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PurposeThe COVID-19 health crisis has brought about a set of extra health and safety regulations, and procedures to the construction industry which could influence projects' economic performance (EP). The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of adopting COVID-19 safety protocols on construction sites on the economic performance (EP) of construction projects.Design/methodology/approachEmploying the survey method using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from small- and large-sized construction projects in Nigeria and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique.FindingsThe findings reveal that job re-organization and sanitization have negative significant effects on EP, while social distancing and specific training have no effect on EP. Furthermore, project size moderates the relationship between job re-organization, sanitization, specific training and EP with the stronger effect on the relationships observed in big projects, except for the relationship between sanitization and EP where the moderating relationship is stronger in small projects. However, there is no significant moderating effect of project size on the relationship between social distancing and EP.Practical implicationsAs construction project sites continue to operate amidst strict safety protocols, this study offers theoretical and practical insights on how construction projects can adhere to the safety protocols while performing economically.Originality/valueThe originality of this study's findings stems from the fact that it is among the first to provide greater insight on how construction projects have fared economically considering the impact of the various COVID-19 protocols.
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In recent years, the global economy has witnessed several uncertainty-inducing events. However, empirical evidence in Africa on the effects of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on economic activities remains scanty. Besides, the moderating effect of governance institutions on the uncertainty-economic performance relationship in Africa and the likelihood of regional differences in the response of economic activities to EPU on the continent are yet to be investigated. To address these gaps, we applied system GMM and quantile regressions on a panel of forty-seven African countries from 2010 to 2019. We find that while global EPU and EPUs from China, USA and Canada exert considerable influence on economic performance in Africa, the effects of domestic EPU and EPUs from Europe, UK, Japan, and Russia were negligible, suggesting that African economies are resilient to these sources of uncertainty shocks. We also find that governance institutions in Africa are not significantly moderating the uncertainty-economic performance relationship. However, our results highlighted regional differences in the response of economic activities to uncertainty, such that when compared to East and West Africa, economic performance in Central, North and Southern Africa is generally more resilient to global EPU and EPUs from China, USA, Europe and UK. We highlighted the policy implications of these findings.
ABSTRACT
Whether deserved on not, US Presidents often receive the blame or the credit for the nature of the economy and direction of the country. Therefore, the status of the economy and the country in an election year can be a very important factor in election success for an incumbent President (or his party if an incumbent is not running). This is especially true in ‘battleground states' due to the presence of the Electoral College system where Presidential candidates need only win different combinations of states in order to become President. However, the 2020 Presidential election was vastly different from past election cycles in that an additional variable, COVID-19, was added to the decision calculus of voters. Eventually, the 2020 election came down to the extremely slim margins in three states (Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin) and thin margins in two others (Pennsylvania and Michigan). This paper shows that deaths from COVID-19 at the county level played a small role in demotivating voters to turnout in 2020 to cast their vote for Joe Biden as President. In other words, without Covid-19, President Trump's losses within these five states would have been even larger.
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PurposeThe goal of the paper is to examine the dynamics between innovation, market structure and trade performance. Firstly, the author first investigates the effects of innovation on trade performance. Secondly, the author then examines how market structure affect trade by classifying industries based on their innovation intensity.Design/methodology/approachThe author uses a detailed level data set of eight OECD countries in a panel of 17 industries from the STAN and ANBERD Database. The author employs both a pooled regression and a two-stage quantile regression analysis. The author first investigates the effects of innovation at the aggregate level, and then the author assesses the effects at the disaggregated or firm level.FindingsThe author finds that at the aggregate level, innovation and market size have a positive and significant effect on competitivity in most of the specifications. However, innovation is negatively associated with trade performance in the case of bilateral trade between Spain and the Netherlands. Also, the sectoral analysis provides evidence that the innovation-trade nexus depends on technological classification. The author shows that: (1) the effect of innovation activity on trade performance economic performance is lower for the high technology and high concentration (HTHC) market compared to the low technology (LT) market;(2) the impact of innovation on economic performance is ambiguous for firms in the high technology and low concentration (HTLC) market.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the database provides a rich data set on industrial data, it fails to provide innovation output such as patent data which may underestimate the innovation activities of firms that do not have a separate R&D records. In the current context of subdue economic growth these research results have important policy implications. Firstly, the positive impact of innovation on trade performance strengthens its role for sustainable development. The negative coefficient on innovation is an indication that research intensity in some cases has not been able to create a new demand capable to boost economic performance.Practical implicationsThe market classification analysis provides new evidence that innovation in the LT market has the potential to enhance competition. Secondly, market size supports industries that are competing in the international market. Policy makers must therefore put in place incentives to encourage firms to grow in size if they want to remain globally competitive.Social implicationsSustainable development can be supported through investment in research and development in the low technology sector.Originality/valueThe study is the first as far as the author knows, to examine the impact of innovation on bilateral trade performance using industry level data from OECD countries. Secondly, the author complements the existing literature by examining how innovation activities (classified as high technological intensive or low technological intensive) affect trade performance.
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Global macroeconomic conditions have recently become increasingly uncertain with the persistence of multiple shocks that make policymaking and investment decisions very challenging. The highly volatile external envi-ronment has spilled over to the African conti-nent, threatening to halt the gradual recovery from the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The dynamic and persistent nature of global shocks and their interac-tion with prevailing pockets of domestic and regional risks require regular diagnosis and targeted policy actions to address their impact on African economies.
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North Korea's 2022 was largely a continuation of the political/economic, military, and diplomatic dynamic from 2020–21, but with different accents. Given the path dependence of military/nuclear modernization, domestic political/economic structural constraints, and the geostrategic situation in East Asia, 2023 in North Korea is likely to continue these same trends. Two big questions loom. (1) How will North Korea open up from COVID border closures, which might make better economic performance possible? (2) How will North Korea manage inter-Korean relations, and is the Korean Peninsula headed for a situation in which the security dilemma of a long-term deterrence relationship between the US–South Korea alliance and North Korea spills over into kinetic conflict?
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The study found that the demand for technological transformation in Ukraine on the basis of Industry 4.0 is due to a number of factors associated with low economic and social performance of production models and the external sector that do not meet the conditions of the XXI century. Testing the results of Ukraine's international activities over the past five years according to the criteria of foreign economic security has indicated a permanent state of achieving critical levels of threats. The analysis showed that the investment resource of non-resident companies does not serve as a driver of technological innovation in Ukraine due to the low level of investment attractiveness of the country. The identification of changes that correspond to the principles of neo-industrial development has confirmed that they are not systemic in nature, but rather targeted. Modernization covers individual companies in different segments of the Ukrainian market, which belong to both traditional and new industries. Transformations related to Industry 4.0 in Ukraine are accompanied not only by economic problems, but also by the political dimension. The expected positive effects of modernization of production and its optimization on the other hand have a loss of workers in traditional industries of their jobs and income. This, in the conditions of weak financial capabilities of Ukraine as a state, leads to the deepening of the processes of precarization and impoverishment. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Vietnam in 2022 was beset with numerous dramatic political developments and diplomatic uncertainties but also recorded significant economic achievements. Changes in the top echelons of power took place in an unprecedented manner due to the intensifying anticorruption campaign, exposing the malleability of elite Vietnamese governing institutions and shrinking the space for civil society organizations. Meanwhile, Vietnam was recognized for its outstanding recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic with remarkable economic performance. The country's "bamboo diplomacy” was put under stress amid challenges caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the US–China strategic rivalry. Navigating the turbulence and uncertainty of domestic and international affairs while maintaining the momentum of economic recovery will be the main challenge for Vietnam in 2023.
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This research to be conducted in South Sulawesi by taking several schools as a sample of the teaching population from couples of private senior high schools and Madrasah Aliah school. The research objectives were to identify and explain the relationship among school economic performance, teacher quality, income and consumption expenditures that were affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The finding showed that the economic performance had a positive relationship with teacher quality, the two variables had also positive relationships with income level and household consumption for both senior high school and madrasah teachers during and before pandemic time. The relationship between the two variables for the general teacher diet is strong, while the madrasa teacher is very weak. But for non-food the opposite happens. During the Covid-19 period, there was also a positive relationship between the two variables, but there was a decrease in the level of strength of the relationship for the two consumption expenditure groups, both madrasah teachers and general teachers. Furthermore, it was shown that Covid-19 had decline the economic performance as well as the level of income and consumption expenditure of teachers © 2023, Pegem Egitim ve Ogretim Dergisi.All Rights Reserved.
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In order to improve the economic benefits of enterprises under continuing influence of COVID-19, the technological innovation effect of industrial chain under the ‘double cycle' pattern in the post epidemic era is studied in this paper. The fractional planning and integral planning functions of the industrial chain are obtained by constructing the CCR model, and the BCC model calculation of the innovation effect of the enterprise industrial chain is realised by the Chames-Cooper transformation. The data efficiency value of technological innovation effect of industrial chain under the ‘double cycle' pattern is obtained via the SBM network model for analysis on the technological innovation effect of industrial chain. The experimental results show that the effect of industrial chain technological innovation is analysed from the aspects of main business income and the profit margin of enterprises extending the industrial chain and connecting the industrial chain. The highest profit margin after connecting the industrial chain technological innovation is 34.2%, which proves that technological innovation can improve the economic benefits of enterprises. Copyright © 2023 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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The German economy is in difficult waters. Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, there has been no end to the challenges posed by interruptions in production and supply problems. Despite the need for crisis management, politicians have pledged not to lose sight of environmental sustainability. In addition, our community itself must take more responsibility for strengthening the resilience of supply, value and innovation chains. All of this will only succeed with a greater focus on economic performance;this requires a supply-side economic policy. Drawing insight from this crisis will allow for a successful transition management and a comprehensively transformed economy.
ABSTRACT
In order to improve the economic benefits of enterprises under continuing influence of COVID-19, the technological innovation effect of industrial chain under the 'double cycle' pattern in the post epidemic era is studied in this paper. The fractional planning and integral planning functions of the industrial chain are obtained by constructing the CCR model, and the BCC model calculation of the innovation effect of the enterprise industrial chain is realised by the Chames-Cooper transformation. The data efficiency value of technological innovation effect of industrial chain under the 'double cycle' pattern is obtained via the SBM network model for analysis on the technological innovation effect of industrial chain. The experimental results show that the effect of industrial chain technological innovation is analysed from the aspects of main business income and the profit margin of enterprises extending the industrial chain and connecting the industrial chain. The highest profit margin after connecting the industrial chain technological innovation is 34.2%, which proves that technological innovation can improve the economic benefits of enterprises.
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This study constructs a financial stability index for the Islamic financial system of Indonesia using the dynamic factor model and then links it to economic performance employing a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. The financial stability index constructed from a broad range of macrofinancial variables captures well the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and the 2020-2021 COVID 19 pandemic crisis periods. The most significant results suggest that positive and negative shocks in Islamic financial stability in the long run increase and decrease economic performance, respectively. The quantile regression results also demonstrate that Islamic financial stability is statistically significant throughout all quantiles in promoting economic performance, although it plays a greater role at lower quantiles and diminishes when the economic performance is at a high level. Our results highlight that the stability of the Islamic financial system deepening would positively enhance economic performance. © 2021 Asociación Española de Historia Económica.
ABSTRACT
Whether deserved on not, US Presidents often receive the blame or the credit for the nature of the economy and direction of the country. Therefore, the status of the economy and the country in an election year can be a very important factor in election success for an incumbent President (or his party if an incumbent is not running). This is especially true in 'battleground states' due to the presence of the Electoral College system where Presidential candidates need only win different combinations of states in order to become President. However, the 2020 Presidential election was vastly different from past election cycles in that an additional variable, COVID-19, was added to the decision calculus of voters. Eventually, the 2020 election came down to the extremely slim margins in three states (Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin) and thin margins in two others (Pennsylvania and Michigan). This paper shows that deaths from COVID-19 at the county level played a small role in demotivating voters to turnout in 2020 to cast their vote for Joe Biden as President. In other words, without Covid-19, President Trump's losses within these five states would have been even larger.
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Purpose>This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approach>This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.Findings>Investing in R&D and international exports leads to significant boosts in revenue and therefore competitive advantage.Originality/value>The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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The influence of oil price volatility on significant international macroeconomic indicators is examined empirically. The vector auto-regression (VAR) system is used to examine the influence of oil price volatility. According to the Granger causality test, impulse response functions, and variance decomposition, economic recovery and investment have been significantly affected by oil price volatility from 2000Q1 to 2020Q4. According to this research, business investment and oil prices have shown great power throughout the international economic meltdown. Volatility in economic activity and oil prices are expected during this crisis, according to the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, in the international financial crisis and COVID-19 crises, oil prices and economic growth are strongly linked. We propose that the COVID-19 epidemic and the global financial problems have major effects on economic activity when oil prices fall. The COVID-19 epidemic had the greatest total connectedness between oil prices and economic activities, which suggests that the speed of information propagation between the oil market and financial initiatives was greater during the COVID-19 outbreak than during past global financial crises. There are important consequences for policymakers based on the findings of this research.
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Many south-east European states made the transition from socialist to market economies. All described here had to reform their pension systems to match the new context in which these operated. The experiences of 10 countries are reviewed – seven of which were once part of Yugoslavia. Some countries’ reforms were more radical than others. Five of them merely adapted the Bismarckian systems they had inherited;four others adopted the “three pillar” model that the World Bank had been propagating. One went further than that. The four who followed World Bank model were often forced to backtrack. Whatever the longer-term benefits, they generated their own shorter-term fiscal problems. Nonetheless, the most radical reformer gives some indications of possible ways forward. The south-eastern European states do not have financial markets that can support capitalised/funded pension systems. Nor do they have the resources to pay proportional pensions that, at the same time, keep retired people out of poverty. The article suggests that their governments should concentrate upon improving economic performance to satisfy longer term aspirations and on ensuring that pensioners are able to live properly if not luxuriously by using tax-financed transfer measures. Provision above this level can be secured through savings plans, but it must be accepted that the investments to secure those savings will have to be made abroad.
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Customer relationship management (CRM) plays an important role in ensuring the success of companies. Attracting and retaining valuable, satisfied, and loyal customers are important goals of CRM. The aim of the paper is to highlight the crucial role of the relationship between companies and their satisfied customers in achieving long-term performance. Using mathematical, relational, and accounting models, companies could answer the question posed by the research: "How do we reduce the costs of unsatisfied customers and how do we improve the relationship with customers?". The research results show that by implementing these models, only 2 out of 10 restaurants have positive Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), the costs related to unsatisfied customers being high for all other restaurants. The research results show the number of dissatisfied customers and a plan to turn them into satisfied customers and achieve superior performance. By knowing these issues in advance, companies can improve these relationships, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty and thus improving their economic performance.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to economic and health crises ("twin crises") worldwide. Using a sample of firms from 73 countries over the period January to December 2020, we examine stock price reactions of multinational corporations (MNCs) and purely domestic companies (DCs) to the crisis. We find that, on average, MNCs suffer a significantly larger decline in firm value relative to DCs during the stock market crisis caused by the pandemic with notable heterogeneity in this underperformance across both industry and region. The evidence of MNC underperformance is robust to using abnormal returns, an alternative crisis window, a matched sample that accounts for differences in characteristics between MNCs and DCs, alternative model specifications, and alternative proxies for multinationality. Further analysis on the effect of government responses on the valuation gap suggests that stringent government responses exacerbate MNCs' underperformance. Finally, we show that a stronger financial system mitigates negative crisis returns, especially under stringent government responses, while real factors, such as the firm's supply chain, investments in human capital, research and development, exacerbate negative crisis returns. Our findings have important implications for managers of MNCs and government policymakers alike and contribute to studies on the international diversification-performance relation by demonstrating a dark side of globalization during a tail-risk event.
La pandémie de COVID-19 a entraîné la double crise économique et sanitaire (Twin crises) dans le monde entier. À l'aide d'un échantillon d'entreprises de 73 pays sur la période de janvier à décembre 2020, nous examinons les réactions des cours boursiers des entreprises multinationales (Multinational Corporations - MNCs) et domestiques (Domestic Companies - DCs) à la crise. Nous constatons qu'en moyenne, les MNCs subissent une baisse de la valeur de l'entreprise beaucoup plus importante que les DCs pendant la crise boursière provoquée par la pandémie, et que cette sous-performance des MNCs se caractérise par une hétérogénéité notable à travers les secteurs et les régions. Cette sous-performance des MNCs est également confirmée par nos tests de robustesse utilisant les rendements anormaux, une fenêtre de crise alternative, un échantillon apparié tenant compte des différences en matière de caractéristiques entre les MNCs et les DCs, des spécifications de modèle alternatives, ainsi que diverses mesures de l'internationalisation. Une analyse plus poussée de l'impact des mesures gouvernementales sur l'écart de valorisation suggère que les mesures gouvernementales strictes aggravent la sous-performance des MNCs. Enfin, nous démontrons qu'un système financier plus solide atténue les retours négatifs de la crise, en particulier en cas de réponses gouvernementales strictes, tandis que les facteurs réels, tels que la chaîne d'approvisionnement de l'entreprise, les investissements dans le capital humain, la recherche et le développement, les intensifient. Nos résultats apportent des implications importantes aux managers des MNCs et aux responsables politiques gouvernementaux, et contribuent aux recherches portées sur la relation diversification internationale-performance en démontrant le côté sombre de la globalisation durant un événement à risque extrême.
La pandemia del COVID-19 ha llevado a crisis económicas y sanitarias ("crisis gemelas") en todo el mundo. Utilizando una muestra de empresas de 73 países durante el período comprendido entre enero y diciembre de 2020, examinamos las reacciones del precio de las acciones de las empresas multinacionales (EMN) y de las empresas puramente nacionales (ED) ante la crisis. Encontramos que, en promedio, las empresas multinacionales sufren un descenso del valor de la empresa significativamente mayor que las empresas puramente nacionales durante la crisis bursátil causada por la pandemia, con una notable heterogeneidad en este bajo desempeño tanto por industria como por región. La evidencia del bajo desempeño de las empresas multinacionales es robusta cuando se utilizan rendimientos anormales, una ventana de crisis alternativa, una muestra emparejada que da cuenta de las diferencias en las características entre las empresas multinacionales y las empresas puramente nacionales, especificaciones de modelos alternativos y proxies para multinacionalidad. Análisis adicionales sobre el efecto de las respuestas gubernamentales en la brecha de valoración sugieren que las respuestas gubernamentales estrictas exacerban el bajo rendimiento de las empresas multinacionales. Por último, mostramos que un sistema financiero más fuerte mitiga los rendimientos negativos de la crisis, especialmente bajo respuestas gubernamentales estrictas, mientras que los factores reales, como la cadena de suministro de la empresa, las inversiones en capital humano, la investigación y el desarrollo, exacerban los rendimientos negativos de la crisis. Nuestros hallazgos tienen importantes implicaciones tanto para los directivos de las empresas multinacionales como para los formuladores de las políticas gubernamentales y contribuyen a los estudios sobre la relación entre diversificación internacional y rendimiento al demostrar un lado oscuro de la globalización durante un evento de riesgo de cola.
A pandemia do COVID-19 gerou crises econômicas e de saúde ("crises gêmeas") em todo o mundo. Usando uma amostra de empresas de 73 países no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2020, examinamos reações dos preços de ações de corporações multinacionais (MNCs) e empresas puramente domésticas (DCs) à crise. Descobrimos que, em média, MNCs sofrem um declínio significativamente maior no valor da empresa em relação a DCs durante a crise do mercado de ações causada pela pandemia, com notável heterogeneidade nesse desempenho inferior tanto no setor quanto na região. A evidência do baixo desempenho de MNCs é robusta ao uso de retornos anormais, uma janela de crise alternativa, uma amostra pareada que leva em consideração diferenças nas características entre MNCs e DCs, especificações alternativas de modelos e proxies para multinacionalidade. Análises adicionais sobre o efeito das respostas do governo na diferença de valoração sugerem que respostas rigorosas do governo agravam o desempenho inferior de MNCs. Finalmente, mostramos que um sistema financeiro mais forte reduz retornos negativos de crise, especialmente sob respostas governamentais rigorosas, enquanto fatores reais, como a cadeia de suprimentos da empresa, investimentos em capital humano, pesquisa e desenvolvimento, agravam retornos negativos de crise. Nossas descobertas têm implicações importantes tanto para gerentes de MNCs quanto formuladores de políticas governamentais e contribuem para estudos sobre a relação entre diversificação internacional -desempenho, demonstrando um lado sombrio da globalização durante um evento de pequena probabilidade de risco.