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This paper aims to approach the topic of structural convergence for new member states from the perspective of input-output analysis. Using a set of input-output measures, based on the OECD RStan database, and a number of unit-root tests, both for individual time series and panel data, this paper tests whether there is convergence relative to the production structure of the German economy. Although the individual tests are somewhat mixed, the panel unit-root tests indicate the presence of convergence. The results highlight the importance of assessing structural convergence based on panel tests. They also highlight that as nominal and real convergence are gradually achieved, structural convergence should also become more prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ekonomika is the property of Society of Economists 'Ekonomika' 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.)

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an objective and comprehensive evaluation of the understanding of the professional code of ethics of Indian Professional Management Accountants in Business (PMAIBs). It further delves into their individual, job and organizational characteristics as determinants of their understanding of the code. Design/methodology/approach: This study relies on data from 247 responses to a survey-based questionnaire. Overall scores and sub-scores of the level of understanding of the code were calculated based on questions grounded in IESBA Code and ethical dilemmas. The drivers of these scores were then examined using one-way ANOVA, OLS, Probit and ordered probit regressions. Findings: This study found considerable heterogeneity in Indian PMAIBs' understanding of their professional code of ethics and substantial scope for improvements. PMAIBs were stronger in Application, Resolution and Threats but weaker in Theory and Principles. Further, PMAIBs who had ranked themselves higher on code-familiarity, had higher moral maturity, hailed from western India and worked for foreign-listed, foreign-owned firms were found to have a higher level of understanding of the code. Highly educated elderly professionals and professionals with more responsibility areas exhibited a lower level of understanding of the code. Research limitations/implications: Insights from the study can help professional bodies, employers and academics identify and segment PMAIBs based on their ethics-training needs and customize interventions, which can benefit businesses and society through reduced corporate ethical failures. Considering the risk implications of Indian PMAIBs' inadequacies in understanding their code of ethics, the Indian professional accounting organization (ICAI-CMA) should mandate ethics in continuing professional development and expedite its long pending convergence with the IESBA code, a global benchmark for professional accountants. Originality/value: This paper assesses the understanding of the professional code of ethics of PMAIBs, which is crucial yet amiss in the accounting ethics literature. While ethical decision-making is extensively researched, how well the professionals understand their code is yet unexplored. Research on PMAIBs, despite their unique ethical vulnerabilities and increasingly vital role in organizations, is still dormant. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining PMAIBs from India, an emerging economy under-represented in accounting ethics literature. India offers an important and rich setting for the study due to its large size, fast growth, deep integration with the global economy, high perceived corruption levels and poor ethical behavior of its firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Polish Journal of Economics / Gospodarka Narodowa is the property of SGH Warsaw School of Economics 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.)

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate whether patterns of human resource management (HRM) are converging or diverging across the globe. Design/methodology/approach: The topic is analysed through a review of existing literature in the space, introducing the drivers for MNCs to seek the global integration of HRM practices, as well as the strategies MNCs may use for practice transfer. The debates of convergence and divergence in relation to HRM practices are then discussed in further detail whilst focusing on two key areas impacting these debates: the cultural factors and the institutional, political and economic factors. Findings: This paper suggests that patterns of HRM practices are not converging to one set of best practices approach, and there are numerous other factors which influence convergence, such as local business systems, legal practices and cultural differences. This paper suggests that there is a mix of some HRM practices converging due to MNC influence, whereas others continue to diverge. Originality/value: A holistic discussion is held on the theory of convergence and divergence, which will benefit HR professionals in assessing the state of convergence in their own organisation and common pitfalls to be wary of. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ekonomika is the property of Society of Economists 'Ekonomika' 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.)

Recent economics of knowledge studies have highlighted the strong positive effects that the limited exhaustibility of knowledge and its cumulability exert on the recombinant generation of new technological knowledge. While existing empirical investigations primarily focus on the knowledge generation and technology production functions, the analysis of the cost of knowledge has received less attention. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the dynamics and determinants of patent costs in the European Union in the period 1992–2012. The analysis of patent unit costs in European countries, measured as the amount of research and development (R&D) expenditure per patent application to the European Patent Office (EPO), shows a steady decline and clear convergence toward lower levels, both in time and across countries. We find that a larger stock of patents and a higher technological variety and coherence of its composition are associated with a sharper reduction in patent costs. Our findings suggest that, in Europe, ideas have been getting cheaper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The Afghanistan-China strategic relationship is multifaceted, characterized by economic convergences, security cooperation, and mutual diplomatic support. China's Belt and Road Initiative has played a significant role in deepening ties, especially through infrastructure development in Afghanistan. Purpose. In this paper authors tried to explore Afghanistan and China relations, how China plays an important role in the redevelopment of Afghanistan, discuss the prospects and challenges facing Chinese-Afghan relations, including from a regional perspective and also discussed how China fits into the vacuum left by the US withdrawal. Method. The method used applies a qualitative method that focuses on looking at social phenomena that occur in society. Results. At the same time, a rather stable Afghanistan free from threats by militant and terrorist groups could provide opportunities for China and other regional states to contribute to its post-conflict economic reconstruction and development. Conclusion. At the period since the Taliban took over an Afghanistan emptied of its foreign presence, there has been much more speculation that China will step in to fill the geopolitical, security and economic vacuum left by the West's withdrawal. China surely has direct interests in a stable, developed and well-governed Afghanistan, not least to prevent spillover and assets in the wider regions of Central and South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to investigate the impact of socially-responsible human resource (SR-HR) practices on organizational sustainability performance (OSP) in Indian business organizations that are mandated to publish business sustainability and responsibility reporting. Design/methodology/approach: Data were obtained from 620 working professionals employed in the organizations listed on National Stock Exchange in India. The proposed hypotheses were tested by deploying the statistical technique of multiple regression analysis using SPSS Version-21. Findings: The results demonstrated that overall, SR-HR practices impact OSP. More precisely, all the dimensions of SR practices are positively associated with the organization's financial performance, environmental performance and social performance (SP). There was a relatively higher significant impact of legal-oriented human resource management (HRM) on organizational economic and ecological performance. However, in the case of SP, a substantial effect of employee-oriented HRM was found. Practical implications: Study findings encourage HR practitioners to invest in SR-HR practices to build and strengthen employees' abilities and contributing to sustainability goals. Originality/value: This study is one of the few studies conducted in the Indian context that highlights the relevance of the convergence of HRM, human resource development and corporate social responsibility to realize sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing economic integration and global synchronization can be key for countries aiming to catch up in GDP per capita terms. Little attention has hitherto been placed in synchronization as determinant of convergence. In this paper we estimate the effect of economic globalization and synchronization on income convergence for a sample of 89 developed and developing countries in the period 1970–2015. We use a dynamic factor model and panel data techniques to undertake the objectives of the paper. We show that synchronized countries (those correlated with the factor) exhibit a higher response on GDP per capita growth with variations on the global business cycle. This implies that synchronization improves growth for that group in global expansionary phases, but also implies risks during global recessions. On the contrary, the effect on growth of an economic globalization index is less relevant for synchronized countries than for asynchronized countries. The latter result implies that asynchronized countries can benefit more increasing their levels of economic globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, farmland markets have risen sharply due to their attractiveness as safe investment and savings allocation instruments. This growth has occurred globally at different rates due to the uneven expected returns, and potential land uses in different regions. This paper provides evidence of the convergence of Italian farmland markets between 1990 and 2019 by using data on average land prices with a geographically detailed resolution that considers both administrative and altitude aspects of territories. The analysis combines traditional economic convergence approaches with spatial data exploration techniques. The results are consistent and show that territorial disparities in Italian farmland markets tend to increase over the study period. This proves that divergence patterns reflect the well-established North-South dualism and disparities in socio-economic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the pattern of the financial development convergence for the top (Europe and Central Asia) and the bottom (South Asia) globalized developing regions from 1984 to 2016. We employ the Philips-Sul club convergence approach to measure the financial development convergence's speed. The results validate the convergence of financial development in all countries, including the top and bottom of globalized developing regions. Interestingly, the speed of financial development convergence is less in the bottom globalized developing region than in the top globalized developing region. However, these results vary across developing regions in the case of financial institutions and financial markets. Therefore, solid financial market governance can provide a productive and efficient financial system, particularly in the bottom globalized economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of highways on the distribution of economic activities between urban agglomerations and peripheral regions in the European Union. In doing so, I use an empirical strategy based on the land use theory employing disaggregated economic and infrastructure data. To address endogeneity, I apply an IV strategy exploiting non-local highway construction as a source of exogenous variation. I find that highways contribute to the diffusion of urban economic activities into surrounding areas, reducing the income gap between European agglomerations and peripheries. Reduced-form estimations suggest that the gap would have been nearly 3% higher in 2020 if the highway networks of European countries had remained at the level of 1990. The study concludes that transportation infrastructure policies can alleviate regional income disparities, increasing economic convergence between urbanised and less urbanised areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the convergence of public expenditures and revenues in the EU28 by applying the panel cluster convergence methodology to updated quarterly data for the period 2002–2019. In order to explore whether the recent debt crisis in EU has affected the harmonisation path, the paper, for the first time, considers both the whole period 2002–2019 and two equally‐sized sub‐periods, that is, 2002–2009 and 2012–2019, which correspond to pre‐and post‐debt‐crisis years. The issue is important for the debate on fiscal harmonisation in Europe, given that the EU's debt crisis has generated many asymmetries across the member states, whilst the design of effective public policies remains a key tool for achieving higher economic growth. Overall, our results provide evidence of divergence, especially for public expenditures since the European debt crisis, which suggests that in the future further efforts towards a stronger harmonisation path will be required by policymakers in EU member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The attempts made by Saudi Arabia to utilize the soft power of sports over the last decade have helped it envision a promising post-oil future. This study aims to explain the paradigm governing the expansion of sports interactions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Methods: The statistical population consisted of 11 political science and sports science professionals with written work (e.g., papers, books, notes, or interviews) on public diplomacy, sports diplomacy, and diplomatic interactions in the Middle East, especially between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Sampling was performed through purposive (snowball) sampling and the Delphi method until theoretical saturation. The validity and reliability of this research were evaluated with the contribution of interviewees with Intra-subject agreement of two coders. Results: The research findings indicated that four indirect categories (i.e., geopolitical, ideological, economic, and sociocultural categories) and three direct categories (i.e., sports events, human capital, and sports economy) constituted the paradigm governing the diplomatic interactions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The key components of indirect and direct categories were economic concepts with a mean of 4.17 and sports economy with a mean of 4.30, respectively. Conclusion: According to the research findings, since Saudi Arabia has put substantial effort into organizing sports events and paid special attention to this area over the last decade, sports can be considered an intriguing means for these two countries to expand their political and economic convergence in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will compare and contrast Visegrád and Southeast European mobility towards (and away from) the European Union (EU) ideal of cohesion, in the process investigating conflicting "core" and "peripheral" assertions of "Europeanness." Though the Visegrád states have exceeded economic expectations, they have to varying degrees stood in opposition to the values of the EU's self-professed "European identity," with Hungary and Poland in particular demonstrating increasing illiberalism. Meanwhile, in Southeast Europe, lacklustre economic performance has tended to contrast with increasingly liberal democratic rule and strong popular support for the EU "project." The EU's cohesion strategy has prioritized economic convergence and, ultimately, this has meant that budgetary considerations, and political rhetoric and scrutiny, have often favoured the rebellious but economically resurgent Visegrád states over the weaker economies of a more compliant Southeast Europe. The EU's integration strategy of constructing "identity hegemony" depends upon both economic and socio-political convergence. This paper questions the congruence of these focuses, given the discriminatory application of integration incentives and the persistence of Orientalism/Balkanism in West European rhetoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the data of 41 cities, including urban and rural areas in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region from 2007 to 2019, this paper mainly uses the spatial econometric method to analyze the impact of forest resource abundance in the YRD region on economic development under the background of carbon neutrality. Direct effects, indirect effects, and total effects are further decomposed. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) The abundance of forest resources in the YRD has a U-shaped non-linear effect on economic development, and the curse of forest resources will gradually form forest resource welfare with economic improvement. (2) The phenomenon of economic convergence exists in the YRD region. (3) The spatial effect of forest resource abundance on economic development is non-linear, and the increase in greenery and carbon reduction should be moderately reasonable. (4) The abundance of forest resources can also promote the development of green total factor productivity. The research in this paper complements the existing literature and provides a reference for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is a subject of study and consideration by scientists and policymakers, especially the sustainable development of the night-time economy. The night-time economy refers to the various economic activities and businesses that primarily operate during the evening and night hours, typically from 6 p.m. until early morning. It includes a diverse range of sectors such as entertainment, dining, hospitality, and nightlife, with establishments such as bars, clubs, restaurants, theaters, and live music venues playing a significant role. The development of the night-time economy refers to the process of managing and promoting the growth of economic activities during the evening and night hours in a manner that balances economic, social, and environmental considerations. Therefore, the paper aimed to identify the factors affecting the night-time economy in Hanoi to achieve the sustainable development of this economy. The paper processed and analyzed the data using SPSS Statistics 26.0 software. The quantitative study included (1) testing the suitability of the scale for the variables using Cronbach's alpha, (2) analyzing the EFA factors to check the convergence of the observed variables and the separation between the independent variables, (3) checking the correlation to evaluate the problem of multicollinearity of the model, and (4) performing regression analysis to evaluate the impact of the factors on night-time economic development in Hanoi City. The empirical results showed that the variables positively impacted night-time economic development in Hanoi. However, the study found differences in the levels of their impact. Among the four factors, factor 3 (promotion and sharing) had the strongest impact on night-time economic development, followed by factor 2 (city infrastructure and safety), factor 1 (institutions and environment), and factor 4 (nature and resources). The empirical results will help policymakers promote the sustained development of the night-time economy in Hanoi, Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to assess the effectiveness of individual management systems in the analysed EU countries (Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, Hungary), an econometric analysis of the interdependence between the quality of the institutional and regulatory framework and the absorption of EU funds and economic growth was conducted. Conceptually, the econometric analysis aims to identify two levels of interdependence between institutional and regulatory variables on the one hand and dependent variables on the other: (1) the effect of the quality of the institutional and regulatory environment on the absorption of EU funds; (2) the effect of the quality of the institutional and regulatory environment on economic growth. The results of the analysis confirm that EU funds have led to increased economic growth in EU countries which provides basis for economic convergence. However, the allocation of funds alone did not necessarily increase the quality of the institutional framework and competitiveness of the analysed countries. Thus, the paper confirms the importance of improvement of the institutional and regulatory framework of particular grant recipient country, as this not only increases the absorption of EU funds, but also improves the economic growth prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing regional economic disparities in China is an important task to facilitate inclusive and sustainable long-term economic growth. This paper investigates the role of technological innovation in facilitating regional economic convergence in China (i.e., narrowing the gap between more developed and less developed provinces). We utilize a province-level panel data set from 1998 to 2017 to calculate the so-called sigma (σ) and beta (β) regional economic convergence indexes, which allows us to examine the patterns of convergence in China over time. In particular, we use panel data regression models to calculate β indexes and examine how various measures of technological innovation influence regional economic convergence in China. Findings from our empirical analysis suggest that the provincial economies were diverging from 1998 to 2006. However, we observe regional economic convergence in China after 2006. Moreover, we find that technological innovation promoted regional economic convergence post-2006, and there is evidence that technological innovation spills over and benefits nearby surrounding provinces. We also find that transfer payments made by the Chinese central government to the provinces help boost regional economic growth and narrow regional economic disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the existing literature on foreign direct investment, it is often assumed that multinational corporations and their direct investments reduce institutional differences among economies. Building upon this assumption, those influenced by management studies and mainstream economics see multinational corporations as an agent that upgrades local business conventions to global standards. Geographers do not usually accept this convergence theory and claim differences among host economies prevents convergence in business practices. The difference between these groups of scholars is that the non-convergence camp acknowledges the resilience of local business practices while the convergence camp does not. The papers comprising this special issue question this shared assumption of foreign direct investment as a cause of convergence. As outlined in this introductory paper, and explored in detail in the following papers, we pay attention to the simple fact that the foreign direct investment is from a company or individual whose business practices are inherently influenced by their experiences of business in the nation or region of origin, and these experiences indelibly influence, to varying degrees, their local operations in investment destination. Once we accept such an obvious fact, recent debates on variety of capitalism and related literatures on the developmental state, welfare regime and other concepts all become relevant to understanding of the local operation of foreign-owned businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic Horizons / Ekonomski Horizonti is the property of Economic Horizons 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.)

Based on two-country scenarios (entrants vs. incumbents), this paper employs the synthetic control method to quantify the macroeconomic effects of the European Union (EU) enlargement, and examines whether these effects varied before, during, and after economic crises. We find that enlargement effects are very complex, and significantly varied across economic cycles and the country groups. In particular, EU enlargement induced large and positive effects on the entrants which were merely stifled in the wake of the financial crisis and the subsequent euro crisis. In the interim, the 2004 enlargement triggered an instantaneous negative shock on the incumbents which was further exacerbated by the crises. Subsequently, the entrants recovered beyond their pre-crises gains, registering approximately 14 % higher per capita incomes by 2019, with Poland emerging as a clear winner. Meanwhile, incumbents' per capita incomes have, on average, declined by approximately 9 %. While our findings largely support the notion that the entrants are en route to catching up with their incumbent counterparts, a formal β-convergence analysis exploiting the observed and synthetic data intuitively confirms that EU integration reduces the half-life by 50 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We live in a rapidly changing, uncertain environment. The political and economic strength of countries and regions is changing based on their capabilities to become more resilient, futureoriented and knowledge-based. In this environment, basic economic indicators like growth measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) do not measure future readiness, resilience to change, or development in general, as they are based on past decisions. This paper argues that in order to be able to successfully adapt to the changing environment, economic and social achievements have to be measured not by growth indicators, but by development ones, which highlight real progress and convergence. Among them, intangible asset and intangible investment indicators are especially crucial, as they measure the real health of the economy and society. The key competitive factor on which progress will be based is human capital with good health, knowledge and skills. The paper proves that countries with excellent growth results lag behind in terms of development achievements, measured by the mentioned intangibles. This discrepancy may lead to a dangerous development trap situation. The paper uses statistical data of different countries to prove its suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to verify the process of β-convergence at a local level in Poland within 2007-2016, taking the impact of spatial effects and obtained EU funds related to innovation on economic growth into account. Design/methodology/approach: Spatial econometric methods were used in the research procedure. The modelling uses the economic aggregate, which is an alternative to the GDP measure of development. In addition, the traditional convergence equations were modified by adding variables defining spatial interactions to the specifications of the estimated models that may affect the rate of economic growth. The study covers data from all counties (NTS4) in Poland. Findings: The estimated econometric models showed that between 2007-2016, there was a slow process of reducing economic inequalities between counties in Poland. The convergence process was conditioned by the amount of European funds obtained for innovation. The funds acquired in a given county stimulated the economic growth of this unit while, at the same time, having negative impact on the development dynamics of neighbouring units. Originality/value: The added value of this elaboration is the inclusion of spatial effects affecting economic growth in the conducted analyses of conditional convergence. The presented study is one of a few in which the spatial impact was verified by including weights in the modelling of the matrix based on proximity, distance, flows and affiliation, carried out using data relating to all NTS4 units of a given European Union country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a critical review of the debate on related versus unrelated diversification undergoing within and across Evolutionary Economic Geography. It remarks the accumulating evidence on related diversification in regions, but it is mainly concerned with the sources and implications of unrelated diversification. It is claimed that the scope for unrelated diversification is narrower for lagging regions and it develops this claim by focusing on two sets of regions: the old industrial areas and the peripheral regions. Accordingly, unrelated diversification is depicted as deeply embroiled with the broader question of uneven regional development, but also as a potential catalyst of economic and technological convergence. A similar theoretical proposition is then advanced with respect to sustainability transitions, where unrelated diversification is eligible to undermine the detrimental role played by dominant technological regimes. Finally, it advocates for a proper assessment of the role of public policies in fostering processes of regional diversification and discusses the theoretical and methodological implications of including public policies in the EEG approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to analyze the degree of convergence of the horticultural sector in Romania with other EU member states taking into consideration the competitiveness indicators. In order to be able to establish a causal link between the factors of competitiveness in determining the degree of convergence of the horticultural sector, certain indicators of competitiveness were considered such as the family income of the holding per annul work unit (AWU) and the net added value per unit of annual work. In addition, other indicators were calculated, such as gross value added/AWU and the total value of production. These indicators were calculated based on FADN data, covering the period 2013-2018 including for several other member states of the European Union in order to make comparisons with Romania. The results show a low level of competitiveness compared to all countries analyzed, which indicates that the horticultural sector in Romania is not yet close to achieving the economic convergence with the main EU horticultural sectors of some countries which represent Romania's competitors in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of the deep convergence of China's digital services and manufacturing, it is of great significance to investigate the effects of the convergence of digital services and manufacturing on economic growth and carbon emissions reduction to the application of digital technology in the whole world. This paper constructs a simultaneous equation model and uses three-stage least squares to estimate the effect and mechanism of industrial convergence on economic growth and carbon emissions. The results show that (i) industrial convergence improves the change of total factor productivity (TFP) and the change of technical efficiency, and the reduction of carbon emissions is the main factor driving the growth of TFP and technical efficiency; (ii) industrial convergence and carbon emissions show a significant U-shaped relationship; (iii) the heterogeneity analysis shows that the convergence of capital-intensive, technology-intensive and labor-intensive manufacturing with digital services will help to improve the growth of TFP, it can inhibit carbon emissions first and then promote it. Therefore, the government should take targeted measures to promote industrial convergence of digital services and manufacturing according to the economic development and industry characteristics, so as to give full play to its positive role in economic growth and emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sheds light on the role of population aging in convergence of household credit. Using data from 32 economies over the period of 1995–2015, it shows that household credit tends to converge across countries over time, but aging populations hinder this convergence process. The result is also robust to controlling for various country-specific factors. Focusing on a further breakdown of credit to households, population aging weakens the convergence process in the case of housing loans, while it does not have a pronounced role in convergence of consumer credit. These findings can have implications for macroeconomic and financial policies, given the potential effects of household credit on economic growth and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex relationships of economic actors and the high dependency on information and communication technologies make it necessary for all relevant entities to develop protection. This protection should include preventive and reactive controls in a risk-proportionate manner in relation to the business value protected. We aimed to develop a solution to support cybersecurity-related business decisions with financial analytics. The risk-based approach helps management find the optimum solution with minimal costs, where protection prevents some incidents from occurring, while the risks associated with other incidents are accepted in an informed way. The security industry developed a number of apparatuses to find the optimum security controls that enforced the fiscal aspects, which typically contain solutions used in planning. However, the actual expenditure often differs from the planned budget for several reasons, one of which is the occurrence of security incidents. We used the common methodology toolset for financial analysis (NPV, NFV, risk assessment). We developed novel metrics based on these that can be used in cybersecurity management. Within the framework thus defined, the article discusses the economic context of the effects of incidents involving Meta (previously Facebook) services from 2016 to 2020. This paper introduces the 'Effect of incidents' metric to measure the impact of unplanned incidents' on actual expenditure compared to the planned budget and the 'Incidence of incident recognition' metric to measure deviations of an incident's impact as perceived by owners relative to the effect on the value of the assets. The paper also proves the applicability of those metrics using the example of Meta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent economic convergence studies show that cross-country income inequalities have declined since the 1990s. However, this study finds that this episode of income convergence is unsustainable in the long run because countries' capacity to earn income diverges. Specifically, the paper analyses the convergence of per-capita Inclusive Wealth, which comprises all capital assets that contribute to the production of goods and services and the well-being of its society. Utilizing a diverse array of techniques to estimate convergence in a sample of 140 countries between 1990 and 2010, the paper demonstrates the simultaneity of unconditional convergence of GDP and unconditional divergence of Inclusive Wealth. Natural-resource-rich countries that lack human capital, in particular, appear unable to match the global per capita Inclusive Wealth growth rate. A trend emerges towards a bimodal Inclusive Wealth distribution with a substantial low-wealth peak. Thus, although swift income convergence appears promising for developing nations, I caution against optimism. When considering a more appropriate measure of future well-being, such as Inclusive Wealth, the economic outlook for many countries is bleaker than recent studies suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term growth is not a simple transition along the path of equilibrium growth, but a process of the interplay of technological, economic, institutional, and social factors. Social capability is an important prerequisite for late-developing countries to catch up with leading countries, and the combination of social capability and the technology gap co-determine the potential of a country to improve productivity through catching up. This paper clarifies the theoretical mechanism of social capability to promote economic growth, and reveals that accountability quality may become capability gap which impedes the convergence of economic growth of the low-income countries by analyzing the panel data from 166 countries over the period 1996–2019. This paper believes that with the rising income level, it is the general path of sustained economic growth to promote the modernization of economic structure while ensuring the supply of goods and effective social incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates social and economic convergence across 514 districts in Indonesia during 2010–18. By applying spatial panel data methods, this paper reexamines the regional convergence hypothesis using a novel set of data on the human development index (HDI) and GDP per capita. These two indicators are used as proxies for social and economic progress, respectively. Results show a significant neighbourhood effect on the convergence process for both indicators. Specifically, a district's HDI and GDP tend to increase faster if its neighbours' HDI and GDP are high. A spatial Durbin model further indicates that the convergence speed of HDI is slightly faster than that of GDP per capita. These results are robust to two spatial connective structures: a contiguity-based Thiessen polygon and an inverse distance matrix. Among the determinants of social convergence, the share of industry and share of services sector produce statistically significant effects. In contrast, only initial economic size produces a significant effect on economic convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the similarity of countries' economic developments can provide an important premise for both the assessment of current international economic relations and the long-term prediction of their economic development potential. The paper presents research results on the paths of economic performance of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in 2000–2022. As a reference object the EU-27 aggregate has been considered. A supplementary analysis of the impact of the last crises on the economic situation of the CEE countries was provided. The analysis is carried out based on the authors' method of multivariate analysis, where two positioning criteria are applied: an object's distance from the optimal point and an object's heterogeneity. A comparative analysis of economic performance paths dependency is provided using a first-order correlation coefficient for time series. It has been found that there has been a significant improvement in the macroeconomic situation of the CEE countries over the last two decades. Changes of economic performance in these countries were very similar, while the heterogeneity of their macroeconomic indicators was diminishing, due to nominal, real and institutional convergence. The CEE countries reacted in a similar way both to the worldwide economic crisis in 2009 and to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus in 2020. It has been confirmed that the first of these crises had a greater negative impact on the economic situation of these countries. The originality of the study carried out lies, on the one hand, in the use of the author's research method and, on the other hand, in the presentation of the impact of economic crises on the economic situation of a selected group of countries in the long term. The added value of the study is an analysis of the correlations of paths describing the economic situation of individual countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines Nordic economic convergence from the sixteenth to twentieth century respective of the economic leaders, in effect the UK before 1914 and USA thereafter. The paper uses a novel approach of combining the analysis of both GDP and wages. The examination of real GDP per capita suggests that there was a catch-up process in play, both with the economic leaders and among the Nordic states, from the early nineteenth century onwards. However, the examination of the adjusted silver wages suggests convergence among the Nordic economies by the end of the eighteenth century. Therefore, we argue, no single Nordic Model emerged from these development patterns, even though the Nordic states today do have striking similarities. Furthermore, they diverged from the West European growth path until the twentieth century, thus they were a part of the Little Divergence at Europe's other peripheries. The world wars and other crises delayed the full impacts of the convergence process until the latter part of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the feasibility of West African economic and monetary union - in particular the planned use of the eco currency – in light of the legal structure and challenges of the European monetary union. The paper begins by briefly expounding on the concept of money and defining it in the broader context of law and of monetary union. Thereafter, the effective harmonization of laws and the relevance of sequential monetary integration are identified as the first legal factors affecting the eco currency. Next, the ongoing difficulty of economic convergence in the ECOWAS is investigated with a comparison to some shortcomings of European Union convergence and an assessment of convergence criteria. Central bank independence and effective criminal and judicial cooperation are reviewed as additional factors which may play a major role in the success of a West African single currency. The analysis concludes that the advent of monetary union in the ECOWAS region presently lacks feasibility when considering the issues identified but can be redeemed, among other things, by enhanced political will and implementation of monetary union law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between income and growth rates has been an elementary problem of research on economic convergence. In the present paper, we study growth-income paths in a new perspective. We assess the similarities of transitional growth trajectories with the use of novel concept-based model. Further, we group economies on the basis of the assessed similarities and we evaluate within-group growth-income relationships. The obtained results point to distinct patterns of development, which help to understand the puzzles of absolute convergence and divergence. Among others, we find evidence of a humped-shaped path of long-run transitional growth. Simultaneously, we identify countries which got stuck in poverty and in the middle-income trap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the convergence among the European countries, including both Eurozone as well as non-Eurozone economies, is investigated in this paper. To do so, we construct correlation-based networks and study them by employing the Threshold Weighted-Minimum Dominating Set (TW–MDS) algorithm and analyzing standard quantitative performance graph theory metrics. Each country is represented by a network node, while the edges represent the cross-correlations calculated for a specific macroeconomic variable, for a given time window. To study the intertemporal evolution of the network's interconnections, we examine its structure in three consecutive time intervals: 1999–2004, 2005–2010 and 2011–2019. The empirical findings provide a mixed pattern. The European countries exhibit a common behavior over time for some macroeconomic variables, but not for all of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the economic convergence that operate between five selected Asian countries (namely Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia). In particular, it seeks to investigate how increased economic integration has impacted the inter-country income levels among the five founding members of ASEAN. Design/methodology/approach: A new Machine Learning (ML) approach is applied along with a panel data analysis (GMM), and the application of KOF Globalization Index. Findings: The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) results highlight that the endogenous growth theory seems to be supported for the selected Asian countries, indicating evidence of diverging forces resulting from unequal growth and polarization dynamics. Overcoming the technical issues raised by the econometric approach, the new ML algorithm brings contrasted but interesting results. Using the KOF Globalization Index, the authors confirm how the last phase of globalization set the conditions for an economic convergence among sample members. Originality/value: Using the KOF Globalization Index, the authors confirm how the last phase of globalization set the conditions for an economic convergence among sample members. As a matter of fact, the new LSTM algorithm has provided consistent evidence supporting the existence of converging forces. In fact, the results highlighted the effectiveness of the experiments and the algorithm we chose. The high predictability of the authors' model and the absence of self-alignment in the values showed a convergence be-tween the economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of econometrics, panel data are an extremely important type of data. In macroeconomic research, panel data models are widely used in exchange rate determination theory, testing of cross-border economic growth and convergence theory, analysis of industrial structure, research on technological innovation, etc. The agglomeration and population distribution of colleges and universities, and the economic support of industrial parks play an important role in economic and social development as a source of research and development and a source of talents. The panel data model usually assumes that the error term follows a normal distribution, but the actual data are difficult to satisfy this assumption, and the estimation obtained by traditional methods may be biased or even invalid. This paper proposes a more robust and effective estimation method (ELS-EL) based on the panel data mean regression model, and extends this method to complex panel data models such as generalized linear models and partial linear models; in addition, this paper is based on panel data. We proposed a two-stage instrumental variable method (2S-IVFEQR) to reduce the computational complexity and generalized the new method to the quantile regression model of dynamic panel data. At the same time, this paper uses the above-improved panel data econometric model to analyze the spatial spillover effects of college aggregation, population distribution, and industrial parks in Guiyang. This study found that the agglomeration of colleges and universities has significantly promoted the economic growth of our country. These promotion effects come from both the direct contribution of college agglomeration and the positive external spillover effect of college agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of European Union (EU) was driven by the motivation to create a European Common Market that encourages free trade. As a result of Maastricht treaty of 1993, EU saw the biggest enlargement to date, from initial six founding members to now 28‐member countries comprising the union. The lower income countries have joined the EU with the hope to bridge the income gap between them and the higher income countries of the union. It has been observed in many studies that intra‐EU income convergence has happened. This article further confirms this finding. For income convergence to be sustainable, the lower income countries must also experience convergence in economic structures. Therefore, in this paper we try to assess how intra‐EU convergence in incomes is linked to intra‐EU convergence in economic structures. We observed income convergence in the EU has been mainly due to convergence in income shares of the industrial and services sector. The main contribution of this article is to examine the role of trade in income convergence via its impact on structural transformation of the EU. Using the augmented Chenery‐Syrquin model in a panel data framework, we have found that trade openness determines the sectoral shares of industry and services in income across the countries. We have also demonstrated that both the higher and lower income countries within the EU have gained in the share of industrial sector due to trade, although the gain is lesser for the lower income countries as compared to the gain in share of industries of the high‐income countries in the EU. However, structural convergence has not been fully achieved because the lower income countries of the EU are yet to gain from trade in terms of enhancing their income shares of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: Digitalization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated significantly across Europe, including in regions that are at the stage of catch-up development. However, as innovative technologies are intensively integrated into everyday life, the digital gap between the EU countries is increasing. The widening digital gap is becoming a serious threat to achieving the EU's sustainable development goals and building a sustainable European society. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article was to empirically substantiate the inclusiveness and convergence of the digital strategy in the EU countries. Methods: Using the method of fuzzy sets, the level of asymmetry in access to transactional (e-commerce), information (cloud computing), operational (artificial intelligence) technologies in the EU countries was assessed. The negative impact of the digital gap within the countries (the gap between small, medium, large companies) and the global digital gap (the gap between EU countries) on the competitiveness of countries was established, for which correlation analysis and the Granger causality test were used. Findings & value added: The findings of this study contribute to the literature of digital transformation and digital gap of European countries. The impact of the digital gap in transactional, information, operational technologies on the competitiveness of countries is differentiated depending on the level of digitalization of the country. Cluster groups of countries are determined by the convergence of digitalization and ways to ensure long-term competitiveness. The directions for reducing the digital gap in the EU countries are substantiated by changing the priorities of spending on innovation and increasing productivity, diversifying the digital technologies used. The empirical results obtained can serve as a basis for improving the effectiveness of the digitalization policy in the EU countries in accordance with individual convergence goals. The main added value of the paper is related to the presented research procedure, which can be used in analyses of digital technologies development also for other countries. The results provide valuable insights into evaluating the digital technologies in European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Regional trade agreements are vigorously debated, especially since the effects of trade on economic development is uncertain. Since East Asian trade occurs mostly within the region, we examine how trade structures might affect economic growth and provide directionality. The role of export composition is known to affect the rate of growth of emerging economies depending on trade structure similarity. This paper analyses the role of export baskets in the economic growth of developing countries in Southeast Asia, and tests the hypothesis that similarity of export structures leads to economic catch-up by providing directionality. The empirical analysis uses export data of East Asian countries to measure the bilateral similarities in export structures between the past and the present trade structures of Southeast Asian countries and comparing them withNortheast Asian countries that became wealthier earlier and Southeast Asian countries that tend to be latecomers. We find that the similarity of export structure provides directionality based on the overall competitiveness of a country's export sectors. This study fills the previous research gap of structural change from the perspectives of catch-up and directionality, by analysing the linkage between export structure convergence and economic catch-up, and linkage between export structure diversification and path-dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the follow-up survey data of six time points between 1978 and 2018 from 40 fixed observation points in Beijing suburbs by stratified sampling, and makes a long-term observation and analysis of the convergence of village collective economy (VCE). The main findings are as follows. (1) Since the start of reform and opening-up, the gap between villages in terms of total village economic income (TVEI) and total assets of village collectives has obviously widened, and the gap between villages in terms of the number of members of VCE organizations has also widened to a certain extent. (2) There is a big gap in VCE between villages in urban-rural fringe, plain and mountainous areas, and the convergence of "space club" appears. (3) In the early stage of reform and opening up, the VCE development had the opportunity to reshuffle, but from 1998 to 2018, village development showed a trend of "good-medium-poor" hierarchical solidification. Therefore, it is necessary to explore a new path of cross-village joint development, especially to develop and strengthen the township-level collective economy, so as to promote farmers' common prosperity in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses, for the first time, potential convergence patterns of hotel revenues across provinces in China. Through the club clustering methodology, the analysis uses a unique dataset of all hotels across all Chinese provinces. The findings document that these hotel revenues follow a diverging pattern on a national level, while a converging pattern is identified across certain provinces, thus forming specific clubs. When the analysis is extended to identify potential drivers for such diverging or converging behavior, the new results illustrate the role of productivity trends, management strategies and tax policies as those factors that drive such patterns. The results could be of substantial value, primarily for tourism policymakers to further improve the current framework of the Chinese hotel industry to introduce practices and policies that will allow the industry to catch up with the global market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]