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The paper focuses on the relationship between cryptocurrencies and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) shocks by adopting robust econometric techniques. Results on monthly data from 2016 to 2022 confirm that the volumes of cryptos are stationary, and the short- and long-run impacts of uncertainty shocks are significantly positive, and, in most cases, begin to show already in the first six months after the shock. When uncertainty significantly prevails, investors increase their demand for cryptos. The ARDL(12,11) specifications for Bitcoin show a significant increase in volumes of around 1% occurring over a year after a unit increase in economic policy indices. Conclusions from the findings are related to supervision, and monitoring of markets and financial stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the health, economic, and sense of well-being of many nations worldwide, drastically changing and disrupting the daily lives of everyone in all levels of society. In South Korea, in particular, the pandemic destabilized many businesses, crippled production and services delivery, and debilitated work flows on such a massive scale, leading to high levels of unemployment and production shutdowns rarely experienced by the country before. This prompted the South Korean government to come up with national policies to revitalize the country's plunging levels of productivity by getting the nation's executives, managers, professionals, and labour force back to work by coming out with massive emergency programmes to protect their health, safety, and fitness to work in the midst of the lingering pandemic. In this study that we hope will contribute to the effectiveness of the ongoing national stimulus measures, we conducted a formal evaluation of the initiatives, policies, and efforts undertaken by the South Korean government to reduce the national unemployment rate and spur productivity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The EU has committed itself to ambitious environmental, social, and techno-productive goals, and national development banks (NDBs) in the European financial architecture can be key actors in investment to finance them. However, not all EU member states have large and mature NDBs. In this light, this article examines the role of Spain´s mid-sized Instituto de Crédito Oficial and concludes that its dual nature, between the investment state and the private sector, provides it with levers to pursue EU goals effectively. Certain elements of this case could be used as lessons for other EU countries with smaller or underdeveloped NDBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) represents a significant pivot in the economic and strategic orientations of the Indo-Pacific region, reflecting a collective endeavor to foster economic integration, sustainability, and security among its member states. This shift has profound implications for China, a main regional power with vested interests across the economic, political, and security spectrums. This paper delves into the multifaceted options available to China in response to the IPEF, analysing the strategic, economic, and diplomatic avenues Beijing might pursue to safeguard its interests and maintain its regional presence. Through a comprehensive examination of official statements, policy adjustments, and strategic engagements, the paper outlines China's nuanced approach towards the IPEF, ranging from competitive economic policies and regional partnerships to diplomatic overtures aimed at reshaping the narrative around regional cooperation and development. By dissecting these strategies, the paper sheds light on the evolving dynamics of regional power play, offering insights into how China navigates the challenges and opportunities posed by the IPEF. The analysis concludes with a discussion on the potential ramifications of China's strategies for the regional order, suggesting pathways for future research and policy considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do legislators, many of whom hold policy positions that are not consistently conservative or progressive, position themselves on the left–right ideological scale? Analyzing data from the Parliamentary Elites in Latin America (PELA) survey, this paper leverages combinations of moral and economic policy positions to determine the weight—germaneness—of each policy on that scale. Using bi‐ and multivariate models on a database of about 5000 legislators, we confirm the importance of economics but also find that moral issues can be germane to the left–right placement of many of the region's legislators. The relative germaneness of the policies is inconsistent for legislators of the left and right. The left is more heterogeneous because moral policies are less germane to their identification. However, many centrists hold conservative economic and moral views, blurring the tie between policy and ideological positions. We confirm that contextual factors can sharpen the issue‐to‐ideology relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological impairments are considered one of the most contentious and uncertain subjects in intercontinental mediums, and they are also considered a significant apprehension for the entire world. Therefore, environmentalists and policymakers have turned their deliberation from conventional economic expansion to green economic growth. Even though existing studies have deliberated numerous determinants of environmental degradation, financial development, economic policy uncertainty, globalization, and renewable energy influence on ecological footprint is comparatively unexplored simultaneously, especially in financially developed economies. Hence, the present study explored the impact of financial development, economic policy uncertainty, globalization, and renewable energy on ecological footprint from 1995 to 2021. After confirming the issue of potential cross‐sectional dependency, this study employs a second‐generation econometric procedure to estimate robust and consistent estimates. The estimated results from augmented mean group (AMG) and common correlated effect mean group (CCEMG) estimators explored that financial development and renewable energy significantly protect the environment. Conversely, globalization and economic policy uncertainty increase the overall level of ecological footprint in the region. Based on these estimated results, the present research suggests some feasible policy insinuations for accomplishing targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG‐7 and SDG‐13). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social phenomenon of extended working age has been subject to broad scholarly and social policy interest, as part of such trends as the aging of the population, increased life expectancy, shortage of the labor force, and policy debates on pension reforms. A major question about extending working age, or working after retirement, is whether it is a matter of choice, taking control of one’s later life, or is coerced, part of entering the precariat. This study provides a nuanced examination of the social processes that direct labor market participation among older workers by conducting an analysis of in-depth interviews with 42 low-income older workers in Israel. The study exposed several institutional constraints that increase their economic vulnerability, demonstrating how interrelated structural factors related to the labor market, gender, and immigration shape the precarity of the life of older workers and coerce their continuous labor market participation. We conclude by emphasizing the responsibility of governments to ensure that older workers’ labor market participation truly represents their “choice and control,” rather than being a matter of coercion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiscal decentralization is perceived as a viable strategy for fostering economic growth in Pakistan. Concerns persist regarding its potential impact on environmental quality, particularly in relation to increased carbon emissions. Employing diverse analytical methods such as structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) modeling and autoregressive moving average model evaluations, this study comprehensively explores the dynamic relationships among fiscal decentralization, economic development, and environmental quality over the period 1979–2019. Intriguing trends emerge, revealing positive correlations between environmental efficiency and variables, including revenue collection, tax autonomy, and transfer payments. Conversely, a negative correlation is observed between government spending and economic growth. The interplay of these variables results in oscillations in the influence of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions, presenting a complex challenge for policymakers. Notably, positive fiscal decentralization shocks lead to an increase in carbon emissions, while positive expenditure decentralization and economic development correlate with decreased carbon emissions. Despite economic growth's statistically significant negative impact on carbon emissions, the intricate nature of the relationships underscores the complexity of the link between fiscal decentralization, economic expansion, and environmental outcomes. From a policy perspective, the study emphasizes the need to adjust fiscal policies and coordinate intergovernmental fiscal ties across all government levels to enhance environmental efficiency. These findings provide policymakers with valuable insights to navigate the intricate landscape of fiscal decentralization and its environmental implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of countries are concerned about the reliability of environmental indicators; as a result, there is a pressing need to find ways to improve ecological welfare on a global scale. This study investigates the dynamic linkages among CO2 emissions, AI, economic policy uncertainty (EPU), and renewable energy consumption. To analyze these relationships empirically, this study used panel data for East Asian and Pacific countries from 2000 to 2023. This study used fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLSs), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLSs), Hausman fixed effects (FEs) and random effects (REs), the generalized method of moments (GMM), and variance decomposition tests. This study's results show that AI has a positive relationship with CO2 emissions in terms of the benchmark regression, while it shows minimal impact on CO2 emissions according to the variance decomposition test. Similarly, economic policy uncertainty shows a strong positive relationship with CO2 emissions through benchmark regression FEs and REs, GMM, and the variance decomposition test. An increase in EPU will positively affect CO2 emissions. Renewable energy consumption has a strong negative impact on CO2 emissions in East Asian and Pacific countries. These findings reveal that a unit increase in renewable energy consumption will decrease CO2 emissions. Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that policy certainty and an upsurge in renewable energy consumption are essential for environmental upgrading. In contrast, adopting AI has no robust effect on ecological degradation (CO2 emissions). East Asian and Pacific countries need to focus on the adoption of renewables, as well as the control of economic policy uncertainty. While AI in East Asian and Pacific countries is still in the initial stage of adoption, policy formation is essential to overcome the possible carbon footprint of AI in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most contentious issues discussed in international forums is environmental deterioration, which is seen as a major global problem. Consequently, while a number of carbon emission (CO2) drivers have been covered in the literature so far, little is known about the moderating effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on the link between CO2 emissions and mineral rent (MINR). Therefore, for the BRICS nations, this document serves as a representation of the earlier effort to investigate the moderating effect of EPU on the link between mineral rents and environmental deterioration. The aim of this study is to investigate the interaction effect of MINR and EPU on CO2 for BRICS from 1990 to 2022. For this purpose, we use the panel autoregressive distributed lag model to ascertain the long‐ and short‐term effects of EPU and MINR on CO2. The long‐term findings imply that MINR increases 2. In contrast, the moderation effect of EPU aggravates the impact of MINR on emissions. This study makes policy recommendations for accomplishing sustainable development. The governments of these nations may solve the problem of environmental degradation by assuring political stability, adopting dependable macroeconomic policies, and creating policies that are so adaptable that they can be readily controlled or utilized to handle unforeseen environmental concerns in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic welfare is essential in the modern economy since it directly reflects the standard of living, distribution of resources, and general social satisfaction, which influences individual and social well-being. This study aims to explore the relationship between national income accounting different attributes and the economic welfare in Pakistan. However, this study used data from 1950 to 2022, and data was downloaded from the World Bank data portal. Regression analysis is used to investigate the relationship between them and is very effective in measuring the relationship between endogenous and exogenous variables. Moreover, generalized methods of movement (GMM) are used as the robustness of the regression. Our results show that foreign direct investment outflow, Gross domestic product growth rate, GDP per capita, higher Interest, market capitalization, and population growth have a significant negative on the unemployment rate, indicating the rise in these factors leads to a decrease in the employment rate in Pakistan. Trade and savings have a significant positive impact on the unemployment rate, indicating the rise in these factors leads to an increase in the unemployment rate for various reasons. Moreover, all the factors of national income accounting have a significant positive relationship with life expectancy, indicating that an increase in these factors leads to an increase in economic welfare and life expectancy due to better health facilities, many resources, and correct economic policies. However, foreign direct investment, inflation rate, lending interest rate, and population growth have significant positive effects on age dependency, indicating these factors increase the age dependency. Moreover, GDP growth and GDP per capita negatively impact age dependency. Similarly, all the national income accounting factors have a significant negative relationship with legal rights that leads to decreased legal rights. Moreover, due to better health facilities and health planning, there is a negative significant relationship between national income accounting attributes and motility rate among children. Our study advocated the implications for the policymakers and the government to make policies for the welfare and increase the social factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the asymmetric cointegration between possible domestic determinants of crude oil futures prices during the COVID-19 pandemic period. We perform comparative analysis of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and newly-launched Shanghai crude oil futures (SC) via the Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL) model. The empirical results show the long- and short-run impacts of stock markets, interest rate, coronavirus panic and corn futures on WTI futures prices, while economic policy uncertainty is a driver for the long-run WTI price dynamics. However, the influence of stock market, interest rate and COVID-19 panic on SC is significant in the short term. There also exists short- and long-run positive responses of China’s crude oil futures to corn prices. Overall, the impacts of domestic price drivers are heterogeneous across market circumstances (bullish, bearish and normal) and countries. These empirical evidences provide practical implications for investors and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of research is global debt (or world debt) in the world economy. Today, the problem of global debt (or global indebtedness) is extremely acute in the world economy. The global debt indicator is the largest in all history of the world economy and has already amounted to 315 trillion USD in 2024. The interdependence of the global debt and the main macroeconomic indicators were investigated in this paper. The main world macroeconomic indicators (GDP, inflation, imports, exports, economic growth) and world population are treated as global in this publication. The forecasting of the global debt index was also carried out until 2035 in the world economy. Statistical analysis methods were used in this research. All research results were obtained through the Statgraphics Centurion statistical package. This package made it possible to carry out the Multiple Analysis of Variance procedure and forecasting through the ARIMA (1,0,0) model. During applying the Multiple Analysis of Variance procedure, this publication included the results of Pearson’s correlation, Spearman’s rank correlation and analysis of covariance. Pearson’s correlation made possible to reveal which global macroeconomic indicators the global debt has very strong and weak connections. Spearman’s rank correlation also demonstrates the interdependence of global debt and global macroeconomic indicators. Covariance analysis gave results that differ from the above methods. In turn, the ARIMA model was used to forecast the global debt until 2035 in this research. The essence of the research results is that global debt has the closest relationships with such global macroeconomic indicators as global GDP, global exports and global imports and world population. Global debt is moderately correlated with such global macroeconomic indicators as global inflation and global economic growth. The ARIMA model predicts an increase of global debt by 2035, rather than a decrease, and, accordingly, these global macroeconomic indicators as interdependent from the debt. In practice, these results can be used to implement appropriate economic policies to balance the main macroeconomic indicators in the economy in order to reduce the indebtedness of states that, in turn, affects on the global debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal fisheries in Tanjung Medang Village, North Rupat District, Bengkalis Regency play an important role in shaping the economic characteristics and culture of its community. Physically, the North Rupat District is predominantly divided into residential areas along the inter-village roads and coastal areas that serve as the primary source of livelihood for most of its population. Now, North Rupat District has become a destination for both residents and visitors, impacting the existence of increasingly complex local economic resources and wisdom along the coastal areas of North Rupat District. Revitalization of coastal fisheries production factors is needed to improve economic life. Therefore, what model of economic development policy is needed to access traditional local economic resources to reduce local poverty? What kind of revitalization is required for traditional fishermen to utilize maritime economic resources fairly for the local population? The economic development policy for alternative marine economic resources involves integrating and collaborating the rights and obligations of state actors, private actors, and the public in maritime politics and economics. The revitalization of coastal fisheries production factors includes organizing the ecological integration of areas as traditional fishing grounds, tourism economic areas, and the originality of traditional culture across various disciplines, as well as fostering cultural integration among stakeholders and intergenerational concern among the Tanjung Medang community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the extent to which policy variation matters for refugee integration, focusing on two parallel local integration programs varying in intensity and comprehensiveness and their effects on refugees’ economic and socio-cultural integration. We employ 3-wave panel data including detailed information on Syrian refugees from the moment they were granted asylum status in the Netherlands up to four years later. After accounting for treatment assignment bias using coarsened exact matching, random effects analyses showed a significant increase over time in refugees’ Dutch language proficiency, identification with the host community, self-reliance, participation in volunteer or paid work, and welfare independence. However, we did not find convincing evidence to suggest that refugees’ integration process developed differently depending on the integration program. We discuss possible explanations for our findings and advance policy interventions that aim to foster refugee integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large literature studies whether, and under what circumstances, voters will electorally punish corrupt politicians. Yet this literature has to date neglected the empirical prevalence of transnational dimensions to real‐world corruption allegations, even as corruption studies undergo a 'transnational turn'. We use a survey experiment in the United Kingdom in 2020 to investigate whether voters differentially punish politicians associated with transnational corruption and test four different potential mechanisms: information salience, country‐based discrimination, economic nationalism and expected representation. We find evidence suggesting that voters indeed differentially punish transnational corruption, but only when it involves countries perceived negatively by the public (i.e. a 'Moscow‐based firm'). This is most consistent with a mechanism of country‐based discrimination, while we find no evidence consistent with any other mechanism. These results suggest that existing experimental studies might understate the potential for electoral accountability by neglecting real‐world corruption allegations' frequent transnational dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child care access shapes parental involvement in the workforce, and inherently families' economic security. Given the well-supported relationships between family economic stress and child maltreatment, we hypothesize financially accessible child care subsidies will reduce the risk of maltreatment by reducing parental stress and improving families' ability to provide for children's basic needs. States' policy components shaping financial access to child care subsidies are explored here in terms of their relationship to child maltreatment. The National Child Abuse & Neglect Data System was used to derive states' annual rates of child maltreatment (maltreatment, abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse). These act as the dependent variable in a generalized estimator equation (GEE) series. The explanatory variables in this series are four policy component variables derived from the Child Care and Development Fund Policy Database. These include: the income eligibility level for a family with three children, whether asset tests are used to determine eligibility, whether families living in poverty are exempt from copayments, and the number of sources of public support that are counted towards a family's income when determining their eligibility. Together, these policies serve as a state-year measure for financial accessibility of child care subsidies. The GEE models predict higher expected rates of maltreatment in states whose policies make it more difficult to qualify for child care subsidies (i.e., lower income eligibility levels, applying asset tests, lacking copay exemptions for families in poverty, and counting a greater number of public support sources towards a family's income). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of political elections on public policies during the Covid pandemic, distinguishing between economic (supportive) and noneconomic (restrictive) policies in a panel of countries that held political elections during 3 years of pandemic, 2020–2022. An event study, controlling for the evolution of the pandemic in terms of Covid cases and deaths, as well as country and time fixed effects, reveals significant adjustments in the Covid‐related restrictive, lockdown‐type, policies but not in the Covid‐related economic support policies before political elections during the first half of the pandemic. The pre‐election policy adjustments included a gradual easing of the restrictions before elections and were driven by the changes in the restrictions that were more likely to directly affect the electorate, such as the restrictions on workplace closing, gatherings, and public events. The presence of the pre‐election restrictions adjustment is conditional on the economic and political characteristics of the country, such as the state of democracy, the degree of political competition, the overall restrictions stringency, and the income level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the hedging and safe haven properties of clean (renewable) energy and unclean (non-renewable) energy stocks. Using around 20 years of monthly clean and unclean energy indices and applying the GARCH and quantile regression models with dummy variables, we find that likewise the unclean energy stocks renewable energy stocks provide a weak hedge and a safe haven against the global economic policy uncertainty and its extreme values even during the pandemic and low and high return environments. These findings suggest that clean energy stocks provide immunity to investors against unfavourable changes to economic policy uncertainty and market volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much contemporary economic policy analysis deploys demographic projections. To explore their macroeconomic significance, this article draws on documentary evidence from two case studies: (1) the World Bank's Human Capital Index and (2) European Union models of population ageing within debt sustainability analysis. Combining constructivist and Foucauldian insights, we develop a threefold argument about the constitutive effects of quantified demographic futures on macroeconomic policy analysis. First, the World Bank's and the European Union's respective demographic futures mobilise urgency for contingent policy choices with reference to expected future 'gaps'. Second, they build credibility for contested bodies of expertise on the basis of long-term population forecasts. Third, they delineate agency such that the effects of structural inter-dependencies between economies are rendered as national-level policy risks. These findings demonstrate how quantified demographic futures circumscribe national policy space, mediate the politics of macroeconomic ideas and contribute to the depoliticisation of economic policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a logistic oscillator model is presented to analyze the economic cycles of five selected economies: Mexico, Brazil, Canada, China and the United States. This selection was made taking as reference their level of economic development and their geographical position. The proposed model is an extension of the production Phillip's model (1959), which considers autonomous expenses dependent on time. It should be noted that the logistic oscillator combines the dynamics of a forced damped oscillator, whose restoring force incorporates Verhulst's logistic equation. The data used are the production levels of The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at nominal prices of the mentioned nations. The results obtained show terms of no economic damping with explosive tendency. China shows greater nondamping with an explosive trend, as does Mexico. The countries with the greatest oscillatory behavior are Brazil and Canada. Additionally, those showing exponential dynamics are China and the USA. The fitting of the logistic oscillator to the data is significant given the level of the determination coefficient. Therefore, the results indicate that the model can be useful in formulating economic policy criteria, since it allows one to predict the evolution of the economic cycle in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do countries repeal the inheritance tax? To investigate this question, we use a novel dataset on inheritance tax introductions and repeals worldwide. We argue that revenue requirements are the main determinant of repeal risks: The inheritance tax is resilient as long as it is central to the national revenue system; it becomes vulnerable to attacks once the rise of more efficient tax instruments marginalizes its revenue contribution. Devoid of fiscal purpose, its survival depends mainly on its redistributive features. Redistribution, however, is essentially contested and should be more important in democracies. The evidence is in line with our conjecture: The likelihood of inheritance tax repeal increases as other more buoyant taxes rise and non-democracies are more likely to repeal the tax than democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about socially uneven progress and inequality have regained public attention (including that of many populist politicians). The purpose of this paper is to identify the economic policies as well as economic factors that facilitate inclusive development. This paper is a first attempt to empirically estimate the drivers of inclusive development. For our empirical assessments, we apply the Multidimensional Inclusiveness Index suggested by Dörffel and Schuhmann (2022) in a panel OLS regression setup with fixed effects (FE) and GMM estimations for up to 178 countries and a time frame ranging from 1980 to 2018. In FE regressions, we find robust associations with inflation as well as financial sector development in the short and long-run, trade/GDP in the long-run. The GMM results point only to inflation and trade as significant drivers in the long-run and investment in the short run. These results suggest that accessible and well-functioning financial markets paired with low rates of inflation and high trade openness take on a more critical role than government spending. Our results suggest that rudiments of the Washington consensus could still guide the promotion of inclusive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The authors construct an index of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) for Greece using textual analysis and analyze its role in the 10-year Greek economic crisis. Design/methodology/approach: To identify the causal relationship between various measures of economic activity and EPU in Greece, the authors use a sophisticated "shock-based" structural vector autoregressive identification scheme. Additionally, the authors use two additional models to ensure the robustness of the results. Findings: EPU is negatively associated with domestic economic activity and economic sentiment, and positively with bond credit spreads. EPU is also estimated to have prolonged the crisis even in periods when macroeconomic imbalances were cured. The results are robust across various model specifications and different proxies of economic activity. Originality/value: Brunnermeier (2017) observed that uncertainty may be central to understanding the evolution of the Greek crisis. Yet little attention has been paid to policy uncertainty in the existing long and growing literature on the Greek crisis. The authors attempt to fill this gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Finnish dental care market operates as a dual system, divided between a regulated, affordable public sector and a less regulated, more expensive private sector that receives public subsidies. In 2015 and 2016, two policy interventions were introduced to reduce these subsidies for private dental services. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these policy changes on the dental care market. Methods: This study was a realist evaluation. Context‐Intervention‐Mechanism‐Outcome‐configurations were applied to elicit an initial program theory (IPT) for the policy interventions. The IPT allowed a complicated system to be reduced to the main components, allowing for better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the chain of events started by the interventions. The resulting hypotheses about the chain of events and outcomes were tested against a dataset collected from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (SII) registries on public and private dental visits in the cities of Espoo, Helsinki and Oulu during the years 2010–2016. The used dataset consisted of N = 17 111 625 dental procedures or N = 8 139 990 individual visits (which can include several procedures) at a public (n = 9 097 407 procedures, n = 4 083 475 visits) or a private (n = 8 014 218 procedures or n = 4 056 515 visits) dental clinic. The system was studied during three time periods related to the two interventions in 2015 and in 2016. Changes were evaluated by statistically analysing changes in several key metrics: mean subsidy, mean out‐of‐pocket price, mean (non‐subsidized) price, number of patients treated, number of professionals, procedures per professional, Case‐Mix adjusted procedures per professional, patient‐to‐professional ratio, total procedures. Results: The 2015 and 2016 reductions to the subsidization of private dental care reduced the average subsidies paid to the private dental sector by 49% [−49.1, −38.8]. A 26% [25.2, 26.7] increase in the out‐of‐pocket price paid in the private sector was observed. Over the 2 years, 12.2% of patients left the private sector and an increase of 13% was observed in the number of patients treated in the public sector. The public sector increased its number of dental care professionals by 2.3% and the patient‐to‐professional ratio increased by 9.9% over the 2 years, while the private sector lost 4.6% of its dental care professionals and increased its prices by 4.0% [3.5, 4.5]. Conclusions: The policy changes had tangible effects on both the private and public sectors of the Finnish dental care market. By reducing subsidies, the private sector became more expensive for patients, causing many to transition to the public sector for their dental needs. While the public sector increased its capacity to accommodate the rise in patients, the demand still outpaced the growth in professionals, hinting at capacity or resource constraints in the public sector. The results also show initial evidence that contrary to the objectives, the policy changes increased the cost to the public sector as subsidized patient cared for in the private sector costs less to the government than treating that same patient in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the geopolitical dynamics in South Asia, focusing on Sri Lanka's strategic position amid rising powers India and China. It explores how Sri Lanka's domestic political environment and socioeconomic needs shape Colombo's foreign policy engagements. The article highlights the impact of external shocks, such as the global pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which have made Sri Lanka more susceptible to external influences. It critiques the United States' foreign policy approach, which prioritizes national security over economic development, creating a mismatch with Sri Lanka's domestic needs. The article suggests that the United States should revisit its approach toward Sri Lanka, prioritizing economic policy to achieve its strategic objectives. It underscores the significant role of domestic factors in shaping Sri Lanka's foreign policy, particularly in the postwar era, and how Western pressure has limited Sri Lanka's access to developmental assistance. The article calls for a more nuanced understanding of Sri Lanka's domestic situation in shaping foreign policy engagements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global geopolitical landscape is characterized by the rise of new powers and a shift toward multipolarity. This study examines the impact of multipolarity on international cooperation using an iterated game theory approach, particularly the classic prisoner's dilemma, extended to a multiplayer setting. This effort can be regarded as a preliminary study of hypothetical optimal global cooperation. The main hypothesis is that an increase in the number of large countries in the international system will lead to higher levels of cooperation. Our simulation approach confirmed this. Our findings extend to the conclusion that multipolarity, under appropriate cultural and value systems, can foster new economic development and fair competition. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of evolving strategies and cooperative dynamics in a multipolar world, contributing to discussions on foreign economic policy integration, sustainability, and managing vulnerabilities among great powers. The study underscores the necessity of strategic frameworks and international institutions in promoting global stability and cooperation amidst the complexities of multipolarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs the Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) method to examine the dynamic interrelationship between Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) and stock market returns. The existing literature has not reached a consensus on the relationship between EPU and stock market returns, and there is a lack of comparative analysis of domestic and foreign EPU. Therefore, this paper is the first to incorporate domestic and foreign EPU, stock market returns, and output into a unified framework, considering the dual impact of domestic and foreign EPU shocks. Additionally, the generalizability of the results is ensured by including a large sample of nine emerging and eleven advanced economies. The main findings are as follows: First, a positive shock to foreign EPU leads to a decline in stock market returns and is stronger than the impact of domestic EPU. Second, a positive shock to stock market returns reduces both domestic and foreign EPU. Third, a rise in stock market returns promotes domestic output growth, while increases in domestic and foreign EPU suppress domestic output growth. Finally, the United States is a net exporter of EPU rather than a net importer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disconnect between the exchange rate and its macroeconomic fundamentals has been extensively discussed in the literature. It nonetheless continues to pose theoretical and empirical challenges in the literature. This study examines the relationship between the exchange rate and its fundamentals. This study used the monetary model of exchange rate determination developed in the 1970s. The study used the TAR to estimate the exchange change rate behaviour in response to variations in monetary variables. We found that the exchange rates respond to the interest rate differential, consistent with the predictions of the monetary model of exchange rate determination. Furthermore, in all the regimes, the sizes of coefficients are different, which shows that the exchange rate behaviour is non-linear (asymmetric). While the impact of the interest rate differential in regime 1 and 2 leads to exchange rates appreciating although in regime 2 the results are insignificant, this occurs when the exchange rates fluctuate below 0.87 percentage points. In regime 3, on average, a marginal increase in interest rate deferential leads to an exchange rate depreciation. In some instances, the exchange rates respond to the monetary variables' changes in line with the predictions of the monetary theory of exchange rate determination. An increase in interest rates in some instances leads to an improvement in the value of the exchange rate. However, the conditions are not constant—they vary depending on the state of exchange rate fluctuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses macroeconomic trends in Southeast Asian countries and their implications for climate change, focusing on urbanisation, GDP per capita, energy intensity, FDI, inflation, and trade. Using panel data from 1970 to 2020, we investigate climate change drivers across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand through panel ARDL with PMG and MG analyses, along with Hausman tests. Our results highlight the need for tailored urbanisation policies for sustainability, as the consistent positive correlation between GDPs per capita and emissions, underscores the challenge of decoupling economic growth from emissions. Urbanisation's varying impact calls for proactive planning, and mixed FDI results suggest nuanced investment approaches aligned with sustainability. Inflation's negative impact hints at environmental benefits during price increases, necessitating integrated economic and climate policies. The positive relationship between trade openness and emissions emphasises the need for eco-conscious trade agreements to mitigate emissions from industrial activity. Our study stresses the importance of considering macroeconomic heterogeneity in crafting climate policies. Policymakers must adopt multifaceted approaches that prioritise sustainability across economic growth, energy efficiency, technology adoption, and trade to balance development with environmental preservation. This approach enables Southeast Asian countries to contribute effectively to global climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the formation and evolution of systemic risk, we study the high‐low volatility spillovers between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and commodity futures and identify the source of risk accumulation and risk outbreak, as well as the corresponding contagion mechanisms. Upon comparing topological characteristics on each volatility layer, our results demonstrate that high and low volatility spillover networks have different network characteristics and evolution behaviors. At the system level, high volatility spillovers are relatively stronger than spillovers in in low volatility network, while the risk propagation efficiency in the low volatility network is higher. At the market level, EPU is not only an important risk‐emitter but also a risk‐recipient most of the time. Additionally, compared with high volatility network, low volatility network characteristics have greater predictive ability for risk spillover among commodity futures, which means that it contains additional information and provides early warning signals for financial stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present two new databases we have constructed to explore the electoral consequences of structural economic policy reforms. One database measures reforms in domestic finance, external finance, trade, product, and labor markets covering 90 advanced and developing economies from 1973 to 2014. The other chronicles the timing and results of national elections. We find that liberalizing reforms are associated with economic benefits that accrue only gradually over time. Because of this delay, liberalizing reforms are costly to democratic incumbents when they are implemented close to elections. Electoral outcomes also depend on the state of the economy: Reforms are penalized during contractions but are often rewarded in expansions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a note appearing in the August 2024 issue of History of Political Economy (HOPE), Edward Nelson argues that a passage commenting on James Forder's Macroeconomics and the Phillips Curve Myth (2014) in a 2023 HOPE article by Carlo Cristiano titled "The Early Reception of the Phillips Curve in the United Kingdom" would provide a false characterization of the economic literature and claims priority in affirming that UK policymakers did not use the Phillips curve as a menu for policy. It is shown in this reply that Nelson's reading of Cristiano's 2023 article, and more specifically of the passage commenting on Forder's 2014 book, is based on a misunderstanding. The purpose of the 2023 article was not to show that UK policymakers did not use the Phillips trade-off as a menu for policy. In that article, consensus on this point is taken for granted. It is also argued in this reply that there is no need to mention Nelson's works to affirm that UK policymakers did not use the Phillips trade-off as a policy menu and that Nelson's works are indeed very relevant, but for other reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of research papers that appeared from 2000 to 2009 made the case that the UK authorities in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s eschewed Phillips-curve-based analysis and that, consequently, the UK Great Inflation of the 1970s should not be regarded as resulting from policymakers' pursuit of a perceived long-run inflation/unemployment trade-off. The position advanced in these 2000−2009 papers was that, instead, UK economic policy until 1979 subscribed to a nonmonetary perspective on inflation. This perspective implied UK authorities' rejection of Phillips-curve-type trade-off analysis, but it also meant that they misjudged the importance of monetary policy in inflation control, thereby compounding the country's inflation problem. When this series of papers began to appear at the start of the 2000s, the trade-off-centered interpretation of the US Great Inflation was highly prevalent and was also being applied to the UK Great Inflation. By late in the decade, however, the case—as outlined in the 2000−2009 papers—against Phillips-curve-based accounts of historical policy conduct had gained notable acceptance among central bankers and academic researchers who discussed the UK Great Inflation. This article corrects erroneous statements that the challenge to Phillips-curve-based accounts of historical UK policymaker behavior only appeared in research starting in the 2010s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier studies have linked equity market liberalization to growth in emerging markets. Some conclude liberalization causes growth, whereas others contend contemporaneous economic policies and conditions play important roles. The causal argument contends that foreigner investability in public firms leads to lower discount rates and greater share issuance, investment, and efficiency. Using three separate measures of foreign investability, we do not find these effects. Moreover, common de jure foreigner-investability measures are poor de facto measures. Economic indicators, not directly influenced by equity market liberalization, also grow faster in countries with more investable firms. Our findings suggest foreigner investability cannot fully explain the equity-market-liberalization-growth relation. (JEL F30, F38, G30, G24, G15) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to many other developing and developed countries, China grapples with the challenge of balancing economic growth and environmental preservation. This study, anchored in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7, 11, 12, and 13, investigates the impact of eco‐innovation and sustainable energy on CO2 emissions (CE) in China from 1980 to 2020, using the STIRPAT model. Employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model with bootstrap rolling window causality analysis, we uncover causal relationships between CE and its determinants, assessing them in sub‐sample periods. ARDL estimates reveal that economic policy uncertainty, economic growth, and urbanization increase CE, while eco‐innovation and sustainable energy decrease it. Time‐varying causality analysis demonstrates predictive capabilities of all independent variables at various sub‐periods. The study recommends substantial increases in subsidies and tax incentives for renewable energy, emphasizing stable ecological policies, irrespective of economic conditions, for lasting benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article investigates the relationship between inflation and the performance of the financial sector within OECD countries, a group critical to global economic stability. The financial sector is a basis of sustainable economic growth, and its performance is heavily influenced by the macroeconomic environment, particularly inflation. This study analyses how inflation, alongside other significant factors such as real GDP growth, government size, trade openness, and interest rates, impacts the financial sector development. By examining data from 38 OECD countries over a 20-year period (2002-2021), this research employs a comprehensive approach using both static and dynamic panel regression models. The results consistently indicate a negative correlation between inflation and the key financial sector variables, suggesting that higher inflation levels undermine financial sector performance. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining low and stable inflation to foster an efficient and stable financial sector. This study makes a valuable contribution to the literature by focusing specifically on OECD countries, which are often seen as benchmarks for economic policies and financial systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the lack of transparency of banks’ income and the uncertainty of economic policies. The statistical population of the research is all banks and banks and credit institutions active in Iran. The research sample includes all the banks admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange, which were members since 2010 and includes a total of 12 banks. The time period of the research is 2011 to 2021. In the statistical analysis of the research, first the descriptive analysis of the data was done, and then the reliability and distribution of the data were evaluated by performing the stationarity test and the normality test (Jarek-Bera) to estimate the models. In the next step, Limer and Hausman’s F test was used to determine the data structure and estimation method. Then it was determined whether the model is linear or non-linear by using Wald’s test, and finally, by using the GMM method, the effects of economic policy uncertainty on the lack of transparency of banks’ income have been investigated. The results of the research showed that the uncertainty of economic policies depending on the size of banks can have a different effect on the lack of transparency of banks’ income. Based on the evidence presented in the research, the relationship between economic uncertainty and lack of income transparency in the investigated banks is negative and significant. Also, the results show that regardless of the level of capital adequacy, the increase in economic uncertainty leads to a decrease in the level of income opacity of banks; However, the intensity of EPU effect on the lack of income transparency in banks with a lower capital adequacy level is greater in terms of absolute value than in banks with a higher capital adequacy level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the March 2024 issue, Wirtschaftsdienst published an article entitled "Inflation calculation: ECB Interest Rate Policy is Not Statistically Recognised as a Driver of Inflation" by Johannes Schwanitz. Manuel Rupprecht takes a different view in a reply; Schwanitz then explains his position in a rejoinder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the widespread recognition of the significance of long-term sustainability, there is as yet a relative paucity of evidence on what factors account for sustainability performance. In an effort to close the apparent gap in knowledge, this study contributes new empirical evidence to this discussion by considering the role of economic policy uncertainty. Inconsistent economic policy may undermine sustainability efforts as it creates a more complex and volatile operating environment, which, in turn, affects the behaviour of economic entities in the system. Drawing primarily on environmental management literature, this study aims to investigate the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and sustainability performance in the Asian regions between 2012 and 2020. With country-level annual data, this study estimates the model using a system generalised method of moments approach to address the possible biases resulting from serial correlation of random errors, simultaneity, and unobserved heterogeneity. Therefore, the estimates of this study will be consistent and asymptotically unbiased. The empirical analysis reveals that sustainability performance in Asia is adversely affected by economic policy uncertainty. The sustainability sub-components results are broadly in line with the main results that a higher economic policy uncertainty index is detrimental to the protection of natural capital and the development of social capital. This study concludes that ongoing economic policy uncertainty and disturbance could have serious repercussions for local economies, thereby hindering sustainability development. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that the establishment of sustainability development frameworks in areas of climate goals, social justice, and good governance would need to pay close attention to uncertainty in economic policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shadow economy's size and impact remain subjects of extensive research and debate, holding significant implications for economic policy and social welfare. In Lebanon, the ongoing crisis since 2019 has exacerbated severe economic challenges, with the national currency's collapse, bank crisis, and foreign reserve deficits. The World Bank reports Lebanon's financial deficit surpassed $72 billion, three times the GDP in 2021. Despite a drastic decline in GDP, imports have surged to near-pre-crisis levels, exacerbating economic woes and indicating a constant outflow of foreign currencies. Considering such contracting facts, this paper aims to investigate global factors influencing the shadow economy and discern their manifestations in Lebanon during financial crises. Our methodology involves a comprehensive literature review, alongside a case study approach specific to Lebanon. This dual-method strategy ensures a detailed understanding of the shadow economy's impact and the development of actionable insights for policy and economic reform. Through this approach, we seek to contribute to a nuanced understanding of Lebanon's economic landscape and provide valuable guidance for policy decisions aimed at reducing corruption, promoting transparency, and fostering a robust formal economy. The increase in the shadow economy raises the formal economy risk, as resources and activities diverted to informal channels hinder the growth and stability of the official economic sector. Although focusing on Lebanon, this analysis deepens the comprehension of the economic landscape and provides valuable guidance for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders, aiming to address the root causes of informal economic activities and promote sustainable growth in developing countries in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of executive board gender diversity on the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and bank liquidity hoarding (LH). We focus on the Russian banking sector, which, relative to most of the world, has a high share of women on bank executive boards. Using the news‐based EPU index developed by Baker, Bloom, and Davis (2016) and LH measures proposed by Berger, Guedhami, Kim, and Li (2022), we exploit a unique dataset from the Russian banking sector. While higher economic policy uncertainty tends to increase liquidity hoarding, we find that this effect diminishes as the gender diversity of the board increases. We attribute this finding to the moderating influence of gender diversity on stability and overreaction in decision‐making. Additionally, we find that the channel through which board gender diversity affects the impact of economic policy uncertainty on liquidity hoarding takes place via the hoarding of liquid assets. Our findings are robust to the use of alternative measures for economic policy uncertainty and gender diversity and hold after addressing endogeneity concerns. As women are still significantly under‐represented on bank boards in most countries, these results argue for policies to promote gender diversity on bank boards as a means of limiting the detrimental effects of economic policy uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on microlevel data from China's exporting firms, this study examines the effects of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) in export destinations and its interaction with spatial heterogeneity on firms' CO2 emission behavior. We find that the effect of economic policy uncertainty in export destinations on firms' CO2 emission intensity is positive and quantitatively significant. Moreover, this effect is more pronounced in regions characterized by low financial constraints, weak environmental regulations or high marketization, in the eastern region and in firms whose primary export destinations are developing countries. Through a comprehensive discussion of the underlying mechanisms, the study finds that economic policy uncertainty primarily influences firms' CO2 emission intensity by increasing the intensity of fossil fuel usage and reducing the variety of clean products for export, while the impact of the green innovation channel is not statistically significant. From the perspective of spatial heterogeneity effects, our research findings provide empirical evidence and policy implications for governments in addressing the challenges posed by uncertainty shocks and environmental pollution governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate about the "4-day week" has increased and now occupies a large part of company, economic and labour policy discussions. It is noticeable that various working time models are being discussed under the term "4-day week", in which the weekly working time is spread over four days instead of five, or the weekly working time is reduced, and employees therefore work one day less per week. The aim of this article is to inform readers about the challenges and fields of action relating to the "4-day week" and to provide arguments and approaches for objectifying the discussions within and outside the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores strategic hybridization in Jeffrey Lau's four films, which reinterpret the classic Journey to the West, and analyses Hong Kong-mainland film co-productions from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s. Adopting a media industries perspective, it examines how strategic hybridization navigates economic pressures and policy environments influencing production decisions, creative choices, and industrial imperatives. The study illustrates that strategic hybridization is not merely a consequence of co-production but a deliberate strategy reflecting the collaborative dynamics between Hong Kong and the mainland, contributing to an increasingly integrated and mainland-centric co-production model. By analyzing strategic decisions across industrial and production dimensions, the article underscores the impact of policy interventions, cross-cultural collaboration, and financial factors in shaping co-production models. The evolution of co-productions is further demonstrated through a detailed look at Lau's films, suggesting that strategic hybridization serves as a set of adaptive strategies fostering a symbiotic, albeit mainland-centric, relationship between the two film industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Internet age, income inequality within peer groups has raised attention. We examine the effect of Internet penetration on peer income inequality and investigate whether the Internet penetration and peer income inequality relationship can be reinforced by human capital. Using a combination of macro and microdatabases of China over the period 2010–2018, we find that peer income inequality in China generally follows a downward trend from 2010. In addition, we show that Internet penetration significantly reduces peer income inequality. Internet penetration has a negative effect on peer income inequality among those under 40 years old, while the effect is reversed among those aged 40–60. Furthermore, human capital can reinforce the links between Internet penetration and peer income inequality. Our results confirm that a mixed indicator of Internet penetration and human capital investment should be part of an active economic policy aimed at reducing peer income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stochastic volatility estimation of VIX index's latent volatility is used for the United States of America, as a proxy for the adjustments in the levels of investors' uncertainty related to current and future economic policies. The impact of monetary policy stance on such measure is examined in the framework of the distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM). We place this analysis in the literature stream emphasizing the various sources of heterogeneity concerning investors' expectations. The main finding is that the monetary policy does impact non-linearly the adjustments in investors' predictions. While a tighter monetary policy does generally contribute to an increase in VIX's latent volatility, the shape of such effect varies across different GLM and GAM specifications of DLNM. This outcome remains robust, even if: (1) we control for the global price of Brent crude and consumers' confidence; (2) we use, instead of the stochastic framework, a Markov-switching GARCH-based estimator; or (3) we replace the monetary policy instrument with monetary policy uncertainty. We argue that accounting for its nonlinear effects on financial markets is of critical importance for the design of a monetary policy pursuing global financial stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws upon original research including a series of interviews, extensive desk research, and a canon of political economy scholarship hailing from Lebanon and elsewhere to explore the political dynamics underpinning Lebanon's emerging tech "ecosystem." It focuses on a seemingly peripheral actor within this ecosystem, the coding school, both as a window into the ecosystem's political machinery and as a surprisingly important site through which its wider interests are mediated. This focus explores how the coding school generates so-called empowerment conceived largely in terms of training and preparing Lebanon's "underprivileged youth" for global tech markets, through a strategic alignment with the ecosystem. Thus, empowerment becomes a political currency of sorts, helping to reify and repackage an enclave of Lebanon's economy. The article suggests that the political work to engineer this new economic landscape reflects how state-business interests come together to repackage so-called development and enforce new regimes of accumulation at a time of deepening crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]