Monetary and fiscal policies in the EU. Is there a difference between EMU and non-EMU members?

The COVID-19 crisis has put the European Union's (EU) ability to respond to external challenges to test. It is not a new issue that has arisen due to the current crisis. The global economic crisis of 2008, and, in particular, the sovereign debt crisis of 2010, highlighted the need for institutional, policy and political reform to ensure the stability and long-term sustainability of the EU project. The EU's asymmetric degrees of integration, in terms of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and non-EMU members, resulted in a diverse response to the crisis and, more importantly, mixed-effects from monetary and fiscal policies. This study aims to research the impact of monetary and fiscal policies between 2007 and 2015 on economic growth and employment. The findings show that loose monetary policies at the EU, EMU and non-EMU levels boosted economic growth and development. On the other hand, restrictive fiscal policy had favourably influenced GDP and employment by reducing inflationary pressures produced by expansive monetary policy. However, fiscal policy had a greater impact in the non-EMU countries, demonstrating that this policy can act as a stabilizing force in the face of an overly expansive and common monetary policy. In order to respond effectively to the current and future crises, the EU government should overhaul the way monetary and fiscal policy is conducted and coordinated.

Physics of Fluids generated in the Human Respiratory Cycle and Social Distancing in time of COVID-19

This study presents an experimental measurement of the airflow speed, generated in the exhalation phase from the human respiratory cycle, based on data from three human subjects. The results obtained demonstrate the transient character of the human respiratory cycle, in terms of measured speed at different points of man-generated exhalation air flow. Gender study and conditions such as diabetes were included. Using simple low-cost set up, with the integration of a face mask and visor, we managed to demonstrate transient character dependence on gender and health conditions, as well as the transmission of humidity and temperature in correlation with the face mask and visor. Further work would benefit from the inclusion of a thermal imaging camera that would additionally characterize the exhalation flow interaction of the participants with a convective boundary layer around the human body. © 2021 IEEE.

Transformation from urban to rural tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of Serbia

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of many restrictive measures to prevent it, which resulted in the decline in tourist arrivals and overnight stays. Due to the pandemic, various restrictive measures have also been applied in Serbia in order to prevent the spread of the virus e.g., banning the public gatherings, various restrictions for hotels, and restaurants, along with other measures. Although there is a decline in the number of tourist arrivals in Serbia during 2020, there is also a growing interest in rural tourism in Serbia. This paper examines whether there have been changes in travel plans in 2020 due to the pandemic, and whether urban or rural tourist destinations in Serbia or abroad are preferred during 2020. The data were collected by a survey, while their analysis and processing were done with the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).