Years Of Crisis Research Articles

Clariant sets new 2025 financial targets and announces step-up in growth and profitability

Gibrat’s Law – also called law of proportionate effect – states that the size of a company does not influence its economic growth. The present article aims at testing the validity of this law on all companies based in the autonomous region of Andalusia (Spain). The study uses data on employment compiled by the Instituto de Estadística y Cartografía de Andalucía for every company belonging to the two-digit NACE code, with yearly data for the 2000 to 2015 period: 7,046,539 firms in total. The results obtained allow to identify by sector the impact of size on business growth, to check compliance in this relevant region of the European Union and analyse the influence of the recent economic/financial crisis in terms of Gibrat’s Law validation. In general terms, the degree of compliance with the law is limited in the analysed period, even more so in the years of economic crisis. We have fitted the double Pareto log-normal distribution to our data. That distribution fits well the firm’ size distribution in many sectors of the Andalusian economy. Thus, these sectors would follow a Yule process. At the aggregate level, the sectors of the Andalusian economy that comply with Gibrat’s law also follow a Yule process.

Filosofia politica nella pandemia. Il panorama italiano

From the outset, the emergency generated by the Covid-19 pandemic has had political and philosophical implications, as well as medical, social and economic ones. It has raised issues such as the relationship between security and freedom, between citizens and the state, between rights and obligations, and among democratic powers, as well as discussions about the current economic and environmental model of development. This article presents a review of the main interpretations and reflections on the pandemic proposed by political philosophers in Italy during more than a year of crisis.

Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the IT Sector

The impact of the Information and Technology (IT) sector on the countries’ innovation development has been recognized as crucial in prior and recent research studies. Moreover, firms’ innovativeness affects positively countries’ economies. Nevertheless, the global economic crisis of the last decade constituted a significant barrier to the development of country economies and had a negative effect on firms’ performance. Specifically, the negative consequences of the global crisis became harder for Southern Europe Countries. More specifically the Greek economy was suffered by an extended period of crisis with harder consequences than those of other European countries. The main purpose of this study was to examine the financial performance of Greek IT firms in the early years of crisis. Our findings have been relevant to those of previous studies which observed negative effects of the financial recession on firms profitability.

Are there still shared values to sustain multilateralism? Discourse in World Trade Organization reform debates

What is the role of values and principles in sustaining and reforming trade multilateralism? After several years of crisis and gridlock, by the end of 2018 the reform process became a central issue at World Trade Organization (WTO) discussions. Whereas members agreed on the idea that WTO reform was a necessary condition for the preservation of trade multilateralism, whether and how that reform is still possible is uncertain. While the discrepancies in the positions among the proposals have been considered in several papers, the role of the values and principles behind them has been overlooked. In this paper, recalling Ruggie’s theory on multilateralism, I propose to identify whether in the reform debates countries still share a core of principles and values that could sustain trade multilateralism and move the WTO beyond its current paralysis. To do so, I use evidence based on a data set of coded statements of WTO members at the General Council meetings in the period 2019–2020. The paper shows that, although sharing a willingness to support multilateralism, members diverge in the values and principles that give meaning and shape to this type of international cooperation, challenging the capacity of the WTO to find its way through the reform.

The 2021 review of the monetary policy strategy of the Eurosystem : an economy of forces

This study delves into the rationale behind the 2021 review of the monetary policy strategy of the Eurosystem and elaborates on the main elements of the new strategy and its implications for monetary policy-making going forward. The profound changes in the economic landscape that have taken place since the last review in 2003 prompted the European Central Bank and the euro area national central banks to embark on a comprehensive review of the monetary policy strategy of the Eurosystem. The aim has been to ensure that the strategy reflects upon these unique challenges and remains well suited in pursuit of the primary objective of price stability. The key outcome of the strategy review, unveiled in July 2021, has been the reformulation of the price stability objective so as to adopt a symmetric commitment to the 2% inflation target over the medium term, as well as the confirmation of the flexible use of unconventional monetary policy tools when the economy operates close to the effective lower bound of interest rates. In addition, the new strategy has further incorporated financial stability and climate change considerations into the monetary policy framework. The present study outlines the enhancements embedded in the new strategy, as regards the fulfilment of the price stability mandate of the Eurosystem. It also discusses the ways in which the new strategy could have, to some extent, addressed the challenges faced by the euro area and its individual members, with a focus on Greece, over the past crisis years.

Boom, Bust, and Beyond: New Perspectives on the 1720 Stock Market Bubble. Ed. Stefano Condorelli and Daniel Menning.

<i>Boom, Bust, and Beyond: New Perspectives on the 1720 Stock Market Bubble</i>. Ed. Stefano Condorelli and Daniel Menning.

A systematic review of 20 years of crisis and disaster research: Trends and progress

AbstractThe field of crisis and disaster studies has proliferated over the past two decades. Attention is bound to grow further as the world negotiates the prolonged challenges of the Covid‐19 pandemic. In this review, we provide an overview of the main foci, methods, and research designs employed in the crisis and disaster research fields in the period of 2001–2020. The review documents that the focus and methods used have not changed much over time. Single case studies and exploratory research prevail, the focus has shifted from preparedness to response, and methodological diversity is limited, but gradually increasing. Future challenges are to understand transboundary crisis management and creeping crises. Advancing the field calls for our community to put more effort in drawing lessons beyond the single case to uncover comparable and universal patterns that connect between events or phases, which help to theorize the multifaceted nature of crisis and disaster management.

Jovan Radulović, upravnik Biblioteke grada Beograda od 2001. do 2009. godine

The goal of this paper is to shed light on Jovan Radulović’s impact on Serbian culture, apart from his literary work. Radulović was the director of the Belgrade City Library in the period from 2001 to 2009. After years of war, inflation and economic crisis, which affected all aspects of the Library work, Radulović was constantly working on the enrichment of the book funds and significantly contributed to the development of the Library as a cultural institution with long tradition and great importance for the cultural history of both Belgrade and Serbia.

The dog that barked but did not bite: Greek foreign policy under the populist coalition of SYRIZA-Independent Greeks, 2015–2019

The election in Greece in 2015 of a governing coalition of populist parties—the radical left SYRIZA and the right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL)—created questions about Greece’s foreign policy orientation, particularly its alignment with Euro-Atlantic institutions and a potential rapprochement with non-Western powers. Yet these fears proved unfounded after Greece accepted a new bailout from the Eurozone in the summer of 2015. The trajectory of Greek foreign policy in this period points to an increase in the influence of populism on rhetoric and symbolic actions in the first six months of the government’s tenure, followed by a gradual decline of populism’s visibility for the rest of its term until 2019. On the whole, populism had a marginal influence on the content of Greek foreign policy during the years of the economic crisis, although it was more important in terms of rhetoric, style and domestic political strategies.

How does crisis affect the conflict between technocracy and populism? Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

The article focuses on the relationship between technocracy and populism during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis. On one hand, this relationship has been defined by populist denial, displacement of crisis, and rejection of the technocratic consensus on the need for urgent and decisive action in the face of the global pandemic. On the other hand, COVID-19 has also led to convergence between the two sides and populist approximation to technocracy more akin to ‘technopopulist’ compromises and politics. The article shows that this pattern of antagonism and approximation has been shaped by three constitutive features of the state of exception and emergency during the COVID-19 crisis: (1) discursive securitization of the threat, (2) the use of extraordinary tools and measures under the licence of precautionary principle, and (3) institutional concentration of power. While COVID-19 is an extreme case in all three respects, the lessons learned from the pandemic advance our general understanding of technocracy and populism as constitutive features of contemporary politics.

Financial Inclusion Paradigm Shift in the Postpandemic Period. Digital-Divide and Gender Gap.

Financial inclusion is strongly differentiated by age groups and countries and the pandemic has highlighted the increased gaps and inequalities but also the weaknesses of the system, in terms of flexibility, access and facilities of the customer-bank relationship and also from the perspective of the financial education of young generations and vulnerable people, active in the labor market. Based on the available data provided by the Global Findex database, and some findings after more than one year of COVID-19 crisis we outlined the main aspects of financial digitization, by categories of people and countries. At the same time, we identified the challenges and problems during the pandemic that significantly adjusted the consumption pattern of citizens and increased the need for on-line access for financial transactions. Starting from the analysis of the inequality of access to financial instruments in the last years, from the informational asymmetry in financial education and the challenges of the pandemic period, we underlined the main coordinates of changing the model of sustainable financial inclusion—based on five pillars—access, education, support tools, CSR and resilience. The research results highlight the need for convergence in providing opportunities to consider financial inclusion as a public good and an active tool to increase consumers’ satisfaction and the quality of life of individuals.

O impacto da meritocracia em empresas de logística durante crises econômicas

Purpose: meritocracy and incentives for innovation are instruments in the search for efficiency and increased productivity. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the correlation between meritocracy and productivity gains that a franchise network presented in a year of economic crisis in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: the method of qualitative and quantitative approach of this research used experimentation, based on interviews, observation and data analysis. Two groups of companies, which totalized 92 companies and 746 professionals participated of the research. Findings: management based on recognition and reward for employees of a group of companies has shown an increase in productivity of up to 25% in a year of economic recession. In the same period, another group of companies in the same business, but without a meritocracy-based compensation system, achieved a 9% drop. Research limitations/implications: this work suffered from limitations as to the influence of the local economy of each franchise on the results, impacting the comparisons of the groups that participated in the experimental research. Practical implications: logistics companies can use this work to define a meritocratic model that encourages employees to seek innovation in processes and contribute to better operational performance. Social implications: logistics has a strong impact on the competitiveness of companies, from industry to commerce. This work offers visibility of the influence of productivity in logistics companies in the supply chain. Originality/value: this work contributes to the analysis of the influence of meritocracy in people management, especially in times of economic crisis.

Sleep Quality among Nurses during the First Year of Coronavirus Disease 2019

BACKGROUND: Nurses represent the largest section of the health-care workforce, and lack of sleep has an adverse influence on them, particularly during pandemics such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It causes not only health problem but also poor work results and an increased risk of medical errors. AIM: The goal of the study was to determine the prevalence of poor sleep quality among nurses during COVID-19 outbreaks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among a group of nurses in the Al-Madinah region of Saudi Arabia at the National Guard Health Affairs in 2020 (1st year of the COVID-19 crisis). Data were collected using a validated questionnaire with two sections: Sociodemographic data such as age, nationality, family status, gender, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. RESULTS: There were 238 nurses in the report. 37.8% of them were found to be between the ages of 31 and 35, while 24.4% were under the age of 30. The nurses were mostly female (84%). Sleep latency, sleep disruption, overall subjective sleep quality, and sleep length were the most widely identified sleep problems. Sixty-six percent of the nurses said they had a poor night’s sleep. None of the demographic variables analyzed had a significant relationship with overall sleep quality. CONCLUSION: Majority of nurses working at the National Guard Health Affairs and primary health-care centers in Al-Medina, Saudi Arabia, experience poor sleep quality, during the 1st year of COVID-19 crisis regardless of their demographic characteristics.

The crisis of nuclear arms control

The politics of nuclear arms control between the United States and Russia are in a protracted state of crisis, which is in need of explanation. This article provides an overview of bilateral contractual milestones from 1972 to 2001 and analyzes instances of cooperation through the lens of three key factors that have influenced the process. It then considers the changes that these factors have undergone over twenty years of crisis in bilateral arms control from 2001 to 2021 and gauges the possible consequences of a continuation of the current situation. It concludes that during the first period, a shared willingness to shield the bilateral process from political disruption, U.S. bipartisan support, and cooperatively addressing the vertical diffusion of offensive and defensive missile capabilities were both possible and necessary for ensuring success. During the second period, these key factors underwent significant changes and ultimately had a negative effect on the bilateral process, which makes the current crisis unique compared to earlier episodes of regression. Most importantly, both sides were no longer willing to shield the bilateral process in its entirety during this period, including defensive and sub-strategic offensive elements. With a view to future consequences, these findings point to reduced arms race stability, weaker negotiated outcomes, and an erosion of the global nonproliferation regime.

Regional Projection of Environmental Consequences of Crises in the Russian Economy

—The influence of economic crises in the post-Soviet history on the state of the environment is manifested in different directions and unevenly across regions. During crises, the dependence of pollution indicators on changes in GDP (GRP) and industrial production is higher than during periods of economic growth. During crisis years, there was a decrease in industrial pollution, the volume of atmospheric emissions and polluted wastewater, and, to a lesser extent, water consumption; conversely, vehicle emissions, the volume of toxic waste, the area of disturbed lands, and forest fires do not depend on the change in GRP. Only specific pollution parameters increase during crises. The integral index of anthropogenic impact depends less on the GRP dynamics than some indicators of the load on the natural environment. With a general trend towards a decrease in environmental stress, the group of regions with a critical level of impact is characterized by the greatest stability, while the group of regions with an insignificant level of pressure on the natural environment contracts. Differences in the sanitizing role of crises are due to their duration, depth, and structural features, as well as the mitigating effect of government support measures. The systemic crisis of the 1990s led to a reduction in all indicators, affecting 90% of regions, while the financial crises of 1998 and 2008–2009 affected 70% of regions, and the crises of 2014–2015 and 2020, 30–60%. Despite the fact that for the country as a whole, the dependence of the level of pollution on the level and dynamics of economic development is weakening, with each new crisis, there is an increasing number of regions where the environmental state continues to deteriorate despite the economic downturn.

Liquidity of Non-financial Corporations: Evidence from Bulgaria

The financial and economic crisis years ago put the development of enterprises in Bulgaria and around the world in an uncontrollable environment that is difficult to predict, and led to significant problems with their financial condition. As a result of a rare CoVid-19 pandemic in 2020, the economic situation has become more complicated and portends déjà vu in terms of negative effects on the economy and businesses. The numerous closures of businesses and entire sectors will undoubtedly lead to serious financial consequences related to liquidity problems and excessive indebtedness of Bulgarian enterprises. The main problem that provokes this study is the lack of summarized information on the state of corporate liquidity and the solvency levels of non-financial corporations in Bulgaria. The main purpose of the article is to examine the liquidity status of non-financial corporations in Bulgaria. This analysis is needed to prevent liquidity crises and to bring out early indicators to warn and counter the risks posed by deteriorating solvency. It will be essential for the liquidity assessment to derive average industry values of the indicators to guide the companies from the sectors regarding the recommended liquidity levels to which they should strive.

Greek Fish Farming: Measuring Profitability and Efficiency of the Sector at the peak of Economic Crisis

Fish farming play important role in providing food and income in many EU countries, either as a stand-alone activity or in association with crop agriculture and livestock rearing. Fish farming is widespread in Greece and differs only with respect to species, production systems and volumes. Moreover, the Greek economic crisis has heavily affected the fish farming sector and challenges the competitiveness of farms. The objective of the current paper is the examination of the profitability and efficiency of the Greek fish farming industry during the most crucial years of Greek economic crisis by measuring firm’s performance using a panel data set of companies. The research is based on financial data of sixty-eight aquaculture firms for the period 2010-2015. The empirical results indicate that firms share of total sales has a positive impact on profitability, while an alternative proxy, the total assets is negatively linked to efficiency. Firm's profitability is positively affected by liquidity, working capital management, productivity and industry’s growth and negatively by financial and operating leverage. Firms Efficiency is determined positively by profitability and ability to repay its debt obligations and negatively by capital intensity, operating leverage and size

Online Education during COVID-19: Prospects and Challenges in Bangladesh

COVID-19 has forced the authorities to introduce online education at all levels in Bangladesh. Students from primary to tertiary levels had initial hiccups to adapt to the newly introduced online education system because of genuine reasons like lack of appropriate device, absence or limited access to internet networks, disinterest in online education, disruption in electricity, etc. Perhaps, most of the stakeholders involved in education had a kind of hope of witnessing the crisis caused through COVID-19 over within a short period of time. Thus, none of the stakeholders was very serious in online education, expecting offline in-person education to be back pretty soon. It seems to have been realised by most of the stakeholders after almost one and a half years of the corona crisis that the pandemic may not disappear quickly. As a result, online education has recently been reinforced in Bangladesh, considering it the only alternative to the previous system. This review study explores the prospects and challenges of online education in the context of Bangladesh and finds out that prospects of it could be pretty high as an alternative education system. However, its challenges may be described as daunting given the socioeconomic and cultural constraints that prevail in the country.

Reforms in Times of Crisis: Notes on the Greek Policy Making from Bankruptcy to COVID-19

In this paper, an in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis of the “emergency” regulation in Greece over the years of acute economic crisis and up to the COVID-19 public health crisis is performed, to examine if this kind of regulation has been too extended and whether it undermined any effective policy design. According to our working hypothesis, the “fast-track” legislation highlights the fragmented and somewhat erratic way of policymaking in Greece, while it also affirms the country’s limited capacity to properly initiate and implement reforms. Thus, the paper focuses on the collection and evaluation of the legislative corpus during the 2009-2021 period; its objective being, on the one hand, to evaluate whether and how much each government resorted to the invocation of urgency and on the other hand to examine the documentation and description of the legislative process vis-àvis the imperatives and quality criteria of Better Regulation and EvidenceBased Policy Making. At the same time, the article focuses on legislative texts of the 2020-2021 COVID-19 health crisis period. It will showcase the latter as an additional trigger aggravating the “urgency” element of regulation, transforming it into a persistent feature of Greek policymaking. Ergo, we examine methods and practices at the international level, focusing especially on the Evidence-Based Policy Making paradigm. Based on the analysis of the crisis regulation and international EBPM best practices, the paper concludes with key recommendations for an effective policymaking procedure, dependent on the establishment of an integrated Center of Government in Greece.

‘[La casa] non è più sexy in Italia.’ The absent politicization of housing in Italy, insights from Turin

During the years of economic crisis and austerity, and the subsequent economic growth dependent on real estate and tourism, housing has returned into the spotlight on the political agenda in Southern European countries and cities, where activists and social movements scaled up their struggles and created bridges with institutional actors, fostering policy change. The latter, however, did not happen in Italy. In this article, based on exploratory case study research carried out in the city of Turin, we present three themes that help explain what we call the 'absent politicization' of housing in Italy during the last decade: a multi-actor, multilevel housing policy capable of defusing specific problems; the absence of bridges between politicized and institutional actors; and the role played by party-politics, with attention to 'populist' Movimento 5 Stelle in power in Turin. By focusing on differences with Southern Europe, we contribute to overcoming dichotomies that have long dominated comparative housing studies; and contribute to linking housing studies with contentious urban politics in the post-crisis years.