Behavior Of Economic Agents Research Articles

Economic Agents’ Behaviors During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Theoretical Overview and Prospective Approach

In economics, several theories have focused on the study of decisions made by economic agents. Recent branches in economics have even revealed some controversies with the theoretical findings of the basic neoclassical model. Indeed, the growing uncertainty characterizing certain contemporary risks leads to various biases in the economic agents’ behaviors. The relevance of decisions under uncertainty calls into question the assumption of absolute rationality of the neoclassical economics. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing an unprecedented human crisis. This paper aims to provide a theoretical examination of the behaviors of economic agents faced with uncertainty and catastrophic situations. In its first contribution, this study provides a theoretical overview of behaviors under uncertainty. In its second contribution, the paper highlights the need for a prospective approach in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Hence, we delve into the theoretical foundations of a prospective approach to health. All around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic approved the need for rethinking the preparation of “public health” systems to deal with pandemics. A good response to the present and a better preparation for the future require a revision of behaviors in terms of international cooperation and monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals.

Considerations Upon the Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Romanian Economic Environment

Abstract The modern economy has faced, over time, several economic crises. They have determined changes in the behaviour of economic agents and a natural evolution towards the current entrepreneurial environment, taking into account the structural, quantitative, and qualitative dynamics of economic activity, general economic development goals, and technological progress. Starting with the first half of year 2020, most of the world was marked by a completely different situation - the health crisis generated by the SARS Cov-2 virus, with powerful and immediate negative effects at the level of both developing economies and stronger countries. The measures imposed by the Romanian government for crisis management during the state of emergency and alert generated the restriction or even suspension of the activity of diverse economic sectors. Limiting the freedom of movement of the population has led to habits change and reorientation of the consumers towards online markets. The markets had a chain reaction that generated a decrease in production capacity within the manufacturing industry, automotive industry and related, interconnected activities. The main objective of the paper is to analyse how the pandemics affected different Romanian sectors and to identify appropriate tools for market correction and orientation, based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis with the use of preliminary data available on the National Institute of Statistics and Trade Register database. The analysis reveals the pandemic’s effect on national accounts, GDP components, and the short-term impact on companies.

Systemic risk and the financial network system: an experimental investigation

This paper investigates the economic agent behavior when managing a bank in order to avoid a failure when exposed with the financial systemic risk using a lab experiment. We use Chen et al.’s (Oper Res 64:1089–1108, 2016) model to construct the decision problem in the experiment. The model assumes that the systemic risk occurs through two channels: the liquidity channel and the network channel. The former occurs from the external investment shock which is endogenous in the balance sheet. The latter is a function of other banks’ clearing repayment; which is also caused by the external investment shock. Given these, there are two intuitive optimal strategies in order to avoid a failure: imposing a higher external investment interest than that of its risk and avoiding the financial interactions with the high-risky banks. We use students and bankers as our subjects to check the validity of Chen et al.’s optimal strategy given their respective background. Our results show that both students and bankers partially follow Chen et al.’s intuitive optimal strategy: the first strategy. Only the student group is found to follow the second optimal intuitive strategy of Chen et al. In addition, both subject groups have a different behavior in order to avoid the failure.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40822-022-00207-7.

Strategical development of agri-food corporations in the competitive economic space of Ukraine

This paper reports a study into the historical and economic preconditions for the strategical development of agri-food corporations in the competitive economic space of Ukraine. Agri-food corporations are determined by us as corporations with a developed system of integration relations that are a non-agricultural enterprise, which produces agricultural products. It has been substantiated that their emergence is not a natural phenomenon but a systematic process of changing the phases of differentiation and integration in the national economy. In this case, the development of agri-food corporations was contributed to by the lack of institutions of effective antitrust control, the diversification of industrial and financial groups, the liberalization of foreign trade, as well as a rent-oriented behavior of economic agents. It has been shown that agri-food corporations currently utilize about a third of agricultural land while the size of some of them exceeds the land-use area of entire regions. At the same time, in terms of agricultural production efficiency, agri-food corporations outperform farms and disintegrated agricultural enterprises, as well as family-owned farms; they have more resources for the innovative development of agricultural production and for investment. Strategical development of agri-food corporations needs to develop its social responsibility in rural areas, intensification of public control over the impact on the agrarian sector, institutional system of state support of export. Under the conditions of the state regulation of monopolies and excessive corporatization of agrarian sector, agri-food corporations should constitute the core of food security in Ukraine, as well as form its competitiveness in foreign agricultural markets.

Environmental impact of the shadow economy, globalisation, and human capital: Capturing spillovers effects using spatial panel data approach

Most of the environmental degradation literature evaluates the determinants of polluting gas emissions as a spatially static process. However, environmental pollution is a problem that is not limited to the borders of the countries. One way to capture temporal and spatial changes in pollutant emissions is by using the benefits of spatial panel data models. This research aims to empirically examine the environmental impact of the shadow economy, the globalisation index, and the human capital index in 101 countries during 1995–2018. We employ a set of spatial autoregressive models (SAR), Durbin spatial models (SDM), and spatial lag models (SLX) of panel data to estimate direct, indirect, and total impacts. The results are stable before changes in the econometric specification and different ways of calculating spatial weights matrix. The results show that polluting gas emissions have a high spatial dependence on all specifications. The interdependence between the countries explains the spillover effect of environmental pollution on the rest of the countries that are geographically close. The policy implications derived from our research point to achieving sustainable economic and environmental development, where coordinated actions among countries and greater regulation of the behaviors of economic agents related to the shadow economy are recommended.

Mapping the Literature on Financial Behavior: a Bibliometric Analysis Using the VOSviewer Program

The objective of the article is to study the current state of researches of financial behaviour. The article is conceptual and based on the use of the methodology of the bibliometric analysis. The analysis is based on data retrieved from functionalities of the Scopus and Web of Science platforms. The VOSviewer program is used for network visualization of keywords in scientific publications. Key findings are the number of publications directly study the nature and features of the financial behavior formation of various economic agents is insignificant, but is constantly growing. An important role in this process is played by digitalization processes of financial services, which have an important impact on the models transformation of both financial behavior of economic agents, and changes in the model of the financial services provision to customers by financial institutions.

APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS APPROACHES IN MODERN ORGANIZATIONS

The article considers topical issues of implementation of behavioral economics models in modern organizations. Rapid changes in social and economic life, which create uncertainty and reduce predictability of processes, global competition and other factors that characterize the new economy, have a significant impact on the psychological characteristics of human perception and judgment, emotional and cognitive factors of behavior and economic decision-making, market participants. It is noted that behavioral economics provides important knowledge for a better understanding of financial and economic mechanisms, motivates critical perception of information and helps to make the right decisions and build their behavior more effectively. The components of behavioral economics are analyzed, namely: processes of preparation, analysis, measurement, accumulation, identification, presentation and interpretation of non-financial data, based on which the management of enterprises and ministries can make both operational and strategic decisions to influence the development of these organizations or industry in general. Various psychological effects associated with irrational attitudes of economic agents have been studied, and it has been proved that financial and economic, as well as managerial decisions are influenced by situational judgments and emotions. The key features that need to be considered in the general modeling of the behavior of economic agents are formulated. In real life, a person can not behave, adhering to the rigid limits of economic rationality. Rationality and irrationality complement each other, which allows the decision-making model to approach the real behavior of economic agents in the paradigm of the new economy, thus avoiding the erroneous dichotomy between classical and behavioral finance or neoclassical and behavioral economics in general.

СОЦІОКУЛЬТУРНІ ФАКТОРИ ЕКОНОМІЧНОГО РОЗВИТКУ

Culture is seen as an additional resource for increasing labor productivity and the efficiency of state institutions. The main objective of the article is to develop methodological foundations for the study of culture as a factor in economic processes. The issue of the role of social and cultural norms in the behavior of economic agents and the overall functioning of the economic system is not new. The study of non-economic factors in economic processes has become a hallmark of representatives of institutionalism. The concept of behavioral economics has gained considerable popularity in the last decade. Public cooperation on the basis of patching and harmonization of personal (including economic) interests of economic individuals according to certain property rights, rules of interaction determines the processes of both household management and economic activity in general. Culture begins to take shape at the stage of individual life as a materialized result of labor, but its development acquires exceptional conditions of social interaction. Socio-cultural environment is a basic element of a social system that unites its members in time and space and explains the expediency of interaction, the principles of coexistence, establishes the rules for coordinating interests between members of one society and with representatives of other cultural traditions. All this will manifest itself in the social and institutional structure of society, the operation of formal institutions, the principles of exchange, the distribution and redistribution of property and sources of wealth, the definition of value, the prestige of work, and the structure of the division of labor. Culture acts as a prerequisite, a management tool and a result of socio-economic development. In the context of a competitive struggle for well-being, culture (as a system of values) without a proper material and technical basis turns into one of the factors of superiority, but not the key one. Without proper material support, the development of culture is impossible. The study of economic processes in the context of socio-cultural processes is fully consistent with the principles of the civilizational paradigm and interdisciplinary approach. Rejection of the analysis of non-economic factors significantly limits economic analysis. The unity of socio-cultural and economic is inherent in the very nature of the science of economic activity.

РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ МІЖНАРОДНОЇ МІГРАЦІЇ РОБОЧОЇ СИЛИ В РЕГІОНАЛЬНИХ ІНТЕГРАЦІЙНИХ УГОДАХ

The globalization of world economic relations is one of the main trends of our time, which not only affects the economic life, but also has deep political and social consequences. It leads to dynamic development of international integration, which is an integral part of international economic relations, along with global capital, commodity, labor and technology transfer markets. Deeper integration at the regional level established institutional distribution platform for multilateral cooperation. Intensification of regional and multilateral liberalization of trade in services is carried out by transformation not only of the basic economic relations between countries, but also between institutions that define the matrix behavior of economic agents. One of the sign of economic integration is the liberalization of labor movement in order to combine the resources and efforts of countries in solving issues of internal integration cooperation in the field of regulating labor migration flows. There are many barriers in the field of international labor movement, including migration flows within the framework of integration associations. Therefore, the central focus of this research in terms of increased regionalization of the world economy, it becomes precisely the analysis of the principles and tools of institutional regulation of labor migration in integration associations, its evolution, as well as a comprehensive assessment of economic and social consequences of this process. The key issue of institutional regulation of international labor migration in regional integration associations is the optimization of regional and global level of cooperation based on WTO rules and principles.

Протиріччя та фінансові шахрайства в реальному секторі економіки

The article is aimed at studying the socioeconomic basis for the contradictions in the real sector of the economy and their impact on the currently extant types and forms of financial fraud. Uncertainty and increased socioeconomic risks generate various economic conflicts – contradictions of economic interests at all levels – from national levels of management to individual groups of workers. The article presents the most significant of the current contradictions in the economic and social spheres. Their presence and periodic aggravation leads to economic conflicts, which carry the potential for destructive consequences and social losses. One of these types of conflicts is financial fraud, which tends to expand in the real sector of the economy. The current state of financial fraud and abuse in the world and in Ukraine is analyzed; a classification of types of corporate financial fraud and the amount of financial losses suffered by the organizations both worldwide and in Ukraine from the fraudulent activities is provided. A definition of corporate fraud, which should be considered from the standpoint of potential subjects of abuse as an action of destabilizing subjective factors related to violation of laws, procedures and norms, as well as unfair behavior of economic agents, causing potential or real financial losses for enterprise, is proposed. The necessity of monitoring the occurrence and severity of economic, social, ecological and other contradictions as preventive measures for the prevention and development of financial fraud in the real sector of the economy is substantiated.

Институциональная экономическая теория как научная основа перехода на новый технологический уклад: перспективы и условия применения

It is noted that the economic development of the Russian Federation takes place in the conditions of digitalization of the economy, the construction of an innovative type of economy with the subsequent transition to a new technological order. It is established that the goals of innovative development and the results to which the economy should come are legalized in the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation and, therefore, are mandatory for implementation. It is stated that achieving the goals of innovative development requires the development of an appropriate economic theory, the methodology of which is based on an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of economic relations. It is argued that the neoclassical economic theory, which uses mathematics and econometrics as a tool for constructing theoretical models and verifying their validity, cannot be recommended for further use as a scientific basis for the digitalization of the economy and its development as an innovation-type economy. It is proposed as a scientific basis for building a new economic policy of the state in the conditions of digitalization of the economy to apply institutional economic theory as a scientific basis that meets the modern requirements of economic development, the methodology of which involves taking into account in the course of economic analysis various aspects of social interaction directly or indirectly capable of influencing the behavior of economic agents. A brief analysis of the publications of Russian scientists in the field of institutional economic theory is carried out, it is concluded that the basis for the development of Russian institutionalism are the scientific achievements of scientists from the USA and Great Britain, but, due to the fact that the scientific achievements of foreign scientists are based on the study of the institutional environment of the USA and Great Britain, which differs in fundamental aspects from the institutional environment of the Russian Federation, the conclusion is made about the need to adapt institutional economic theory to the Russian institutional environment. Proposals are made to carry out priority measures for the development of institutional economic theory corresponding to the political, legal and other social characteristics of the Russian Federation.

АНАЛИЗ ФАКТОРОВ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ НАЛОГОВОГО ПОВЕДЕНИЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ АГЕНТОВ В САРАТОВСКОМ РЕГИОНЕ

The article considers the factors that form the negative tax behavior of economic agents, as well as factors that influence the choice of a particular behavior model. The authors pay closer attention to the study of the influence on tax behavior of such a factor as tax control on the example of data analysis of a particular region.

Financial stress and economic growth: The moderating role of trust

AbstractThe literature suggests that trust can influence the behavior of economic agents and improve access to financing for both households and corporations. Subsequently, this might have implications for the consumption of households and the investments of corporations. Therefore, trust could mitigate the negative impact of financial stress on economic growth. To test this hypothesis, we use a sample of EU countries over the period 2002–2020 and examine the interaction of trust with financial stress in shaping GDP growth. The interaction term enters the estimations with a positive and statistically significant coefficient, and it therefore mitigates the negative impact of financial stress on economic growth. Furthermore, by disaggregating the GDP into its four main components, we find that the moderating effect of trust flows through the two main components of GDP mentioned above, namely households’ consumption and firms’ investments. Additionally, we observe that the interaction effect becomes weaker in countries with a higher economic freedom and is strengthened in centre and left‐wing governments compared to right‐wing economically oriented ones.

Socioeconomic spillovers of COVID-19: case of Saudi Arabia

PurposeWith the global outbreak of COVID-19 that has made the economic activities standstill, countries have taken immediate measures to safeguard not only the human lives but also the economies. This study investigates empirically the lockdown impact of current pandemic on the Saudi economy.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs inoperability input–output model (IIOM) on the input–output table (IOT) of Saudi Arabia for the analysis.FindingsFindings show that with the closure of few sectors for the period of two months, the GDP declined to 6.49%. Findings also show a negative impact on consumption, investments and exports.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation of current study is that it uses IOTs which lack primary and secondary income distribution that is vital for presenting complete interindustry connections in the analysis. The interindustry structures relate to the consumption structures which ultimately lead to the income distribution and affect the consumption behaviors of economic agents. Hence, the complete income circular flow is not incorporated in IIOM using IOT. The findings of current study would be well grounded if it endogenized the primary and secondary income distribution.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of this study is the use of IIOM for anticipating the potential loss against the backdrop of catastrophes and pandemics. The IIOM has the capability to predict the economic effects of disruptive events and hence the policy-makers can better predict and devise prudent policies to avoid the likely threats to the economy.Originality/valueThe current situation is unprecedented, and it is challenging for governments to forecast the economic repercussions. Several economic sectors have been inoperative due to lockdown implemented by the governments. This study empirically estimated the inoperability produced by the current pandemic. The findings are consistent with other estimated statistics, thereby proving the efficacy of IIOM to anticipate the economic repercussions of natural hazards.

Perspectives and strategies of religious tourism for a sustainable development of the economy

"ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the importance of religious tourism in sustainable development and to find effective strategies through marketing optics and methodology. The issue of religious tourism is a topical one and not without controversy. Romanian tourism is currently facing many problems, such as: reduced turnover, very frequent changes in the legal framework, very rigid labor market, a deficient infrastructure in quantity and quality, repeated changes in the behavior of economic agents and population, an unfavorable economic environment. To achieve this goal, qualitative research was conducted among tourism producers, intermediaries and tourists in the Neamţ region - one of the most important tourist areas in Romania and also an important region with religious and rural tourism destinations. The results showed that there is a special concern regarding religious tourism and could contribute to the local development of the area. Keywords: religion; religious tourism; development; sustainability; local resources JEL classification: M3, Z12 "

Institutional Economy Development Problems

The development of institutionalism was not limited to the transition from the old theory to the new one: time is changing, the behavior of economic agents – ​carriers, voluntary or involuntary, of the institutions, whether formal or informal, is changing, – ​institutions that, in turn, are themselves the object of changes. This nature of the object under study poses a difficult task for researchers: to identify, with the help of changing (developing, adapting) tools, the essence of the modern institutions and the ones that can take place in the future, which is in a state of permanent development (evolution). The article describes the system logic of institutions, the reasons for institutional changes, especially caused by the current pandemic, highlights the problems and prospects for the development of the institutional economics from an ecosystem perspective. The latter circumstance presupposes going beyond the purely systemic approach to the study of the institutional system by including the features of the interaction of the system under study with the relevant metasystem, which forms a functional unity with the system and, therefore, is interpreted in aggregate as an ecosystem.

Современные концепции и модели развития предпринимательства

The article considers the conceptual foundations and models of entrepreneurship development. The fundamental views of economic scientists on the essence of concepts and models of business development, taking into account institutional changes in the economy, are touched upon. The article presents a systematization of the views of both the classics of economic theory and representatives of the modern economic school. The research uses such methods as comparison, analogy, analysis and synthesis, and a systematic approach. The author examines small business from two positions: microeconomic and macroeconomic. The first concerns the internal environment of entrepreneurship itself, and in the second case we are talking about the external environment of entrepreneurship, which has a huge impact both on the state and development of small business as a whole and an individual enterprise, and on the behavior of economic agents.

Optimal Monetary Policy with Heterogeneous Agents in Iran (1989-2017): A Model Based on Time Consistency Problem

Policy rules as one of the most acceptable methods in monetary policies are among the significant characteristics of researches about policymaking. A policy rule states how the policy tools should react to changes in economic situations. Understanding the tools and criteria of monetary policies such as changes in target inflation, changes in relative weights of prices stability and employment, and its effect on different sections of society including households and economic firms can help economic policymakers to increase the effectiveness of monetary policies. This paper studies the time consistency and structure of optimal monetary policy from the viewpoint of public sector finance concerning the heterogeneous behavior of economic agents in form of keeping liquidity and nominal assets in Iran. The study utilizes time-series data quarterly from Q1 1989 to Q4 2017. A new Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models have been developed for monetary policy analysis in open economies. Results show that the redistribution effect of monetary policy leads to breakage of the link between time consistency and high inflation; a characteristic that belongs to optimal monetary and fiscal policies.

Determinants of the market choice and the consumers behavior on the Macedonian MTPL insurance market: Empirical application of the Markov chain model

AbstractMarkov chain models are widely used for capturing the switching behavior of economic agents and its impact on the prospective market developments in various industries. The aim of this paper is to analyze the customers' altered behavior on the Motor Third Party Liability Insurance market in Republic of North Macedonia for the period of 2016–2018, in a setting where the policy tariff rates are equal for all the Insurance providers, that is, prices are excluded as a factor of transition. For that purpose, a stationary, homogeneous, first‐order Markov Chain model is deployed to detect the flows and the reasoning behind the decisions for customers' transition across companies. This approach is applied for the first time on the Macedonian Insurance Market and the findings offer valuable information to many interested parties including policymakers, insurance providers, as well as researchers in the field.

Methodological approaches to estimating the use of tax benefits and the practice of their application

Tax benefits, considering their consequences for the economy and the budget system, are the most controversial element of any tax. Therefore, policy decisions on the introduction of new, continued use or abolition of existing tax benefits should be based on reliable information about their expected or actual effectiveness and efficiency. The purpose of this article is to define methodological approaches to assessing the use of tax benefits as a prerequisite for improving the soundness of tax policy and effectiveness of public administration of the financial system. The article, based on the analysis of Western literature sources, considers methodological approaches to assessing the use of tax benefits in the context of their effectiveness (achievement of goals and fulfillment of the conditions for granting, impact on the behavior of economic agents and results of their activity), efficiency (comparison of benefits and costs) and relative efficiency (comparison of the effectiveness of tax benefits and other policy instruments), as well as evaluation methods and tools. The practical application of these methodological approaches is considered on the example of investment and innovation incentives for corporate income tax and VAT incentives (reduced tax rate on labor-intensive services). The author notes that the assessment of consequences of the introduction of tax benefits can be provided using methods of comparative analysis of the behavior of the beneficiary company before and after the introduction of the tax incentive; survey of the company's managers on how the tax benefit affected certain aspects of their behavior (investment decisions, implementation of R&D, employment and remuneration policies, etc.); and econometric analysis. According to the results of the study, it s concluded that ultimately the choice of an approach to assessing the application of tax benefits, as well as methods and tools of analysis is determined by the available information base in open sources and access to non-public information. In addition, the reliability of the results of evaluation of the application of tax benefits substantially depends on compliance with the requirements and procedures during their implementation, in particular, the definition of objectives and, if necessary, the conditions of their granting, as well as the quality and the completeness of accounting of the provided benefits. The latter, as well as the availability of the necessary information and its disclosure is one of the main problems in assessing the application of tax benefits in countries with transition economy.