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The Response of the Multilateral Development Banks to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author(s): Maria Babosik / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Development assistance; Health and economic crisis; Pandemic recovery packages; International development finance institutions; Sustainable development

The purpose of this paper is to present the response of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to the COVID-19 pandemic from its outbreak in January 2020 to May 2021. It focuses on the assistance they provided to their member countries during the health and economic crisis, the changes in their internal operations in the emergency situation and their vision of the post-pandemic future and future plans. The paper uses an analytical approach based on secondary research. Data is from open access sources through the Web. Findings show that MDBs reacted quickly, adapted and intensified their funding activity, adjusted their internal operation due to the pandemic and they are seeking to “build back better” in the future. It can be concluded, that the pandemic response of the MDBs has strengthened their role in the global development arena.

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The 2020 Oil Price War Has Increased Integration Between G7 Stock Markets and Crude Oil WTI

Author(s): Rui Dias,Paulo Alexandre,Paula Heliodoro,Hortense Santos,Ana Rita Farinha,C. Marcia Santos / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Crude Oil WTI Spot; G7 markets; Integration; Diversification of portfolios

This paper aims to examine whether the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia has increased integration between the Crude Oil WTI Spot oil index and the G7 stock markets, namely France (CAC 40), Germany (DAX 30), USA (DOW JONES), UK (FTSE 100), Italy (FTSE MID), Japan (Nikkei 225), Canada (S&P TSX), from January 2018 to January 2021. The results show that in the period before the oil price war, the G7 stock markets and the WTI index had 29 integrations (out of 56 possible). The WTI index is integrated with the UK stock markets (FTSE 100), and Japan (NIKKEI 225), and is integrated into the Japanese market. In the period of the oil price war, the G7’s stock markets and the Crude Oil WTI Spot index had 43 integrations (out of 56 possible), namely the WTI, Dow Jones, and Nikkei 225 indexes, with all their peers (7 out of 7 possible). When comparing the period before and during the 2020 oil crash, we found that integrations increased significantly from 29 to 43 (out of 56 possible); we also found that the Crude Oil WTI Spot index is no longer a safe haven for portfolio diversification in G7 stock markets. These findings validate our research issue, i.e., the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia had increased integrations, and this evidence could question portfolio diversification.

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Long-range Dependencies of Euronext Capital Markets: A Dynamic Detrended Analysis

Author(s): Rui Dias,Paula Heliodoro,Hortense Santos,Ana Rita Farinha,Marcia R.C. Santos,Paulo Alexandre / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Euronext stock markets; Long memories; Arbitrage; Portfolio diversification

This paper aims to test efficiency, in its weak form, in the capital markets of the Netherlands (AEX), Belgium (BEL 20), France (CAC 40), Ireland (ISEQ 20), Norway (OSEBX), Portugal (PSI 20), in the period from April 4, 2019 to April 1, 2021. The sample was partitioned into two subperiods, the first and second wave of the global pandemic: April 4, 2019 to April 30, 2020; May 4, 2020 to April 1, 2021. To carry out this analysis, different approaches were undertaken to analyze whether: (i) Euronext’s stock markets have more significant long memories in the first or second wave of the global pandemic? The results show the presence of sharp long memories during the first wave of the global pandemic, particularly in the stock indices OSEBX (0.67), PSI 20 (0.67), AEX (0.66), BEL 20 (0.64), CAC 40 (0.62), ISEQ 20 (0.61), which implies that the yields are autocorrelated in time and, there is a reversal of the average, in all indexes. Regarding the second wave of the global pandemic, we found that most Euronext stock markets don’t reject the random walk hypothesis, with the exception of the Norwegian (0.56) and Portugal (0.55) stock markets. These findings show that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was accentuated during the first wave, but from May 2020 the markets adjusted and showed balance. The authors believe that the results achieved will be a benefit to international investors seeking efficient diversification into their portfolios.

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Analysis of the Number of European Union Citizens Working in the Regions of Slovakia in the Period 2013-2019

Author(s): Ľubica Hurbánková / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Number of working EU citizens; Contribution method; Suslov´s coefficient

The paper aims to analyse the regions of Slovakia based on the number of working citizens of the European Union. The contribution method is used to find out in which region the number of working foreigners increased the most, and in which the least. Suslov´s coefficient of similarity of structures is used to analyse changes in the structure of the analysed indicator. From the results of the realized analysis we found out that the number of working foreigners in Slovakia increased the most in the year 2014 compared to 2013, by 63.40%. Bratislava Region (16.92%), Žilina Region (11.37%) and Prešov Region (9.63%) contributed the most to this increase, while Košice Region (0.91%) and Trenčín Region (1.07%) contributed the least. In the year 2019 compared to 2018 was recorded an increase of only 6.10%. Suslov’s coefficient of similarity of structures acquires the value 0.0230, which means a high degree of similarity of structures of the number of working foreigners in the years 2013 and 2019.

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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or Remittances? Which Contributes the Most to the Albanian Economy?

Author(s): Alban Korbi,Blisard Zani / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Foreign direct investments; Gross domestic product; Multifactorial econometric model; Economy; Albania

Foreign direct investment (FDI) and remittances entering an economy often play a very important role in the development and growth of economies year after year. Especially for economies with similar typologies and characteristics like that of Albania, both of these elements promote economic development and serve as financial incentives. This paper aims to assess the contribution of remittances and foreign direct investment in the Albanian economy in the last three decades, through a multifactorial econometric model. The model uses three endogenous variables, the value of remittances, the value of a foreign direct investment and the value of gross domestic product for the time series 1992 - 2019. As it results from the analysis of the econometric model, both remittances and foreign direct investment payments have a positive impact on economic growth and the value of gross domestic product. It is also evident that remittances are the ones that affect the gross domestic product more compared to foreign direct investment.

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Financial Life Cycle of Kosovo SMEs: Results of an Enterprise Survey

Author(s): Argjente Qerimi,Muhamet Aliu,Besnik Krasniqi / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Financial growth cycle; Small business finance; SMEs; Kosovo

This article empirically examined how Kosovan SMEs finance their working capital and their investments through their growth life cycle. Using the financial growth cycle paradigm to test the financial growth cycle based on a sample of 100 Kosovan SMEs’ reporting data since their inception of business. Findings show that Kosovan SMEs use various sources to finance their working capital and investments throughout their life cycle. To finance their working capital needs, during the first two years of operation, Kosovan SMEs rely more on insider capital sources such as personal savings, financing offered from 3F connection - friends, family, fools, retained earnings, and also trade credit takes a significant place. Over time, as businesses evolve through age, the proportion of retained earnings and business debt financing in total capital injection volume increases significantly. As firms grow older, financing from trade credit marks a decline, so the SMEs replace it with using more overdraft. During the first years of operation, to finance their investments, Kosovan SMEs rely primarily on owner’s personal savings, financing from 3F connection - friends, family, and fools, retained earnings, but as the company grows older and becomes more extensive, they rely mainly on two sources: retained earnings and bank loans. In general, concerning debt, Kosovan SMEs use more trade credit and overdraft to finance their working capital and bank loans to finance their investments. Funding from 3F is mainly used during the initial phase of operation. However, the most used resource by Kosovan SMEs in all stages of operation remains retained earnings, while external equity raised from angels and venture capitalists and other alternative financing are almost inexistent.

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Digital Methods of Education and the Level of Students’ Knowledge in Mathematics

Author(s): Vladimir Matušek,Dana Országhová,Maria Farkašova,Radomíra Hornyák-Gregáňová / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Digital methods of education; Distance learning; Mathematics teaching; Knowledge evaluation; Z-test

The global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 disease significantly affected higher education in 2020 and resulted in the transition from full-time to distance learning. The question here is the effectiveness of the implementation of new methods of online teaching and learning in relation to the quality of students’ knowledge. The main goal is to analyze the mathematical knowledge and skills of students and compare the study results in Mathematics in the academic years 2018-2020 in the context of full-time teaching versus online teaching. The paper also points at the possibilities of teaching and studying mathematics using various tools and methods of digital education, e.g. LMS MOODLE, MS TEAMS and MS FORMS. The research sample consisted of students of the Faculty of Engineering and research data were retrieved from prelim tests, exam tests and final grades in mathematics exams and then were analyzed by selected methods of quantitative and qualitative research.

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Level of Knowledge in Personal Finance by University Freshmen Management Students

Author(s): Zuzana Kozubíková,Aleš Kozubík / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Financial literacy; Financial education; Questionnaire survey

Financial literacy becomes one of the key competencies for life in modern society, and its importance grew significantly in the last decade. The study aims to determine how well newly coming university management students understand basic consumer financial concepts. The research is based on primary data by questionnaires and a sample of 342 students from the target population within Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The questionnaire contained in its first part some questions covering the individual personal socio-economic characteristics. In the second part, the respondents solved thirteen problems submitted as multiple-choice questions that tested their knowledge about personal finance. Authors examine the relationships among the personality characteristics of the students and their financial literacy. This leads to several remarkable findings. Due to the specialization of the study, the difference between the genders is blurred. As a significant source of the differences in financial literacy, the authors detect the previous education of the respondents and the forms of education in financial literacy.

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The Importance of Aesthetic Experience in Fine Dining Restaurants

Author(s): Suzana Marković,Jelena Dorčić,Dora Rašan,Bruna Bucić,Marko Blažić / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Experience economy; Aesthetic experience; Fine dining; Restaurant; Importance

The importance of aesthetic in fine dining restaurants has been recognized as an important factor in creating a perfect service and a memorable experience. The purpose of this study is to investigate guests’ importance of certain aspects of aesthetic experience in fine dining restaurants in Croatia. Data were collected using an online self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data and determine the importance of different aesthetic components in fine dining restaurants. An independent sample t-test was performed to assess the perceived differences between those who have been in fine dining restaurants and those who have not been yet but have the intention to visit them in the future. The results of the study could serve as a guide for restaurant managers to improve the components of the aesthetic experience and enhance the overall guest experience and business performance in fine dining restaurants.

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Students During Pandemic. Time Spent Studying and Courses

Author(s): Rejla Bozdo / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Covid-19; Students; Education

A great percentage of 94% of students were out of school worldwide during the peak of school closings, in April 2020, according to the World Bank. The pandemic year of Covid-19 posed education all over the world in a context of huge uncertainty. Students and schools had to navigate through options of either hybrid, remote learning, or no schooling at all. For the families, 2020 was a year with great stress and panic. Lockdowns changed people’s lifestyles, so they moved to a new set of habits and consumer behavior. This research aims to investigate students’ behavior during 2020 regarding the variables: level of professional knowledge gained during 2020, the need for courses other than the academic ones, how many courses were taken as a response to the need and the number of hours dedicated to studying compared to the amount of time spent before 2020. An online survey was conducted among students of higher education institutions, in Albania, which shows that more than 47.2% of the respondents have spent fewer hours studying during 2020 compared to the time they used to study before the pandemic. Regarding other courses taken during this period, considering to add value to their professional career, more than 60% of respondents declared that they did not take any additional courses, even though when asked about the need to attend these courses they answered with a mean of 3.68 in a scale (1 to 5, where 1 is not at all and 5 is too much).

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Innovations in Online Education in Post-COVID-19

Author(s): Silvia Matúšová / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Skill; Competence; Innovation; Online education

The COVID 19 pandemic found the management of universities and many university teachers well prepared, but others only partially acquainted with the use of electronic tools in teaching. Many universities in Slovakia have been working for a long time (ten to fifteen years) with technical support for education and supplement the full-time form of teaching with thematic e-learning packages, for instance in the moodle system. They can work with them in full-time and distance education. However, the COVID-19 pandemic redirected teaching from full-time teaching exclusively to a mediated technically supported approach to online education. The paper aims to define and analyse online education in terms of digital skills and competences requirements. Particular attention is paid to the key digital skills and competences of higher education teachers working in a new educational reality framed by the effects of digital transformation, which requires higher education educators to create and apply innovations in online education at universities.

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Potential Corruption of Science about COVID 19

Author(s): Aleš Pachmann / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Corruption; Sars-CoV-2; Symptomatic; Asymptomatic; Presymptomatic; Postsymptomatic

Covid-19 is the disease. When someone is PCR test Sars-CoV-2 positive – it does not necessarily mean that such person is sick or spreads the virus. Clinical evaluation is needed to determine such information. The author of this paper examines the hypothesis that only sick (symptomatic) persons or persons with high viral load (under certain circumstances – coughing, sneezing and maybe loud talking and singing) can transfer Sars- CoV-2 to others. This paper aims to analyse and evaluate other methods of testing for SARS-CoV-2 than PCR from nasopharyngeal swabs (or saliva/throat/front nose samples). Suggested is PCR testing from real clinical face masks samples to evaluate the condition of the test subject and his ability to spread the virus. Potential corruption is in scientific claims that PCR testing from nasopharyngeal swabs (or saliva/throat/front nose samples) is so-called “gold standard”. A critical overview of current literature on this topic was provided and research with surface and air samples collections in hospitals in rooms with only symptomatic and only asymptomatic patients. Recommendations for public policy are done.

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The COVID-19 Challenge and the Sustainability of the Bulgarian Banking Sector

Author(s): Svilen Kolev / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Bank management; Banking system; Regulations

The paper examines the effects and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the banking sector in Bulgaria. The research describes the response from the global and European regulatory authorities. An emphasis is placed on the national regulatory measures and the condition of the banking system in Bulgaria. Financial soundness and sustainability indicators about the banks operating in Bulgaria on aggregate basis are analyzed. The recent developments regarding the position of the banking sector and lending dynamics are also viewed. Conclusions and a brief discussion about possible future challenges and prospects are made, in terms of a potential subsiding of COVID-19.

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COVID-19 Effects on SMEs Businesses in the Durres Region

Author(s): Osman Metalla,Shkëlqim Fortuzi / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: SME; Lockdown; Income; Employees

The effects of Covid 19 have hit the global economy; therefore, the Albanian economy could not be excluded from these effects. This paper examines the issues that small and medium enterprises in Albania are facing under the current conditions identifying the most significant difficulties the SMEs are facing. SMEs have been severely affected, starting with the illnesses of the employers, quarantine and lockdown of the businesses reduced demand for different products and insufficient supply. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects that Covid-19 had in small and medium enterprises regarding the consequences of restriction measures taken by the government had in terms of production, income, number of employees reduction, the way of doing business and how ready are these companies to return in the post-Covid period. The data were gathered through structured questionnaires and analysed by the authors. The result shows that Small and Medium Size Enterprises have been heavily affected by Covid-19 in terms of income, way of doing business and in reducing the number of employees.

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Innovations as a Means of Restarting Tourism in the Slovak Republic in the Period After COVID-19

Author(s): Vojtech Kollar,Silvia Matúšová / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Tourism; Innovation; Sustainability

The competitiveness of tourism and its sustainability is conditioned by the ability of tourism stakeholders to use the existing innovation environment. Empirical results support the fact that the tourism sector shows differentiated innovation behavior in the sector of services. Economic performance in tourism determines the type of innovation and the type of business. The paper focuses on innovations, which, together with other factors, are considered to be the driving force behind a possible restart of tourism in the Slovak Republic in the period after COVID-19. Innovations are understood as creative activities that induce deliberate change that will bring in technical, technological, economic, or social benefits. They are an essential part of modern business. Using a questionnaire survey, PESTLE analysis and SWOT analysis, a survey focused on the application of innovations in tourism was conducted. The target group was represented by travel agencies in a selected region of the Slovak Republic.

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Applied Theory of Markets and Sustainable Growth – A Different Perspective

Author(s): Rasto Ovin,Nuša Lazar / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Political market; External effects of ignorant politics; Retaining of civilization standards

The term “sustainable growth” the authors will apply to the social and partly economic field and not to ecology – natural environment, which is usually the case. The use of the term “applied theory of markets” derives from the fact that a new insight of markets functioning will be discussed – based on empirical facts and data if necessary. This paper will start from the Arrow-Debreu model (1954) and its interpretation as a theory by Radner (1970 in: Majumdar 1998). It will be argued that the absence of considering all possible markets although they proved to be functioning, brought unwanted consequences, which in some respect are threatening to turn the civilization clock back and are pushing contemporary priorities. From the view of the applied theory of markets, the sources of destructive national politics becoming reality in some countries will be discussed and possibly explained.

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The Lessons Learned from the Great Recession

Author(s): Csaba Kurtucz / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Global economic crisis; Federal Reserve; GDP

The lessons learned from the crisis management of the 2008 Great Recession stem from significant structural differences between the two centers of the world, the United States and the eurozone. In the case of the United States, a monetary, fiscal and political union is realized, with a single economic policy, operates as a coherent unit, uniting the three areas. In the case of the eurozone, we can talk about a monetary union. The crisis has highlighted the structural flaws of the eurozone because without a unified fiscal policy no effective economic policy can be achieved. The symptoms of the euro area crisis weren’t the consequences of the global economic downturn; rather the stalling of the integration process, the lack of real convergence, and the weaknesses of monetary and fiscal policy were the problems that have been brought to the fore and exacerbated by the crisis.

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Assessing Government Involvement in the Balkan Countries’ Economies

Author(s): Presiana Nenkova,Velichka Nikolova,Angel Angelov / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Government; Fiscal policy; Balkan countries; Cluster analysis

The extent to which the government intervene the marketplace and the government’s role in the economy is an important factor, determining the economic results achieved by a country. In the academic literature, the question of whether the promotion of this participation contributes to an improvement of the development of a nation or, on the contrary, can contribute to a loss of competitive advantages, is debatable. This study focuses on the degree of involvement of national governments in the economies of the Balkan region countries. For the purpose of analysis, a cluster analysis is applied, through which the Balkan countries are divided into several groups (clusters), characterized by different degrees of government participation. Three periods are considered - before and in the first years of the global economic and financial crisis, as well as just before the current COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis is supplemented by an assessment of the impact of individual clusters on the economic development of these countries.

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Analysis of the Process of Regionalisation and Regional Socio-Economic Development in the Republic of Bulgaria

Author(s): Krassimira Zagorova / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: European Union; Territorial units; Republic of Bulgaria; Planning regions; Gross domestic product; Socio-economic development

Users of European statistical data have expressed their objective need for harmonization of the statistical methods and approaches in order to enable the provision of comparable analytical data for the entire European Union (EU). With the accession of Bulgaria as an EU member country, the systematization of the country’s regions is implemented on the basis of the adopted thresholds for territorial classification of the European Union, by introducing a three-level regionalization (zoning), in agreement with the criteria of the territorial units NUTS level 1, NUTS level 2 and NUTS level 3. From this perspective, the paper focuses exclusively on key economic indicators at NUTS level 2 on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, more particularly on the gross domestic product per capita, employment and unemployment rates, level of socioeconomic activities by country’s regions, and reveals, in conclusion, the pronounced imbalances in the development of individual regions.

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Directions for Reducing Excessive Import Dependence of Ukraine’s Economy

Author(s): Volodymyr Olefir / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Import dependence; Import substitution; Trade policy; Competitiveness; Globalization; Ukraine

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the directions and methods of reducing excessive import dependence of the Ukrainian economy. To achieve the goal of the study, the following methods were used: comparison, grouping, averages, seasonal smoothing of time series, factor analysis. The level and dynamics of import dependence of the Ukrainian economy are estimated. A comparative analysis of the import dependence of the Ukrainian economy with the import dependence of the economies of other countries was made. It is proved that the level of import dependence of Ukraine’s economy is excessive. The main reasons for excessive import dependence are identified. The negative consequences of excessive import dependence have been studied. Foreign experience of increasing competitiveness and reducing import dependence is analyzed. The effectiveness of national programs to increase domestic production is summarized. Directions to reduce excessive import dependence are proposed. The concept of rational protectionism is substantiated.

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