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The fiscal policy's impact on the real exchange rates is highly controversial in theory and practice but noteworthy for macroeconomic policy. This issue is more pertinent in developing countries with an active fiscal policy or wider fiscal space but is explored less. To our knowledge, the fiscal policy impact on the real exchange rate in India is not documented. Against this backdrop, this study explores this in India involving disaggregated data of government consumption and investment spending and a few related variables like trade openness, private consumption spending, and money supply for the period 1996:1–2023:1. The results corroborate long-run associations of real exchange rate and some combinations of the selected other variables. The real exchange rate dynamics estimated through the cointegrated vector autoregressive model followed by an impulse response analysis have shown that government investment spending causes a real appreciation. In contrast, government and private consumption spending exert pressure to depreciate the real exchange rate. Trade openness is another potent predictor of the real exchange rate. On the other hand, no significant impact of the money supply on the real exchange rate is noticed. The results accentuate effective fiscal allocation may be a policy tool for stabilizing the Indian rupee. The unique findings on the Indian economy may also help understand the fiscal effect of real exchange rates in other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of compensation spending reviews on government policy by analysing the case of South Africa, focusing on an extended review of the drivers of payroll costs. It addresses the decision by the government to renege on a wage agreement with public sector unions and the subsequent backlash from labour unions, and explains how spending reviews contributed to this. The paper outlines the methodology used for the analysis and summarises the key findings of the compensation spending reviews conducted between 2017 and 2020. It also discusses the implications of the decision and subsequent developments for compensation spending in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments directly funded vaccine research and development (R&D), quickly leading to multiple effective vaccines and resulting in enormous health and economic benefits to society. We develop a simple economic model showing this feat could potentially be repeated for other health challenges. Based on inputs from the economic and medical literatures, the model yields estimates of optimal R&D spending on treatments and vaccines for known diseases. Taking a global and societal perspective, we estimate the social benefits of such spending and a corresponding rate of return. Applications to Streptococcus A vaccines and Alzheimer's disease treatments demonstrate the potential of enhanced research and development funding to unlock massive global health and health-related benefits. We estimate that these benefits range from 2 to 60 trillion (2020 US$) and that the corresponding rates of return on R&D spending range from 12% to 23% per year for 30 y. We discuss the current shortfall in R&D spending and public policies that can move current funding closer to the optimal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sporting events are drivers of urban life and have the potential to bring substantial short-term economic benefits to the host region by attracting visitor spending. This study has analyzed the impact generated by the 2021 Senior and Elite Badminton World Championships that took place in Huelva, Spain. The objectives are (i) determine the economic impact and determining factors; and (ii) the impact on the development of badminton in the region. For this purpose, the study used the Cost-Benefit Analysis approach to estimate the cashflows through a survey applied to both events. The results reflect a direct positive impact on the region's economy, although the results are not as satisfactory at the sporting level. The article contributes to the few mid-range event studies on a minority sport in a city with a highly developed tourism sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Corruption is a phenomenon that is not just restricted to less developed nations, but also touches developed countries like those in the European Union, often seen as one of the least corrupt economic areas in the world. Corruption practices and perceptions can seriously hinder economic growth and innovation, This can be due to lower access to corporate funding, greater cost of capital, its effects on competition, misallocation of resources, and distortions in the composition of public spending and the effectiveness of government policies. This paper first provides a short discussion and an overview of some academic literature on the link between corruption, financing decisions and economic growth. It then summarizes the findings of the five papers in this special issue on the topic of Corruption in a European context, discusses some insights from their results and finally points out at some avenues for future research in related topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the impact of infrastructure on member states' economic growth in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Utilizing panel secondary data sourced from the World Bank Development Indicators (WDI) and the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) across all fifteen ECOWAS Member States over eighteen years, the study employs the panel Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model and the Westerlund co-integration test for analysis. The findings reveal that investments in infrastructure, improvements in the African Development Index, and enhancements in the Electricity Composite Index significantly contribute to the economic growth of ECOWAS countries. Specifically, infrastructure investment is associated with a 0.01 percent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the ECOWAS countries studied. In comparison, the African Development Index and the Electricity Composite Index are linked to increases in GDP by 0.292 percent and 0.987 percent, respectively, in the long term. Based on these outcomes, the study recommends that ECOWAS country authorities enhance policies to optimize government spending on infrastructure quality. Furthermore, adopting qualityenhancing and efficiency-driven financing policies in infrastructure is advocated to complement ECOWAS's ongoing infrastructural development efforts. The realization of these recommendations hinges on the availability of accurate data for informing decisions and guiding policymakers. Hence, the study underscores the need for the ECOWAS Commission to bolster its capacity for collecting reliable data on infrastructure variables and other indicators. It also proposes that future research should focus on promoting sub-regional peer-review mechanisms for infrastructure indicators among member states and establishing structures to fortify infrastructure in West Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We contrast the net fiscal position (NFP) of immigrants versus natives using data from the European Survey on Living Conditions for 2007–2015. Using a quantile regression approach, we find that European and non-European migrants have a different fiscal position from natives only on the extreme tails of the NFP distribution. Non-EU migrants contribute even more than natives in the top quantile of the NFP, but they are more fiscally dependent than native citizens in the lowest quantile. These findings suggest that immigrants are not a public finance burden and do not increase public spending in the destination country. We also examine the relationship between migrants' fiscal position and the fiscal perception of natives versus migrants as measured in the European Social Survey. We believe that by examining the effects of migrants on public spending, we can gain valuable insights into the economic implications of immigration and develop evidence-based migration policies, fostering integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study uncovers how government interventions, in terms of stringency and support, shape coronavirus disease 2019's (COVID-19) detrimental impact on organizations' performance. Specifically, this paper studies whether stringency and support play complementary or substitutive roles in lowering COVID-19's impact on organizations' performance. Design/methodology/approach: The authors gathered primary data from USA manufacturing companies and combined this with secondary data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) to test the proposed model with structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings: The results show that the stringency approach increases the detrimental impact on both operational and financial performance, while economic support (to households) and fiscal spending (to organizations) work differently on lowering the impacts of COVID-19. Further, these combinative effects only influence the firm's operational performance, albeit in opposite directions. Originality/value: This study advances the knowledge of government interventions by examining stringency and support's direct and interaction effects on firm performance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings contribute to the literature by uncovering the unique roles of both supportive policies, thus differentiating economic support (to individuals/households) from fiscal spending (to organizations) and providing important academic, managerial and policy insights into how government should best initiate and blend stringency and support policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]