This article presents a novel Work-From-Home (WFH) index constructed from Danish Labour Force Survey (LFS) data to evaluate the prevalence of remote work across job types during pandemic-related restrictions. Unlike existing indices, such as the Home-Office Index (HOI), which estimates the theoretical potential of occupations’ remote work, and the Lockdown Index (LDI), which assesses the feasibility of working without physical proximity, the WFH index is grounded in actual reported behaviour. By focusing on observed work patterns rather than hypothetical task assessments, the WFH index reduces uncertainty and reveals greater variation across occupations and sectors. The results show that the WFH index has a more uniform distribution than HOI, and it is complementary to LDI. When applying the indices to Danish administrative data, regression analyses reveal differences in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics when accounting for residential location and economic sector. The index uses ISCO and NACE sector classifications, ensuring global applicability.

ABSTRACT This study aims to analyse the effect of illicit financial flows on public investment in Africa. It also examines the indirect effect of illicit financial flows through their effect on terrorist activities. The empirical strategy relies on fixed effects regressions as well as on three-stage least squares (3SLS) regressions using panel data from 38 African countries from 2002 to 2019. The estimation results show that illicit financial flows have a significant and negative effect on public investment, whereas illicit financial flows, especially illicit financial inflows, have a positive and significant effect on terrorism activity. However, we find no evidence that terrorist activity has a significant effect on public investment. These findings are qualitatively robust with respect to alternative estimation strategies. The main policy implication of these findings is that, to increase public investment and reduce terrorist financing, African governments should pool and intensify their efforts to combat illicit financial flows.

This study explores the impact of competition on innovation in Vietnam, using a probit model with a binary dependent variable to measure product innovation outcomes. The competition variable is calculated using the adjusted Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. The study uses data from the 2021 enterprise survey, which includes 200,059 manufacturing firms. The model estimation results and the calculation of the marginal effect of competition provide several key findings: first, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between competition and innovation; second, an optimal competition threshold is identified, where the marginal effect of competition on innovation is maximized. However, the competition level in the sample exceeds this optimal level, leading to a diminishing marginal effect of competition on innovation; third, a competition threshold is identified, beyond which competition no longer stimulates innovation. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and business leaders to develop effective competition regulation strategies, fostering an environment that supports innovation.

ABSTRACT This study examines the causal relationship between debt and economic growth in E7 economies from 1986 to 2024, employing a novel homogeneous panel approach to test for Granger non-causality within a heterogeneous framework. The robustness of inferences was ensured by using estimated outcomes from the dynamic common correlated effects (DCCE) and the Driscoll–Kraay (D–K) methods. The Granger non-causality method is well-suited for data characterized by strong persistence, a moderate period, and heterogeneous nuisance parameters. The results show a unidirectional causal relationship between debt and economic growth in the E7 economies. This indicates that debt accumulation precedes and constrains subsequent economic performance rather than the reverse. Policy efforts should emphasize pursuing concessional financing, restructuring unsustainable debt when necessary, and enhancing domestic revenue mobilization to reduce reliance on external borrowing.

This study examines how the effectiveness of capital control regulations and political performance shape the likelihood of currency crises in high- and middle-income economies. Using panel data for 48 countries from 1996 to 2023 and estimating probit, logit, and IV-probit models, the analysis identifies a strong interaction among currency crisis, political performance and capital regulation. In middle-income countries, stronger political stability enhances the effectiveness of capital controls, reducing vulnerability to currency crises by moderating capital outflows. Politically stable governments tend to attract more capital inflows, while politically fragile governments face lower crisis risk when capital movements are tightly restricted. In high-income economies, capital openness combined with political stability is associated with fewer currency crisis. Conversely, middle-income economies benefit more from capital controls, particularly under political fragility. However, greater transparency in politically unstable middle-income countries increases crisis risk. These findings suggest that policymakers should carefully adjust capital controls during periods of political instability and heightened capital openness.

ABSTRACT In countries with parallel education systems, educational stream choices can influence labour market outcomes and perpetuate inequality. This paper examines how attending religious (madrasah) versus general education institutions affects labour market performance in Bangladesh. Using nationally representative microdata from the 2022 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, we estimate differences in employment and hourly earnings using logit, OLS, and propensity score matching models. Uniquely, we distinguish between Alia and Kowmi madrasahs—the two main religious streams. Results reveal a persistent employment gap: madrasah-educated individuals are significantly less likely to be employed than general-educated peers, especially at the primary and tertiary levels. Conditional on employment, Alia graduates face no systematic earnings penalties, whereas Kowmi graduates earn substantially less. The findings highlight enduring educational stratification in Bangladesh and underscore the need for inclusive reforms linking religious and general education to labour market opportunities.

This study uses survey data for 1,366 rice farmers in the Jianghan Plain to examine the impact of Internet use on farmers' chemical fertilizer application. Key findings are as follows: First, Internet use significantly reduces the intensity of fertilizer application, and the result remains robust after various checks. On average, the Internet-using farmers reduce their chemical fertilizer use by 12.34%. Second, Internet use helps reduce chemical fertilizer application by promoting mechanization and enhancing productivity. Third, for younger farmers with higher education and larger-scale operations, the reduction effect of Internet use is more profound. Finally, this paper recommends that the government prioritize rural Internet infrastructure and tailored policies, considering farmers' diverse human capital and scale, to reduce chemical fertilizer use.

Economic growth does not necessarily improve the welfare of all workers. In Colombia, for instance, total hours worked, and labor income increased much faster for salaried workers than for non-salaried workers following the recovery from the pandemic-induced recession of 2020. An estimated Vector Error Correction model suggests that economic growth increases the total hours worked by salaried workers and the labor income of non-salaried workers in the short term. In the long term, however, estimates indicate a strong, inelastic relationship between economic growth and the total hours worked and labor income of salaried and non-salaried workers, with the former experiencing much larger increases. In other words, economic growth seems to benefit salaried workers much more than non-salaried workers.

Despite adjustments in work-life balance and the distribution of household tasks, the gender gap in physical activity remains persistent. Physical activity plans should target the gap’s root causes. We aim to identify key factors by decomposing differences into observable characteristics and other sources of disparity. Using data from 9,695 individuals from the 2021−2022 Survey on Cultural Habits and Practices in Spain, we examine income, education, employment, marriage, childcare, family responsibilities, and leisure choices. We estimate a two-part logit model to analyze the determinants of participation and frequency, and apply the Oaxaca-Blinder method to decompose gender differences. The results show a gender gap in participation of approximately nine percentage points. Differences in childcare, employment, and age impact physical activity differently, but 92% of the disparity remains unexplained by observable characteristics. Both general policies promoting sports practice and specific policies designed to alleviate childcare and household responsibilities can help bridge the gap.

ABSTRACT This research investigates the dynamics of connectedness among cryptocurrency and various risk factors, including oil price demand and supply shocks, EPU, GPR, and the ADS business conditions index using the quantile time-frequency connectedness approach. The findings reveal that cryptocurrency behaves as a net receiver of shocks in the short term but transitions to a net transmitter over the long term. Critical sources of both short- and long-term shocks are attributed to oil price demand, supply fluctuations, and GPR. However, during extreme events like the COVID−19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, cryptocurrency, oil shocks, and other indices alternately become net transmitters and receivers of shocks depending on time frames and quantile ranges. During periods of heightened market uncertainty, monitoring the interconnected behavior of these variables is critical for investors and policymakers aiming to predict market shifts and manage risks effectively.