Different Groups Of Countries Research Articles

Globalisation, economic growth and quality of infrastructure: New insights

AbstractThe China's Belt and Road Initiative and the EU's Global Gateway projects are based on the idea that high‐quality infrastructures are key for countries to benefit from globalisation. This article investigates the economic growth effect of globalisation using a panel of 117 countries over the period 1980–2019 and explores whether the state of infrastructure in countries matters. Based on the assumption that there are winners and losers of globalisation, we hypothesize that the effect of globalisation on economic growth differs across groups of countries with similar but unobserved characteristics. Therefore, the article incorporates the potential presence of hidden heterogeneity and tries to explain group membership of countries based on the quality of infrastructure. The finite mixture model regression shows that the effect of globalisation on growth differs across two different groups of countries. While the effect is insignificant in the first group, globalisation spurs economic growth in the second group. In addition, we find that countries with a better quality of infrastructure are more likely to be in the class where globalisation fosters economic growth. The results are robust to a battery of robustness checks. The article provides evidence that countries should improve the quality of infrastructure to fully reap the benefit of globalisation.

“Which side are you on?” A historical study of union membership composition in seven Western countries

AbstractThis study uses surveys from the past 60 years to study union membership in Denmark, France, West Germany, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We first revisit aggregate union densities finding that, for France and Italy, they were at times under‐ and overestimated, respectively. Second, we document the evolution of the composition of union membership in terms of gender, occupation, education, and sector. Different stylized facts emerge for different groups of countries. These facts do not lend support to the composition‐based theory that attributes deunionization to deindustrialization, nor to the technological theory that predicts the exit of the high‐skilled from unions.

Between Panic and Feelings of Empowerment: Emotional Reactions to the First Oil Crisis and the Debate About a New International Economic Order

Abstract The 1973/74 oil crisis, comprising an Arab oil embargo targeting Western industrialized states and the quadrupling of global oil prices by OPEC, was followed by a major international debate on the establishment of a New International Economic Order in the years to come. This debate not only made it to the top of the international agenda given certain emotional reactions to and perceptions of the first oil crisis in different groups of countries: The successful oil revolution, as it was called by Arab elites, nurtured a sense of empowerment among OPEC representatives while it triggered fears among Western governments, making them more willing to listen to OPEC demands. At the same time, both oil and non-oil developing countries professed a strong feeling of solidarity allowing them to formulate a shared program of economic decolonization. It was exactly these emotional reactions to the oil crisis that enabled the conflict over the New International Economic Order to become such a prominent feature of the decade. Thus, the oil revolution was a game changer without which the North-South debate would have remained on the sidelines.

Financial Literacy, Financial Innovation, and Financial Inclusion as Mitigating Factors of the Adverse Effect of Corruption on Banking Stability Indicators

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to examine the ability of financial literacy, financial innovation, and financial inclusion to mitigate the adverse effect of corruption on banks’ credit risk, profitability, and financial stability, with this joint inclusion being the novelty explored. Furthermore, we aim to compare the results across four different groups of countries, namely African, Asian, American, and European countries. The Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) estimation results indicate that corruption increases credit risk, reducing profitability and bank stability, being these effects mitigated by financial literacy, financial innovation, and financial inclusion. Furthermore, we find that financial literacy, financial innovation, and financial inclusion reduce credit risk while increasing bank profitability and stability. These results enable policymakers and managers to promote inclusion, innovation, and financial literacy to achieve banking sector stability while combating corruption.

ARE ORIENTATIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREEN ECONOMY INTERRELATED?

Green economy, as an environmentally sound, low-carbon economy, brings benefits not only to the natural environment but also to business and society. Decreasing environmental problems and promoting sustainable development are critical objectives of the green economy that seeks to balance the social, economic, and environmental pillars. Culture is an important supporting pillar of social development since it shapes the identity of a society, and there can be no sustainable development without considering this important factor. Most of the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, emphasize the role of culture at its core. The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the interconnectedness of national cultural orientations and the stages of green economy development. In the research, we gathered secondary data from 60 countries from different parts of the world. The data for national cultural orientations were collected from the Hofstede insights website, whereas the values for the green economy indicators we gathered from the Green Growth Index Report. The research is based on descriptive statistical analysis. Its findings show that for some green economy indicators, there are statistical differences between different groups of countries with different national cultural orientations. For some indicators, there were no significant differences.

The impact of energy, renewable and CO[formula omitted] emissions efficiency on countries’ productivity

In this article, we investigate the combined impact of energy, renewable and CO2 efficiency on countries’ overall productive performance. To this aim, we employ a global-level dataset of 127 countries for more than two decades. The main takeaways of our research are the following. Overall, our analysis supports the idea that incentivizing energy efficient practices should result in more efficient productive processes and economic growth. However, thanks to the combined use of Directional Distance Function, Cluster analysis and Hansen threshold techniques, we evidence strong heterogeneity across different groups of countries. As a consequence, we argue that the international environmental reforms agenda should not follow a one-size-fits-all approach and, especially in relation to less developed economies, it should go hand in hand with other kinds of reforms.

The Impact of Openness on Human Capital: A Study of Countries by the Level of Development

This study investigates the impact of openness on human capital in 112 countries worldwide in 2000–2019. An two-stage least square fixed-effect model with instrumental variables is used to unravel the complicated relationship between human capital and its key determinants. The empirical results show that the impacts of openness vary greatly among different groups of countries. For example, while FDI has no effect on human capital in developed and upper-middle-income developing countries, its effect is positive in lower-middle-income countries and negative in low-income countries. Exports stimulate human capital formation in developed countries but in low-income developing countries, they act as an impediment to human capital formation. Imports have a positive effect on human capital in developing countries; however, in developed countries, the effect of imports on human capital is negative. International cooperation effectively raises the level of human capital in developed, upper-middle-income and low-income countries; however, it has no effect in lower-middle-income countries. In light of mindsponge—mindspongeconomics and the SM3D knowledge management system, the study’s findings particularly shed light on the long-term development roadmap associated with human capital and openness expansion in less developed and emerging countries in years to come.

Cesarean section trends from 1992 to 2016 in Estonia and Finland: A registry-based study.

The number of cesarean sections (CSs) has grown steadily, but the underlying factors driving this increase remain unknown. Data from Medical Birth Registries were retrieved to analyze CS trends in Estonia and Finland during the period 1992-2016. All births in Estonia (n = 356 063) and Finland (n = 1 437 234) were included. The differences between Estonia and Finland in five-year time periods for the total CS rate, and rates in Robson 1, 2, and 5 groups (R1, R2, R5) were analyzed by logistic regression. Total CS rates were adjusted for birthweight, parity, previous CS, gestational age, singleton pregnancy, cephalic position, induction, mother's age. R1; R2; R5 rates were adjusted for birthweight and mother's age. In Estonia, the proportion of CSs increased from 6.5% to 21.0% and in Finland from 15.1% to 16.8% between 1992 and 2016. In 2016, Estonia and Finland remained within the target value with their R1 + 2 (Estonia 18%; Finland 16%) and R5 (Estonia 59%; Finland 42%) values. Comparing Robson groups in different countries can shed light on divergent CS rates and to improve the quality of perinatal and obstetric care.

Comparative characteristics of accounting models

The relevance of this study lies in the need to investigate evolution of accounting practices and influence of economic, political, and social factors on them over time. Investigating the evolution of accounting practices is essential to gain insight into the historical context of how accounting has adapted to the changing circumstances. This knowledge helps appreciate the foundations of modern accounting and identify the reasons behind current practices. The purpose of this study was to compare the types of accounting models and to consider their impact on the present accounting systems. Among theoretical research methods, which formed the basis of this study, are methods of qualitative data processing and prognostic methods. Key element of the research methodology is the historical-theoretical part, which involves the study of accounting models of different groups of countries, considering the connections and interdependencies between them. It was concluded that the development of accounting models was affected by various factors that lead to distinguishing certain types with their own characteristics: Continental (with strict laws and conservatism); Anglo-American (limited intervention in accounting regulation); South American (adaptation to high inflation and simple accounting system) and Islamic (compliance with religious principles and lack of diversity in accounting). The orientation of the information is different for every separate model. The continental model is intended for state needs and the provision of reports; the Anglo-American model is for the needs of investors, stock market participants and the requests of creditors; the South American one is focused on state regulation and taxation of economic activity; Islamic is for state and economic regulation and religious principles. The study of both the rudimentary state and the modern application of the international accounting system plays an important theoretical and practical role for the development of accounting and taxation area. Practical value of the study is that the research results and discussions enhance better understanding the nature of modern accounting practices, provide insight into how changes in business processes, cultural norms, as well as legal and regulatory frameworks shaped accounting practices and systems

Health inequalities for older people from minority ethnic groups receiving palliative care and end of life care: A scoping review protocol.

The proposed scoping review aims to explore international literature on how older people from minority ethnic groups engage with and utilise palliative and end of life care, investigate the barriers and facilitators, and compare how this varies between ethnicities and health conditions. Minority ethnic groups make up substantial parts of the populations of many countries around the world. Research has found that there are disparities in access to palliative care and end of life care among minority ethnic groups. Language barriers, cultural values, and socio-demographic factors have been cited as preventing access to quality palliative and end of life care. However, it is unclear how these barriers and inequalities differ across different minority ethnic groups in different countries, and across different health conditions within these groups. The population will be older people of different minority ethnic groups who are receiving palliative or end of life care, family caregivers, and health and social care professionals. The sources of information will include quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research, and sources that focus on minority ethnic groups' interactions with palliative and end of life care. A scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis. Searches of MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Assia, and the Cochrane Library will be conducted. Citation tracking, reference list checking and grey literature searches will be undertaken. Data will be extracted, charted and summarised descriptively. This review will highlight the health inequalities present in palliative and end of life care, the research gaps in understudied minority ethnic populations, locations where further study is required, and how barriers and facilitators differ across different ethnic groups and health conditions. The results of this review will be shared with stakeholders and will provide evidence-based recommendations for inclusive palliative and end of life care.

Evaluating and Measuring Exactly the Distances between Aggregate Health Performances: A Global Health Data and Welfare Regime Analysis

This paper presents the results of a global data analysis that for the first time ever looks at the exact performance distances when combining groups of quantitative health and health care indicators that stand for performance differences between the health care system performances of different countries in every corner of the world. Thus, by using Aspalter’s new Standardized Relative Performance Index, we can now not just rank all health care systems and health policy outcomes (as before) but can also, which is entirely new, measure them exactly and compare them exactly with one to another and/or different groups of indicators (dimensions) thereof. The World Health Organization, the Organization of Economic Corporation and Development, and the World Bank have yet to use such an indicator (Aspalter’s Index) that is able to add up and directly compare different variables, groups of variables among each other, and, of course, for example, different groups of countries among each other, while adding to the quality and quantity of overall information and knowledge gathered on the research subject(s) in the case of quantitative data analysis. For a more in-depth analytical purpose, the “Ten Worlds of Welfare Regime Theory” (or “ten worlds theory” in short) has been used to arrive at further conclusions and extra valuable information and knowledge on top of the rich comparative data analysis conducted in this study.

Diverging or converging to a green world? Impact of green growth measures on countries' economic performance.

Green growth has emerged in recent years to respond to environmental problems caused by climate change and the scarcity of resources. However, today's green growth involves environmental, social and financial dimensions. In this context, many countries are currently seeking green growth for their economic development through the efficient use of their resources. This study aims to assess the impact of green growth performance on the economic development of countries. A quantitative approach was applied to a sample of 172 countries worldwide, and the formulated hypotheses were tested through multiple linear regressions estimated by the ordinary least squares method. The economic development of countries was measured by the Human Development Index (HDI) and measures the sustainability performance of countries by the Green Growth Index (GGI). The results of this study demonstrate that (i) the measures of green growth performance have a positive impact on the economic development of high-income, upper-middle-income, and lower-middle-income economies, (ii) in poorer economies, less is the contribution of green growth to economic development, mainly because they neglecting the social dimension despite the numerous existing projects in these economies for greater inclusion and (iii) green economic opportunities (green investment, green trade, green employment and green innovation) do not influence green economic development in all analysed economies. Consequently, suggestions were made for policymakers from different groups of countries to increase and accelerate their sustainable green growth. Literature on economic development and green growth is still scarce, especially at the empirical level, and few studies use the 2020 GGI data. In addition, this study also uses recent rankings of world economies to categorize the economic development of countries.

Career adapt-ability scale -short form: Validation among early career stage of Chinese university graduates.

The Career Adapt-Ability Scale (CAAS) is the favored method among researchers for measuring career adaptability. The 12-item version of CAAS-SF, which was made by Maggiori, Rossier, and Savickas based on a change to CAAS, has been slowly used by different groups in different countries and regions. As samples for the validation of the scale in this study, 571 Chinese university graduates in the early stages of their professions were chosen. Principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis suggest that CAAS-SF and CAAS have very similar psychological measurement features and factor structures. And the internal consistency of each subscale and total scale are equivalent to or greater than that of the CAAS assessment. These findings indicate that the CAAS-SF is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating China's career adaptability. In addition, limitations, issues for further research, and suggestions are emphasized.

National archives, national memory? How national archives describe themselves and their mission

There is a widespread notion that archives, especially national archival institutions, represent the nation’s memory. Historically, archives have played an important role for history writing, thereby contributing to the construction of national master narratives and the strengthening of national identities. What the association between archives and memory actually means is however debated in archival literature. Taking the discussion on the relation between archives and memory as a starting point, this study examines how national archives in today’s world present themselves to the public. The source material consists of mission statements collected from 138 webpages and 18 Facebook accounts all over the world. The first research question concerns the connection between mission statements and a national master narrative, the second asks where references to national memory and national identity are most pronounced, and the third asks whether self-images of national archives can be connected to historical experiences. The analysis shows that mission statements contain many allusions to history and heritage, while references to memory and identity are less widespread than expected. Some variations between continents, and between different groups of countries are identified, although relatively small. A possible explanation is that national archives are engaged in quite a lot of international cooperation, for instance in the International Council on Archives and UNESCO. Thus, they are likely to be as much influenced by each other as by the political environment in their own countries.

The Essence of Economic Crises and Accumulations of Uncertainties

The current level of development of the global economy and the closer ties between countries make economies more interconnected but more vulnerable. In recent years, the continuous manifestations and accumulations of economic instabilities have shown the need to conduct additional studies. A thorough analysis of the characteristics, causes, and consequences of crises around the world has become an integral part of professional discussions. Usually, economic crises have both common elements and different characteristics. This article summarizes the types of economic crises, classifies them according to different criteria, and presents the impact of global instabilities on different groups of countries.

Русские частушки и испанские куплеты фламенко: опыт типологического сопоставления

The fate of folk genres can be completely different in different peoples and historical periods: some disappear without a trace in the manuscripts, others reach the later epochs on the pages of a small number of surviving books and others develop, go out into great stages and conquer entire countries. This is the destiny of flamenco which consists of three elements, that is music, poetry and dance and became the cultural practice of southern Spain during the 19th century. In that same century in Russia, the genre of chastushka was formed. Like the flamenco couplets, it flourished in the vulnerable and precarious social layer of the urban population formed by the peasants deprived of land who went to earn a living in the cities. The synchrony of the global socio-political processes, one of which and also the most key throughout the 19th century was industrialization, suggests that in some social groups in different countries could arise and develop similar forms of art so it is interesting to compare milestones in the history of flamenco copla and chastushka, analyze themes and their lexical content. The aim of the paper is to discover similarity and difference between two folk genres at a certain historical stage of their existence. As an analytical basis, collections of texts and scientific research in Russian and Spanish are adopted from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st one.

ДИНАМІКА І СТРУКТУРА ГЛОБАЛЬНИХ ПОТОКІВ ПРЯМИХ ІНОЗЕМНИХ ІНВЕСТИЦІЙ

The article examines the inflow of foreign direct investment around the world, distinguishing different groups of countries. It was found that global FDI flows tend to increase in all regions of the world, despite the difficult year 2020 – the period of COVID-19, with a significant decrease in developed countries. The countries of Europe and North America contributed the most to the global decline in FDI: more than 100% and 46%, respectively. However, the decline was very uneven across regions, with Latin America and the Caribbean down 37%, Africa down 18% and developing Asia down 4%. FDI in countries with transition economies decreased by 77% compared to 2019 to $13 billion. USA. After a significant recovery in 2021, global foreign direct investment fell by 12% in 2022 to $1.3 trillion. The reason for this was the global crises that overlapped each other during a certain period of time. The decline was felt mainly in advanced economies, where FDI fell by 37% to $378 billion. We find that despite a slowdown in global FDI flows in 2022, new investment showed moderate growth. In the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, FDI inflows fell by 26%, the main reason was the withdrawal of investments from Luxembourg (with the exception of Luxembourg, FDI flows in 27 European countries increased by 22%). However, this decline was partially offset by strong growth in Switzerland as well as the United Kingdom. Consequently, FDI flows to the United States decreased by 21% in 2022 and increased in other countries, including Australia, Italy and Sweden. If we single out some regions, we can conclude that the inflow of direct foreign investment to the G20 countries has decreased by 15%. While they increased by 7% in the G20 OECD countries, FDI fell by 38% in the non-OECD G20 countries, mainly due to declines in China and to a lesser extent in South Africa, compared to their peaks levels recorded in 2021. Foreign direct investment flows in Brazil increased by 68%. According to the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2023, most economies in the region have recovered FDI inflows and only a few have experienced a downturn. The largest recipients of foreign direct invest- ment in the first quarter of 2023 were the USA, Brazil and China. The main sources of FDI outflows around the world were the United States of America, Germany and China.

Foreign direct investment under uncertainty evidence from a large panel of countries

AbstractWe examine the effect of uncertainty on foreign direct investment inflows for advanced, emerging market and developing countries over a 25‐year long (pre‐Covid) sample. Using a push‐pull framework, and controlling for both global and local factors, we find policy uncertainty has discernable and significant effects on inflows, varying in strength and direction between different groups of countries. Moreover, it is not host country uncertainty that seems to matter the most, but rather global uncertainty. Additionally, we find that high levels of uncertainty matter disproportionately. Finally, financial openness accentuates the impact of uncertainty for emerging market and developing countries.

Drivers of global carbon emission changes: A heterogeneity perspective of decomposition and attribution analysis

Due to the differences in economic development, resource endowment, and historical accumulation, different types of countries have significant technical heterogeneity in carbon emissions. Identifying the driving factors of carbon emission changes, under the premise of distinguishing national heterogeneity, can provide a basis for the formulation of the “Differentiated Responsibilities” emission reduction policies. Therefore, this study introduces the idea of Meta-frontier into the traditional production-theoretical decomposition analysis, and constructs a new influencing factor analysis framework. Based on the newly built method, the empirical study of 60 representative countries draws the following three meaningful conclusion: 1) Different types of countries have obvious heterogeneity in technology, efficiency and change trend of energy use. Specifically, countries with higher energy intensity values generally have a quicker decline rate than those with lower energy intensity values. There exists “catch-up” effects for the backward to the advanced countries. 2) Decomposition results show that potential energy intensity (PEI) is the dominant factor reducing carbon emissions, especially for those large economic output with large energy consumption (Group-L) countries (0.604). Economic activity effect (ECA) is the most significant driving force for countries with small economic output and small energy consumption (Group-S), reaching 1.806. Meanwhile, the attribution results showed different characteristics in different groups of countries. The impact of various factors that reflect the heterogeneity of production process on carbon emissions mainly comes from the contribution of Group-L. 3) We suggest that, in the process of carbon reduction, large energy consumption countries should pay more attention to the gap between the development and speed of the world’s cutting-edge technologies.

Evolution of global music trends: An exploratory and predictive approach based on Spotify data

Music listening choices are considered to be a factor capable of measuring people’s emotions. Thanks to the explosion of streaming music applications in recent years, it is possible to describe listening trends of the global population based on emotional features. In this paper we have analysed the most popular songs from 52 countries on Spotify through their features of danceability, positivity and intensity. This analysis allows exploring how these song features reflect mood trends along with other contextual factors that may affect the population’s listening behaviour, such as the weather or the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, we have proposed a multivariate time series model to predict the preferred type of music in those countries based on their previous music listening patterns and the contextual factors. The results show some relevant behavioural changes in these patterns due to the effect of the pandemic. Furthermore, the resulting prediction model enables forecasting the type of music listened to in three different groups of countries in the next 4 months with an error around 1%. These results may help to better understand streaming music consumption in businesses related to the music and marketing industry.