EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-20DOI: 10.3390/economies12080209
Amer Morshed
{"title":"Assessing the Economic Impact of IFRS Adoption on Financial Transparency and Growth in the Arab Gulf Countries","authors":"Amer Morshed","doi":"10.3390/economies12080209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080209","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the impact of adopting IFRS on economic growth and further development in the Arab Gulf countries, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. It, therefore, answers the research question of how IFRS adoption affects financial transparency, regulatory frameworks, and economic stability in general in oil-dependent economies. Using data from 2010 to 2020, the research uses regression models to test the influence of IFRS adoption on several key economic indicators. The results, thus, indicate that the adoption of IFRS considerably increases the level of transparency and, hence, enables the inflow of FDI as well, therefore ensuring economic growth. This result also sheds light on the critical roles that regulatory solid frameworks and political stability play in amplifying the benefits of IFRS adoption. However, family-based and state-owned enterprises’ resistance to increased demands for transparency is an issue that would provide a challenge. Implications for policy will be such that comprehensive reforms will be required with the countries’ regulatory frameworks, including more transparency and fitting the IFRS guidelines into local business practice and the cultural context. Future studies should also underscore sector-wise impact and go deeper into how cultural and institutional factors impact the effectiveness of implementing IFRS in the Arab Gulf region.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207698","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":"Enhancing Competitiveness: Driving and Facilitating Factors for Industry 4.0 Adoption in Thai Manufacturing","authors":"Nuchjarin Intalar, Yasushi Ueki, Chawalit Jeenanunta","doi":"10.3390/economies12080210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080210","url":null,"abstract":"Adopting Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is inevitable for Thailand’s manufacturing sector to remain competitive because global markets increasingly demand higher quality, faster delivery, and greater customization. While firms need to enhance productivity and optimize resource utilization, they also need to reduce operation costs, which require advanced technologies and data-driven operations. However, successful adoption requires skilled human resources, which is challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This research explores factors driving and facilitating the implementation of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in Thai manufacturing firms among SMEs and large firms. We employed qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews with SMEs and large manufacturing firms in Thailand. Five key factors emerged as crucial for I4.0 adoption: awareness of I4.0, strong and proactive support from top management, self-funding capabilities, and effective human resource development strategies. While large multinational enterprises (MNEs) possess more significant resources and capabilities to adopt I4.0 technologies, SMEs face considerable challenges. They require a strategic approach tailored to their unique needs and resources to develop a feasible I4.0 roadmap. Additionally, governments and industry associations can play a significant role by providing training, funding, and other resources to empower SMEs to embrace I4.0.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"175 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207699","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}
EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-20DOI: 10.3390/economies12080212
Xuan Zhai, Jappar Juman, Aiymzhan Tulegenovna Makulova, Assel Valitkhanovna Khamzayeva, Binghan Du
{"title":"Research on Relationship between Energy Consumption and GDP in Kazakhstan","authors":"Xuan Zhai, Jappar Juman, Aiymzhan Tulegenovna Makulova, Assel Valitkhanovna Khamzayeva, Binghan Du","doi":"10.3390/economies12080212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080212","url":null,"abstract":"The relationship between energy consumption and economic development is one of the primary indicators for elaborating energy policies. Different countries are at different stages of economic development and have different levels of energy consumption. Since independence, Kazakhstan’s economic development has gone through three stages: the unstable stage (1992–2000), the stage of rapid development (2001–2013), and the stage of stable development (2014–present). Kazakhstan’s economy is shifting from an industry-led economy to a service-led economy, thus, the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth also changes. By analyzing the data on energy consumption and GDP during 1992–2023, it was found that a 1% growth of GDP caused a 0.3972% growth of energy consumption in Kazakhstan on average. Due to the long period of economic influence on energy consumption, Kazakhstan could realize the adjustment of the energy consumption structure without affecting economic development by eliminating fossil energy subsidies, reducing taxes on projects for the development of renewable energy, and increasing energy-saving facilities.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207700","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}
EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-20DOI: 10.3390/economies12080211
Kevin Riehl, Anastasios Kouvelas, Michail A. Makridis
{"title":"Resource Allocation with Karma Mechanisms—A Review","authors":"Kevin Riehl, Anastasios Kouvelas, Michail A. Makridis","doi":"10.3390/economies12080211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080211","url":null,"abstract":"Monetary markets serve as established resource allocation mechanisms, typically achieving efficient solutions with limited information. However, they are susceptible to market failures, particularly under the presence of public goods, externalities, or inequality of economic power. Moreover, in many resource-allocating contexts, money faces social, ethical, and legal constraints. Consequently, artificial currencies and non-monetary markets are increasingly explored, with Karma emerging as a notable concept. Karma, a non-tradeable, resource-inherent currency for prosumer resources, operates on the principles of contribution and consumption of specific resources. It embodies fairness, near incentive compatibility, Pareto-efficiency, robustness to population heterogeneity, and can incentivize a reduction in resource scarcity. The literature on Karma is scattered across disciplines, varies in scope, and lacks conceptual clarity and coherence. Thus, this study undertakes a comprehensive review of the Karma mechanism, systematically comparing its resource allocation applications and elucidating overlooked mechanism design elements. Through a systematic mapping study, this review situates Karma within its literature context, offers a structured design parameter framework, and develops a road map for future research directions.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207701","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}
EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-19DOI: 10.3390/economies12080208
Abdulrahman A. Albahouth, Muhammad Tahir
{"title":"The Relationship between Trade Openness and FDI Inflows: Evidence-Based Insights from ASEAN Region","authors":"Abdulrahman A. Albahouth, Muhammad Tahir","doi":"10.3390/economies12080208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080208","url":null,"abstract":"This research paper focuses on figuring out the impact of trade openness on FDI inflows, which has received relatively less attention in the literature, specifically in the context of ASEAN economies. The ASEAN region, which is relatively more open in terms of both trade openness as well as FDI inflows, is chosen as a sample. Annual data are gathered from “World Development Indicators (WDI)” and “World Governance Indicators (WGI)”. Reported results and findings are based on “Fixed Effect (FE) Modeling”, and the “Generalized Least Square (GLS)” is utilized for the robustness check. The results indicated that trade openness matters significantly for attracting FDI inflows. Similarly, institutional quality has also exerted a positive and significant influence on the inflows of FDI. The disaggregated analysis shows that five aspects of institutional quality, such as rule of law, regulatory quality, control of corruption, voice and accountability, and political instability and absence of violence, have positively and significantly impacted the FDI inflows in the case of selected ASEAN economies. The results demonstrated that exchange rate depreciation is harmful for the inflows of FDI. Moreover, FDI inflows responded positively to market size. Furthermore, the results showed that the impact of natural resources and inflation on FDI inflows is insignificant statistically. The present study suggests that the ASEAN policymakers manage their exchange rate effectively, improve the quality of institutions, and adopt vigorous trade liberalization policies to attract more FDI inflows.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207703","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}
EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-19DOI: 10.3390/economies12080207
Diego E. Pinilla-Rodríguez, Patricia Hernández-Medina
{"title":"Governance and Fiscal Decentralisation in Latin America: An Empirical Approach","authors":"Diego E. Pinilla-Rodríguez, Patricia Hernández-Medina","doi":"10.3390/economies12080207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080207","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this study was to establish the relationship between certain institutional variables and the effectiveness of fiscal decentralisation in Latin America. To fulfil this objective, we took a sample of 15 Latin American countries for the years 1996 to 2020 to estimate the logarithm of GDP per capita based on the level of fiscal decentralisation, as well as its interaction with six institutional variables plus three control variables. The results show that institutional variables always modulate the effects of fiscal decentralisation, in most cases significantly and negatively, the exceptions being accountability with a positive result and government effectiveness with a non-significant result. It was concluded that in the presence of weak regulations, political conflicts, and corruption, fiscal decentralisation can worsen social or economic circumstances in Latin America.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207702","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}
EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-16DOI: 10.3390/economies12080205
Carlos Felipe Urazán-Bonells, Hugo Alexander Rondón-Quintana, Carlos Alfonso Zafra-Mejía
{"title":"Correlation between Sectoral GDP and the Values of Road Freight Transportation in Colombia","authors":"Carlos Felipe Urazán-Bonells, Hugo Alexander Rondón-Quintana, Carlos Alfonso Zafra-Mejía","doi":"10.3390/economies12080205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080205","url":null,"abstract":"A correlation between economic development and road freight is demonstrated in the literature review provided in this paper. This relationship was studied in relation to the global gross domestic product (GDP) of the countries under review. Therefore, this paper presents the validation of this correlation in the Colombian case, based not only on global GDP, but also on the GDP for each of the main economic sectors of the country. The correlation was analyzed using several of the following statistical methods: correlation using the non-parametric method (Spearman), the causality relationship using the Granger test, the relationship between variables using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and multivariate correlation to establish the level of significance of each economic sector by means of the p-value. The study concludes that the best correlation is between the GDP of some economic sectors and the amount of freight transported one year later.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"175 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207704","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}
EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-16DOI: 10.3390/economies12080206
Simiso Msomi, Harold Ngalawa
{"title":"The Monetary Model of Exchange Rate Determination for South Africa","authors":"Simiso Msomi, Harold Ngalawa","doi":"10.3390/economies12080206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080206","url":null,"abstract":"The disconnect between the exchange rate and its macroeconomic fundamentals has been extensively discussed in the literature. It nonetheless continues to pose theoretical and empirical challenges in the literature. This study examines the relationship between the exchange rate and its fundamentals. This study used the monetary model of exchange rate determination developed in the 1970s. The study used the TAR to estimate the exchange change rate behaviour in response to variations in monetary variables. We found that the exchange rates respond to the interest rate differential, consistent with the predictions of the monetary model of exchange rate determination. Furthermore, in all the regimes, the sizes of coefficients are different, which shows that the exchange rate behaviour is non-linear (asymmetric). While the impact of the interest rate differential in regime 1 and 2 leads to exchange rates appreciating although in regime 2 the results are insignificant, this occurs when the exchange rates fluctuate below 0.87 percentage points. In regime 3, on average, a marginal increase in interest rate deferential leads to an exchange rate depreciation. In some instances, the exchange rates respond to the monetary variables’ changes in line with the predictions of the monetary theory of exchange rate determination. An increase in interest rates in some instances leads to an improvement in the value of the exchange rate. However, the conditions are not constant—they vary depending on the state of exchange rate fluctuation.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207738","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}
EconomiesPub Date : 2024-08-12DOI: 10.3390/economies12080204
Michal Varmus, Martin Mičiak, Dominika Toman, Pavol Boško, Ivan Greguška, Zakaria Elkhwesky
{"title":"The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Measures on the Sports Industry in Slovakia","authors":"Michal Varmus, Martin Mičiak, Dominika Toman, Pavol Boško, Ivan Greguška, Zakaria Elkhwesky","doi":"10.3390/economies12080204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080204","url":null,"abstract":"Stopping competitions and the training process was a shock that sports organizations had to deal with. Financial problems forced them to rethink the situation. In Slovakia, this became critical. This is why we started to research this issue to provide an answer to the research question: What are the actual consequences of government measures on the sports industry? A survey was conducted including two questionnaires made available between the pandemic waves. The first questionnaire was designed for athletes and sports professionals (N = 1040). The second addressed sports organizations (N = 626). Questionnaires were accessible via sports organizations’ portals. The ban on organizing mass sports events affected this industry. More than 80% of respondents had an experience of having to cancel a competition or training activity. This had an impact on their income as well as their future activities. We cooperate with government institutions and sports associations in Slovakia, so the results were provided to government officials. However, due to political changes accompanied by changes in the ministries responsible for the sports industry in Slovakia, it is relevant to summarize the research results in their present form. In this way they can serve as background for future sports policies.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141947800","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":"The Impact of Tax Pressure on Long-Term Economic Growth in Morocco","authors":"Noureddine Benkejjane, Safaa Mhatchan, Mohamed Oudgou, Abdeslam Boudhar","doi":"10.3390/economies12080201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12080201","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the tax reform in the 1980s, the Moroccan tax system still suffers from structural vulnerabilities that have led to inefficient tax policies and increasing sectoral disparities, which have led to an increase in the tax pressure rates between 1990 and 2020. To overcome these vulnerabilities, and according to the recommendations of the 2019 National Tax Conference, the Moroccan tax system has been recently restructured, with the aim of strengthening the principles of equity and tax efficiency. The main objective of this paper is to determine the impact of the tax pressure on long-term economic growth in Morocco from 1990 to 2020. To do so, the methodology adopted in this work consists of verifying the effect of the tax pressure on economic growth through a quantitative methodology based on two vector autoregression approaches: the vector autoregression model (VAR) and the vector error correction model (VECM). The results of this study confirm that the effect of fiscal pressure on economic growth in Morocco is not significant in the long run, and therefore, we can deduce that taxation is not yet a well-mastered instrument for the state to act on the economic sphere. The results show a complex relationship between tax pressures and economic growth in Morocco, underlining the importance of tax reform. However, the research is limited by the specific models and the need to explore other determinants. The contribution of this paper lies in its in-depth empirical analysis of fiscal pressure and its influence on long-term economic growth in Morocco, as based on VAR and VECM modeling. This econometric approach makes it possible to isolate the dynamic effects and responses of economic variables over time, offering an understanding of the interactions between tax policy and long-term economic growth. By focusing specifically on the Moroccan context, this study offers an original perspective and helps to fill the gap in the empirical research in this area while providing a valuable analytical framework for assessing fiscal policies and their impact on long-term economic growth.","PeriodicalId":52214,"journal":{"name":"Economies","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141947638","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}