effects.

This conceptual paper explores the potential relationship between a manager’s contribution in sealing cross-border Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deals, on the one hand, and tacit knowledge transfer, on the other. The paper’s basic premise posits that those managers are likely to be exposed to significant tacit knowledge flows as they participate in negotiating, making, and monitoring M&A transactions. The two M&A dimensions taken into account in the conceptual model given in this paper pertain to the number and value of M&A transactions coordinated or accomplished by the manager. Furthermore, there are several moderating factors said to influence the central assumption between the number/value of M&As and the extent of tacit knowledge transfer, i.e. the frequency of face-to-face meetings, the manager’s cultural intelligence, the manager’s international experience and the number of the languages spoken by the manager. The examination of the research propositions underlying the suggested research model is believed to have a particular importance for the banking sector in the Gulf countries wherein the M&A activity is ubiquitous.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) considers trade facilitation as a driving force in forming a single market and a single production base. This paper constructs an ASEAN scorecard for measuring the performance of trade facilitation strategic plans by ASEAN member states. Next, a structural gravity model is used in the paper in order to estimate the trade facilitation performance influence on ASEAN trade flows. The fact that the indicator of easing Nontariff Barriers (NTBs) and institutional coordination, on the one hand, and the ASEAN member states’ engagement indicator, on the other, had the highest enforcement scores in ASEAN in the period 2017-2019. Those two indicators also exert the biggest influence on ASEAN trade flows, especially ASEAN extra-regional trade.

The knowledge workers who form the core of the crew of a modern organization have emerged. They have a unique position in an enterprise, which complicates the incentive system building process and managers’ formal impact on their activities. With a „deep-smarts” status, they adopt the attitudes that restrain or even intentionally hide knowledge flow. Providing support to organizational culture is crucial for motivating knowledge workers to contribute to an organization with their knowledge. This research paper is mainly aimed at identifying knowledge workers’ preferences for organizational culture. The paper focuses on indicating the directions of the development of Polish IT companies’ organizational culture in line with the attitudes of the professionals aiming to stimulate their involvement in the implementation of specific knowledge diffusion subprocesses. The paper is based upon the empirical research conducted on a sample of 105 IT sector knowledge workers in Poland in 2020.

The paper is mainly aimed at identifying the sources of total factor productivity (TFP) growth within the framework of convergence for the Republic of Srpska (RSRP). The main research question is what it is that drives technological progress for a small transition country. The current study focuses on the RSRP, as the follower, and the Republic of Serbia (RSRB), as the technological leader. The analysis carried out in this research study confirms the presence of convergence at the industry level, which means that the farther away from the technological frontier a country is, the higher the TFP growth rate. The research results enable policymakers to design and implement policies capable of enhancing domestic development and increase productivity growth.

The paper aims to analyze the influence of the selected financial determinants on profitability as a key determinant of corporate performance success. The sample includes 473 joint-stock companies in the Republic of Serbia that were actively operating in period 2017-2021. Panel data evaluation revealed the presence of a significant positive influence of the company size, growth, and cash flow on profitability, as well as a significant negative influence of the capital and asset structures. In contrast, the influence of liquidity and a tax shield on profitability is statistically insignificant. The obtained results primarily serve the management who can consider the indicators of the business done by joint-stock companies in order to improve profitability and ensure proper resource allocation. They are also useful for investors in planning investment and operational activities with the aim of a more effective and more efficient achievement of profitability goals. The results are also aimed at other stakeholders who want to create a profitability growth and corporate performance strategy directed towards ensuring long-term growth.

After the COVID-19 pandemic-induced global recession of 2020, the Republic of Serbia achieved one of its highest growth rates in 2021 in the past two decades of transition, that rate being 7.5% (only in 2004 was a higher 9% growth rate achieved). At the beginning of 2022, however, Europe was faced with a new global upheaval caused by war in Ukraine with unpredictable economic consequences. Inflationary pressures have been increasing, primarily due to the strong growth of energy and food prices. The effects of global recessions reflect in the slowdown in structural reforms in all transition economies. The paper investigates the structural performance of the growth of the Serbian economy between the global recession and the slowdown in growth. A special accent is placed on the analysis of structural problems, the solution of which was in the shadow of economic growth.

In this paper, the way in which economic growth influences income distribution is examined with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite considerable growth in a number of the SSA countries, the region has been slow in reversing the rising trend of income inequality. A large proportion of countries in the region globally rank among economies with extreme income inequality. The study covers a period from 1995 to 2015, due to the limited data on the measure of income inequality, the Gini index, for the largest number of the countries of the region. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) system was employed in examining this paradox. The findings of this research study do not only suggest the presence of an inverted-U relationship between economic growth and income inequality, but the supposition of the S-shaped curve hypothesis in the interplay of growth and inequality was also tested and confirmed. It can be concluded that in no way do spurts in economic growth bring about diminution in income disproportion in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The objective of the current paper is to study the influence of the selected business and institutional determinants on the annual effective tax rates in banks in Serbia. Panel data regression models are applied on 113 observations, covering the period from 2017 to 2021, where the accounting and current effective tax rates are used as a measure of the actual tax burden. The results show that the effective tax rate in banks in Serbia is significantly below the statutory level. Furthermore, for each data set, the coefficients of changes in the effective tax rate are calculated, and the most adequate model is selected using the Hausman and Breusch-Pagan tests. In the first model, the biggest change in the effective tax rates is caused by change in leverage, merger and acquisition processes and the bank size. The presence of loan loss provisions in the model completely highlights the impact of profitability and leverage. Finally, in the last model, banks with a profit before tax can manage effective tax rates and tax burdens by regulating capitalization levels. The results of this study are of interest for economy creators and for business managers in banks, helping them in effective tax planning and managing the results.

Whether macroeconomic fundamentals affect the exchange rate volatility in emerging markets with an inflation-targeting regime or not is highly challenging. In this paper, the impact of the current account deficits and foreign reserves on the volatility of real exchange rates. Applying threshold quantile regression models related to Indonesia over the period from 2005(7) to 2021(12), it is concluded that both variables play an important role in controlling the exchange rate instability. Both coefficients are also found to have an upward linear pattern. The asymmetric impact of current account balance holds. Claiming that a two-percent current account deficit in the GDP is the safe amount of the deficit that will not significantly affect the foreign-exchange rate is justified as such. The asymmetric behavior of the current account balance has the potential to trigger real exchange rate volatility, thereby undermining the monetary policy within the framework of the inflation targeting regime. Accordingly, the optimal stock of foreign reserves might avoid imposing dual goals of inflation targeting and exchange rate stability.

In the paper, the connection between networking and the innovativeness of social enterprises is explored. The research is motivated by the idea of understanding the impact of networking on the innovation of this special type of organizations that, due to its hybrid nature, has the potential to respond to today’s economic and social challenges. The research is based on a sample of 837 social enterprises from 11 European countries. The results showed that networking was one of the key features of these organizations, as more than 90% of the surveyed organizations cooperated with other organizations, but also that networking itself did not affect the innovation of social enterprises. A more detailed analysis shows the differences that the networking forms and organizational age have on innovation.

This paper is aimed at examining the fact whether foreign direct investment (FDI) and exports do contribute to economic growth in the thirteen European Union (EU) new member states (namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia) during the period from 2005 to 2020 or not. Various statistical tests were performed in order to examine the relationship and causality among the three observed series, including unit-root tests, the Kao and Pedroni cointegration tests, and finally the modified causality test. The obtained results are mixed. Although cointegration was established between FDI, exports and growth, the estimation of the long-term coefficients varied to such an extent that only ambiguous conclusions about the effect of FDI and exports on the growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) could be reached. The research results imply the fact that positive effects of FDI and exports are neither automatic nor equal in all the countries, but the same rather depend on the many factors and conditions that the governments of the selected states should consider when designing policy measures for attracting FDI and promoting exports.

This paper examines the impact of the selected factors on the real exports of goods and services in the several euro area (the eurozone) peripheral economies. There are five countries in the sample (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Greece). The time period from 2000 to 2019 is considered. The research is aimed at providing robust estimates of the long-term relationship between the real exports of these countries and the selected explanatory variables using panel data analysis. The coefficients of the cointegration export equation were estimated using the FMOLS and DOLS estimators. Using the FMOLS estimator, the estimated coefficient of the real effective exchange rate is negative (-0.80) and of the variable foreign demand is positive (2.25). The coefficient of the real effective exchange rate confirms the fact that, from the point of view of the eurozone peripheral members, the overestimated real value of the euro has a disincentive effect on their real exports. The estimated coefficient of foreign demand suggests that the real export of goods and services (volumes) of the eurozone peripheral members increases by 2.25% when the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the EU increases by 1%. The real export elasticity of the eurozone periphery countries is higher for foreign demand (income elasticity) than for relative price changes (price elasticity). Reductions in wages and prices in peripheral countries have led to redistributive effects in favor of the core.

The main goal set by this paper is to identify the position of controlling and controllers in the practice of companies operating in the Republic of Serbia in the conditions of intensive digitalization. This research study is focused on understanding and the critical success factors of controlling, tools and the controller’s tasks. The research study was conducted on a sample of 35 companies, and the respondents were employed in various controlling positions. In methodological terms, the analysis of the collected data included descriptive statistics, measuring the reliability and internal consistency of the variables (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) and conducting a nonparametric test (Mann-Whitney’s U test). The results of the research study show that controlling is understood as multidimensional, most often professional support to management; that the controlling key success factor is the controller’s expertise and competence; that the most important controlling tools are the budget, variance analysis and the short-term calculation of the results, and finally that one of the controller’s basic tasks is reporting to management. The nonparametric test enabled the identification of statistically significant differences in the respondents’ attitudes.

Temporary organizations take on numerous forms and can be found within and across traditional organizational forms. With the rise of remote work, born-global organizations and collaborative work, temporary organizations are becoming more prevalent. They are playing critical roles in a host of situations and organizational leaders need to better understand the phenomena so as to be able to navigate and utilize them correctly. In this paper, a conceptual model intended to understand how temporary organizations partially embedded in multiple parent organizations are being faced with unique identity issues is proposed. The individuals involved with such boundary spanning temporary organizations have identity issues due to their multiple identities being at odds with each other. Using the theories of temporary organizational forms and the social identity, the given conceptual framework shows that the dilemmas related to multiple identities can be resolved by: buffering and ordering identities, self-selecting into temporary organizational forms, and acknowledging such multiple identities and allowing them to simultaneously be salient. Additionally, the consequences of a lack of resolution are explored, including reduced group cohesion, lower performance and the unethical behavior on the part of the pro-parent organization.

The objective of the current paper is to study the relationship between company financial factors, macroeconomic factors and the market measures of risk of the Consumer Goods Sector of the Indian economy. Systematic, unsystematic and total risks are the measures of the risk used. Dynamic panel data regression techniques have been applied to the data of the companies comprising the S&P BSE FMCG index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) of India. The time frame established for the study is the period from 2011 to 2020. The results show that on average 89.6 percent of total risk is attributable to the unsystematic portion, whereas the rest is attributable to the systematic portion. Furthermore, both the financial variables and macroeconomic variables can be used to gauge the risk related to investments. Moreover, marketing personnel may justify their expenditure that builds their brand value as these efforts will reduce the risk for investors and increase their wealth. The results of this study are especially useful for business managers, as well as investors, helping them to understand risk and the factors contributing to it, which may provide useful insights regarding cost-of-capital and value-of-firm calculations.

The theoretical model of a perfectly competitive market leads to the efficient allocation of resources, and one of the assumptions of that model is complete information of market participants. In reality, however, market participants are usually asymmetrically informed. The goal of this analysis is to point out the fact that asymmetric information is almost ubiquitous, and also to point out the consequences of asymmetric information and the possibility of their elimination or mitigation. In addition, the research aim also reflects in achieving a theoretical confirmation of the presence of such asymmetric information and its consequences on the labor market as well, and in an attempt to mathematically formalize such markets, especially the labor market, by modeling the method of calculating wages and the employer’s objective function as an opportunity to overcome the principal-agent problem. The precisely defined research goals determined the structure of the paper, as well as the methodological tools. In order to test and prove the defined research hypotheses in this study and to realize the defined research goals of the study, the methods of theoretical analysis, abstraction, comparison, concretization, generalization, and critical evaluation are used.

Enhancing production and sale has a very significant effect on the competitive advantage of any production enterprise. In practice, especially in companies with highly diversified production, products have a different impact on generating revenue. Therefore, operational management pay attention to the products of the utmost importance. The Pareto analysis is the most broadly used product classification method. It can be said that the results obtained by this analysis are still very burdened by decision-makers’ subjective attitudes. This paper proposes a model for selecting products with the biggest impact on generating revenue in an exact way. In the model’s first stage, whether there is a linear relationship between volume demand and a discounted amount is analyzed applying mathematical statistics methods. In the second stage, the Genetic Algorithm (GA) method is proposed so as to obtain a near-optimal set of the most important products. The proposed model is shown to be a useful and effective assessment tool for sales and operational management in a production enterprise.

This paper analyses the level of fiscal decentralization and structural characteristics of local public finances in Republic of Serbia with focus on local public investments. Share of central government expenditures in consolidated government spending of 83%, indicates relatively high degree of fiscal centralization. In spite of significant rise in local public revenues in the last decade public investments remained low - amounting to 1% of GDP, which is significantly below EU and Central and Eastern Europe average (1.4 and 1.5% GDP, respectively). Our results indicate large variation in relative size of public investments across LSGs. Most local public investments are focused on roads maintenance administrative infrastructure, while investments in environment and education are low. To tackle local disparities in terms of quality of local infrastructure and to foster economic convergence, development of planning and implementation capacities and introduction of systemic incentives for local public investments should be considered.

This paper examines the impact of taxes on the economic growth based on classifying countries by GDP per capita and a tax burden. The Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) technique is used because it is not too sensitive to outliers. Through this multicriteria classification technique, the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is employed to analyze the data of the three groups consisting of 63 countries from 2003 to 2017. The results show that most taxes have a positive impact on economic growth in poor countries (Group 1). Interestingly, taxes on goods and services promote economic growth in rich countries (Group 3), rather than having a negative effect, as is concluded by some previous studies. Specially, while the property tax has a negative effect on economic growth in rich countries, its impact is significantly positive in poor countries.

In the digitalization era, traditional organizational success factors have been called into question, so it is necessary to reconsider the established work patterns and find new ways to create sustainable value. Given the fact that, as bearers of knowledge, people are the key drivers of value, it is important to explore possible ways to improve their potential. The research study carried out in this paper is aimed showing that autonomy contributes to the development of employee engagement in the digital environment, especially so in remote working conditions. In that sense, the concept of employee engagement was explained, as a state of high vigor, dedication and absorption. Possible ways to improve engagement through increasing autonomy are pointed out as well. The empirical research has confirmed that autonomy has a positive effect on vigor and dedication as the engagement dimensions. The impact autonomy exerts on vigor is stronger in the employees working remotely in comparison with those who do not work remotely.

As proposed by the current theoretical framework, the fact that the economic growth of a country depends not only on the formation of physical and human capital and the sustainable exploitation of its natural resources, but also on the financial inclusion that allows economic agents to find solutions to liquidity restrictions and channel savings towards productive investment is exhibited in this paper. By matching multiple databases, static and dynamic panel estimates are developed, verifying the robustness of results and the endogenous nature of economic growth. The current research demonstrates that social inclusion is not only the desired result of economic growth, but a required input for its future sustainability.

Developing countries are faced with a lot of challenges in providing high-quality financial reports based on modern accounting regulations and practices. With its specific colonial and postcolonial history of socioeconomic relations, Sudan is one of a few countries that has not adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) either as a mandatory or as a voluntary financial reporting framework. Focusing on a sample of 142 respondents, the attitudes towards the obstacles and possible benefits of introducing the IFRS in Sudan expressed by accountants working in the industry sector are examined in the paper. This research study has shown that Sudanese accountants are highly aware of the needs and benefits of the IFRS adoption. The respondents predominantly agree that the IFRS adoption would increase the FDI inflow, reduce frauds and other unlawful activities, and improve the comparability, reliability and transparency of financial information, which currently is not the case. However, the research shows that accountants in Sudan also express a high degree of skepticism, given the numerous restrictions that they believe would make the introduction of the IFRS more difficult.

Communication is one of the processes that take place within a company. However, employees may be more or less satisfied with the communication that takes place in their work environment. Thus, if employees are satisfied with communication inside their company, such communication satisfaction can be expected to have a positive impact on job satisfaction (JS). Employee JS can initiate many other positive consequences in terms of their attitudes and behaviors. One way to achieve this is to increase satisfaction with internal communication. Starting from the above-mentioned, the subject matter of this paper is to examine the relationship between communication satisfaction (CS) and JS on the example of employees in companies in the Republic of Serbia. This research study is aimed at determining whether there is a connection between these phenomena or not. The sample consists of 202 employees. The results of the study have shown that the bivariate correlation between CS and JS is positive. In addition, the results of the study have shown that several dimensions of CS have a statistically significant impact on employee JS