{"title":"A Brief History of the American Middle Class","authors":"Y. Datta","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p127","url":null,"abstract":"The credit for the birth of the American middle class in 1914 goes to Henry Ford.Reckless speculation in the New York Stock Market led to the Great Depression of 1929: the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by America, that led to an amazing level of unemployment that lasted till 1939.Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected as President in 1933, instituted New Deal: a series of programs--the most important of which was the G.I. Bill.The baby boom, increasing consumer income, affordability of cars and homes--coupled with the new interstate highway system—all worked together, that then led to a mass migration of the middle class from the inner cities to suburbia.The years 1947-1973 are considered the golden years of America’s middle class: an age the U.S. will never experience again. The foundation of this goldilocks economy was the social covenant of shared prosperity between big business and big labor.The 1980-2008 period marks ‘America in decline’ largely because America took a sharp turn toward unfettered capitalism and greed.This led to a massive growth of the Financial Services Industry.Income inequality has steadily been increasing in America for 45 years from 1974-2018, and by 2007 it touched or exceeded the lofty heights of 1928.A socio-economic class lifestyle profile of America includes three groups: The Upper Class, The Middle Class, and The Lower Class, each with two classes, making it a total of six.Finally, a look into the forces that led to the stock market crash of 2008.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72489723","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}
Guangkuo Fan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siti Rohaida Mohamed Zainal
{"title":"Role of Institutions in Economic Development of China","authors":"Guangkuo Fan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siti Rohaida Mohamed Zainal","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p107","url":null,"abstract":"The study has depicted the role of institutions in the economic development of China, and this leads to the elements of development in organizations. Moreover, there are various educational institutions in China that are mainly focused on the main keys to economic development. Apart from this, several top-class universities such as: Tsinghua University, Peking University and Nanjing University are providing the best education for better development of the economic systems. This study has also depicted the graphical representation of the role of institutional development from 2018 to 2022 within the Fiscal year. Various instructions have inspired economic development in China. Moreover, the researcher has stated the proper hypothesis for better and scientific measurement of the study.The literature review chapter has described various themes for aligning the topic along with Two-wheel drive, Keynesian economics theory and Marxian theory for better understanding of the study. Theoretical underpinning is also be understood with development of conceptual framework after the entire description. The methodology chapter has been described with proper elements such as positivism philosophy, deductive research approach, descriptive research design and also mixed, method of research method. This chapter has given the advantage to determine the main survey method, which is simple random sampling, within which the entire data collection has been done. On the other hand, secondary qualitative data has been collected from the authentic articles. Moreover, the recommendation has depicted a clear idea of a better educational system for economic development in China.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72971931","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":"Intergovernmental Grant Transfers from Central to Local Levels of Government in Ghana: Does Formula Allocation Prevents Political Influences?","authors":"A. Fumey, F. Egwaikhide, O. Adeniyi","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p82","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p82","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines how the district assemblies’ common fund grant is distributed among the local governments in Ghana to ascertain the objectivity of the sharing formula scheme created under the 1992 Constitution. The dynamic GMM panel estimation approach is employed for the empirical analysis with focus on new versus mature democracy and how swing and aligned districts tend to benefit from the distribution. Annual data on the fund disbursements and the election outcomes from 1994 to 2018 for 216 district assemblies is used. The findings reveal that average transfers to each district was Gh?7.54 million which generally increased by 9.4 percent in election years reflecting the opportunistic behavior of incumbent governments. Swing districts benefited more from the increase than non-swing districts, as the former received 4.3 percent more than the latter. Aligned districts in new democracy received, 2 percent more than non-aligned ones, while it was 4.3 percent more for swing districts in mature democracy. Therefore, the allocation formula is subject to political manipulations hence it is recommended that the unilateral appointment of the fund’s administrator by incumbent Presidents be reviewed in addition to creating autonomous public agencies to be responsible for the allocation formula and the fund administration independently.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86163599","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":"An Attempt of Determining Some Characteristics of the Moroccan Productive System","authors":"Ahmed Oulad El Fakir","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p72","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p72","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this paper is to determine some characteristics of the production system of the Moroccan economy for a single product (GDP) with annual data from 1999 to 2019. Then, we try to estimate the TFP from a translog production function to compare it with that corresponding to a Cobb-Douglas production function, if possible. The results obtained show the difficulties encountered in these estimations, particularly the multicollinearity between the explanatory variables.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87941639","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 Type of “Bubble” Water-saving Faucet","authors":"Xiao Luo, Kandorera Angela Nujoma, Xiying Kuang","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p60","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p60","url":null,"abstract":"At present, many places are seriously short of freshwater resources. Thus, saving water is the universal responsibility of contemporary citizens. Now faucet products such as ordinary washing nozzle, kitchen nozzle, face-washer nozzle, bathtub nozzle and washing machine nozzle are widely used in urban and rural households. Most have poor water-saving abilities, and much water is wasted through daily washing. Our bubble-type water-saving device is a brand-new water-saving device with a simple structure and low cost. It uses the Bernoulli principle and the bubble atomizing principle to inhale air naturally in water flow to atomize water flow. It can help achieve more than 50% water-saving efficiency in daily washing behavior.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73749572","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":"How Overconfidence Influences the Herding Behavior in a Modified Information Cascade Game","authors":"Shaoguang Yang","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p44","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p44","url":null,"abstract":"Humans are social animals. In everyday life, people rarely make important decisions solely based on their personal opinions. Most human decisions are made in a social context. People seek help from relatives, peers, experts, and more to make decisions. To mimic this fact, Anderson and Holt (1997) devised an experiment design, the information cascade game, in which players guess the actual state of the world based on their private signals and others’ prior choices. On another side of the picture, Michailova (2010) defines overconfidence as the act of a person overestimating his or her skill, knowledge, and precision of information. According to Camerer and Lovallo (1999), subjects exhibit overconfidence when placing bets on their relative performance. In this experiment, the baseline treatment of the information cascade game is modified so that subjects’ overconfidence actively participates in subjects’ guesses about the actual state of the world. Under this modified experiment design, subjects’ confidence level is negatively correlated with the herding frequency.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80463693","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":"Efficiency Analysis of Private Lending Market in China—Based on Hurst Index","authors":"Mulan Li, Bin Wang","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p23","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explored the efficiency of the private lending market based on the fractal market theory. We used the rescaled range analysis method and the generalized Hurst exponent analysis method respectively, and we got that the private lending market had not yet reached the weakly efficient level and was anti-persistent. Then we further used the time-varying Hurst index to describe the dynamic changes in the efficiency of the private lending market and analyzed the Chinese stock market and foreign exchange market as a comparative analysis. We found that among the three markets, the efficiency of the private lending market was the lowest, and that there was a correlation between the efficiencies of the three markets, and its effectiveness was affected by the other two markets. Finally, based on the above analysis results, we put forward relevant suggestions on the development of the private lending market and provided a decision basis for investors in the private financing market.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89825088","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":"Card or Cash? An Econometrical and Behavioral Analysis in Greece during Covid-19","authors":"Melpomeni Anysiadou","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n3p1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n3p1","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: This study aims to investigate Greek bank card holders’ behavior and verify the use of this means of payment against cash in their various transactions.Methodology: A variety of econometric and behavioral models were used to capture those factors that can affect satisfaction and attitude towards bank cards and behavioral intention to continue using them, in conjunction with the choice of using this payment method over cash, during the Covid-19 period in Greece.By performing Factor Analysis, Multiple Logistic Regression, Structural Equation, and Multiple Linear Regressions Models, it was proved that factors such as transaction security, acceptance of the payment, ease of use, and the characteristics of bank cards could be influencing the use of such banking products. Exceptional were the findings regarding the influence of the type of good, the sector, and transaction size, on the choice of payment method. In addition, individuals’ perceptions about the prestige and benefits offered by bank cards against cash, in combination with elements of an individual’s personality, such as materialism and compulsive buyers, were equally important factors that could enhance the use of these banking products in Greece.Originality: The novelty of this study lies in the fact that a variety of different econometric and behavioral models were used to investigate in-depth personal factors and factors related to the conduction of transactions that both affect the use of bank cards and cash at a time that Greek transactions require to be contactless.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75731207","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}
Mwaka Samuel Musembi, Dr. Samuel O. Onyuma, Dr. James N. Kung’u
{"title":"Investor Characteristics and Their Effect on Investment Decisions among Public University Workers in Kenya","authors":"Mwaka Samuel Musembi, Dr. Samuel O. Onyuma, Dr. James N. Kung’u","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n2p179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n2p179","url":null,"abstract":"Investment decision has become part of individuals’ lives in the in recent days. People invest in insurance policies, fixed deposits, shares, equities, real estate, mutual funds, and government securities among others. Universities are the peak of knowledge hence the community expects that workers in such institutions be in the frontline in making informed investment decisions. Although the university staff work in the same environment, it has not yet been established how their different investor characteristics affect their investment decisions. There is scanty information on the moderating effect of mobile borrowing on the relationship between investors’ risk attitude, demographic profile, and socio-economic status on investment decisions. This study investigated the effect of the investor characteristics on investment decision. The objectives of the study were to; assess the effect of investor risk attitude on investment decision among public university workers in Kenya, test the effect of the investor demographic profile on investment decisions among public university workers in Kenya, and determine the effect of socio-economic status on investment decision among public university workers in Kenya. Finally, the study examined the moderating effect of mobile borrowing on the effect of investor risk attitude and socio-economic status on investment decision among public university workers in Kenya. Capital Asset Pricing Model, Efficient Markets Hypothesis, Prospect Theory and Behavioural Finance Theory guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with a target population of 2075 workers from the sampled Public Universities in Kenya. Stratified random sampling technique was employed from which a sample of 336 was used. Further, the study used primary data sources through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered using google forms. Data was analysed with the aid of SPSS version 26 software and Microsoft excel. Charts, tables, graphs, and figures were used to present the results. The results of the study indicated that risk attitude played the biggest role in investment decision-making since it explained 41.7 percent of investment decision. In addition, all the demographic factors influenced the choice of investment. The results also showed that investors in the age of 31-40 were willing to diversify their investments unlike the other age groups. Mobile borrowing was found to moderate the relationship between investment decision and its predictors. The study recommends that a similar study is conducted once the government operationalises the mobile lending control. Since workers between 31-40 years were found to have a much higher affinity for risk and investment, the government should consider targeting civil servants and other professionals in this age group by providing them with investment incentives.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75477026","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":"Trade Openness-Inflation Nexus in Sierra Leone: Testing Romer Hypothesis using ARDL Approach","authors":"Morlai Bangura","doi":"10.22158/jepf.v8n2p161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22158/jepf.v8n2p161","url":null,"abstract":"This study is based on Romer’s proposition that there is an inverse relationship between inflation and trade openness as opposed to the narrative that argues otherwise. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine Romer hypothesis for Sierra Leone. To achieve this objective, the study utilized the ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration using data for the period 1980-2020. In addition, a battery of diagnostic tests were conducted to confirm the robustness of the model. The bounds test result confirm that there is long-run association between inflation and the dependent variables in this study. The associated equilibrium correction term was also significant, further confirming the existence of long-run relationship. The key findings of the study is that the Romer hypothesis holds for Sierra Leone in both the long-run and the short-run, as inflation tend to ease with increase trade openness. The control variables, exchange rate and gross domestic product were found to have a positive and significant impact on inflation in both the short-run and long-run, whereas domestic credit to the private sector impacts inflation positively in the long-run but have a disinflationary impact in the short-run. Finally, money supply and real interest rate were found to have no effects on inflation in both the short-run and long-run. At the policy level, these results show that encouraging more trade and imports that embody technology or intermediate inputs is essential in taming inflation in both the short-run and in the long–run. This outcome suggests that implementing trade liberalization policies by deepening the integration of the Sierra Leone economy to the global economy would support the price stability objective of the Bank of Sierra Leone.","PeriodicalId":73718,"journal":{"name":"Journal of economics and public finance","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85727437","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}