European Economics

The present study is an attempt to explore the role of education in earning inequalities. The analysis is based on two surveys of HIES for 2010-11 and 2015-16. Overall, the earning inequalities in Pakistan and its rural-urban segments are decomposed with respect to the education of the earner. For this purpose, the earners are classified into eight education groups. The results show that significant number of earners are either illiterate or belong to low education groups. Moreover, the level of inequality in general reduces with the increase in education level. Therefore, expansion of higher education can be a source of reducing earning inequality and hence, promoting more fair distribution of income and consumption. However, the study finds that around 20% of earnings inequalities are explained by differences in education in Pakistan. Therefore, the main conclusion of the present study is that contrary to the expectations, education of the earners does not account for much of the inequality among earnings and further studies are needed to analyze this phenomenon.

The study examines the effects of macroeconomic variables on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow from 1981 to 2022. Different from existing studies, this study also captures the effect of regime shift on FDI inflow to Nigeria, which enabled us to capture the role of political system in crowding-in FDI. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was adopted to show the long-run relationships and dynamic interactions between FDI and the macroeconomic variables. The estimated long-run and short-run coefficients for FDI models revealed that inflation rate and the degree of openness of the economy are significant factors inducing FDI inflow to Nigeria. The GDP growth rate and non-oil export also positively affect FDI inflows in the long run. However, they are not statistically significant. The key policy variables, exchange rate and monetary policy rate, have significant effect on FDI inflows to Nigeria. The estimated results show that exchange rate depreciation causes an increase in foreign direct investment inflows. This is in accord with the real wage channel theory which states that currency depreciation reduces the country's wages and production costs relative to those of its foreign counterparts. The study recommended that exchange rate stability is very crucial for attracting FDI flows to Nigeria; Government should reduce the monetary policy rate which is presently considered too high and adversely impinging on FDI inflows; while intensifying the war against corruption in all forms and at all levels.

This paper investigates the energy investment needs of the European Union (EU), including renewable energy. Europe currently has little or no economic growth, and interest-rates are expected to rise. Given the state of many EU countries' economies, this is a good time to encourage investment because -according to Keynesian economics -extra spending can stimulate economic activity. The current economic situation limits options for many governments in EU countries, so new approaches may be required. This paper uses ideas from the European Commission, on how a 'smart' electricity grid can enable renewable energy -such as solar power. The EU Parliament could enable a market-provided solution by offering incentives to the private sector. Private investment will be encouraged if the EU gives long-term low-interest-rate loans for renewable energy generation. Also, a Europe-wide grid makes it profitable to locate solar panels in low-wage countries in southern Europe, and sell electricity in richer countries.

The world is moving towards Globalization and from there, to Googlization; where there are no limits or restrictions, in spite of the multiplicity of manifestation. The move is most prominently seen in the economic sphere, and banking institutions are no exception to be affected. According to this, there are two major challenges faced by Islamic banks. The first is the merger or what is known as conglomeration, a major force in economic and the second is financial globalization that is also faced by the Islamic economy. This phenomenon requires the Muslim community including the Arab countries to keep up with the reality-based competition on a local and international levels. This study aims to enlighten on the strategic proposal for Islamic banks in Arab countries to take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization and therefore achieve greater benefits and reduce the risks and threats associated with them. The study focuses on two groups of results, namely public and pr...

This paper investigates the energy investment needs of the European Union (EU), including renewable energy. Europe currently has little or no economic growth, and interest-rates are expected to rise. Given the state of many EU countries' economies, this is a good time to encourage investment because -according to Keynesian economics -extra spending can stimulate economic activity. The current economic situation limits options for many governments in EU countries, so new approaches may be required. This paper uses ideas from the European Commission, on how a 'smart' electricity grid can enable renewable energy -such as solar power. The EU Parliament could enable a market-provided solution by offering incentives to the private sector. Private investment will be encouraged if the EU gives long-term low-interest-rate loans for renewable energy generation. Also, a Europe-wide grid makes it profitable to locate solar panels in low-wage countries in southern Europe, and sell electricity in richer countries.

Ecco perché è utile il dibattito sul rapporto Draghi. Non bisogna dare per scontato che resti lettera morta perché di fronte ad una crisi di sistema che potrebbe aprirsi all'improvviso causata dalla chiusura dell'economia e dai disastri dello statalismo politico e del dirigismo economico, non è detto che non si invochi paradossalmente ancora più interventismo. E se la cura aggraverà il malato la giustificazione sarà bella che pronta "la ricetta non è stata applicata fino in fondo" e così nonostante la riuscita dell'operazione il paziente (l'Unione Europea) morirà e noi con lei. La proposta Draghi intanto non sembra che abbia nulla di innovativo: è la riproposizione di quello che lo stesso ha detto quando era a capo della BCE il 26 luglio 2012 "the only way out of this present crisis is to have more Europe, not less Europe" (l'unica via d'uscita da questa crisi attuale è avere più Europa, non meno Europa). Precisiamo che la sua Europa è uno stato accentratore, retto da burocrati e la cosa più grave senza una costituzione votata dai parlamenti degli stati nazionali e quindi senza tutte le limitazioni al potere centrale, a cominciare dal rigore nei bilanci, che essa assicura e su cui si fonda la nostra idea occidentale di democrazia liberale. Infatti in quell'occasione aggiunse con tono sicuro "but there is another message I want to tell you. Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.

Purpose: The objective of this research was to ascertain if the portion of the automotive industry that engages in non-tradable goods or export goods is the principal driving force behind the industry's expansion. The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap by focusing on the automotive industry as its principal area of investigation. Methodology: Productivity growth in the automotive industry was estimated utilizing an innovative hypothetical extraction method (HEM) for both the non-tradable goods sector and the export goods sector. Following that, the weighted multipliers approach is employed to allocate the productivity across the nontradable goods and export goods of the automotive industry. Findings: The findings indicate that the automotive industry maintains a strategy of development driven by exports. Production targeted for the domestic market is subject to significant limitations. Multinational automobile corporations tend to employ the strategy of exporting. The growth model of the automotive industry is significantly influenced by various institutional elements, including the Customs Union, taxes, and vertical integration. Originality: Although the automotive industry is an essential industry for exports, its growth model has not been comprehensively scrutinized. This study primarily focuses on investigating the growth model of the Turkish automotive industry and the institutional factors that influenced its strategic decisions.

Schumpeter's "creative destructio11" theory has revealed that capitalist innovations create a systemic internal renewal process and that the resulting innovatio11s may have social and political consequences.
For this reason, Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction provides an excellent framework for understanding the transformation process towards artificial intelligence technologies that is being experienced
today. This study examines the economic, political, and social consequences of artificial intelligence technologies based on Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction. As a result, artificial intelligence is a milestone in terms of the technological changes that humanity has faced. Innovations that replaced human labour in the Industrial Revolution have gained the ability to replace humans with artificial intelligence. For this reason, Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction is vital in understanding the consequences that artificial intelligence technologies will bring.

The Economic and Political Consequences of AI: Managing Creative Destruction presents guiding chapters that aim to illustrate and explain the radical changes facing political, economic, and social structures due to the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI). It emphasizes the importance of understanding AI's groundbreaking changes and innovations through the lens of Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction. The innovations that arise from AI will profoundly challenge existing political structures, placing significant pressure on democratic systems to adapt and evolve. In this context, AI has the potential to introduce numerous innovations and concepts in the political realm, bringing both positive and negative consequences for democracies. On the one hand, AI can enhance the transparency of political systems; on the other, it may facilitate the emergence of more authoritarian regimes, leading to the establishment of a surveillance society through technological means. Economically, we are witnessing a process of significant upheaval. Traditional jobs and business practices will substantially transform in response to AI's increasing impact on productivity, resulting in a new economic equilibrium. While this change may reveal new job opportunities, it could also lead to polarization in the employment market.
Furthermore, AI allows the personalisation of services, especially in education and healthcare, thereby improving service quality. However, this advancement brings challenges such as data privacy concerns, the potential for personal data violations, ethical dilemmas, and issues of technological discrimination. The Economic and Political Consequences of AI: Managing Creative Destruction has been compiled as a unique resource, drawing insights from academics and researchers worldwide who contribute to the exploration of these pressing questions across various chapters. The book *Economic and Political Consequences of AI: Managing Creative Destruction* highlights the significant impact of Artificial Intelligence on economies, politics, and societies. It aims to unravel the complexities of AI's transformative power through the lens of Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction, which suggests that disruption leads to innovation and challenges drive progress. The ideas and perspectives presented in this volume reflect a collective effort to examine not only the benefits of AI but also the short-term costs and uncertainties that come with this transition. By exploring the ripple effects of AI on industries, policy frameworks, and societal structures, the book offers critical insights into how we can maintain a balance between innovation and stability. The chapters compiled in this collection provide a comprehensive view of how AI-driven creative destruction can create opportunities for economic growth, political evolution, and societal advancement. However, they also emphasize the importance of implementing deliberate, inclusive, and forward-thinking strategies to ensure that the benefits of this technological revolution are distributed equitably.

In 2020 the European Commission presented its legislative package aimed to deal with new challenges for the internal market stemming from development on digital markets and alleged abuses and anticompetitive practices therein, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The aim of this paper is not to evaluate content of the DMA itself, but to evaluate the position of the DMA in the context of other market sector-oriented regulations , rules on unfair trade practices, competition rules as well as fitness of legal basis and observance of rule of law safeguards. As the DMA proposal departed from competition law legal basis enshrined in Art. 101 et seq. of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, it paved the way for the possibility to impose sanction under both regimes. This possibility of double sanctions and necessity for check of proportionality in all actions of the Commission as well as in imposition of fines constitute one of the most relevant shortcomings from the "constitutional" point of view of position of the DMA in the EU legal framework. As it is argued in this paper, without more synchronization with competition regulatory regimes, the DMA proposal contains elements that can, at the end of the day, diminish its legal effectiveness via subsequent judicial battles.

L’Unione europea ha vissuto due gravi crisi economiche nel giro di un decennio: la crisi finanziaria globale del 2008 e la pandemia di Covid-19, che ha messo a dura prova i sistemi economici e sociali di tutti i suoi Stati membri. In entrambi i casi, la risposta principale da parte delle istituzioni europee è stata l’adozione di politiche di austerità. La crisi del 2008 ha visto l’introduzione di misure drastiche in vari paesi, con la Grecia come principale “teatro di conflitto”, e la pandemia di Covid-19 ha portato a una seconda ondata di austerità in tutta l’Eurozona. Queste politiche hanno avuto impatti devastanti sulla crescita economica e sulla coesione sociale, ma la risposta alla pandemia ha cercato di correggere alcuni degli errori passati, attraverso un piano di stimolo economico ambizioso. Tuttavia, le politiche di austerità non sono state completamente abbandonate e la sostenibilità della ripresa dipenderà dalla capacità dell’Europa di conciliare il rigore fiscale con l’investimento in crescita sostenibile e inclusiva.
L’analisi comparativa delle politiche adottate durante la crisi del 2008 e durante la risposta pandemica evidenzia significative differenze nell’approccio economico dell’Unione europea, ma anche continuità nelle sfide sociali ed economiche, in particolare per i paesi più vulnerabili come la Grecia. Il piano da 750 miliardi di euro dell’UE (NextGenerationEU) ha incluso un ampio programma di finanziamenti per la transizione verde e la digitalizzazione. La Grecia, uno dei paesi più colpiti dalla crisi globale economica del 2008 e dalle misure di austerità, ha ricevuto una porzione significativa di questi fondi, destinati principalmente alla ristrutturazione delle infrastrutture, all’implementazione di tecnologie verdi e alla modernizzazione del settore pubblico. Una parte di questi fondi, però, è stata destinata a riforme strutturali che, se da un lato hanno cercato di stimolare la crescita, dall’altro hanno continuato a sostenere il rigore fiscale e la necessità di rispettare i vincoli di bilancio imposti dai prestiti della Troika.

Since its adoption in 1998, the Aarhus Convention has become one of the most significant international environmental agreements. Its unique structure based on three pillars and the range of rights included in it also provides fundamental rights for individuals and organisations of the NGO sphere. However, accession to the Convention posed challenges for the European Union concerning the right of access to justice in environmental matters. The topic raises several procedural issues to which the Authors seek to approach with a thorough explanation that also considers the specificities of EU law. As a preliminary point, it can be said that the introduction of the category of regulatory acts and the development of case-law could only partially refine the CJEU's reluctance. The European Union is striving to be at the forefront of the political integration of environmental issues. Still, criticisms and dissenting views on the third pillar of the Aarhus Convention are increasingly call...

Discussions about a future fiscal capacity for the euro area are too often limited to a comparison of the technical advantages and disadvantages of different modalities of cross-country fiscal shock absorbers. This paper aims to broaden the debate, by connecting these discussions with debates on fiscal union and the exercise of political power in EMU. Through an analysis of past and current debates on EMU, the paper identifies five different rationales for deepening budgetary integration in a monetary union: ensuring fiscal discipline and stable sovereign debt markets, protecting euro area countries against the risk of asymmetric shocks, equipping the euro area with a capacity to stabilise the economy over the cycle, providing budgetary support for convergence and providing an appropriate fiscal backstop for the banking union. The paper discusses the relevance of these various rationales in today's EMU and their different implications as regards to mutualising budgetary resourc...

Discussions about a future fiscal capacity for the euro area are too often limited to a comparison of the technical advantages and disadvantages of different modalities of cross-country fiscal shock absorbers. This paper aims to broaden the debate, by connecting these discussions with debates on fiscal union and the exercise of political power in EMU. Through an analysis of past and current debates on EMU, the paper identifies five different rationales for deepening budgetary integration in a monetary union: ensuring fiscal discipline and stable sovereign debt markets, protecting euro area countries against the risk of asymmetric shocks, equipping the euro area with a capacity to stabilise the economy over the cycle, providing budgetary support for convergence and providing an appropriate fiscal backstop for the banking union. The paper discusses the relevance of these various rationales in today’s EMU and their different implications as regards to mutualising budgetary resources an...

Kazakistan son yıllarda Avrupa Birliği (AB) için önemli bir partner olarak kabul edilmektedir. Orta Asya'nın kalbinde bulunan bu devlet, maden zenginlikleri, ekonomik büyümesi, stratejik konumuyla, uluslararası yatırımcıları cezbetmektedir. Kazakistan'ın ekonomik dönüşümü, özellikle enerji sektöründeki reformları ve yabancı yatırımcıların ilgisini çekme çabalarıyla öne çıkmaktadır. Astana, enerji alanında özellikle Fransa'nın güçlü bir partneridir. Bu ilişkiler, son yıllarda  gittikçe artmaktadır.
Kazakistan, Fransa’nın ana uranyum tedarikçilerinden biridir. Fransa Cumhurbaşkanı 5 Kasım 2024 Salı günü Elysée Sarayı'nda Kazakistan Cumhurbaşkanı ile bir araya geldi. Kazakistan'ın sürdürülebilir kalkınmaya, enerji dönüşümüne ve ETS'ye (Emisyon Ticaret Sistemi) entegrasyonuna olan ilgisi, AB ile uyumunu göstermektedir. Nükleer enerji Fransa'nın ürettiği toplam elektriğin %70'ini oluşturmaktadır, bu nedenle Kazakistan ile ortaklık Fransa (AB'nin iki ana kutbundan biri) için hayati önem taşımaktadır.
Bölgedeki artan gücü, BRICS'in ülkeye olan ilgisi, doğal kaynakları ve Yeni İpek Yolu üzerindeki stratejik konumu göz önüne alındığında Kazakistan, AB için kilit bir müttefik haline gelmektedir. Buna ek olarak, AB, dış politika açısından Kazakistan ile bölgesel iş birliğini geliştirmeye büyük önem vermektedir.
Özetle, Kazakistan hem bölgesel hem de uluslararası arenada önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Bu makale Kazakistan'ın AB için neden vazgeçilmez bir ortak olduğunu analiz etmeye çalışacaktır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Kazakistan, Avrupa Birliği, Enerji, İş Birliği.

Abstract

Kazakhstan has been recognized as an important partner for the European Union (EU) in recent years. Located in the heart of Central Asia, this country attracts international investors with its mineral wealth, economic growth, and strategic location. Kazakhstan's economic transformation is particularly notable for its reforms in the energy sector and efforts to attract foreign investors. Astana is a strong partner for France in the energy field, and these relations have been growing in recent years.
Kazakhstan is one of France's main suppliers of uranium. On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the President of France met with the President of Kazakhstan at the Élysée Palace. Kazakhstan's interest in sustainable development, energy transition, and integration into the Emissions Trading System (ETS) demonstrates its alignment with the EU. Nuclear energy accounts for 70% of France's total electricity production, making the partnership with Kazakhstan vital for France (one of the two main poles of the EU).
Given its growing regional power, the interest of BRICS in the country, its natural resources, and its strategic position on the New Silk Road, Kazakhstan is becoming a key ally for the EU. Additionally, the EU places great importance on developing regional cooperation with Kazakhstan in terms of foreign policy.
In summary, Kazakhstan plays a significant role both regionally and internationally. This article will attempt to analyze why Kazakhstan is an indispensable partner for the EU.
Keywords: Kazakhstan, European Union, Energy, Regional Cooperation

This presentation is organised in 5 sections, as follows:  Section 1 is an introduction, stating the purpose of the presentation  Section 2 presents and discusses some statistics relating to the ten small states.  Section 3 summarises the pros and cons of EU membership.  Section 4 deals with the economic prospects of each of ten countries.  Section 5 concludes the presentation 1. INTRODUCTION Purpose of the presentation 4  The purpose of the presentation is mainly to describe the economic structures and economic prospects of ten European small states and to discuss the benefits or disadvantages that EU membership has offered or will offer to these states.  Country size is measured in terms of population size, and, as defined here, small states are those with a population of about three million persons or less.  According to this definition seven EU member states qualify for inclusion in this group, namely Cyprus,

On 1 January 1999, the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) entered into force and the euro came into being. The European Central Bank (ECB) assumed responsibility for the monetary policy of a currency union made up of 11 countries and 293 million people. Today, the Eurozone includes 19 countries with a total population of 340 million. The euro has become the second currency used in world markets under any metric and has been seen as an anchor of economic and fi nancial integration. And yet, the euro is far from an unwavering success. The global fi nancial crisis of 2008 sent shockwaves around the world and proved to be the fi rst major test of the EMU. It exposed numerous architectural fl aws in the Union including the focus on limiting infl ation to close to two percent combined with the lack of a political mandate at the European level and the 'no bail-out' clause of the Maastricht Treaty. These and other obstacles hindered the EMU's handling of the crisis and prolonged its negative effects especially in periphery countries. In this Forum, we look back at the last 20 years since the euro's inception and consider the obstacles it has overcome and those that still lay in waiting, the design fl aws that have hindered it and how to address them as well as important lessons learned and recommendations for the future.

The study examines the effects of macroeconomic variables on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow from 1981 to 2022. Different from existing studies, this study also captures the effect of regime shift on FDI inflow to Nigeria, which enabled us to capture the role of political system in crowding-in FDI. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was adopted to show the long-run relationships and dynamic interactions between FDI and the macroeconomic variables. The estimated long-run and short-run coefficients for FDI models revealed that inflation rate and the degree of openness of the economy are significant factors inducing FDI inflow to Nigeria. The GDP growth rate and non-oil export also positively affect FDI inflows in the long run. However, they are not statistically significant. The key policy variables, exchange rate and monetary policy rate, have significant effect on FDI inflows to Nigeria. The estimated results show that exchange rate depreciation causes an increase in foreign direct investment inflows. This is in accord with the real wage channel theory which states that currency depreciation reduces the country's wages and production costs relative to those of its foreign counterparts. The study recommended that exchange rate stability is very crucial for attracting FDI flows to Nigeria; Government should reduce the monetary policy rate which is presently considered too high and adversely impinging on FDI inflows; while intensifying the war against corruption in all forms and at all levels.

This article examines the current state of public debt across various blocs within the European Union (EU), particularly in light of the recent reform to the Stability Pact, enacted in April 2024. This reform strengthens the EU's capacity to enforce fiscal compliance among member states, aiming to harmonize public accounts and prevent a repeat of past sovereign debt crises. However, a single narrative on EU debt is inadequate given the distinct fiscal approaches among Northern, Southern, and Eastern European countries. The Northern bloc, including Germany and Sweden, is characterized by prudent fiscal management and robust institutional frameworks. Conversely, the Southern bloc, encompassing Greece, Italy, and France, struggles with high debt levels, often linked to expansive fiscal policies and structural economic challenges. The Eastern bloc, comprising emerging economies like Poland and Hungary, displays varied debt profiles reflective of post-communist economic reforms. This study categorizes EU countries into these three blocs, examining their distinct debt structures, fiscal policies, and economic foundations. Utilizing data on public debt, deficit levels, and foreign exchange reserves, it highlights the structural differences between these regions. Northern economies typically exhibit strong industrial sectors and positive trade balances, while Southern economies rely more on services and tourism, making them vulnerable to economic fluctuations. The Eastern bloc, meanwhile, occupies an intermediate position, with some countries showing competitive growth and others grappling with economic fragility. The analysis further explores the role of redistribution policies in debt accumulation, using per capita public spending data. Findings suggest that while redistribution contributes to public debt, high spending does not consistently correlate with elevated debt levels. Northern bloc countries, for instance, manage to sustain high public expenditures with relatively moderate debt increases, contrasting with the Southern bloc's reliance on debt to support similar policies. Ultimately, this article underscores the need for nuanced fiscal strategies tailored to the unique economic profiles within the EU, promoting fiscal stability while accommodating the diverse needs of its member states.

In 2022, PT PLN (Persero) holding was established as part of a strategic initiative led by the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to streamline core businesses within SOEs. This involved the creation of four subholdings: PLN Indonesia Power, PLN Nusantara Power, PLN Energi Primer Indonesia, and PLN Icon Plus. PLN Energi Primer Indonesia (EPI) specializes in providing primary energy and biomass and innovating during the energy transition. However, two subsidiaries, PT Artha Daya Coalindo and PT Pertadaya Gas, are not yet integrated into the PLN Group. To address this, PT PLN (Persero) has tasked PT PLN Energi Primer Indonesia with conducting an alignment study. In parallel, the present study aims to evaluate whether the proposed strategy contributes to Economic Value Added (EVA) within the PLN Group. It employs analytical techniques such as core competency analysis, financial analysis, and heartland matrices. The findings suggest that a strong core competency analysis and stable financial ratios position the company favorably within the heartland matrix, resulting in positive EVA values. Conversely, weak core competency analysis and unstable financial ratios lead to the opposite outcome. In conclusion, the alignment efforts led by PLN EPI should prioritize future business and income generation to strengthen core competency analysis and maintain strong financial ratios, thus ensuring the generation of robust EVA values.

The study in question is aimed at examining the use of AI in evaluation processes in startups. The research seeks to address the issues surrounding the use of AI in startup evaluation. The introduction presents some background information concerning AI use in evaluation processes in a newly created organization. A literature review presents more information as proof of the strengths and weaknesses of AI use in evaluating a startup. A clear presentation of the SWOT analysis of the use of AI in evaluating startup organizations. The findings paint a clearer picture of what startup organizations should expect when implementing the use of AI to evaluate themselves. A discussion of the findings is presented in the research to ensure that people understand the issues surrounding the use of AI in evaluating startups and that they know the strengths and weaknesses of using AI in such processes. A brief conclusion summarizes what has been discussed in the study.

The paper presents a comparative analysis of determinants of child labor in urban and rural areas. A simple theoretical model (Probit) of household's decision about child's time allocation is used. From the econometric data sets of urban and rural areas of two districts of Pakistan, evidence is provided suggesting that urban and rural children have different determinants of child labor reflecting their different socio-economic background, e.g. education of head of household (as a continuous as well as binary variable) impacts the child schooling positively but the effect of continuous variable is much stronger for urban households, employment status of head of household impacts the child schooling positively in urban areas but negatively in rural areas. Mother's employment is complement to child schooling in urban areas but substitute in rural areas. It negatively impacts the child labor in urban but positively in rural areas. Poverty affects the child schooling three times more strongly in rural households than urban ones. Gender discrimination is schooling participation is higher in rural households but in labor force participation of children, it is higher in urban households. Part-time labor force participation of children increases by incremental change in age in urban households but it decreases in rural households. A few number of determinants are same for both groups of children. For policy implication different sets of policies are required for urban and rural areas to enhance child welfare.

HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

This paper attempts to measure sectoral competitiveness by constructing a composite indicator to highlight the relative and absolute performance of Romanian manufacturing within a hierarchy of European countries. The indicator is composed of seven individual indicators, which are considered suitable to render sufficiently distinct four dimensions of a sectoral competitive performance: productivity, technology, structure and exports. This analysis considers sectoral performance vis-à-vis three reference EU countries, which were selected according to their overall competitiveness position reflected in the Global Competitiveness Index. The overall assessment of the competitive potential of Romanian manufacturing leads to an undecided verdict: slow progress from a relatively long period, between 2000 and 2006, sharp yet short-lived improvement between 2006 and 2008, and marked decline in 2009. The composite indicator's relatively simple structure suits well the need to understand industrial structural change.

This outlook provides a focused assessment of the state of public capital in the major European countries and identifies areas where public investment could contribute more to stable and sustainable growth.A European Public Investment Outlookbrings together contributions from a range of international authors from diverse intellectual and professional backgrounds, providing a valuable resource for the policy-making community in Europe to feed their discussion on public investment. The volume both offers sector-specific advice and highlights larger areas which should be prioritized in the policy debate (from transport to social capital, R&D and the environment).

For the industrialization efforts to be fruitful and sustainable, they should be coupled with Green Manufacturing (GM) which simply implies clean manufacturing. This study analyses the drivers and barriers to GM in Tanzania. It specifically analyses the drivers and barriers to GM and ranks them for prioritisation. The study made the use of cross-sectional primary data which were collected using interviewer administered questionnaires from a random sample of 185 manufacturing firms in two purposively selected regions of Dodoma and Mwanza in Tanzania. In the analysis, the Binary Logistic regression was used to estimate the drivers and barriers to GM using the STATA software. The results showed that some of the significant drivers to green manufacturing include; firm size, firms resources, current legislation, incentives, and public pressure, The significant barriers included high short term costs, low customer demand, technological risk, lack of awareness and unclear benefits. It was also found that the highest ranked driver to GM was the firm size and the highest ranked barrier to GM was the short term costs. The study finally recommends that the relevant authorities should prioritize on the significant drivers and barriers to GM so that the move towards industrialisation in Tanzania can be more fruitful and sustainable.

Le evoluzioni recenti della situazione monetaria in Africa dell’Ovest, in particolare la trasformazione per l’area del franco CFA e il progetto di costruzione di una moneta unica per la CEDEAO/ECOWAS, impongono una revisione sistematica delle ipotesi che sottostanno alla costituzione di unioni monetarie. L’articolo fornisce una rassegna critica dei fondamenti teorici tradizionali delle aree monetarie ottimali (AMO) e dei loro successivi emendamenti, alla luce dei problemi emersi nelle principali unioni monetarie. Su specifici punti viene effettuata una comparazione fra eurozona e zona CFA. Successivamente l’articolo indaga le caratteristiche specifiche dell’area monetaria interessata dal progetto di riforma, e infine indica le principali linee lungo le quali potrebbe evolvere il progetto di una moneta comune all’insieme degli stati che compongono attualmente la CEDEAO/ECOWAS, individuando quattro possibili percorsi alternativi. Recent developments in the monetary situation in West A...

La recente crisi dell’eurozona, insieme all’annunciata riforma del franco della Comunita Finanziaria Africana e ai progetti di costituzione di nuove aree valutarie in diversi continenti, ha riportato il tema delle unioni monetarie in primo piano nel dibattito economico. La presente introduzione intende mostrare come i contributi contenuti in questo numero speciale arricchiscano tale dibattito.  The recent eurozone crisis, together with the announced reform of the African Financial Community franc and plans to establish new currency areas in different continents, brought the issue of monetary unions back to the fore in the economic debate. The present introduction aims at showing how the contributions contained in this special issue can consistently enrich this debate. JEL codes : E42, F33, F45

The "Creative Destruction" theory, considered the final phase of Schumpeter's work, has been the key to the success of Silicon Valley and other technology-leading firms today. Firms that innovate on the production function by using unorthodox paths in technology are disrupting routine actions and radically changing people's lives by innovating in a disruptive way while reinventing new ways. Schumpeterian innovations change the routine and traditional business conditions by realizing a new economic equilibrium and innovation in the production function. Silicon Valley is a concrete example with numerous examples of Schumpeterian innovations. Today, the use of artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-related applications and the expansion of their areas of use cause a Schumpeterian process of creative destruction, causing a destructive but at the same time creative cycle such as the use of artificial intelligence within existing technologies, the increase in the opportunities provided by the applications and the replacement of old and new technology. Therefore, today, the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most significant technological advancements of recent times. AI encompasses many fields, and its increasing prevalence will significantly change how economies and societies operate. The question is, at what point will these changes be considered as an opportunity, and what will be the short-term costs that societies will have to bear to adapt to this shift? Additionally, what economic, political, legal/judicial policies will be needed to regulate the impact of AI?

Poverty remains the most pressing socio-economic issue among all states in Sudan. Poverty is a multi–faceted phenomenon. This paper is set to investigate the persistence of multidimensional poverty among households of Gezira state, following the approach proposed by Alkire-Santos model made up of 10 components has been built and used as a means of analyzing the data, The education and health dimensions are based on two indicators while the standard of living dimension is based on six indicators. The research relies on primary data aided by structured questionnaire compiled by Central Bureau of Statistics staff, field work cover three localities, where around 57% of the households in the state live in these localities. A total of 756 households randomly selected make up for data source upon which the research rests, the analysis of poverty decomposed by urban and rural location. The results indicated that 15.89% of the population under the study area are experience a multidimensional...

How the world gets rich People got rich and will get richer because we changed the way we think, write, and speak about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. A Great Revaluation of entrepreneurial undertakings and innovation, tested by market exchange, led to a Great Enrichment. Its roots were in Holland, the first large bourgeois society in Europe, but it really got started among the 1 This essay is drawn from an ongoing collaborative project between Art Carden and Deidre McCloskey based on McCloskey's three volumes The Bourgeois Virtues (2006), Bourgeois Dignity (2010), and Bourgeois Equality (2016). In particular, the essay is drawn specifically from Carden's remarks to students and faculty members at various colleges and universities, and conferences and seminars sponsored by the Independent Institute, the Foundation for Economic Education, Istituto Ordem Livre, and the Institute for Humane Studies. Some parts of the essay are adapted directly from McCloskey (2006, 2010, 2016).

Interdisciplinarna i transdisciplinarna analiza pravnih aspekata Lisabonske strategije, kao ekonomske metastrategije EU-a, nije do sada bila predmetom bavljenja hrvatske pravne znanosti. Navedena tvrdnja se, naravno, odnosi i na nasljednicu Lisabonske agende, novu strategiju Europa 2020. Takvo stanje je i razumljivo s obzirom na primarno ekonomsko značenje dviju metastrategija. U ovom radu autor se odlučio razraditi pravne aspekte Lisabonske strategije i strategije Europa 2020. sa stajališta uloge i pravne prirode pojma soft law odnosno mekog prava općenito te uloge i pravne prirode mekog prava unutar političkog i pravnog sustava EU-a posebice. Stoga je ovo prvi akademski članak u hrvatskoj pravnoj znanosti koji se u većoj mjeri bavi općim pravnim pitanjima glede pravne prirode i uloge mekog prava. Dio rada autor je posvetio i razradi učinaka Lisabonske strategije na zemlje koje imaju status kandidata za punopravno članstvo u EU-u.

Interdisciplinarna i transdisciplinarna analiza pravnih aspekata Lisabonske strategije, kao ekonomske metastrategije EU-a, nije do sada bila predmetom bavljenja hrvatske pravne znanosti. Navedena tvrdnja se, naravno, odnosi i na nasljednicu Lisabonske agende, novu strategiju Europa 2020. Takvo stanje je i razumljivo s obzirom na primarno ekonomsko značenje dviju metastrategija. U ovom radu autor se odlučio razraditi pravne aspekte Lisabonske strategije i strategije Europa 2020. sa stajališta uloge i pravne prirode pojma soft law odnosno mekog prava općenito te uloge i pravne prirode mekog prava unutar političkog i pravnog sustava EU-a posebice. Stoga je ovo prvi akademski članak u hrvatskoj pravnoj znanosti koji se u većoj mjeri bavi općim pravnim pitanjima glede pravne prirode i uloge mekog prava. Dio rada autor je posvetio i razradi učinaka Lisabonske strategije na zemlje koje imaju status kandidata za punopravno članstvo u EU-u.

In regard to the energy sector, it is generally presumed that in post-Lisbon era and since the adoption of Third Energy Package the Member States and institutions of the Union act in a shared format. However, by developing new legislation in the field, supra-national institutions tend to shift the competence away from shared (as it currently stands). Even if the guidelines for decisions granting exemptions are laid down in sector specific legislation, the Commission tends to 1) grant divergent infrastructure exemptions on a caseby-case basis and such decisions result in a discriminatory treatment and 2) force mandatory investments if entity is dominant and has refrained from investing in capacity of the relevant infrastructure. On the other hand, whether the remedy should then be rather sought in the realm of competences and the respective international agreements? While the EU internal natural gas market is subject to the liberalisation processes, investing entities might be "locked-up" concerning their decisional abilities as legislation overly tries to ensure an equal level playing field for every investor. Therefore, one of the possibilities is to challenge the troublesome EU law measure under the WTO. Entities transporting the commodity hold the highest share of incentives to expand, develop and operate on the market. It has to be understood that the Union itself cannot construct the necessary infrastructure in order to satisfy the ever-growing consumer demand for natural gas. The author emphasises that the EU energy acquis should not extend outside the internal market otherwise acquis would fail. The Commission has decided to offer an innovative solution to remedy any congestion in infrastructure of natural gas transportation by stepping from a duty to deal to duty to invest. This is an innovative solution that demands for more elaboration as "strategic underinvestment" is prohibited. Why "strategic over-investment" then is not a violation of Art.102(b)? The author argues that rules related to infrastructure exemption policy and rules on competition prescribed in the primary legislation share similar characteristics, but both are, nevertheless, applied in different scenarios. It is arguable that the Commission acts ultra vires in both legal frameworks. Although, the CJEU also has an opportunity to decide upon the application of refusal to deal and the respective essential facilities doctrine, it has, nonetheless, not chosen to follow the path of the Commission. Overall, the author encourages penetration of Art.102(b) TFEU into the sectorial legislation, which then would be a suitable mix of two legal disciplines. Such a mixed legal instrument then would qualify as a solution for boosting up innovation.

European Monetary Union continues to be characterised by significant macroeconomic imbalances. Germany has shown increasing current account surpluses at the expense of the other member states (especially the European periphery). Since the creation of a single currency has implied the impossibility of implementing competitive devaluations, trade imbalances within a monetary union can be considered unfair behaviour. We have modelled Eurozone trade flows in goods through a weighted network from 1995 to 2019. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that applies this methodology to this kind of data. Network analysis has allowed us to estimate a series of important centrality measures. A polarisation phenomenon emerges in relation to the growth of German dominance. The common currency has then not been capable to remove trade asymmetry, increasing the distance between surplus and deficit countries. This situation should be addressed with expansionary policies on the demand side at national and supranational level.

This article explores the meaning of solidarity in European Union (EU) law in the context of the energy sector and the ongoing energy crisis. Energy provides a powerful and topical sectoral example of the fundamental role and diverse functions of solidarity in EU law. In its OPAL ruling in 2021, the Court of Justice of the EU established that energy solidarity constitutes a legally binding principle of EU energy law that should inform EU institutions and the Member States in their energy decisions. This article adds to legal scholarship on solidarity in three ways. First, it further develops the understanding of the ambiguous solidarity concept in EU law through the lens of the energy sector. Secondly, it contributes to the emerging body of energy law scholarship that seeks to advance the discipline of energy law by focusing on its doctrine rather than on its substantive developments. Finally, it provides a timely and novel analysis of the EU's recent emergency responses to address the acute energy crisis from the point of view of solidarity.

An elusive recovery unable to solve the social crisis Nearly nine years after the meltdown of the financial system of developed countries followed by the euro debt crisis in 2012, recovery in Europe finally started in late 2014. We expect that economic growth is going to slow down in the EU in 2017 (1.6% after 1.9 % in 2016) and in 2018 (1.5%) as tailwinds are turning into headwinds. Brexit is likely to hit UK growth and will have negative, but limited, contagion effects to the rest of the EU. Oil prices are up again and not much more can be expected in terms of competitiveness gains through the exchange rate channel. More importantly the slowdown of international trade and of emerging countries' growth is weakening external demand to the EU and hence another positive factor is waning. *Output gap is the ratio between the level of effect GDP and potential GDP and hence first difference of output gap is equal to the difference between GDP growth and potential growth. Source: AMECO, iAGS calculation and forecast. Overview iAGS 2017-independent Annual Growth Survey 5th Report 10 points public debt to GDP raƟo more 100 bp more over Germany 10 points public debt to GDP raƟo more 20 bp more over Germany Whatever it takes speech, 26/7/2012 www.

For the euro area to gradually evolve towards a genuine Economic and Monetary Union, it will need to shift from a system of rules and guidelines for national economic policy-making to a system of further sovereignty sharing within common institutions, most of which already exist and can progressively fulfil this task. In practice, this would require Member States to accept increasingly joint decision-making on elements of their respective national budgets and economic policies." Report of the Five Presidents 4.1. The imbalances question The last year Report of the Five Presidents highlighted the necessity of progress in the EU in four directions: achieving "a genuine Economic Union, (…) a Financial Union, (…) a Fiscal Union, (and) a Political Union". The associated roadmap for completing the EMU includes a greater focus on employment, a better implementation of the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure, a better assessment of fiscal stance and fiscal sustainability, the completion of the Banking Union and the launch of a Capital Markets Union. They thus pointed to a very large set of ambitions which renewed the debate about the consistency of existing 6-pack, 2-pack and Fiscal compact, which were mainly related to fiscal and competitiveness issues. This roadmap raises an important question: is it possible within the given institutional setting to close the unemployment gap (the difference between actual and natural rates of unemployment), that is to say increase the "well-being of the peoples" (Art. 3 TEU) in a sustainable way, achieve public finance sustainability, reduce macro imbalances, and ensure the liquidity and solvency of financial institutions and other objectives at the same moment?

The last year Report of the Five Presidents highlighted the necessity of progress in the EU in four directions: achieving “a genuine Economic Union, (…) a Financial Union, (…) a Fiscal Union, (and) a Political Union”. The associated roadmap for completing the EMU includes a greater focus on employment, a better implementation of the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure, a better assessment of fiscal stance and fiscal sustainability, the completion of the Banking Union and the launch of a Capital Markets Union. They thus pointed to a very large set of ambitions which renewed the debate about the consistency of existing 6-pack, 2-pack and Fiscal compact, which were mainly related to fiscal and competitiveness issues. This roadmap raises an important question: is it possible within the given institutional setting to close the unemployment gap (the difference between actual and natural rates of unemployment), that is to say increase the “well-being of the peoples” (Art. 3 TEU) in a sustain...

As we will see in this chapter, there has been some improvement in the European Labour market in the last couple of years. However, unemployment remains high, especially long-term and youth unemployment. This raises the question of human capital depreciation, stigmatisation and unemployment hysteresis. At the same time both inequality and poverty are continuing have increased since the crisis started European economic policy barely takes into account the academic consensus that measurement of economic performance and social progress is necessary and has to go beyond GDP. To facilitate evidence-based well-being oriented economic policy, we need to reform the European Economic Governance and to establish some kind of sustainable development indicators (SDI) to measure progress beyond economic growth. The SDIs should take into account the protection of the natural capital and social justice to help define and improve policies. SDIs show reasons for optimism in some areas, while substan...

Previous chapters have addressed the need for a a different policy mix in Europe, with a greater emphasis on fiscal policy and for policies to address imbalances within, in particular, the Euro Area. There is a third economic policy area in which reform is under way, but in Europe needs to intensify its efforts and make careful, evidence-based choices: finance. The specific features and dysfunctionalities of economic governance in Europe have exacerbated the crisis but this, it should not be forgotten, was originally triggered by problems in the financial sector. Since then national governments, not only in Europe but across the world, have been struggling to establish a sensible regulatory framework for the financial sector, one that permits, even promotes, low-cost lending for real investment and maintains an efficient payments system, while avoiding the pathologies that have caused instability and rising inequalities. Because of the transnational nature of the financial sector, t...

The study empirically test the Miller & Modigliani (1958, 1961) irrelevance and relevance theory of capital structure in Nigeria. Thus, 16 manufacturing firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Market for the period 2010 to 2020 were tested. Three capital structure variables such as short-term debt to equity ratio, long-term debt to equity ratio and total debt-to-equity ratio (independent variables) were regressed against firm value (dependent variable). The fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) was employed in the analysis of the data, and the empirical results obtained from the two models indicate that the M & M irrelevance and relevance theory does not hold in the Nigerian manufacturing firms within the investigating period. The study recommends that manufacturing firms in Nigeria should begin to focus attention on other factors outside capital structure that could possibly influence the value and performance of the firm. Some of the likely factors could be dividend policy and ...

translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.