{"title":"Why are rural communities reluctant to adopt the standard version of SROI?","authors":"Fuminobu Mizutani","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/7","url":null,"abstract":"Social Return on Investment (SROI) is an evaluation method that is often useful in assessing Not for Profit organizations (NFP). Its standard version has been widely adopted in the United Kingdom. However, there is a reluctance among East Asian rural communities to adopt standard SROI evaluation methods, even though they have been adopted for some NFPs in urban centers in the region in the past. NFPs in rural communities cannot bear the cost of sending representatives to meetings where drafts of potential regulations are discussed. However, the introduction of regulations for evaluating NFPs without representatives from rural communities could lead to the exclusion of pertinent voices key to the discussion. There are several reasons why the hands-on approach currently utilized by SROI evaluation methods appears unsuitable for rural communities. These communities are already aware of their aging populations and they have obligations to the welfare of their members that fall outside the scope of SROI. In addition to this, the main argument why rural communities are reluctant to adopt SROI methods is that it does not bring much benefit to these communities. However, discussing evaluation methods for NFPs could serve as a bridge with stakeholders in rural communities. Paradoxically, a nonstandard version of SROI that is calculated by those outside of NFPs may be a more suitable method for rural communities.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135688174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dalia Streimikiene, Asta Mikalauskiene, Ugne Macijauskaitė – Daunaraviciene
{"title":"The role of information in shaping sustainable human behaviour","authors":"Dalia Streimikiene, Asta Mikalauskiene, Ugne Macijauskaitė – Daunaraviciene","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/11","url":null,"abstract":"Encouraging environmentally friendly behaviour in population is one of today's greatest sustainability challenges. Over the last decades, many scientists of environmental psychology, social psychology and behavioural economics studied the dependence of an individual's sustainable behaviour on stratification and various direct and/or indirect factors. External and internal factors determining the individual's behaviour are based on information sources and how, in what way, and at what level the initial data is perceived, as well as how the individual uses such sources. This article conducted in Lithuania aims to find out which information sources an individual is most likely to reach, and what factors would encourage the integration of sustainable natural resource-saving solutions into everyday life.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135686862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anastasiia Samoilikova, Mariusz Kuryłowicz, Serhiy Lyeonov, László Vasa
{"title":"University-industry collaboration in R&D to reduce the informal economy and strengthen sustainable development","authors":"Anastasiia Samoilikova, Mariusz Kuryłowicz, Serhiy Lyeonov, László Vasa","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/18","url":null,"abstract":"University-industry collaboration in R&D has great potential as a partnership that promotes sustainable development. This article aims to confirm that university-industry collaboration in R&D contributes to reducing the size of informal economy and strengthening sustainable development. Correlation and causal analysis are applied to achieve this goal: Shapiro-Wilk test, Pearson’s and Spearman correlation methods, vector autoregression and Granger causality test are used on the basis of STATA software for a cross-country sample of 10 countries with the highest Sustainable Development Index over 2011-2018. Research results show that stronger university-industry R&D collaboration contributes to more robust sustainable development in 6 out of 10 sample countries and shrinking informal economy in 4 out of 10 countries. In turn, growth of the informal economy leads to a decrease in university-industry R&D collaboration in 5 out of 10 countries and inhibits sustainable development in 7 out of 10 countries. In conclusion, policymakers should transform the national policy and strategy to emphasize and strengthen R&D cooperation between the universities and the industry.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135686865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Innovations and international competitiveness: Country-level evidence","authors":"Ruzanna Tadevosyan","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/13","url":null,"abstract":"The paper studies the interaction between innovations and international competitiveness and the main objective is to determine the potential impact of innovations on competitiveness and assess the extent of that impact. Therefore, the paper questions (a) whether innovations cause competitiveness, and (b) to what extent the innovations influence competitiveness. Based on the literature review, the export of goods and the number of patent applications (both per million people) are taken as proxies and chosen as indicators for measuring innovations and international competitiveness. Cross-country panel data analysis is performed for a sample of 67 countries over the period of 1993-2020. The selection of countries was based on the availability of data on all variables. The autoregressive model whose dependent variable is the export of goods and the independent variables are the number of patent applications, foreign direct investments, and the real effective exchange rate is estimated using the Random effect model. The results show that patents have a positive impact on export, though its extent is not so significant. The Granger causality test also confirms that patents cause increased export. The research results hold practical value for policymakers.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135688169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A new simple test to evaluate the efficiency of government spending","authors":"Jeyhun Abbasov","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/6","url":null,"abstract":"The main purpose of this study is to determine the conditions that enable optimal distribution of the government revenues between capital and current expenditures, one that would maximize the firms’ and households’ utility and provide the maximum impact of the government expenditures on economic growth rate. Research indicates that for such optimal distribution of the budget to be defined, the derivatives of output functions with respect to the government capital expenditure and the government current expenditure must be equal. The obtained theoretical results serve as a basis for a test that analyzes the efficiency of the allocation of government revenues between current and capital expenditure items. The test is based on intervals established at significance levels of 0.01-0.99. If the difference between the marginal value of the production function with respect to the government's current and capital expenditure falls into any of these established intervals, the distribution of government expenses in these two directions can be considered effective at the level of significance corresponding to that interval. Research results found that governments usually cannot efficiently allocate their revenues between capital and current expenditures.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135688175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Beáta Stehlíková, Zuzana Vincúrová, Ivan Brezina, Ilona Švihlíková
{"title":"COVID 19 mortality as a reflection of the quality of health in EU countries","authors":"Beáta Stehlíková, Zuzana Vincúrová, Ivan Brezina, Ilona Švihlíková","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/8","url":null,"abstract":"The article aims to model the COVID-19 mortality in EU member states. It depends on chosen factors, determine the ranking of factors' importance and attempts for their reduction. Further objectives include identifying states with similar values of identified factors and their geographical concentration. This is exploratory research and is a quantitative research study according to the type of data used. Using the supervised machine learning random forest algorithm, we predict the number of COVID-19 deaths depending on analyzed factors. From 23 factors, we choose the seven most important factors. This selection is based on the highest value, Inc Node Purity. The cluster analysis is used to create groups of states with similar values of chosen factors. Because of the nonuniform methodology of reported deaths, we use excess mortality to measure COVID-19 mortality. The most important factor influencing COVID-19 mortality is the death rate due to circulatory system diseases. The second most significant factor is the avoidable mortality. The third most relevant factor is GDP per capita in purchasing power parity. Similar values of analyzed factors can be found in Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Croatia, and Latvia. COVID-19 mortality in these countries is almost three times higher than in the rest of the EU. Decision-makers could use the gained findings to decrease inequalities in the field of healthcare, mostly through efficient interventions in public healthcare and primary prevention. The results demonstrate that more investment in promoting health in the future will be necessary in the cohesion policy framework.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135688287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Financial literacy and retirement planning in Mexico","authors":"Sergio Hernández-Mejía, Elena Moreno-García","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/4","url":null,"abstract":"According to the Mexican National Survey of Financial Inclusion 2021, Mexicans’ behavior regarding retirement savings is of great concern because only one-third of the Mexican population saves for their retirement. This study measures the financial literacy level among Mexicans and determines its relationship with retirement planning and socio-demographic variables. A multinomial logit micro-econometric model was estimated and data from the last Mexican National Survey of Financial Inclusion 2021 were used. The results indicate that women, rural residents, poorly educated people, and low-income earners are more likely not to plan for old age. Furthermore, financial literacy positively influences the decision to formally plan for retirement. The findings may be useful in designing strategies to increase Mexicans’ financial literacy levels and, consequently, their planning for retirement.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135688291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Márta Konczos Szombathelyi, Ágnes Borgulya, Gábor Balogh
{"title":"Home-based telework: aspects of communication. Evidence from Hungary","authors":"Márta Konczos Szombathelyi, Ágnes Borgulya, Gábor Balogh","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-3/10","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the communication aspect of Home-Based Telework (HBT). The aim of this study is to focus on internal organizational communication from the perspective of occupation and time spent in HBT by answering two research questions. Firstly, how does the occupation influence the perception of organizational communication and the attitude towards remote work? Secondly, does the evaluation of communication within the organization change according to the employees' judgment, depending on the time spent in HBT? During the research, a systematic literature review related to HBT was carried out. Moreover, an anonymous online questionnaire survey was conducted in four occupational groups, on a sample of 1,100 people. The results show that there are significant differences related to the perception of communication between groups that can be distinguished based on occupations and time. The conclusions drawn from the results can serve as a reference point both for the researchers of the topic and for those company managers who prepare and organize the permanent introduction of HBT.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135686861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gender gap decomposition in employment rate of young people","authors":"M. Consuelo Colom Andrés, M. Cruz Molés Machí","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-1/5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-1/5","url":null,"abstract":"Differences in behavior between women and men have long been observed in the labor market. Occupational segregation, lack of equal opportunities and lower wages are still linked to the lower opportunity cost that leaving the labor market implies for women. In this paper we analyze, using decomposition techniques, the gap in the employment rate between young women and men. These techniques allow us to separate the weight of observed characteristics from the weight of preferences or unobserved factors. Our results reveal that both types of factors are relevant in the gender gap in the employment rate. Preferences or unobserved factors, such as the different perception that both genders have of family and involvement of women in housework, which leads to greater female labor abandonment, are likely to be behind the gender gap in the case of already having job.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135672446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Piotr Błędowski, Joanna Felczak, Ewa Gałecka-Burdziak, Marek Góra
{"title":"Incarceration experience at older ages. Does employment protect against recidivism?","authors":"Piotr Błędowski, Joanna Felczak, Ewa Gałecka-Burdziak, Marek Góra","doi":"10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-1/1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789x.2023/16-1/1","url":null,"abstract":"We investigate whether employment protects against and/or postpones recidivism among males who committed their first crime late in life. We use administrative data on 34,401 individuals, 44% of whom were employed at least once during the analysed period. We apply a multi-state model and difference in-differences approach. The results of the multi-state model indicate that employment reduced the risk of recidivism by 7% for those who were at risk of a second incarceration. On the other hand, employment increased the probability of subsequent recidivism by 8-10% for those who were at risk of a third or fourth incarceration. Our results suggest that institutional interventions should seek to increase the labour market attachment of former prisoners, and, in particular, should focus on ex-offenders with only one conviction. Being attached to the labour force seems to matter more, the fewer imprisonment spells an individual has experienced.","PeriodicalId":51663,"journal":{"name":"Economics & Sociology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135672451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}