The spillover effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Which subsectors of tourism have been affected more?

This paper investigates the effects of COVID-19 pandemic-related uncertainty focusing on the US tourism subsectors, including airlines, hotels, restaurants, and travel companies. Using daily stock price data, we compute connectedness indices that quantify the financial distress in the tourism and hospitality industry and link these indices with a measure of COVID-19-induced uncertainty. Our empirical results show that some subsectors of tourism are affected more than others. The connectedness of tourism companies has severely increased after March 2020. Restaurants are the most heavily influenced subsectors of tourism, while airline companies come the next. Besides, our quantile regression suggests that higher quantile COVID-19 uncertainty index has more effect on the connectedness of tourism companies. Our results guide the policymakers and investors to detect the stress accumulated in each subsectors of tourism and to take more informed and timely decisions.

Blockchain-Based Solutions in Achieving SDGs after COVID-19

In this paper, we attempt to explore the extent to which the hard won development gains over the last several years could be reversed due to the unfolding COVID-19 global pandemic, how we can reboot the global response to accelerate the SDGs in times of uncertainties, and most importantly how to turn the recovery into an opportunity to build back better and more resilient economies. To do so, we examine the case of blockchain as one of the emerging innovative work-streams in development practices that could lead the way forward and pave the path for new developmental narratives as we all navigate the uncharted territories of the new digital age. This paper provides useful insights about the underlying dynamics underpinning the adoption of blockchain backed-solutions for sustainable development, and it showcases some of the promising use-cases being developed through trial-and-error experiments by its early adopters. The paper offers a deep dive into a burgeoning development practice in search of disrupting business-as-usual to solve increasingly complex development challenges by mainstreaming innovations such as blockchain-enabled solutions to rethink the ways in which development solutions are being delivered across the SDG spectrum. This work points to the significant potential of blockchain technology as a game changer in solving some of the most pressing issues hindering the global recovery post Covid-19 to transition towards greener and more inclusive economies. Nevertheless, we also stress that the hype-cycle behind the "let's blockchain it” trend does not mean that blockchain-backed solutions are necessarily superior to other alternatives which might be less costly and less technical in nature. Development practitioners prototyping and implementing blockchain-based solutions for sustainable development can utilize these insights and discussions to make informed decisions in their journey to harness the disruptive potential of blockchain alone or in tandem with other emerging technologies in the new world of business as unusual.

The spillover effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Which subsectors of tourism have been affected more?

This paper investigates the effects of COVID-19 pandemic-related uncertainty focusing on the US tourism subsectors, including airlines, hotels, restaurants, and travel companies. Using daily stock price data, we compute connectedness indices that quantify the financial distress in the tourism and hospitality industry and link these indices with a measure of COVID-19-induced uncertainty. Our empirical results show that some subsectors of tourism are affected more than others. The connectedness of tourism companies has severely increased after March 2020. Restaurants are the most heavily influenced subsectors of tourism, while airline companies come the next. Besides, our quantile regression suggests that higher quantile COVID-19 uncertainty index has more effect on the connectedness of tourism companies. Our results guide the policymakers and investors to detect the stress accumulated in each subsectors of tourism and to take more informed and timely decisions.

In search of safe haven assets during COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical analysis of different investor types.

This study assesses the role of gold, crude oil and cryptocurrency as a safe haven for traditional, sustainable, and Islamic investors during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Using Wavelet coherence analysis and spillover index methodologies in bivariate and multivariate settings, this study examines the correlation of these assets for different investment horizons. The findings suggest that gold, oil and Bitcoin exhibited low coherency with each stock index across almost all considered investment horizons until the onset of the COVID-19. Conversely, with the outbreak of the pandemic, the return spillover is more intense across financial assets, and a significant pairwise return connectedness between each equity index and hedging asset is observed. Hence, gold, oil, and Bitcoin do not exhibit safe-haven characteristics. However, by decomposing the time-varying co-movements into different investment horizons, we find that total and pairwise connectedness among the assets are primarily driven by a higher-frequency band (up to 4 days). It indicates that investors have diversification opportunities with gold, oil, and Bitcoin at longer horizons. The results are robust over different types of equity investors (traditional, sustainable, and Islamic) and various investment horizons.

Blockchain-Based Solutions in Achieving SDGs after COVID-19

In this paper, we attempt to explore the extent to which the hard won development gains over the last several years could be reversed due to the unfolding COVID-19 global pandemic, how we can reboot the global response to accelerate the SDGs in times of uncertainties, and most importantly how to turn the recovery into an opportunity to build back better and more resilient economies. To do so, we examine the case of blockchain as one of the emerging innovative work-streams in development practices that could lead the way forward and pave the path for new developmental narratives as we all navigate the uncharted territories of the new digital age. This paper provides useful insights about the underlying dynamics underpinning the adoption of blockchain backed-solutions for sustainable development, and it showcases some of the promising use-cases being developed through trial-and-error experiments by its early adopters. The paper offers a deep dive into a burgeoning development practice in search of disrupting business-as-usual to solve increasingly complex development challenges by mainstreaming innovations such as blockchain-enabled solutions to rethink the ways in which development solutions are being delivered across the SDG spectrum. This work points to the significant potential of blockchain technology as a game changer in solving some of the most pressing issues hindering the global recovery post Covid-19 to transition towards greener and more inclusive economies. Nevertheless, we also stress that the hype-cycle behind the “let’s blockchain it” trend does not mean that blockchain-backed solutions are necessarily superior to other alternatives which might be less costly and less technical in nature. Development practitioners prototyping and implementing blockchain-based solutions for sustainable development can utilize these insights and discussions to make informed decisions in their journey to harness the disruptive potential of blockchain alone or in tandem with other emerging technologies in the new world of business as unusual.