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Businesses have been exposed to various challenges during the global pandemic. Unfortunately, the financially vulnerable groups in society are disproportionately affected by such a difficult time. Therefore, it is important for businesses to recognise this when creating new business models for sustainable corporate management. This paper attempts to (1) identify the factors that affect individual financial vulnerability, (2) develop survey items to assess financial vulnerability and its factors and (3) provide the characteristics of financially vulnerable groups by presenting a complete set of descriptive statistics. The results can help to create more inclusive business models that are better equipped to address the challenges ahead. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted with collaboration with an NGO that provides a financial counselling service in Hong Kong. In total, 338 valid responses were collected and the data were used to characterise financially vulnerable groups in terms of (1) change in financial conditions due to COVID-19;(2) exposure to digitised financial services and related push marketing;(3) financial management ability;(4) changes in four financial behaviours and (5) financial vulnerability as measured according to the debt/service ratio. Results show that the respondents have a median debt/service ratio of 0.513, which represents an unsustainable level of debt. Around 1/4 of surveyed respondents reported that their debt/service ratio was 1 or even higher, indicating obvious difficulties in meeting financial obligations. A total of 36.7% of the respondents reported worsening financial conditions since the outbreak of COVID-19. The results presented provide a solid empirical set of data that will help future research work to examine and/or develop a heuristic financial vulnerability model that incorporates the key factors leading to it. Businesses can refer to them when creating new business models that are sustainable, able to meet corporate social responsibility goals and can achieve several targets/goals of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
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Under the current complex economic situation and the impact of COVID-19, China's capital market reform has entered a critical period, with opportunities and challenges coexisting. One of the important challenges is how to improve the well-being of investors in capital markets. Financial education, which has been offered by financial institutions in many countries in recent years, is likely to become an effective policy instrument to meet this challenge. Using survey data of individual investors from China, this study examines the potential impact of financial education programs offered by financial institutions on individuals' investment diversification. The results show financial education is positively associated with the investment diversification of individual investors. An analysis of the underlying mechanism shows that financial education contributes to the improvement of investment diversification by mitigating limited attention bias, strengthening social trust, and promoting the use of professional investment advisors. These findings suggest that the persistent promotion of financial education programs has a positive effect on optimizing financial asset allocation decisions and improving financial welfare of Chinese households. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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Inclusive digital financial services should welcome older populations and make them beneficiaries of the digital and financial revolution. To understand older adults' experience of using digital financial tools, we conducted an online survey of 268 older internet users aged 60 or above from urban areas of 14 Chinese provinces after China's nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. Our results revealed that older internet surfers were active in digital financial activities and engaged most with activities that were highly compatible with their lifestyles. Active users significantly differed from inactive users in sociodemographics, confirming that a digital divide related to social stratification exists among older internet users. Digital finance active users were also distinguished from inactive users' attitudes and perceptions toward digital finance. Logistic regression results indicated that perceived usefulness, access to proper devices for digital finance, risk perceptions, and perceived exclusion if not using technology were associated with their adoption of these advanced tools. Older adults reported the perceived inconvenience of in-person financial services during the lockdown. They also expressed a willingness to participate in relevant training if provided. The findings of this study could help aging-related practitioners to understand older adults' engagement in digital finance and guide policy and project design in the area of financial inclusion of the aging population.
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The article considers the approaches to assessing the financial security of enterprises presented in the literature, determines the rsistance of the textile industry of Uzbekistan to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the basis of statistical data, and reveals a significant differentiation of textile industry enterprises in terms of financial stability. Based on data on small enterprises in the textile industry of Uzbekistan, a method for assessing the financial security of an enterprise in the post-pandemic period is proposed and tested, taking into account the complex influence of non-financial parameters of economic security and assessing the deviations of the economic situation at a given enterprise from the patterns emerging in the relevant segment of the economy. In this research an econometric model was developed to determine the factors affecting the chemical industry and express their interrelationship, based on the conducted econometric analysis, the directions of development in our country were determined. According to the authors, it is necessary to continue these directions in order to ensure the economic security of industry enterprises in the country. © 2022 ACM.
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Background: This study aims to evaluate the mental health status of children, adolescents and their parents during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. Method(s): Analysis compared results before and during the second national lockdown, which started on November 2nd 2020. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between May 2020 and April 2021. Result(s): Two hundred and eighteen adults and 273 children fully completed the survey. Almost one in five children (17.9%) presented moderate-to-severe scores of depression. Adolescents presented a higher level of depression than children (p = 0.007). The rate of moderate-to-severe depression scores (10.8% to 21%, p = 0.007) and internalized symptoms increased during the second lockdown (p < 0.001). Parents' depression (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p = 0.027) levels also increased during the second lockdown. Logistic regression showed that the use of psychotropic medication in parents and parents' depression scores were risk factors for children to have worse depression scores. Conclusion(s): The second lockdown appears to worsen the effects of the pandemic on children's and parents' mental health. There is a need to implement specific interventions targeting both children/adolescents and their parents to support them during lockdown periods and improve mental health outcomes.Copyright © 2022, The Author(s).
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This study analyzed the impact of COVID-19 outbreak and targeted required reserve ratio cut policy on stock returns of Chinese listed companies. This paper uses the data of 3,449 A-share listed companies from February 3, 2020 to December 31, 2020 for research, the empirical results showed that stock prices of private enterprises with stronger debt-paying ability and looser financing constraints, and state-owned enterprises with less supply chain credit risks performed better, in the central and western regions, enterprises with stronger solvency and looser financing constraints have better stock price performance during the early stages of pandemic. After the implementation of the targeted RRR cut policy, the stock prices of enterprises with poor solvency, private enterprises, and enterprises in central and western regions with strong financing constraints, state-owned enterprises, and enterprises in eastern region with high credit risks all showed significant reversals, and the stock prices reflected the effect of the targeted RRR cut policy in the short and medium term. Over time, the pandemic has been controlled, and the resumption of work and production has freed most enterprises from financial difficulties. However, due to sporadic outbreaks, large private enterprises and eastern enterprises with strong risk resistance and loose financing constraints enjoy better stock price performance. This study is helpful for enterprises to understand the value of financial flexibility and solvency and provides a reference for enterprises to make financial decisions: how to balance the benefits and costs of solvency. © Tian Wang, Fang Fang and Linhao Zheng, 2023.
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In this paper we analyse why an understanding of the global ‘non-system', in which we now live, took so long to arrive after the Bretton Woods system collapsed in 1971. We first describe how knowledge of how an inflation-targeting regime would operate—what we call ‘Taylor-rule macroeconomics'—was only gradually created during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. We then describe how, subsequent to this, an awareness emerged, also gradually, of how the international non-system might work, depending, as it does, on Taylor-rule macroeconomics being already in place. We then discuss the Great Moderation, making clear that a well-functioning global non-system would require not just inflation targeting and floating exchange rates in each country, but also adequate fiscal discipline, and a satisfactory form of financial regulation. We describe how a well-functioning version of this global non-system would actually fit together. We then discuss how this non-system has responded to two enormous challenges of the last 15 years, namely the Global Financial Crisis and the Covid pandemic. This discussion of what has happened in the recent past provides the background to a discussion, in the companion paper by Subacchi and Vines in this issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, of the challenges that the global non-system will face in the future. © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press.
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This paper examines whether the ESG reporting transparency of listed firms in the UK can play a role in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate 350 UK firms in the FTSE350 index from 2016 to 2021 with daily data on stock performance and annual data on financial performance. The empirical results show that firms with a high ESG disclosure score have a lower volatility of stock performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. For these firms, the negative relationship between stock performance, as well as financial performance, and their main driving factors, is lower during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these factors, we identify the lockdown announcement, quantitative easing announcement, and the intensity of news media coverage of the company. These results tend to indicate that the quantity of ESG data reported by firms can contribute to mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stock performance volatility and financial performance. © 2023 Journal of Innovation Economics and Management. All rights reserved.
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In transport infrastructure concessions, the sources of revenue to the private partner (or concessionaire) may include (i) the infrastructure users (e.g., landing fees, in the case of airports), (ii) the government (e.g. through availability payments), and (iii) both users and government, which might be called a hybrid concession. An example of the latter is a highway concession where the concessionaire charges tolls to the road users but, because of relatively low revenues, the government agency complements the toll revenue with availability payments. Focusing on airports, this paper summarizes the cases where it may be justified for the government to complement users' revenues and describes a model developed for the financial assessment of airport concessions involving payments by both the government and airport users, through the collection of several charges. The methodology described in the paper is also used to review the flexibility in new or ongoing airport concessions to mitigate traffic risks, which have been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodology can also be applied to other forms of transport infrastructure. A practical application of the model is demonstrated in the paper, using publicly available information, as well as basic assumptions, to build case studies for the Larnaca and Paphos airports in Cyprus. The model can also be used to carry out sensitivity analyses of the impact of key input parameters on outputs such as the investor's return on equity and annual debt service cover ratio. © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.
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In this paper has been proposed a methodology for ensuring the financial security of enterprises in the context of recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on pre-crisis data related to the new coronavirus infection pandemic and multi-component modeling of the dynamics of industrial production in the Republic of Uzbekistan during the "corona crisis,"this study seeks to identify the dynamics of growth by economic activity type and recovery rate in order to identify areas of state support for industrial production. In this paper has been investigated issues of financial security management of textile enterprises. On the basis of secondary statistics, the growth of textile production in the regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2008-2020 was analyzed and the factors influencing it were identified. By the author have been presented the main tasks and conditions for the financial security of enterprises, as well as developed scientific and practical recommendations for eliminating factors affecting the financial security of textile enterprises. © 2022 Owner/Author.
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PurposeThis study models the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of the private health-care sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. This paper aims to address the economic, societal and sustainability of the health-care sector.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from Bloomberg and the sample consists of 534 firm-year observations from 55 firms listed over 2010–2020. The authors apply panel data and control for the country and governance effects.FindingsThe authors found heterogeneous results regarding the three sub-sectors. The pandemic has a negative effect on the accounting and market performances of the "Pharmaceutical companies” and an insignificant impact on "Healthcare Management and Facilities Services.” Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 on health-care firms' performance depends on the country's economic classification and the degree of regulatory and governance frameworks.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies may consider a larger sample and other regions. It is recommended to address the health-care sector's challenges to invest in new technologies such as "digital twin” and predictive and personalized medicine. It is worth testing model development theory and its effects on speeding up and designing models to ensure the proper functioning and developing mathematics to determine uncertainties in patient data and model predictions.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is novel as it is unique in modeling the impact of COVID-19 on the health-care public companies in the MENA region. The findings pinpoint firms' and countries' heterogeneous impacts on financial and market performances.
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The recent Covid-19 pandemic has created many challenges and barriers in healthcare, which includes the treatment and management of patients with type 2 diabetes (Robson & Hosseinzadeh, 2021). The purpose of this Evidence-Based Project (EBP) project is to evaluate the effectiveness of type 2 diabetes management through telehealth and answers the following PICOT question: In patients with diabetes type 2 who have difficulties with medical visit compliance (P), will the telehealth platform (I), compared to patient's previous visit HbA1c (C) improve the Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) diagnostic marker (O) over a 12-week period(T)? An extensive literature search of five databases was performed, citation chasing, and a hand search yielded fourteen pieces of evidence ranging from level I to VI (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). The pieces of evidence selected for this project support the evidence that telehealth implementation is as effective as the "usual care" or in-person visits to treat type 2 diabetes. The John Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) model was selected. Patients with a HbA1c of greater than 6.7% have been asked to schedule two six-week telehealth visits. During the live video visit, a review of medications, and diabetes self-management education (DSME) will be conducted. Participants will be provided with education to promote lifestyle modifications. The visits will be conducted through an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system that is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. A paired t-Test will be used with the data collected from the pre-and post-HbA1c. Improve the management of type 2 diabetes with the incorporation of telemedicine in primary care. Research supports the need to further expand the use of telehealth in primary care, to improve patient outcomes and decrease co-morbidities related to type 2 diabetes.
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Background and Objectives: The decline in GDP caused by the global economic recession of 2008 and that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the poor economy of countries around the globe with increased rates of unemployment and adverse job conditions. This systematic review aims to identify the impact of a Financial crisis on Psychological well-being, Life satisfaction, Health Satisfaction, and Financial Incapability. Methodology: The literature included in the review was searched from Feb 1, 2023, to March 26, 2023, by using the PUBMED database as the search engine. Studies discussing the impact of the financial or economic crisis on psychological well-being, Health, Life satisfaction, and Financial Incapabilities published in the English Language were included in this review whereas systematic reviews and metanalysis, case reports, articles published in languages other than English and articles with limited access were excluded. Result(s): Of the 26 articles found eligible for the study, there were 22 Quantitative studies, 2 qualitative studies, and 2 Mixed Method Studies. Most of the articles included in this study discussed the Global Economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Almost 80% of the studies included in this review discussed psychological well-being and the prevalence of psychological disorders including Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Fear, Loneliness, Burnout, and Suicide whereas the rest of the articles discussed mortality regarding mental disorders. Conclusion(s): Financial crisis or economic recession results in an increased prevalence of common mental disorders affecting psychological well-being by increasing rates of unemployment and adverse job conditions. Policymakers with competitive financial behavior and knowledge are essential elements for psychological well-being and life satisfaction.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
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Nowadays, manufacturing companies face more difficulties than ever. Unrest in global supply chains triggered by fluctuating customer demand, raw material shortages and crises (Covid pandemic, global warming, wars) complicate the utilization of production resources necessary for economic success. Also, the rapidly changing environment causes existing production plans to be adapted, which results in order changes, causing additional costs for manufacturers. One solution to cope with these problems is cooperation and sharing resources: requesting capacity from partners when having shortages and offering them temporarily in case of excess capacity. In this paper, a platform-based resource sharing mechanism is investigated from the economic perspective. In the mechanism, requests and offers are matched by a central platform applying a complex matching logic. The platform provides valid alternatives based on the incoming ordersthat the requesting company can choose from. Companies are rating each other's performance after each interaction based on delivery accuracy;choosing between resource offers is made based on the cumulated rating about the offeror and the price of the offer. Within this paper, the aim is to investigate the resource sharing mechanism from the economic point of view based on an approach to the responsiveness of a supply chain structure to turbulence, to support decision-makers trying to cope with unexpected changes. For this purpose, here the mechanism is briefly introduced, and basic concepts about turbulences in supply chains are also presented. Cost types related to resource sharing manufacturing companies are distinguished, and the model is validated with agent-based simulation. A simulation experiment is performed to investigate the use-case of outsourced jobs having different price levels. Based on the experiment, it can be concluded that there is a price level limit in such a resource sharing federation, under which it is worth it to collaborate with partners by outsourcing certain jobs to them. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.
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Comparative empirical evidence for 22 OECD countries shows that country differences in cumulative mortality impacts of SARS-CoV-2 are caused by weaknesses in public health competences, pre-existing variances in structural socio-economic and public health vulnerabilities, and the presence of fiscal constraints. Remarkably, the (fiscally non-constrained) U.S. and the U.K. stand out, as they experience mortality outcomes similar to those of fiscally-constrained countries. High COVID19 mortality in the U.S. and the U.K. is due to pre-existing socio-economic and public health vulnerabilities, created by the following macroeconomic policy errors: (a) a deadly emphasis on fiscal austerity (which diminished public health capacities, damaged public health and deepened inequalities);(b) an obsessive belief in a trade-off between ‘efficiency' and ‘equity', which is mostly used to justify extreme inequality;(c) a complicit endorsement by mainstream macro of the unchecked power over monetary and fiscal policy-making of global finance and the rentier class;and (d) an unhealthy aversion to raising taxes, which deceives the public about the necessity to raise taxes to counter the excessive liquidity preference of the rentiers and to realign the interests of finance and of the real economy. The paper concludes by outlining a few lessons for a saner macroeconomics.
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Investors' trading activities are influenced by their financial attitudes. Even though existing research has recognized and investigated their relationship, behavioral assessments and financial attitude still poses questions. Furthermore, there is a lack of evidence about the trading activity of retail investors in the instance of a health crisis, like COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of study is to fill in the gaps in the existing literature by studying the relative impact of five dimensions of financial attitude on trading activity of retail investors' during the pandemic. We have used five dimensions to measure financial attitude such as financial anxiety, optimism of investors, financial security, self-control, and the need for precautionary savings. We collected 512 responses from retail investors with the help of a structured questionnaire. We analyzed financial attitude and trading activity using SEM to establish the structural relationship. The observed findings disclosed that self-control is the dominant variable followed by financial security, need for precautionary savings, financial anxiety, and optimism. © 2022, School of Management Sciences. All rights reserved.
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The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. The COVID-19 pandemic notably exacerbated these issues and underscored the urgent need to identify and implement ways to ameliorate the youth mental health crisis. In 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called on the field of higher education to address growing concerns about student mental health by identifying and elevating emerging and promising approaches that offer a more holistic way to support students' mental health. Serving as the main entry point for more than 40 percent of students seeking a postsecondary degree, community colleges represent a tremendous and untapped opportunity to better address mental health in the United States, particularly for students who have been traditionally underserved (e.g., students of color, first-generation students, and low-income students). However, community colleges have limited evidence and guidance to inform the implementation of multilevel, holistic approaches to support students with varying mental health needs. To address this knowledge gap, this report shares a descriptive study of eight community colleges at the forefront of implementing multilevel approaches (a combination of prevention, early intervention, and treatment services) to support student mental health, as well as key facilitators for and barriers to their success. [For "How Community Colleges Can Support Student Mental Health Needs. Research Brief. RB-A2552-1," see ED627489.]
ABSTRACT
The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. Without adequate mental health support, college students, including those at community colleges, may be at risk for a variety of academic and nonacademic consequences that negatively affect their overall well-being, including lower college completion rates, higher rates of substance use, and lower lifetime earning potential. This research brief describes a study examining eight community colleges from across the United States which found that, although the institutions did offer mental health services, most lacked a clear organizing framework for those efforts, and that financial challenges limited the support offered to students. The research also highlighted the importance of community college leaders explicitly prioritizing student mental health, as well as broad staff buy-in to the effort. [For the full report, "Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Community College Students. Research Report. RR-A2552-1," see ED627480.]