Media synchronicity implications for Indian white-collar employees' work-from-home wellbeing and preference, mediated by psychological needs satisfaction

PurposeWork-from-home (WFH) gained ground with COVID and will now continue to be a part of India's future of work. Under WFH information and communication technologies (ICT) media become the primary/sole mode of communication for employees, which holds several implications for employers and employees. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of ICT media characteristics and usage frequency on multiple WFH outcomes. Specifically studied was ICT media's ability to support synchronicity or coordinated behaviours of individuals working together.Design/methodology/approachThis work examined the effect of ICT media's synchronicity-supporting ability and usage frequency on WFH employees' need for competence and relatedness satisfaction, thereby wellbeing and preference to WFH. Data from 301 white-collar employees of varied manufacturing and services organizations of India was analysed via partial least squares structural equation modelling.FindingsAchieving more synchronicity by frequently using ICT media that can better facilitate coordinated behaviours did not directly influence WFH employees' feeling of belongingness (need for relatedness) or wellbeing. It did, however, positively affect their feeling of effectance (need for competence) and thereby wellbeing. However, unexpectedly, it negatively influenced preference to WFH more often.Originality/valueThis study has uniquely combined media synchronicity and self-determination theories to investigate the implications of a work practice on employee wellbeing and preferences. Also, an extensible media evaluation parameter was created that encompasses the characteristics and usage frequency of a set of ICT media.

Eco-Efficiency and Its Evolutionary Change under Regulatory Constraints: A Case Study of Chinese Transportation Industry

The transportation industry is characterized as a capital-intensive industry that plays a crucial role in economic and social development, and the rapid expansion of this industry has led to serious environmental problems, which makes the eco-efficiency analysis of the transportation industry an important issue. Previous research paid little attention to the regulatory scenarios and suffered from the incomparability problem, hence this paper aims to reasonably estimate the eco-efficiency and identify its evolutionary characteristics. We measure the eco-efficiency and the corresponding global Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index using a modified model of the data envelopment analysis framework, in which different regulatory constraints are incorporated. Based on the empirical study on the transportation industry of thirty provinces in China, we find that the eco-efficiency of Chinese transportation industry experienced a slight increase during 2015–2016, a sharp decline during 2016–2017, and a continuous rise since year 2017. The Middle Yangtze River area was the best performer among the eight regions in terms of eco-efficiency, while the Southwest area was placed last. The global Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index showed an earlier increase and later decrease trend, which was quite consistent with the reality of the variation of inputs and outputs and the emergence of COVID-19. Moreover, the best practice gap change was found to be the main driven force of productivity. The empirical results verify the practicability of our measurement models and the conclusions can be adopted in guiding the formulation of corresponding policies and regulations.

Smallholders Are Not the Same: Under the Hood of Kosovo Agriculture

Economists and policy makers are interested in producers' responses to policies in order to achieve some national or sectoral objectives, e.g., growth, employment, food security. The way producers respond to policy depends on their production function. If producers do not have homogenous production function, policy responses will be heterogeneous. We use the underlying functional relationship to derive homogenous groupings. The paper employs finite regression mixture models to specify and estimate farm groups with regard to pre-specified functional relationship. The proposed approach is illustrated with regard to the aggregate production function of Kosovo agriculture, characterised by high prevalence of small farmers. The results point out to two farm clusters. The first one extracts more output from labour and intermediate consumption. The second one makes a better use of land. Perhaps, surprisingly, both clusters appear quite similar in terms of their stock of production inputs. Cluster 1 however appears to be more specialised. We can conclude that in Kosovo agriculture appearances and size are not primary determinants of productivity.

How Innovation Ecosystem Synergy Degree Influences Technology Innovation Performance—Evidence from China’s High-Tech Industry

The technology innovation of high-tech industries has become an important support for the innovation-driven strategy. This study introduces innovation ecosystem synergy as a moderating variable from a systemic and holistic perspective based on the traditional perspective of innovation factor input-output, and helps construct a technology innovation performance driving model based on the Cobb–Douglas knowledge production function, which enriches the discussion perspective and theoretical model research on technology innovation performance. With a sample of 28 provinces in mainland China, this study empirically analyzed the moderating mechanism of innovation performance by innovation synergy in high-tech industries during the two stages of technology development and technology transformation. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) Independent research and development has a positive and significant impact on technology development performance;product innovation has a positive and significant impact on technology transformation performance;(2) Technology introduction can weaken technology development performance due to technology dependence and the inhibitory effect on independent innovation, and inefficient technology renovation can negatively and significantly affect technology transformation performance.;(3) The degree of synergy has a positive and significant impact on the performance of technology development innovation and technology transformation innovation. The degree of synergy has a positive moderating effect on the innovation performance of independent R&D and technology development, as well as product innovation and technology renovation, and a negative moderating effect on the innovation performance of technology introduction and technology development, but no significant moderating effect on technology renovation and technology transformation performance. The research results can provide a reference for the improvement of the technology innovation performance of regional high-tech industries.

Estimates of Russia's Potential Output

Considering the specifics of the Russian economy such as dependency on oil, gas drilling and production, including the current context of the Western sanctions, COVID-19 pandemic as well as distinct potential output development, the main aim of this paper is to quantify the recent output gap for Russia. We use three mainstream methodologies: the Hodrick-Prescott filter as a benchmark, the Kalman filter to follow and the Cobb-Douglas production function. The sample time span ranges from 1995Q1 until 2020Q3, while all calculations are performed on quarterly frequencies. The analysis suggests that given the low fixed investment ratios, limited R&D spending in non-military sectors and adverse demographic development, under a "no policy change" scenario, there might soon be even more downward pressures on the country's potential output growth. The economy may continue increasing only at a snail's pace even after a possible withdrawal of the Western sanctions and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial development and natural resources nexus in Egypt: the role of clean energy sources and foreign direct investment

Purpose>Achieving the goals of the sustainable development strategy and Egypt’s vision 2030 depends mainly on the existence of sources of funds. And since Egypt faces a great challenge in obtaining finance, then analyzing the drivers of financial development is a vital issue and there is a persistent need to shed light on the key obstacles for it. Thus, this paper aims to empirically assess the impact of natural resources, foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows, education and clean energy sources on financial development in Egypt using the data of the 1971–2014 period.Design/methodology/approach>The paper uses auto-regressive distributed lag and Toda-Yamomoto approaches to fulfill the purpose.Findings>Empirical results signify that all variables except natural endowments stimulate financial development which can suggest the presence of the natural resources curse in Egypt. Moreover, the feedback effect between financial development and FDI is recognized. Clean energy sources cause financial development and natural endowments. Financial development causes natural endowments and FDI leads to the deployment of more clean energy resources.Practical implications>Several crucial policy implications are suggested based upon these results as improving the quality and quantity of education and encouraging both domestic and foreign investors by providing several incentives. Moreover, the government has to enhance green finance through financing solar energy projects and other environmentally friendly projects.Originality/value>It is the first research for Egypt that explores natural resource-financial development nexus using time series analysis according to our information, and two important variables are included in the model which is clean energy sources and FDI. Then, although several studies examined the impact of financial development on clean energy no empirical study before assessed the impact of clean energy on financial development.

The effectiveness of the fiscal policy response to COVID-19 through the lens of short and long run labor market effects of COVID-19 measures

Lack of information on the adequacy of fiscal measures undertaken in the COVID19 crisis and its long-term adverse effects on economic growth and labor market outcomes has raised debates about the impact of fiscal austerity and fears of slower recovery from the ongoing economic downturn. This paper analyzes the short and long-term effects ofthe fiscal policy measures undertaken in the COVID19 crisis in the EU-27. For the short-term estimation, we use OkunS law. To examine the long-run effects, we use the concept of potential output using a production function approach. The findings from this paper are that in the short-term, fiscal measures were generally effective. In the long-term, the COVID-19 crisis would have had a negative and permanent effect on the potential GDP growth if the policymakers had undertaken no fiscal measures.

Does Investing in Renewable Energy Sources Contribute to Growth? A Preliminary Study on Greece’s National Energy and Climate Plan

As more economies are transitioning away from fossil fuels for their electricity production and towards greener alternatives, many socioeconomic implications of this shift remain actively debated. The present paper attempts to assess the economic impact of investments in renewable energy sources (RESs) for Greece and whether the broader effects of this transition can offset the negative impact that will occur due to the targeted phase-out of lignite plants by 2028, which constitute the predominant power source for Greece. Our methodological approach builds on input–output analysis and the creation of composite RES industries for the estimation of the net effects of a series of monetary shocks that correspond to Greece’s phase-out investment plan, utilizing the most recent national input–output tables and satellite structural business statistics. We focus on the structural effects of these shocks on a series of socioeconomic indicators, including GDP, employment, wages, government income (through taxes), and capital formation. The results indicate that even though lignite power production still provides a significant contribution to the Greek economy, investing in renewables presents a significant opportunity for value added and job creation.