Economic Methodology Research Articles

Addressing scale and seasonality in the design of sugarcane to ethylene glycol biorefineries

An appropriate techno-economic assessment of biorefineries is essential for consolidating a bio-based economy. Herein, the effects of scale and seasonality on the design of a sugarcane to ethanol biorefinery were assessed using an extensive process simulation and economic modeling methodology. Four sub-processes were simulated for eight different scales: ethanol from sugarcane, ethanol dehydration to ethylene, ethylene to mono ethylene glycol (MEG), and electricity and steam generation from bagasse. Models for capital expenditure and minimum selling price versus product capacity were developed for ethanol, bio-ethylene, and MEG. The integrated biorefinery was analyzed for 200 kt/yr and 440 kt/yr bio-ethylene capacities, considering three regions of Brazil: Northeast, South-central, and São Paulo/Paraná. Seasonality effects were mitigated by establishing a storage park alongside the biorefinery. The results indicated that the selling price of bio-MEG must be at least 20–30% higher than the fossil-based MEG to ensure competition. The 440 kt/yr biorefinery located in the South-central region had the lowest bio-MEG selling price, however, it required an outsized distillery. Moreover, scale and seasonality had a significant impact on the competitiveness of the biorefinery. The bio-MEG selling price might vary by up to 22%, depending on the specific combination of these factors.

Rational Design of Photocatalysts for Controlled Polymerization: Effect of Structures on Photocatalytic Activities.

Over the past decade, the use of photocatalysts (PCs) in controlled polymerization has brought new opportunities in sophisticated macromolecular synthesis. However, the selection of PCs in these systems has been typically based on laborious trial-and-error strategies. To tackle this limitation, computer-guided rational design of PCs based on knowledge of structure-property-performance relationships has emerged. These rational strategies provide rapid and economic methodologies for tuning the performance and functionality of a polymerization system, thus providing further opportunities for polymer science. This review provides an overview of PCs employed in photocontrolled polymerization systems and summarizes their progression from early systems to the current state-of-the-art. Background theories on electronic transitions are also introduced to establish the structure-property-performance relationships from a perspective of quantum chemistry. Typical examples for each type of structure-property relationships are then presented to enlighten future design of PCs for photocontrolled polymerization.

Content Analysis as a Method for Heterodox Economics

Heterodox economics emerged because of dissatisfaction with the high level of abstraction of neoclassical economics and its excessive reliance on mathematical modelling. Instead of ontological and epistemological references to the natural sciences, heterodox economists turn their attention to the social sciences and biology. The article aims to contribute to the discussion of methodology of heterodox economics and original institutionalism in particular. It explores the potential of content analysis for empirically oriented research in heterodox economics. Content analysis is widely used in the social sciences (sociology, linguistics, political sciences, legal studies) to analyze qualitative data (texts, images, videos) but is relatively unknown to heterodox economists. Content analysis takes several forms: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. It is argued that content analysis is not only compatible with the methodology of heterodox economics through critical realism but has a potential to contribute to its further development. With the help of content analysis, heterodox economists would be better equipped to collect and process qualitative data that prevail in social realms. A content analysis of a sample of articles published in Journal of Economic Issues (N = 763) in 1967–1969 and 2010–2019 informs the discussion of applications of content analysis to heterodox economics.

ТЕОРІЯ ПОВЕДІНКОВОЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ: МЕТОДОЛОГІЧНІ ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ І НАПРЯМИ РОЗВИТКУ

The article reveals the fundamental principles of one of the modern trends in the development of economic theory of behavioral economics. It explores the psychological foundations of economic behavior, the causes of deviations from rational decisions that are related to cognitive limitations of human decision making and the difficulties of analysis of complex information. Modern behavioral economics provides an opportunity to explore the process of economic decision-making taking into account not only objective factors, but also subjective motives and goals taking into account economic interests. Studies of human decision making confirm that the consideration of psychological aspects provides opportunities for the study of real economic processes, approximation of theoretical constructions to business practice. It is substantiated that to feature of methodology of the modern behavioral economics is a departure from the model of rational choice and the use of methods of laboratory behavioral and economic experiments. The methodology of economic behavior also form by such components as irrationality of behavior and irrational decisions, heuristics, framing, social context. It is determined that behavioral economics uses experiments to explain the realistic functioning of market economy institutions by using concepts choice under conditions of risk and uncertainty, intertemporal choice, game theory. The results of advance of behavioral economics find more and more have applied significance in the studies of economics and financial process and mechanisms. The development of the theory of modern behavioral economics is related to the analysis of the real behavior of producers and consumers and the study of relevant institutions of the modern market economy, which contribute to the development of such concepts as the theory of consumer choice, the economy of law, the theory of economic development, the theory of games, etc.

ЧЕЛОВЕК В XXI ВЕКЕ: НОВЫЙ ВЗГЛЯД ПОВЕДЕНЧЕСКОЙ ЭКОНОМИКИ

The article discusses the evolution of views on a person and the main provisions of behavioral economics. Particular attention is paid to the formation of the Russian scientific school in the field of behavioral economic theory. On the basis of the methodology of behavioral economics, new determinants of human economic behavior in the complex modern world are investigated, the reasons for making irrational decisions are substantiated. It is concluded that it is necessary to include cognitive-­psychological determinants in economic models in order to improve their predictive functions and bring them closer to real life.

The transformational paradigm: a way forward for Islamic economic axiology

Despite the recent (and vigorous) debate on the methodology of Islamic economics, its axiology has not been seriously discussed. In this regard, this study reviews the axiology of Islamic economics introduced by various paradigms in Islamic economics. We classify the axiology based on the oriented paradigm via a scoping review. As a critical response to the axiological classifications, this study highlights the weaknesses/criticisms and offers an alternative axiology within the framework of the transformational.

Предпринимательский человеческий капитал как феномен междисциплинарных исследований

The article provides a review of economic and sociological research literature on entrepreneurial human capital. The purpose of the article was to define the conceptual framework of entrepreneurial human capital based on bibliographic and theoretical analysis of the most significant works. The bibliographic search was carried out by using the key descriptor «entrepreneurial human capital» in the Scopus international database (49 publications were selected). The analysis of the metadata of the selected scientific publications was carried out with the help of the Bibliometrix software. As a result of the content analysis of the selected articles, the following three levels of entrepreneurial human capital were identified: macrolevel, that is, state and society; mesolevel or individual institutional units and organizations; and microlevel or individual entrepreneurs. The studies of entrepreneurial human capital may have an economic, social, or spatial context, which determines the focus of each particular study on specific aspects or factors of this phenomenon. It is concluded that entrepreneurial human capital can be considered as an interdisciplinary category, explored through the convergence of economic and sociological methodology. The study may be of interest to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and to policy-makers seeking to stimulate entrepreneurship on individual, organizational, and social levels.

Measuring The Impact of an Administrative Fine on a Company And Its Future Survival: a Case Study From The Czech Republic

Abstract An administrative fine is a monetary penalty that may be imposed by a supervisory authoritity as an administrative punishment. Such a fine adversely interferes in the cash flow generation of the company in question. The fine can be described as an investment carrying opportunity costs with no economic returns. However, according to the judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic Pl. ÚS 3/02 of 13 August 2002 it is submitted that the fine cannot be imposed in such an amount that would ultimately be liquidating for the sanctioned entrepreneur. The assessment of whether the specific amount of the fine imposed represents such an intensive interference with the entrepreneur's property that his business activity becomes pointless (i.e., in the long run only for the payment of a fine) is elaborated in this article. Based on a case study from the Czech Republic, this article deals with an example of a suitable methodological procedure, on the basis of which it is possible to evaluate the impact of a specific amount of fine imposed on the property of a sanctioned entrepreneur and assess ex ante whether (i) continuity of his business will be interrupted in the future, i.e., when, as a result of the payment of the fine, he eventually goes bankrupt in the form of insolvency or over-indebtedness and / or (ii) his business activity will only serve to pay the fine and thus become "pointless". The presented economic narrative and methodology are relevant for policy makers and, particularly, for supervisory authorities imposing the fines or assessing the requests for remission.

Milton Fridman - život i naučni doprinosi

The text is about the life and work of one of the most influential economists of the last century - Milton Friedman. The paper discusses some of Friedman's greatest contributions to economic theory and practice, starting with the earliest life of Milton Friedman, and the historical circumstances that were of decisive influence on his life. An analysis of several of Friedman's most significant works, written mainly in the years spent at the University of Chicago, examines Friedman's contribution to economic theory. Friedman's contribution to the reaffirmation of quantitative money theory and consumption analysis, controversial interpretation of the causes of the Great Depression, critique of the Phillips curve, with reference to the Keynesian-monetarist debate and Friedman's contribution to the methodology of economics are discussed. The last part of the paper presents the position on Friedman's socio-political influence on a global level. There is talk of Friedman's contribution to strengthening the concept of liberalism, affirmation of the ideas of the free market, individual freedom and personal integrity, while reducing the regulatory role of the state in the economy.

Ways to solve the problem of splitting property and risk in European and Anglo-Saxon law

The article examines solutions to the risk-decoupling phenomenon. As a result of the analysis of certain decoupling strategies’ theoretical model (in particular, referring to derivatives, swaps, record date capture, and contracts for difference) as well as the application of the Law&Economics methodology to them, solutions for correcting negative effects arising from the use of the above mentioned mechanisms of risk-decoupling are proposed.

Does Social Ontology Redeem Economic Methodology?

Does Social Ontology Redeem Economic Methodology?

The role of Foreign Direct Investments in the Economic Development of Albania

One of the most significant factors in economic growth is considered to be investment particularly foreign direct investment (FDI). This study analyzes the economy of Albania by modelling the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the economic development of Albania. The paper opted to the utilization of the economic methodology of OLS and WLS, using Cobb-Douglass production function to evaluate the impact of FDI in the economic development of Albania. The data used was from 1970 to 2019. The results show that, FDI does not influence economic development of Albania. The results have implication for policy decision making.

Evaluation and use of existing economic valuation methodologies in the management of Lake Victoria’s water resources

Lake Victoria is the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, with an eco-system critical to 25-30 million inhabitants of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi who live in the lake basin. The lake provides several ecosystem services from inland waterway transport, fisheries to hydropower and supports many different industries such as tourism, trade, and wildlife. However, Lake Victorias ecosystem management has been highly extractive; hence its water resources are either inefficiently or overused. This is because the value of this resource is either unknown or underestimated. The main purpose of the research was to contribute to Lake Victorias conservation efforts by providing the best techniques that can be used to assess the value of this resource and develop appropriate policies for the sustainable management of the lake. The study reviewed relevant literature on the economic assessment methods of environmental resources in the context of water management. Search engines such as Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were used for it. The study suggests methods for economic valuation of Lake Victoria water ecosystem for each service. The proposed techniques can be used for assessing the value and benefits of conservation and restoration of Lake Victoria ecosystem.

Outdoor Recreation and Rural Transitions in Central Appalachia: Revisiting the Economic Impact of Rock Climbing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

Kentucky’s Red River Gorge is a popular rock climbing destination located amid longstanding poverty in America’s Central Appalachian region. Climbing represents an important part of the outdoor recreation economy and may provide one alternative to mono-economic extractive industry dependency in this region. This study examines the economic impact of climbing in the Red utilizing an online survey of rock climbers and economic impact methodology. The survey examines expenditures in lodging, food purchases, travel, retail purchases, and services. The survey also collected visitation and demographics data. The authors estimate climbers spend $8.7 million annually (up from $3.8 million in 2015) and support over 100 jobs in some of the poorest counties in the region and nation. The study reiterates previous findings indicating climbers are well-educated with incomes higher than those typically found in this region. The study’s results help reframe the value of climbing’s economic impact in rural transitional economies throughout Central Appalachia. These findings also raise policy implications regarding public land access and reducing climber environmental impacts on public lands.

A Machine Learning Pipeline for Forecasting Time Series in the Banking Sector

The problem of forecasting time series is very widely debated. In recent years, machine learning algorithms have been very prolific in this area. This paper describes a systematic approach to building a machine learning predictive model for solving optimization problems in the banking sector. A literature analysis on applying such methods in this particular area is presented. As a direct result of the described research, a universal scenario for forecasting various non-stationary time series in automatic mode was developed. The developed scenario for solving specific banking tasks to improve business efficiency, including optimizing demand for ATMs, forecasting the load on the call center and cash center, is considered. A machine learning methodology in economics that can yield robust and reproducible results and can be reused in solving other similar tasks is described. The methodology described in the article was tested on three cases and showed the ability to generate models that are superior in accuracy to similar predictive models described in the literature by at least three percentage points. This article will be helpful to specialists dealing with the problem of forecasting economic time series and students and researchers due to a large number of links to systematic literature reviews on this topic.

Metodologi Ekonomi Islam

This study aims to analyze the thinking methods used in Islamic economics critically. This study assumes that the methods used in Islamic economics are mostly designed to determine Fallah. Islamic economics was born not as a separate discipline but as an integral part of the Islamic religion as complete life teaching. Islam guides all human activities, including economics. This research is library research with a qualitative approach. Sources of data in this study using secondary data derived from books and relevant research results. The results of this study found that the methodology of Islamic economics must be built on the principles of Islamic epistemology, produce scientific criteria, and convey Islamic values to others. Islamic economics has a complete scientific building, giving birth to theories that explain economic doctrine and reality.

Real-Sector Enterprise Intellectualization as a Promising Avenue for the Development of the Modern Economy (Conclusions and Recommendations of an Online Science and Practical Conference)

According to the Decree of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine «On the Events of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Independence of Ukraine from 03.03.2021 №82. October 4, 2021 – Scientific-practical online conference «Problems and prospects of development of modern economy» held at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. According to the results of the discussion of the problems of the real sector of the economy, the intellectual development of enterprises has been defined as a promising direction of modernity. In the presentations, participants revealed the objective relationship between the social division of labor and the processes of intellectualization as the division of knowledge, as well as their specialization, and the order of the division of labor. Any division of labor system has a «horizontal» dimension – determined by the process of transforming the material into the final product – and the «vertical» – is determined by the processes of using tools of labor, accumulation, systematization, development and use of knowledge. The division and transformation of labor relations determine industrial revolutions, stimulates technical and intellectual progress, and forms of long waves and cycles of development of material and spiritual world. The intellectualization of production expands the space for an adaptive division of labor, and its vertical component creates the conditions for a transition to a new type of intellectual transformation. The conference participants argued that the task of reviving the economy and industry in the direction of Industry 4.0 based on the intellectualization of enterprises is in the state economic policy and research methodology. The State, the business community, scientific organizations (especially the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and other interested parties are identified as the key players in industrial rehabilitation. The development of industrial enterprises towards Industry 4.0 does not mean the immediate abandonment of traditional production III-IV technological systems. Individual industries and enterprises have the potential to adopt new standards and enter into global value chains. Relevant government mechanisms for deepening intellectualization have been identified: import substitution, export promotion, public-private partnerships, and human capital development. National enterprises should have priority over foreign enterprises, with due quality. It is advisable to strengthen exports in industry once the domestic market is saturated. Intellectualization has been shown to require enterprises to: introduce digital tools to manage production; permanently transform into modern technological realities; create digital culture and values of intellectualization, Staff digital skills development.

Оцінка економічного потенціалу зміни чисельності населення сучасної України

The influence of the macroeconomic factor on the long-term trends of reproduction the population of Ukraine since independence is considered. Based on the author’s concept of “demoeconomic niche” the results of calculation of two options for estimating the “current” (per year) economic potential of population changes in Ukraine on the criteria of conditionally autonomous consumption of population and the actual subsistence level (including necessary payments) were analyzed. The potential for population decline according to the first criterion is considered as a pessimistic (maximum) estimate (–30 million in 2019), according to the second - as an optimistic estimate (–2 million in 2019). The aim of the study was to perform a statistical analysis of the relationship between demographic and economic indicators of population reproduction in Ukraine and their relationship with certain options for assessing the economic potential of population change to determine their greater or lesser relevance to demographic and economic realities. Novelty: the assessment of the economic potential of population change is performed within the economic and demographic methodology developed and maintained by the author (based on the macroeconomic concept of “demoeconomic niche”). Research methods: to study the statistical relationship between indicators used methods of correlation and regression analysis (linear models), as well as a comparative analysis of the results of calculations with the actual dynamics of demographic and economic indicators. Calculations were made by means of PPP STATISTICA 8.0. A statistical analysis of the relationship between demographic and economic indicators and their relationship with the studied options for assessing the economic potential of Ukraine population change was performed to determine compliance with demographic and economic realities. All-time series of indicators (30 and 22 years) subjected to statistical analysis are translated into a single form of annual increments to ensure comparability, as a percentage of the value of the initial year of analysis. The direct linear relationship of GDP changes with the dynamics of the total fertility rate and average life expectancy at birth was recorded, and close feedback - with the dynamics of the migration balance. It is noticed that changes in GDP and the total fertility rate for the whole and rural population have cophase quasi cyclic fluctuations with a 3-4 year lag of reaction delay. It is shown that the assessment of the economic potential of population change by the criterion of conditionally autonomous consumption of population is closely statistically dependent on macroeconomic indicators and economic dynamics. The assessment based on the criterion of the actual subsistence level (including necessary payments) depends more closely on the indicators that directly reflect the well-being of households. It turned out that the adequacy of the assessment based on the criterion of conditionally autonomous consumption of population gradually decreases over time due to the peculiarities of the calculation algorithm, growing inaccuracy can only be neglected at intervals of +/-5 years from the base year. The adequacy of the assessment according to the criterion of the actual subsistence level (including necessary payments) depends on the correspondence to the real cost of life values for each year of the observation period, these values need to be clarified.

Smart Platforms for Islamic Finance a Future Tool to Enhance Financial Inclusion in the Islamic World

The main objective of this study is to present a proposed model for an innovative technological financial tool called "Smart Islamic Finance Platform", which will contribute to enhancing financial inclusion in the Islamic world by offering low-cost official financial services with an easy-access mechanism for all segments of society. The study is important for two main reasons. The first is the importance of financial inclusion in improving the contribution of the local financial system to economic development. The second is the idea that financing platforms, especially Islamic ones, can ‒ by promoting financial inclusion ‒ contribute to the modernization and development of the local financial system and thus promote economic and social development. The study uses a normative economics methodology; starting with the presentation of some successful experiences in building Islamic finance platforms as criteria for constructing this study model. Then we present the model of this study: "Smart Islamic Finance Platform" as a normative model for all Islamic countries. The study concludes that financial inclusion is a necessary monetary-financial policy for the Islamic world. The implementation of this policy requires the use of fintech and crowdfunding platforms, and the Sharīʿah classification of these tools needs to be determined. This implementation could be done by adopting the "Smart Islamic Finance Platform" developed in this study. It is a tool that is easily accessible by all segments of society (since it is an electronic platform that operates on all electronic devices), and less costly. (It does not require huge structures or large humanity resource mobilization.)

Economic and legal methodology of regulation of economic relations: no alternative phenomenon

The article is devoted to the problem of a legally secured attempt to repeal the Commercial Code of Ukraine and thus undermine the legal economic order, exaggerating the importance of certain civil structures of property regulation for the economy. In this regard, the article attempts to present a range of arguments in favor of comprehensive, organic and effective regulation of economic market relations, as well as in favor of effective legal support for the implementation of the state's own economic policy which is economic and legal regulation. Hypothetically, the abolition of the Commercial Code of Ukraine cannot be equated with the abolition of only certain forms of property rights and certain organizational and legal forms of economic organizations. Such an action will lead to the undermining of the entire legal economic order by the universal basic algorithm of which the Commercial Code of Ukraine serves. After all, only it formed the types of economic relations, types of economic activity - commercial and non-commercial management, economic policy and legal principles of its implementation, state regulation of economic activity and a certain classification of its main legal means of influence, the system of economic entities, which provides ample opportunities choose a specific organizational and legal form from a wide range of options, features of the legal status of state and municipal enterprises - the basis of special legal regimes of the state and municipal sectors of the national economy and many other socially significant aspects. Accordingly, the article raises the question of the economic effect of the introduction of the proposed bill, which should be taken into account and proposed for discussion, as its destructive potential is obvious. The article also draws attention to the need for criminological examination of this civil bill, one of the large-scale results of which should be the transfer of ownership from the state and local communities to the ownership of legal entities - companies to the relevant public property