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The Balkan countries undergoing the transition must advance their economies to be more competitive. The aim of this paper is to analyse economic growth with a primary focus on the analysis of economic convergence in the Balkan region in the period of 1997-2020. The research analyses the following Balkan economies: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. This study applies Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of economic growth and is based on the neoclassical economic growth model: the Solow's convergence concept. The results show that the Balkan countries experienced economic convergence with a speed of 1.82% in the cross-sectional model and 7.87% in the panel data model. It means that the initially less developed economies noted higher economic growth than those richer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed the convergence of economic growth and socioeconomic development in the Legal Amazon region. For this, the methodology of Convergence Means was used. To measure economic growth, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and the Gross Value Added (VAB) per capita referring to the three sectors of the economy were used as variables. Regarding socioeconomic development, the Firjan Index of Municipal Development (IFDM) was used as variables for the dimensions: General, Health, Employment and Income and Education. The results showed that the variables related to economic growth, presented themselves as convergent and showed a great growth in the period. In relation to variables related to socioeconomic development, the level of convergence was significant, with exception of the variable employment and income, which proved to be divergent. [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]

Extensive review of academic writings on the convergence of religions (COR) in Nigeria shows that many online academic papers and related conversations gave more attention to its negative implications. Agreeably, Nigeria is the hotbed of religious crises in Africa. However, with the benefits of hindsight, filling the gap of insufficient capture of the positive impact of COR is considered in this exercise with three questions in view: (1) Where do religions meet? (2) Why do religions meet? (3) What are the positive implications of their convergence in Nigeria? Answers were adequately captured with examples, scenarios, case studies, historical evidence, and concomitant academic literature. Overall, this exercise projected three arguments. Firstly, it posited that commitment to religion is not at the heart of COR in Nigeria, rather, COR is premised on personal or group interests. Secondly, it argued that positive reflections on the COR can promote inter-religious tolerance, peace, and unity. Thirdly, it proposed that the COR has far-reaching positive implications socially, politically, and economically. Lastly, it made brief recommendations for improved co-existence and nation-building. Contribution: This article contributes to inter-religious dialogue in Africa as it focuses on the social, political and economic value of religion in Nigeria. [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]

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]

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]

The reconstruction of the economic history of Brazil since independence from Portugal (1822) may lead to a new understanding of its economic growth. The deep-rooted idea that Brazil could have done better means there is a need to delve into each phase of its development. In this paper, we provide a very long-run perspective (1822-2019) of Brazil's economic growth and process of real convergence. On the one hand, this review indicates that structural changes observed in the middle of the 20th century were crucial in promoting the country's growth and real convergence with technologically advanced countries. On the other hand, poor institutional conditions and deficient human capital formation have emerged since colonial times as critical factors underlying Brazil's inability to establish robust and sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the meta-frontier Data Envelopment Analysis and the main concepts of convergence from the economic growth literature (β-convergence and σ-convergence) to analyze integration and convergence both in efficiency and in technology gap of European Union (EU) insurance markets. We evaluate 10 EU life insurance markets over the 17-year-period 1998–2014. Results show convergence in cost/revenue efficiency among major EU life insurance markets during the sample period. These findings indicate that the least efficient countries in 1998 have shown a higher improvement in cost/revenue efficiency than the most efficient countries in the same year as well as that the dispersion of the mean efficiency scores among EU life insurance markets decreased over the sample period. We also find convergence in cost/revenue technology gap among these markets, suggesting that they become more technologically homogeneous during the sample period. However, results show that the global financial crisis has led to a slowdown in the progress of integration and convergence in efficiency and technology gap of EU life insurance markets in terms of cost efficiency but not in terms of revenue efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether the Internet is a determining factor in explaining economic growth and convergence across countries when it acts as a channel of information and knowledge diffusion. Literature has identified around 140 possible growth factors, therefore given the contradictory results obtained from previous empirical studies it is crucial we understand the actual role of the Internet. Using the conditional convergence theory and a Bayesian panel data model averaging method from a sample of 100 countries between 1994 and 2017, our results demonstrate that an increase in access to the Internet is a non-determinant factor in economic convergence, being its probability of inclusion in the true growth model conditioned by the regressors included in the estimates and the time span analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies in economic growth have focused on the convergence hypothesis for regions, territories and groups of countries. The main idea is that on the long run, the poorer regions would catch up to the richer in terms of Gross Domestic Product Per Capita. This paper analyses the economic convergence in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), not considered in studies related to the organization, which offers an expanded view on the matter. Utilizing an estimation and panel data analysis for the period 1970-2017, it indicates whether the gaps between countries belonging to the block have tended to be reduced or widened, and for this, an econometric model based on the literature is developed, with different equations, periods, variables and set of countries within the OPEC. The results mainly show convergence and the formation of convergence clubs between these economies, and a growth dynamic determined by human capital and physical capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are significant regional differences in the development of China's insurance industry. An important question is that such regional differences are expanding or shrinking? Based on Barrow's economic growth convergence model, this paper uses the σ convergence model to analyze the differences in the development of China's insurance industry and its trends. It draws on the statistics data from 1990 to 2020. The empirical results show that the convergence of China's insurance development is not obvious before 2006, but it shows a significant convergence after 2006. And, there are some differences between the Eastern, the Central, and the Western. Furthermore, when considering the spatial correlation, the convergence of insurance development among provinces in China is more obvious. This shows that the flowing of capital, technology, and labor force between regions may be beneficial to the balanced development of insurance among the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitiveness on a small and large scale is necessary for growth. A definitive link between the level of competitiveness and growth has been difficult to prove. One of the primary objectives of economic planning is to promote price and exchange rate stability. Entrepreneurialism and productivity also increase the country's export competitiveness. The aim of this study is to test for the convergence in competitiveness and convergence club existence in selected economies. No previous research had tested for convergence in competitiveness using a nonlinear timevarying factor model. This paper provides an overview on convergence in competitiveness and convergence clubs' existence for 42 countries using quarterly data from 1994q1 to 2020q4 testing on competitiveness. Convergence log (t) test results show differences in competitiveness between classified convergence clubs. Russia, Brazil, and Turkey are the clubs (groups of countries) that show a transitional path (convergence in competitiveness) that differs entirely from the rest of the sample. Countries with more natural resources and exogenous monetary policies follow a unique development path to competitiveness. We find no evidence of divergence in countries within the clubs. However, we find a club (group of countries) following a clear divergence path from the other countries (Russia, Brazil, and Turkey). Our findings could potentially explain the increase in divergence in competitiveness across countries after the financial crisis of 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: It is not straightforward to identify the role of institutions for the economic growth. The possible unknown or uncertain areas refer to nonlinearities, time stability, transmission channels, and institutional complementarities. The research problem tackled in this paper is the analysis of the time stability of the relationship between institutions and economic growth and real economic convergence. Purpose of the article: The article aims to verify whether the impact of the institutional environment on GDP dynamics was stable over time or diffed in various subperiods. The analysis covers the EU28 countries and the 1995-2019 period. Methods: We use regression equations with time dummies and interactions to assess the stability of the impact of institutions on economic growth. The analysis is based on the partially overlapping observations. The models are estimated with the use of Blundell and Bond's GMM system estimator. The results are then averaged with the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) approach. Structural breaks are identified on the basis of the Hidden Markov Models (HMM). Findings & value added: The value added of the study is threefold. First, we use the HMM approach to find structural breaks. Second, the BMA method is applied to assess the robustness of the outcomes. Third, we show the potential of HMM in foresighting. The results of regression estimates indicate that good institution reflected in the greater scope of economic freedom and better governance lead to the higher economic growth of the EU countries. However, the impact of institutions on economic growth was not stable over time. [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 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]

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]

Economic diplomacy is known as a symbol of the European Union and represents its primary function. With the development of science and new ways of communication, the European Union can organize a new approach for its economic diplomacy. The main advantage of the European Union as a soft power is that its economic and diplomatic interests are represented in a manner that is based not on confrontation but economic collaboration with other states. The disadvantage is that this domain is presently not used enough to represent EU interests. This paper describes economic diplomacy in general and the economic diplomacy of the EU in particular. Divided into three parts, the goal of this study is to outline the importance of economic diplomacy, its evolution, the influence of this domain on the creation of previous economic treaties, and its possible future impact on the development of new agreements between the European Union and its neighbour countries. The main methodology used is descriptive, presenting the evolution of this field and the new business strategies that can be used to improve cooperation at the eastern border of the European Union. Therefore here are presented the historical background of EU Economic diplomacy, its present issues and future challenges. The quantitative data used in this research paper are based on information from the EU website and on the actual events concerning debates about economic diplomacy and its future. The research questions presented herein follow the general evolution of this domain and its mutual influence with EU's businesses strategies. [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]

The needed transition from a fossil-to a bio-based economy fosters the utilization of biological resources derived from recycled low value by-products and waste streams. Chain actors face multiple challenges associated with the adoption of novel processing technologies. Bio-based technologies might be related to high switching costs, missing downstream processing technologies, lack of quality standards, missing industry standards, emerging regulatory frameworks. Moreover, as previously unrelated actors form new relationships, value chains are moving towards new structural changes. This paper thus seeks to explore the challenges associated with the emergence of novel value chains with an exploratory case study approach that reviews a new process of recovering phosphate - a typical scarce and fundamental resource - from rapeseed oil press cakes. The contribution of our paper is thus not only to provide conclusions for this specific case, but also, and more importantly, to present a blueprint for other cases of scarce resources that require the establishment of novel supply chains to foster cascading usage of by-products. Expert interviews with different value chain actors have been conducted to investigate arising challenges, and derive implications and a further research agenda. Despite the advantages of the bio-based process, interviews revealed several challenges associated with the emergence of novel value chains: hesitation of respondents in making new investments in terms of equipment and know-how, missing complementary competencies, and difficulties in integrating different industrial sectors to engage in cross-industry innovation, such as food processing (rapeseed oil cakes) and specialty chemicals/mineral (phosphate and its derivatives). These exploratory results open the way for some useful recommendations, enabling us to propose an agenda for further research and policy development in areas such as: development of synergies between academia and industry; formulation of management strategies to support the flexibility of firms to capture opportunities associated with by-product valorization; building a systemic approach at a local level to implement bio-based technology clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to verify the influence of the legal environment (Common Law and Code Law) on the comments of the stakeholders involved in the financial reporting process related to the accounting standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs). By answering this question, we intend to verify if there is any evidence of a convergence de facto rather than only a convergence de jure with this regulation. The choice of IFRS for SME further underscores the relevance of the results, because it will affect the accounting practices of a significantly larger number of enterprises in countries that are adopting international standards than just large corporations. The comments were collected from answers to four questions the IASB used in its Discussion Paper for the SMEs standard. The Respondents were classified according to the legal system of their countries and according to the professional entity they were representing. The research findings indicate that there are no significant differences between the responses to questions the IASB raised on the basis of the legal system and no significant differences in responses according to different categories of respondents. The resulting indication from the research is that, even in countries with different legal systems, the views of the stakeholders in financial reporting and accounting processes are aligned, which may be an indication that a convergence de facto and not only a convergence de jure can be achieved through the introduction of international standards for SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of the era of big data, large-dimensional spatial panel data is gradually used to do empirical research in the macroeconomic field. This paper adopts a Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA) approach to calculate regional energy efficiency based on the perspective of total-factor energy efficiency using statistical data of 30 administrative regions in China. On basis of spatial effects, the paper assesses the convergence of regional energy efficiency in China using large-dimensional spatial panel data model. Our results indicate that (1) There is significant spatial autocorrelation and clear spatial effects in China's regional energy efficiency. Thus, spatial effects should not be ignored when assessing the convergence of regional energy efficiency in China; (2) During the period from 2000 to 2014 China's regional energy efficiency not only exhibits absolute β -convergence but also exhibits conditional β -convergence, the convergence rate is higher than the rate of absolute convergence after controlling for the initial conditions of the level of economic development, foreign direct investment and government influence; (3) The convergence rate of China's regional energy efficiency from 2004 to 2014 is higher than the convergence rate for the period of 2000–2004, which indicates that industry transfer has contributed to improvement in the convergence of regional energy efficiency in China since 2004. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Free vibration of the FG generally doubly-curved shells of revolution is studied. • A numerical approach based on the Haar wavelet discretization method is presented. • Boundary conditions are imitated by adding artificial springs to constraints. • Proposed method show high accuracy, high reliability and rapid convergence rate. Abstract This paper aims to investigate the free vibrational analysis of the generally doubly-curved shells of revolution made of functionally graded (FG) materials and constrained with different boundary conditions by means of an efficient, convenient and explicit method based on the Haar wavelet discretization approach. The FG materials of the shell consist of a combination of ceramic and metal, which four parameter power-law distribution functions have chosen for modeling of the smoothly and gradually variation of the material properties in the thickness direction. The theoretical model of the shell is formulated by employing of the first-order shear deformation theory. The rotation and displacement components of each point of the shell are expanded in the form of product of the Haar wavelet series in meridional direction as well as trigonometric series in the circumferential direction. By adding the boundary condition equations to the main system of equations, the constants appeared from the integrating of the Haar wavelet series are satisfied. In addition, with solving the characteristic equation, the vibrational results including the natural frequencies and the corresponding mode shapes are achieved. Then, the present results have been compared with those available in the literature. The results indicate that this method has high accuracy, high reliability and also a higher convergence rate in attaining the frequencies of the FG doubly-curved shells of revolution. Also, the effects of the main parameters such as power-law exponent, geometrical parameters, material distribution profiles and different types of boundary conditions, on the vibrational behavior of the FG doubly-curved shells of revolution, are investigated. Finally, taking into account the effects of geometrical parameters and material distribution profiles, for FG doubly-curved shells of revolution with different boundary conditions such as classic, elastic restraints and their combination, a variety of new frequency studies are provided which can be considered as proof results for further researches in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the convergence hypothesis and the impact of social policy on the economic growth of the six largest countries in Latin America between 1980 and 2010. Results suggest that social public policies have positively influenced growth in these economies. Particularly, there are non-observed variables (fixed effects) that positively affect the economic growth in Venezuela and Chile; however, there are other non-observed variables that may be negatively affecting growth in Brazil and Mexico. Regarding the convergence hypothesis, results reveal that the speed of convergence diminishes as real income rises, implying that these countries might be converging to their stable states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The imbalance and insufficiency of China's regional economic development has led to huge differences in regional energy efficiency. Reducing the differences in regional energy efficiency has become an urgent energy issue in China. The constant absorption of foreign direct investment (FDI) has brought advanced technologies to China, which has an important impact on China's energy efficiency. To explore whether FDI can reduce regional energy efficiency differences, this paper investigates the existence of energy intensity convergence while incorporating foreign direct investment (FDI). Since existing research on regional energy intensity convergence lacks of consideration of the data spatial dependence, we focus on spatial econometric model to test energy intensity convergence. We use panel data of 30 provinces in China over the period of 2005–2014 to test energy intensity convergence by β convergence model. The empirical results show that considering the spatial dependence of the data, FDI can promote the formation of conditional energy intensity convergence. Further analysis found that the spillover effect of FDI plays an important role in this formation. In addition, the convergence speed accelerates after considering the spatial dependence. Finally, the spillover effect of FDI, which is global, inhibits the declining speed of energy intensity during the research period. The scale effect of FDI and energy rebound effect plays an important role in the effect of FDI on energy intensity. These results show that guiding foreign investment more reasonably in each province in China can make contributions to the reduction of energy efficiency differences. Highlights • Use spatial econometric approach to test the convergence of energy intensity. • FDI can promote the convergence of energy intensity. • The spillover effect of FDI plays an important role in the formation of energy intensity convergence. • The effect of FDI on energy intensity has brought a rebound effect. [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]

The emerging discussion about the sustainability potential of distributed production is the starting point for this paper. The focus is on the “design global, manufacture local” model. This model builds on the conjunction of the digital commons of knowledge and design with desktop and benchtop manufacturing technologies (from three-dimensional printers and laser cutters to low-tech tools and crafts). Two case studies are presented to illustrate three interlocked practices of this model for degrowth. It is argued that a “design global, manufacture local” model, as exemplified by these case studies, seems to arise in a significantly different political economy from that of the conventional industrial model of mass production. “Design global, manufacture local” may be seen as a platform to bridge digital and knowledge commons with existing physical infrastructures and degrowth communities, in order to achieve distributed modes of collaborative production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A linear one-dimensional convection–diffusion problem with a small singular perturbation parameter ε is considered. The problem is discretized using finite-difference schemes on the Shishkin mesh. Generally speaking, such discretizations are not consistent uniformly in ε , so ε -uniform convergence cannot be proved by the classical approach based on ε -uniform stability and ε -uniform consistency. This is why previous proofs of convergence have introduced non-classical techniques (e.g., specially chosen barrier functions). In the present paper, we show for the first time that one can prove optimal convergence inside the classical framework: a suitable preconditioning of the discrete system is shown to yield a method that, uniformly in ε , is both consistent and stable. Using this technique, optimal error bounds are obtained for the upwind and hybrid finite-difference schemes. [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]

This paper is dedicated to the introduction a new class of equilibrium problems named generalized multivalued equilibrium-like problems which includes the classes of hemiequilibrium problems, equilibrium-like problems, equilibrium problems, hemivariational inequalities, and variational inequalities as special cases. By utilizing the auxiliary principle technique, some new predictor-corrector iterative algorithms for solving them are suggested and analyzed. The convergence analysis of the proposed iterative methods requires either partially relaxed monotonicity or jointly pseudomonotonicity of the bifunctions involved in generalized multivalued equilibrium-like problem. Results obtained in this paper include several new and known results as special cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with determining the factors that impact the convergence of the Czech economy to the economy of Eurozone. Moreover, it attempts to determine the level of economic convergence in the EU using the β-convergence and σ-convergence techniques. The existence of this convergence is one of the necessary conditions for the creation of Monetary Union as stems from the Optimal Currency Area (OCA) theory. The paper employs the OCA theory as the key theoretical basis for empirical analysis and evaluates the cyclical and structural synchronization by the means of correlation coefficients of the GDP development, industrial production, inflation and interest rates. The results point out at the considerable level of convergence of the Czech economy (except the shock analysis), even though the values seem to be overvalued due to the recent economic and financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses patterns in regional inequality within and between Malaysia's 14 states, drawing upon estimates of Kuznets/Williamson curves, σ- and β-convergence and spatial spillovers. The path of regional inequality contradicts Kuznets predictions. Regional inequality initially fell but has subsequently risen with further economic development. While Malaysian governments have been successful at reducing poverty, they have been unable to curtail regional inequality in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of 1990s, Danny Quah devoted several papers to the analysis of polarization and stratification in the convergence processes of economies, creating the image of the 'convergence clubs' and suggesting the importance of studying the distribution dynamics of the macroeconomic variables. As for the labour markets, Overman and Puga (2002) showed that a progressive polarization of unemployment was in fact occurring among the European regions in 1986-1996, causing a phenomenon of cross-border clusterization. Here we propose to analyse the evolution of the unemployment rates of the EU 27 regions in the last two decades assuming that the unemployment rates evolve according to a Gompertz stochastic process. The estimated parameters of the process - intrinsic growth rate, deceleration factor, volatility - represent the evolutionary path of the unemployment rate and allow for estimating the steady state of the process. A cluster analysis is performed on the steady state values of the unemployment rates. The analysis confirms the emergence of several 'convergence clubs' among the European regional labour markets, which are compared to the clusters resulting from the more traditional clusterization on the current unemployment rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accession to the European Union for Central and Eastern Europe countries involved their requirement to start the process of the European Monetary Union integration. The desire to enjoy the benefits of EU membership has made both the 10 countries that joined EU in 2004 and Romania and Bulgaria which became EU member in 2007 to engage on the path to join the European single currency endeavoring to meet not only the nominal convergence criteria but also real convergence. This paper makes an analysis of the Romania's capacity to achieve the nominal convergence criteria in the current context. The change of the financial and economic conditions due to the crisis that spread worldwide during 2007 - 2008 changed the issue from "Romania can fulfill the nominal convergence criteria?" in "Is it advisable for Romania to adopt the Euro, given the uncertainty clouds over the currency's future?" The analysis is made by considering the comparative situation of other countries that are in the process of joining the single currency. The objective of the research undertaken in this paper is to investigate Romania's capacity to approach the nominal convergence criteria and so realistic goal of joining the Euro it is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cohesion policy belongs among the most important fields of EU interests. Its objectives are achieved by many ways with respect to diversity among the European regions at the level of NUTS 2. The aim of this paper is to analyse relevant indicators, and via the evaluation of EU regional policy effectiveness to rewiev difference in the production-consumption patterns of behaviour of European regions; focussing on convergence and variabiliness of these regions. With defined goal in mind, the regions have been classified. To classify the regions, the relational indicator has been created. The relational indicator has been developed as the relationship between the index of relative performance and index of relative consumption sources. The changes of relational indicator, as well as the GDP per capita criterion, have been evaluated in two periods. [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]

Meat consumption in Romania is increasing, but domestic production is stagnant. Although animal husbandry is a basic branch of the Romanian economy, its share in agricultural production has had a downward trend in recent years. This important component of agriculture has a high potential for development, which is supported by a number of factors, including access to raw materials, the upward trend in domestic meat consumption, the record level of trade in meat, the prospect of further European economic convergence, and the consequences of the pandemic-induced shock. Domestic meat consumption has shown an upward trend in recent years, supported by an increase in household income. Meat production in Romania is below meat consumption, in the analyzed period 2015 - 2019, so it cannot ensure the necessary consumption of meat from its own production. In 2015, the production of meat per capita has a value of 54.75 kg, and the value of meat consumption per capita is 66.02 kg. In 2019, the production of meat per capita has the lowest value, of 54.72 kg, the consumption of meat per capita has the highest value of this analyzed period, of 69.85 kg. Meat consumption has been steadily rising, but Romania's GDP, urbanization and the FAO Food Price Index have had very little influence on it. In terms of meat consumption in the European Union, it is found that Belgium has the lowest value of 54.71 kg/capita (it is the fourth largest meat producer in the EU with 158.94 kg / capita), and the highest meat consumption is in Spain with 98.79 kg / capita, and Romania is ranked twenty-fourth. Meat production / capita in the European Union has the highest value in Denmark with 326.14 kg/capita and the lowest value is in Malta with 27.32 kg/capita, Romania ranks seventeenth. [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]

After China launched its “Belt and Road” (BR) initiative, the international community became concerned that it may worsen the environmental performance of the BR countries. Due to a lack of data for empirical testing, this paper addresses this concern through an indirect method and draws the implications of the potential impacts of China’s BR initiative. This method empirically examines the effects of trade integration and regional cooperation, two major functions of the BR initiative, on energy efficiency (EE) convergence, a concept that describes the catching up process of EE across countries. A sample of 89 countries was selected to analyse the process of EE convergence from 2000 to 2014. The results indicate that although the gaps in EE among countries around the world become larger after 2010, regional cooperation may lead to a convergence process. It also finds that trade integration has a positive influence on convergence across the countries, especially among middle- and low-income countries. The results suggest that the BR initiative, through its roles in trade integration and regional cooperation, may promote EE convergence among countries. This is a desirable environmental outcome. This research also provides policy implications for both China and the other BR countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a new hybrid MADM model that can explore the best strategy plan according to the environmental attributes that influence digital convergence, with the additional consideration of societal and individual needs for improving the digital convergence toward satisficing users' needs. The proposed hybrid MADM model employs the DEMATEL method to construct an influential network relationship map (INRM), and find the influential weights of DANP (DEMATEL-based ANP). Next, a modified VIKOR method is employed to assess the weighting of identified attributes to integrate the performance gap for each criterion into dimensions and the overall. Finally, this paper presents Taiwan as an empirical case to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in practically improving laws and regulations to plan for digital convergence. The contributions of our proposed model can be summarized as follows: (1) The INRM can be used to assist government bodies in understanding the influence and relationships of digital convergence development; (2) The modified VIKOR can be employed to reduce performance-gap towards achieving the aspiration level; (3) The model can help decision-makers to avoid choosing the optimal inferior alternative for reaching a certain aspiration level through continuous improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether, and to what extent, the spot LNG markets in different regions (East Asia, Iberia, Northwest Europe, and South America) are integrated and how market integration evolves over time. We first lay out a framework of market integration in the context of global LNG market where the main supplier (e.g. Qatar) may have market power. Estimating a time-varying coefficients model, we find that a varying degree of market integration exists between all four LNG indices particularly after the Fukushima incident in 2011. We complement the time-varying coefficient analysis with a test of price convergence among the LNG indices using the Phillips-Sul (2007) methodology. The results reveal that, there is strong evidence that the spot LNG prices are converging after the Fukushima accident and they are also converging with the price of NBP in the UK. The empirical result is consistent with the change of market power of the main supplier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: The processes of economic convergence observed in many developing countries are characterized by reduction of economic differences on the cross-country level, which are accompanied by growing internal economic inequalities. This may stem from the fact that in the catching-up countries, a more dynamic growth pattern is observed in the economically strongest regions, which is initially reflected in spatial polarization and increasing regional inequalities. However, just as the countries reach higher levels of development, the diffusion of growth-inducing impulses to less-developed areas should lead to the spatial equalizing of the development levels and reducing regional inequalities. Purpose of the article: The aim of the paper is to determine the relationship between the level of economic growth and observed economic inequalities in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The theoretical framework adopted to describe and explain those relations is the so-called Williamson's hypothesis in which the relationship between the scale of regional inequalities and economic growth is illustrated by a curve shaped like an inverted U. Methods: The research procedure was intended to verify Williamson's hypothesis by estimating parabolic econometric models. Indicators of economic growth along with measure of regional inequalities (Williamson's coefficient of variation) were used in the regression modeling. The research period spanned the years 1995-2014. Findings & Value added: In the light of the study of CEE countries, it was possible to observe both convergence symptoms as well as divergence tendencies. It can be thus stated that the analyzed CEE countries followed a similar path to the one observed earlier by Williamson in other developing countries. However, the analyses conducted by the authors at the national and regional levels of CEE countries were equivocal and did not fully support the theoretical assumptions of Williamson's hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an efficient alternating direction implicit (ADI) Galerkin method for solving the time-fractional partial differential equation with damping, where the fractional derivative is in the sense of Caputo with order in $(1,2)$ . The presented numerical scheme is based on the L2- $1_{\sigma}$ method in time and the Galerkin finite element method in space. The unconditional stability and convergence of the numerical scheme are both carefully proved. Numerical results are displayed for supporting the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the problem of institutional development in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. We analyze existing approaches to explaining the causes and factors of institutional development and seek to determine why there was no evidence of institutional convergence in European countries between 1990 and 2014. We look at the theoretical and methodological limitations of approaches to the analysis of institutional development characteristic of mainstream political science. The data we utilize comprise a wide range of quantitative variables which measure levels of institutional development, social trust and political capital. We also use our own Total Factor Productivity (TFP) estimates obtained through non-parametric methods using raw data. We analyze relationships between the variables using correlations, regression analysis and clustering. The results of statistical analysis reveal the mechanism through which TFP influences institutional development: we show that TFP is a necessary prerequisite for institutional transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realization of economic convergence of the new member states is one of the biggest challenges that face EU. It raises important questions and problems for research; to determine what processes of regional development are taking place within the Union. In this regard, a key issue that arises and is related to the Bulgarian integration to the economic structures of the EU is the extent to which these processes have an impact on Bulgarian regional development. By applying statistical and economic methods the paper attempts to analyse these processes in the light of similar processes in the EU as a whole and by particular countries - to highlight the general and specific features in the Bulgarian regional development. According the "EU Regional Social Progress Index" and some of its sub-indices the specific places that occupy the Bulgarian regions on NUTS 2 among all other regions of the EU countries are compared and analysed. Based on the obtained results some policy implications are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to highlight the main economic disparities between the developing regions of Romania, during the 2005-2011/2012 period. We will focus on the Bucharest-Ilfov region, which differs both in terms of population density, and the galloping economic growth, relative to other regions. In terms of the convergence-divergence analysis, it will be based on key indicators, such as the factors that led to increased inter-regional divergence and to what extent the differences between regions were reduced in the analyzed period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Energy Market Integration (EMI) has been a goal for many regions, including the European Union and East Asia, for quite a long time. How it could play a role in facilitating equitable economic growth among a group of countries remains an empirical question that this paper will attempt to answer. The paper uses economic convergence analysis (including both the σ-convergence and β-convergence approaches) to examine the impact of EMI – measured by two newly constructed indexes (namely, the energy trade index and the energy market competition index) – at the country level on dynamic economic growth paths across countries. Its special interest lies in informing policy making related to promoting EMI. The results show that countries involved in a more integrated energy market are more likely to reduce their income disparity, suggesting that EMI may help the region to achieve equitable growth through the accelerated economic development of lagged economies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]