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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to estimate retailing efficiency in a 26-store women clothing retail chain and to decompose it in several measures in order to contribute to the performance improvement of this retail service firm, as well as to compare the efficiency of the different decision making units. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses the following measures to estimate efficiency: sigma convergence analysis; efficiency analysis; technical efficiency (TE) analysis; pure technical efficiency (PTE) analysis and scale efficiency (SE) analysis for a set of 26 stores of a women retail service brand operating in Portugal. A cross-section input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to analyse quarterly data sets from 2010 to 2013. Findings – The results show that costs with personnel are slightly increasing when analysed using the sigma convergence method, although there are some geographical differences. Moreover, it is possible to witness that the retail store chain’s TE diminishes as the operations outputs do not grow as fast as input savings. On the other hand, there are no SE problems as the levels of SE are larger than pure efficiency levels. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the study stems from the fact that the analysis is based on a simple retail chain, which makes it a single case study. Therefore, the generalisation of the conclusions for other firms or for other periods of analysis should be made cautiously. Practical implications – It is shown that some stores have a good TE and other stores have some SE advantage. As such, it is possible to select some stores as benchmarks to deploy internal efficiency throughout the retail chain. Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is based on the application of the sigma conversion and DEA techniques to evaluate efficiency in retail service store. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations (UAs), which serve as pivotal hubs for economic and innovative convergence, play a crucial role in enhancing internal circulation and strengthening external linkages. This study utilizes the China city-level multi-regional input-output tables, incorporating the Dagum Gini coefficient and kernel density estimation methods, to perform a thorough quantitative analysis. Disparities within the national and global value chains ("dual value chains") of Chinese UAs from 2012 to 2017 were assessed. Additionally, the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method was applied to disaggregate the drivers of both national and global intermediate inputs (NII and GII). The study's key findings include the following: (1) The national value chain (NVC) within UAs exhibits robust growth, contrasting with the decline in the global value chain (GVC). (2) The inter-UA disparity contribution rate significantly surpasses the combined rates of intra-UA contribution and super-variation density. (3) Distinct evolutionary peak trends are discerned among various UAs within the "dual value chains", highlighting diverse spatial polarization characteristics and expansiveness. (4) The growth of the NVC has transitioned from a negative to a positive impact on NII, while the decline in GVC has substantially counteracted GII growth. Economic and demographic factors notably drive positive improvements in both NII and GII, whereas the efficiency of outflows presents a negative driving effect. Based on these findings, this study offers strategic recommendations to facilitate the effective integration of UAs into the new development paradigm, thereby providing a scientific basis for related decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a reply to the article on convergence theory published in the 'Cambridge Journal of Economics' in the U.S. Evaluation on Tinbergen's original theory; Criticisms on the convergence theory; Assessment on state socialism.

This paper studies cross-country patterns of economicgrowth from the viewpoint of income distribution dynamics. Sucha perspective raises new empirical and theoretical issues ingrowth analysis: the profound empirical regularity is an “emergingtwin peaks” in the cross-sectional distribution, not simplepatterns of convergence or divergence. The theoretical problemsraised concern interaction patterns among subgroups of economies,not only problems of a single economy's accumulating factor inputsand technology for growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed the empirical importance of the capital flows in processes of economic convergence of the CEE region. We depart from reference net measures of capital flow reflecting the level of development of the financial system and focus on gross capital flow. Our econometric model is based on Seemingly Unrelated Regression Equation (SURE) elaborated by Arnold Zellner. This environment seems an alternative to standard panel regression, because it enables cross-country heterogeneity of parameters of interest (like pace of convergence). We tested several restrictions of the unconstrained SURE model, leading to simpler specifications that would allow for regional homogeneity of the role of a particular factor (like capital flows) in growth fluctuations and β-type convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South-East European (SEE) countries are experiencing high emigration, resulting in a significant increase in remittance inflows, exceeding FDI flows. Today the most important challenge facing SEE countries is how to grow at a higher speed to achieve faster economic convergence with the EU. The objective of the paper is to empirically examine the relevance of remittances as a factor of economic growth, using quarterly balanced panel data set of six SEE countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, and Serbia (SEE6) over 2008q1-2020q2. Panel regression with the fixed-effects model is employed to account for potential cross-section heterogeneity. This study provides original econometric evidence that remittances have a significant positive impact on economic growth in our panel of SEE6. Those results will be useful both to scholars and policymakers in the process of the creation of policies that will direct remittances into investments in the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research paper is part of the larger-scale study regarding the readiness assessment of Romania and other five Central and Eastern European countries (CEE-6) for accession to the Eurozone in terms of the real convergence. We extended the analysis of the real economic convergence to the area of social convergence. The purpose of the extended analysis is to compare the living standards in Romania, CEE-6 and other European Union member states (EU-28) and to draw conclusions on the social convergence as a complement to real economic convergence. Using an analytical tool, the Social Progress Index 2018, at different levels of disaggregation, the work reveals the dynamics of social progress and also the gaps between Romania, CEE-6 and the EU, while identifying strengths, and weaknesses to achieve social progress on the road to real convergence with the EU. The outcomes could provide valuable inputs to the decision-makers highlighting some milestones to remove weaknesses and to turn threats into opportunities in the future social and economic policies of Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To date, sustainable development has been the most important discourse informing planning, a powerful rhetoric for solving environmental problems that shows confidence in human ingenuity and technological advancements. However, recent advances in information and communication technologies, are prompting the development of smart(er) approaches to (sustainable) development, which might be signifying a departure from the more traditional, or perhaps earlier, greener narratives underpinning sustainable development. Within this context and informed by analysis of the literature, this paper aims to reflect on the extent to which ideas of going green and going smart are converging or diverging from the path towards sustainable development. This is done using convergence theory and Bennet's typology (1991) of similarities as an analytical framework. The findings suggest that the convergence of greening and smart ideas for sustainable development might be better achieved if smart-centric approaches to policy- and planning are subsumed in the overarching vision of environmental quality and resilience, with green approaches to urban development setting the path and driving decisions towards a sustainable future. Highlights • Climate risk and innovations in practice are suggesting a move away from greening efforts in planning for sustainable development. • In the name of resource and efficiency use, cities are responding by adopting smart(er) approaches to development. • This paper explores whether green and smart approaches converge, diverge or diffuse in their sustainable development quest. • Greater convergence could be achieved if smart = centric approaches were subsumed in green approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to investigate if the Western Balkan countries converge towards the new Member States of the European Union, the EU-13. The analysis is focused on beta convergence, defined as a tendency of poor countries to grow faster than rich countries. The analysed period is 2004-2017, with two sub-periods; 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made in order to test the research hypotheses that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the absolute and conditional convergence process of the Western Balkans towards the EU-13. The relationships between per capita GDP growth rate and selected macroeconomic variables are econometrically tested and the empirical results support the convergence hypothesis. The convergence rates range 1.3%-3.6%. The negative effects of the crisis on convergence are not confirmed, i.e., the convergence rates during the crisis period are the highest among the analysed periods. The poorer countries should open their economies and maintain stable inflation and debt, as economic openness and inflation have a positive impact on per capita growth in the analysed countries, while general government debt has a negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics 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.)

The main aim of the article is to analyse the economic convergence between the NUTS 3 level units (counties) in Romania during a period of intensive economic growth (1999-2011). The main added value of the paper consists in the measurement of the multi-dimensional convergence and in adding a spatial dimension to the convergence analysis by testing the spatial autocorrelation. We have found no economic convergence for the analysed period, the economic growth process being polarized by the capital region. But in contrast, we have evidenced a social convergence process, starting with 2008 for the education component of the HDI and starting even earlier, in 2004, for the life expectancy component. In addition, we have tested the convergence club hypothesis, which has evidenced the club convergence phenomena in Romania as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main focus of the paper is the growth process in transition countries in the period 1992-2002, by using the production function approach. The empirical cross-section study performed found that initial life expectancy and net savings speed up growth while death rate, inflation, and terms of trade hamper the increase in GDP. The paper also aims at providing policy implications, e.g. better spending in the legal system, healthcare and social security could help governments foster the restructuring process and decrease the effect of the mistakes made in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of globalization has led some nations to attain higher rates of growth while others have shown declining growth, along with widening regional disparities within nations. The regional convergence (RC) thesis addresses this issue of measuring inequality among sub-national economies of a nation, and across nations over a long period of time. This thesis utilizes two measures beta and sigma convergence to analyze if poor nations catch up with developed nations, and if regions within a nation close the gap with developed regions. The Indian economy has witnessed increasing economic inequality since independence. Given this overview the objective of this paper is to review recent literature on RC and address the following four questions: (1) What insights do recent studies provide on convergence debate? (2) What are the various explanations and tools to understand and measure regional convergence? (3) What is the role of geography in explaining spatial convergence/divergence analysis of economies? (4) What are the trends of regional inequality in India during the 1961-2011 periods? Domestic Product of States in India (1960-1961 to 2006-2007) and Reserve Bank of India publications provide data for the past fifty years on per capita net state domestic product. Simple measures of dispersion reveal increase in regional inequality during the study period with moderate drops during 1970-1971 and 1980-1981 periods. Descriptive measures indicate persistence and limited upward mobility of states. Also, prosperous regions are located in the rich agricultural and industrial states of Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and lagging regions are the impoverished agricultural states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting with the 1st of January 2014, the Romanian public sector has undergone a long transformation process: the change in the order of the organization and management of public institutions accounting, the chart of accounts and the instructions for its implementation, the implementation of an electronic reporting system for financial statements, the automatic verification within the system of whether the payments are within the budget or not, providing information on revenue achievement and payments made. Other measures are to be implemented such as the electronic signing by the credit release authorities of the revenue and expense budget. Even if these measures were for testing purposes in 2014, they influenced the work of the public sector professional accountant, on the one hand, and the public sector as a whole, on the other hand. In the present paper, we will present the effects of these changes on the budget transparency and especially on budgetary efficiency and the accounting reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dynamic Econometric Models is the property of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun 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.)

The aim of this paper is to determine the regional convergence process in Visegrad (V4) economies after their accession to the EU at the NUTS3 level. The study uses kernel density estimation for 114 regions in V4 countries. The research period covered the years 2004-2015. The results show that all V4 economies except for Hungary reduced the distance to the EU-28 average over the period considered. The external convergence process was accompanied by an increase in income inequalities at the regional level. In all the countries, the estimated distributions of regional income were bimodal, with the clearly marked second mode related to the capital region. The obtained research results should be an indication of economic decisions in the context of regional (also known as cohesion) policy and economic competitiveness. This paper contributes to the existing literature in three ways. First, the study was conducted at the NUTS3 level, which is currently the lowest possible level of disaggregation. Second, the analysis covered both the period before and after the global financial crisis. Third, the results of the internal convergence study are not biased by the method used, as this method has already been tested in previous research for a group of large European economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about the monetary integration issue have lasted for over five decades, outlining several criteria which embody the theory of optimum currency areas. Although the European monetary integration pattern is not based on this theory, it often serves as a reference in assessing the opportunity of adopting the euro for the candidate countries. Based on the optimum currency area criteria, the paper focuses on the euro area experience, and identifies some specific features for this currency area. These particularities are both in terms of theoretical criteria and in terms of recent challenges at the European level, challenges that require a viable reform for euro area in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to evaluate the progress of Polish economy's innovativeness in the years 2010-2016 against the backdrop of other EU member states. While this analysis is not exhaustive, it allows to draw the opinion that the pace of the convergence process is not fast enough. Poland, despite the growth of the summary innovation index, in 2016 was ranked only as number twenty-five among so called moderate innovators. On the other hand, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta next to the Netherlands and the UK formed a group whose level of innovativeness increased the fastest. Improvement of the innovativeness of the economy requires an increase in investments, effective partnership between enterprises and academic centers, a high level of education, and scientific research. It also turns out that R&D expenditure is too low as well. While this figure measured as spending in euro per capita improved in Poland from EUR 68.60 in 2010 to EUR 108.30 in 2016, which represents over a 50% growth, it was still 5.5 times lower than the average for the European Union, which stood at EUR 592.30. Total R&D outlays in 2016 in all sectors made up a mere 0.97% of the GDP, while the EU average was 2.03% of the GDP. The return rate on the outlays measured as an improvement of the summary innovation index, on the assumption that in 2010 the UE=100, is relatively low. The growth of the summary innovation index in 2016, measured against the EU average in 2010 treated as 100, was the same as the average for the EU and equaled 2 points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to analyse if the Eastern Partnership countries converge towards the new Member States of the European Union, the EU-13. Beta convergence, which is based on the neoclassical growth theory, tests the hypothesis that poor countries tend to grow faster than rich countries, in per capita terms. The analysed period is 2004-2016, with two sub-periods: 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made in order to test the research hypotheses. The first hypothesis is that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the absolute convergence process among the analysed countries. The second hypothesis is that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the conditional convergence process among the countries. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis, and the convergence rates range 1.6%-3.8%. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected only absolute convergence. Negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence are not confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an observable discrepancy between the real and virtual economy, as money stopped being the tool and essence of capitalism and the economy in the postmodern era. Money has become a purpose, a simulation, a viral virtual image. For this reason, we should rather say that it is no longer money, but the image of money that talks. The transparent digital convergence culture creates a borderless second world for the economy. This economy and our attitude towards it have never been so far removed from reality. Communication, information and economy have lost their referential nature. As soon as we get in contact with the virtual/digital world, we open our eyes onto the image and the transparency of images. A visual metaphor is a visual rhetorical tool that strives to express messages, to place emphasis on certain aspects of messages, and to convey a persuasive message. This paper aims to demonstrate visual metaphor chains that set a mirror between the real and virtual economy and that serve to show the changed attitude towards money. We illustrate our theoretical approach by analysing the multimodal metaphors that appear in a video clip from popular culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the application of a convergence acceleration technique to the binomial option pricing model. The resulting model, termed the accelerated binomial option pricing model, also can be viewed as an approximation to the Geske-Johnson model for the value of the American put. The new model is accurate and faster than the conventional binomial model. It is applicable to a wide range of option pricing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the current perspective of coordinating efforts to stabilize exchange rates in East Asia, viewed as the first and essential stage of monetary integration process. In this context, the effects of asymmetric demand and supply shocks affecting the two countries are considered, with the help of a game-theory model, and the outcomes from cooperative and non-cooperative fiscal policy responses are analyzed. The properties of fixed-exchange rate arrangements are analytically treated and numerically simulated in a situation where fiscal policies are left as the only device to deal with asymmetric shocks, both on the demand side and the supply side. The model prediction is that both asymmetric demand and supply shocks may be contrasted with the help of fiscal policies, without damaging consequences for the fixed-exchange rate arrangement. The model also suggests that the results will prove better when the fiscal response to the asymmetric shocks is coordinated. Not differently than what happened in Europe following the implementation of end stages of monetary integration, asymmetric fiscal policy response to asymmetric supply shocks may bring about the piling up of huge public debt, and pave the way to sovereign debt crises. Arguably, in such a situation joint fiscal responsibility may help reinforcing the process of integration and convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between redistribution, convergence and local cultural capital (as defined by culture-based development concept). Design/methodology/approach -- The paper infers the basic mechanism of the cultural dependence of convergence and inequality -- through an empirical test for the case of the "German job miracle" during the current crisis. Two empirical questions are asked: first, is local income inequality associated with local cultural capital and second, is the negative convergence between East and West Germany during the crisis related to culturally sensitive employers' preference for job preservation vs job loss. An OLS enquiry and two deeper estimation methods (a logit model and a 3SLS simultaneous equations model) are alternatively applied in order to triangulate the empirical results. Findings -- The findings support the existence of cultural effect on local income inequality and cultural path dependence of employers' preferences for job preservation vs job loss in a condition of economic shock. Originality/value -- The paper provides both theoretical reasoning and empirical illustration of the significance of the cultural effect on human preferences which may or may not allow for redistribution and convergence between localities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following rapid economic growth, the environmental pollution is getting worse in most regions in China. Meanwhile, the urbanization and industrialization of China has not completed yet, with energy consumption continuing to grow, environmental carrying capacity is becoming smaller and smaller, which leads to emission reduction cost continues to grow. This paper analysed convergence of economic growth and carbon emission intensity of the east, central and west regions in China by using panel date, and the results show that economic growth is β conditional convergence while carbon emissions intensity is β absolute convergence. By building relation model between carbon emission intensity gap and economic gap, introducing in elastic coefficient n, it was found that when the central and west regions narrow their economic gap with the east region by 1 percent, it leads to their carbon emission intensity gap with the east region narrow by 0.5712 and 0.5900 percent respectively, which shows that when the central and west regions are narrowing their economic gap with the east region, 'the narrowing' is based on energy-saving and emission-reduction. At the same time it can also be found that convergent rating of economy is quicker than that of carbon emission intensity, which suggests that energy-saving and emission-reduction is still what China need to follow when promoting balanced development of regional economy. Based on the above results, some useful suggestions to promote collaborative development of regional economy and synchronous collaborative development between regional carbon emission intensity and economic development were given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stock market integration gives the opportunity of risk diversification on international level. The main effects of this integration are the development of stock markets and economic growth. This paper analyses the integration of stock markets from Central and Eastern Europe using convergence. Beta-convergence gives us information about integration's speed and sigmaconvergence presents information about the degree of integration of stock markets from Central and Eastern Europe on the stock market of Euro Zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We test for economic convergence in GDP per capita and consumption per capita within two distinct sets of countries: those with significant (and plausibly exogenous) fossil fuel (FF) endowments and those without such endowments. Among countries with FF endowments, we find evidence of both absolute and conditional convergence across both macroeconomic dimensions, as indicated by standard β- and σ-convergence tests. By contrast, we do not find robust evidence of convergence among countries without FF endowments. This pattern—convergence among FF-endowed and non-convergence among non-endowed countries—is robust to changes in the sample period, controlling for potential resource curse effects, and is largely consistent across growth components. We discuss the implications for economic development and comment on its implications for global decarbonization policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With initial low levels of income per capita, a declining population and relatively modest economic growth rates, there are little prospects of diminishing the gap between Romania and the EU countries. Nevertheless, in the long term, convergence is expected. The question then arises, "What are the drivers and their likely potential to boost economic growth and the catching-up process?". This paper presents shortly the theoretical background of economic convergence and then focuses on the assessment of possible paths of Romania's convergence towards the EU. Based on the existing long-term macroeconomic projections and the assessment of the possible future developments of the drivers of economic growth, we have built three scenarios of economic convergence, highlighting the possible timespan of convergence. We have employed growth accounting methods to decompose output growth rate into production factors' contributions (capital and labour) and total factor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a model of convergence in higher education, based on four main directions and twelve indicators. Using structural equation modelling, the framework is tested and turned into a real model by inputing data obtained, through interviews, from experts in the field of European higher education. Additionally, we employ Eurostat data to test the influence on convergence of some proxies of our considered directions, and give interpretations on the relations between indicators and analyses on actions to be taken to foster convergence in European universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1961, in the earlier stage of the European integration, Bela Balassa proposed a five successive phase model about it as a foresight. Today, the half century experience on integration and corresponding literature issued just lets us see rather two big phases (instead of five). The one would be the incipient integration, that came to enlarge the economic openness and internationalization and shaped on: (i) free trade area (FTA) and (ii) customs union; the other would be the advanced integration, in which internationalization would be replaced by the unique-common market and other two commandments would replace or just reshape the older FTA and customs union into: (iii) economic convergence and (iv) optimal currency area. This paper limits its focus on the optimum currency area (OCA), its current description-analysis in the literature and condition inside the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the accuracy of macroeconomic economic forecasts of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic using the average forecasting error, the mean absolute error and Theil's inequality coefficient. The paper analyses the forecast accuracy of the main macroeconomic indicators - real GDP growth, nominal GDP growth, GDP deflator growth, real private consumption growth, average inflation rate, average unemployment rate and current account balance to GDP Ratio. The forecast accuracy is also assessed using the modified Diebold and Mariano test, which compares the accuracy of two forecasts under the null hypothesis that assumes no differences in accuracy. Last but not least, the paper compares the accuracy of the forecasts of the Ministry of Finance to those of the European Commission, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Monetary Fund. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the introduction of the euro as a single currency, importance of respecting the fiscal aspects which determine longevity of the monetary arrangement is recognized. For this reason, although underdeveloped, the EU fiscal system provides mechanisms to ensure fiscal discipline among member states. In addition to the fulfillment of the convergence criteria which is a precondition for joining the monetary union, they include no bailout clause and monetary financing prohibition. Sovereign debt that escalated in 2010 showed all the imperfections of these arrangements and pointed to the need for introduction of new and more effective fiscal rules. With fiscal system of the European Union as a starting point, the paper analyzes instruments defined by the fiscal system of the Union, which purpose is to ensure fiscal discipline of the European Monetary Union member states. Last part of the paper analyze new fiscal rules introduced as a response to the debt crisis in the eurozone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dynamic Econometric Models is the property of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun 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.)

In this paper we explore convergence of real per capita output and health expenses across the Indian States. The new panel convergence methodology, developed by Phillips and Sul (Econometrica 75:1771–1855, 2007 ), is employed. The empirical findings suggest that these States form distinct convergent clubs, exhibiting considerable heterogeneity in the underlying growth and health expenses factors. These findings should help policy makers in designing appropriate growth-oriented and/or health sector programs and setting priorities in their implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After more than five decades since the problem of the European monetary integration has been introduced into the arena of the politic debates and after almost two decades of changes towards a viable functioning of the Euro Area, it is interesting to make a review of this process and of its main challenges. The paper tries to provide an overall image of the European monetary integration process, evaluating it from the perspective of several elements that are important for this attempt. Besides the presentation of the historical facts from the Euro adoption, the paper also presents some challenges to the process of monetary integration in Europe, on the short-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature fatigue (FF) is used to represent the phenomenon of customer's inconsistent satisfaction with products: customers prefer to choose products with more features and capabilities initially, but after having worked with a product, they become frustrated or dissatisfied with the usability problems caused by too many features. To 'defeat' FF, it is essential for designers to decide what features should be added when developing a product to make the product attractive enough and not too hard to use at the same time. In this paper, a feature fatigue multi-objective genetic algorithm (FFMOGA) method is reported for solving the feature addition problem. In the proposed method, fitness functions are established based on Bayesian networks, which can represent the uncertain customer preferences and reflect the relationships among features. The computational experiments on a smart phone case show that the FFMOGA approach can find multiple solutions along the Pareto-optimal frontier for designers to select from, and these obtained solutions have good performance in convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Management (1429-9321) is the property of University of Zielona Gora 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.)

Since the 1970s, there have been substantial financial reforms across the world, however little research has been devoted to studying the convergence path of these reforms. While Abiad and Mody (Am Econ Rev 95:66-88, ) find that there is movement towards a global 'norm' of financial reform, their findings are based upon a cross-sectional approach that has been widely criticized in the literature. In this paper we offer new time-series evidence on the convergence of financial reforms both across and within regions, which can also act as a metric to measure the degree of globalization among countries' financial systems. We find that some regions of the world have fully converged, but the advanced economies and Sub-Saharan Africa are not converging. In addition, while most countries have fully converged within their own region, notable exceptions are also identified. These results suggest that while financial reforms have largely become homogenized, important distinctions still remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a transformation of the period-by-period index proposed by Cerqueira and Martins (), to overcome some of its shortcomings, in a non-parametric estimation to analyze how business cycle synchronization for a sample of 111 countries evolved in the period 1960-2007. The period-by-period index is able to distinguish between negative correlations due to episodes in single years, asynchronous behavior in turbulent times and synchronous behavior over stable periods and the non-parametric approach provides a more detailed analysis than the use of a parametric approach. The results show that since the nineties the synchronization at the world level, within and between country groups, experienced a dramatic increase reaching the highest values ever at the sample end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analogies with mechanisms ruling the natural world have often been sought in the course of economic phenomena. This paper is also an attempt to combine the physical phenomenon of a harmonious oscillator with the theory of economic growth by J. H. Dunning (1981). In his theory, Dunning distinguished stages of economic growth of countries that imply the dependency between the investment position of countries and their GDP per capita, while the graph presenting this dependency reminds a trajectory of oscillating motion of a damped harmonic oscillator. This analogy has given inspiration to reinterpret the theory of economy on the grounds of the mechanism of a physical model. In this paper, the harmonious oscillator motion equation was adapted to the description of dependencies shown in the theory of economic growth by J. H. Dunning. The mathematical solution of this equation is properly parameterised and parameters are estimated with the use of the Gauss-Newton algorithm. The main objective of this paper is to allocate a specific stage in the economic growth to each country on the basis of the values of parameter estimations of the proposed cyclical models of changes in the net investment indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the time discrete higher order projection method is proposed and analyzed for the time-dependent viscoelastic flow problem. Our numerical method is based on the time iterative discrete schemes. By the projection method, the considered problem is decoupled into two linear subproblems: One is for the velocity and the other is for the pressure. Unconditional stability of the numerical schemes is established. Convergence results for the velocity and pressure are also derived. Our main results of this paper are that the convergence analysis for the velocity is weakly second order and for the pressure is weakly first order. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to confirm the performances of the developed numerical algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the catching-up hypothesis among the 29 transition countries using the time series approach to investigate income convergence. In this study, we propose a model which specifies a trend function incorporating both sharp and smooth breaks using dummy variables and Fourier functions, respectively. Our empirical results indicate that two convergence clubs are forming among the transition countries and one club is among the rich and the other club is among the poor countries, where most middle income countries will disappear and move into one of the two clubs. Also, our results indicate that the 1980s was an ominous decade for growth in the transition countries with income in most diverging from the USA. With recovery in the 1990s, we find that in the 2000s income per capita in most of these countries was catching up toward the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an online energy management control strategy is proposed based on a novel fractional-order extremum seeking (ES) method. The proposed method is an online adaptive optimization algorithm, which can be effectively used in the applications of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles. Compared with the traditional integer-order ES method, the presented method uses Oustaloup approximation based fractional-order calculus in order to achieve faster convergence speed and higher robustness. A detailed mathematical analysis of the proposed method is presented to give a stability proof and shows how the fractional-order calculus improves the integer-order ES method. In order to support the stability analysis results and demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method, a hardware-in-the-loop test bench is developed to provide two experimental case studies. Experimental results show that, by using the presented fractional-order ES approach, the operation points of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack system can be effectively controlled in its maximum efficiency area. In addition, the fuel cell system durability can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence process among former Socialist countries, the Central and Eastern European (CEE), Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries. The relationships between the selected macroeconomic variables and per capita GDP growth rate are econometrically tested to support this research. The analyzed period is 2004-2016, with two sub-periods; 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made to test if the recent financial crisis affected the absolute and conditional convergence process. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected only the absolute convergence process. The negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence are not identified. The poorer countries in the analyzed group should do more to attract investment, as gross fixed capital formation has a clear positive impact on per capita growth in the examined sample of countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond the inherent problems of the periods of crisis, Europe can bet on the convergence process on resources such as talent, creativity of its citizens, vital elements in the generation of scale effects. Supporting the human resource, stimulating research, creativity and innovation, EU ensure its premises to long-term development. Considering these aspects, the paper aims at accounting for the importance of creativity, innovation and investment in human capital for the strengthening of EU's resilience capacity so as to turn it into a more intelligent, more inclusive and a more sustainable entity. The article highlights, one the one hand, the position of the various states in terms of creativity, measured on the basis of 3Ts (talent, technology, tolerance) and, on the other hand, their correlation with the Human Development Index and economic growth. The results obtained will guide in drawing out some action measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation of goods and services are highly dependent on the use of natural resources. Until very recently, there was an implicit belief that the physical expansion of the economic system could be unlimited, as if the planet would have conditions and time enough to recover and continue to supply resources. This belief implies a confidence in an economic system that would provide whatever is necessary for a continuous growing production and consumption. Even believing that technology alone is not enough to solve the current environmental problems, it is certain that it can collaborate to mitigate climate change and to adaptation to changes in the environment. By bringing environmental aspects into discussions, eco-innovations can affect and transform the innovation system in order to create sustainable processes. However, the main challenge towards the transition to a more sustainable, cleaner and more equitable society is to set innovation in a new context, as until very recently it only considered the economic variables. This change means to value the social and environmental dimension of the innovation. In addition to eco-innovation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is spreading in the industrial environment, offering promising perspectives. LCA is considered a valuable methodology in the environmental sustainability of industry. In this context, the present study addresses LCA and its relationship with the generation of eco-innovations. Drawing on contributions from literature on eco-innovation and LCA, the paper analyses available evidence on this relationship in a context of the transition towards sustainable development. To structure the debate, the paper offers a conceptual approach and an illustrative case on international researchers' and practitioners’ perceptions on the potentially positive relationship between eco-innovation and LCA. The study gathers data in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and in Scopus, in order to provide a picture of the distribution of documents retrieved from these databases, dealing with both eco-innovation and LCA topics. The paper concludes that the convergence of the eco-innovation and LCA studies is quite plausible, but at least in its initial phase, the literature that unites both themes is scarcely found in publications in the area of innovation, being more frequent in the area of engineering and management that usually addresses LCA studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though media industry studies are on the rise, there is a major issue: the concept itself is "fuzzy". The goal of this paper is to shed light on the concept. To do so, the paper analyses existing approaches, combining academic references as well as sources commonly used by practitioners (e.g. the OECD, the EU, DCMS). It allows to give three delineations to the media industry: (1) A novel theoretical delineation, (2) a sectoral delineation, and (3) a delineation through the NACE statistical classification system. The main research findings are: (i) the development of a so-called circling model that shows how "mediated content" is at the core of the definition of the media industry; (ii) through the convergence tendencies, many different media activities can play a supporting or facilitating role; (iii) a list of NACE codes to guide statistical analysies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded Theory (GT) researchers have been using adaptations of this methodology to serve theory building purposes, following different theoretical frameworks. However, there is a lack of enough information on the variation of GT used, or their epistemological assumptions in some studies. The purpose of this paper is to provide our experience in a GT study using a modified convergent interviewing technique to help guide other researchers on using this method and build their own research design. We have combined a decisionmaking technique, called Delphi, with convergent interviewing and provided a clear explanation of the steps required to apply this method in a GT research study. To help other researchers, justifications made to choose convergent interviewing in this GT study, and the proposed adaptation are explained in detail. The method used resulted in a more efficient data collection and analysis stage in the main author's PhD study, that aimed to find main issues in a Health Information Technology innovation development by interviewing key informants. The case for this study was about using Information Technology in health care (e.g., computerised medical records for sharing patient care among clinicians in different services). The GT methodology and the proposed interviewing method can be used in the development processes of other innovations where the main issues or events need to be determined and generate relevant theory. There is potential in the proposed method to improve theory building studies by providing explicit theoretical and methodological decisions of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]