Growth Path Research Articles

Analysis of the Insurance Applicant's Obligation of Truthful Disclosure

Since China implemented the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, the insurance industry has gradually embarked on a path of sustained growth and development. In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization, ushering in an unprecedented era of expansion and diversification in the insurance industry. Against the backdrop of increasing public risk awareness, insurance has become an important tool for individuals seeking to mitigate potential losses in their risk efforts. However, this trend has also raised concerns about the ethical and legal responsibilities of insurance companies. A common dissatisfaction expressed by policyholders is that there is a difference between the optimistic description of insurance products during the sales process and the refusal of claims for false reasons after risks occur. This phenomenon has raised doubts about the true disclosure obligations of insurance companies under the Insurance Law and the necessity of improving transparency and accountability in insurance transactions. This study aims to delve deeper into this complex issue by examining the legal framework of policyholders' true disclosure obligations under the context of insurance contracts. By doing so, it seeks to contribute to the ongoing legal reform discussions within the insurance industry, with the ultimate goal of promoting a more fair, transparent, and harmonious insurance ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders.

Economic resilience and the dynamics of capital stock

Abstract The role of capital in measuring resilience is investigated. Focusing on the current short-run and potential long-run growth paths of the economic system, we propose new indexes to separately measure adaptability and resistance to shocks, which are the essence of a system’s resilience. Capital dynamics during the transition and along the balanced growth path are used here instead of employment to represent the evolution of the size and composition of the economy. Our indexes measure adaptability and resistance by comparing the two capital growth rates. They are built by mimicking the average and variance of the difference in growth rates. In this new setting, investment and depreciation flows play an important role in explaining what the partial index of adaptability reveals. The available data on the USA and Spanish capital allow us to empirically compute the indexes and draw conclusions about their ability to resist shocks and absorb their effects. We conclude that the US economy is more adaptable and has a greater capacity to absorb impacts than the Spanish economy, but it is less resistant to disturbances.

Impact of initial business model on the growth trajectory of new technology-based firms: a path dependency perspective

AbstractOur study explores links between the initial business model design and the post-founding development of new technology-based firms (NTBFs) through a selection of recently established NTBFs across Sweden, Finland, and France (481 firms). The trajectory of these firms’ performance has been observed and analyzed over the span of five years. The study examines the long-term effects of NTBFs’ initial business model design on their development and the path dependency of these designs on future firm performance. Our results indicate that high-growth and stable NTBFs have distinct initial designs, implying that new firms’ founders and their business design decisions have important consequences for subsequent NTBF development. Specifically, our study examines how business model characteristics impact the growth trajectory of NTBFs by empirically differentiating between the foundational characteristics of high-growth and stable NTBFs. We find that maintaining stable activity is linked to a low level of uniqueness, less demanding business objectives, and a lack of risk while high-growth is related to a larger early access to resources. We propose an explanation using path dependency literature, arguing how early business model choices predetermine long-term growth paths. Our research also provides valuable insights for stakeholders in designing targeted strategies for sustainable development.

The Development Path of Wenzhou's Integration of the Private Economy and Vocational Education Under the "Four Chain Drive" Model

Wenzhou City, one of the key areas in China for private economic development, has been actively pushing for the deep integration of the private sector and vocational education in recent years, seizing the chance presented by the "Ministry and Province Co-constructing" National Highland of Vocational Education Innovation pilot project. This study attempts to investigate the creative growth path by using the integration of the private business and vocational education in Wenzhou City as the research object and the "four-chain-driven" model as the theoretical foundation. This study determines the research status, issues, and influencing factors of the industry and education integration mode by methodically arranging the academic history and dynamics of related research both domestically and internationally. It also incorporates the chain theory into the relevant research on the evolution of the integration of industry and education, which offers the theoretical foundation for this investigation. Research on the current state of Wenzhou's integration of the private sector and vocational education, research on influencing factors, and research on the "four-chain-driven" model are all included in the study. In order to provide references for governmental decision-making, this study aims to thoroughly analyse the current state of affairs, issues, and potential mechanisms of the integration of the private economy and vocational education in Wenzhou from multiple dimensions through empirical investigation, statistical analysis, and case studies. In the end, this research seeks to create an innovative "four-chain-driven" model of industry-education integration and development that is in line with Wenzhou's real circumstances. It also offers theoretical direction and doable avenues for Wenzhou to achieve superior industry-education integration development.

The role of tourism in European regions’ economic recovery: A spatial perspective

The study searches for the presence of a tourism-led growth path after a negative shock. Both the presence of a tourism role in the recovery process and the existence of a spatial interdependence across regions are investigated. The purpose of the study is to look at insights, provided in particular by the experience of the 2007–2008 crisis in European regions, that can be useful to build a recovery after any future shocks, as for example the COVID-19 pandemic resulted to be. The findings show the presence of a strong spatial dependence in the recovery process and, furthermore, the positive potential that tourism activities exert on the ability to recover favouring positive spillovers across regions.

Impact of trade and investment on income surge in Bangladesh: Evidence from trade liberalization regime

Trade and investment are crucial drivers of economic growth. Successful execution of trade and investment policy can elevate a developing country to a sustained growth path and make it self‐reliant. Bangladesh implemented a trade liberalization policy in the 1980s, deviating much from its conservative trade policy. This article assesses the impacts of trade, investment in physical as well as human capital, and a few trade policy variables on income surge for the liberalized regime. The econometric analysis finds that export, import, and domestic investment stimulate income. The impact of foreign investment is not conducive. Public spending on education also contributes to the income surge. Among the policy variables, trade openness and currency depreciation produce a beneficial impact. Population growth retards economic growth. The baseline results hold in the estimations involving several specifications of variables and testified as robust. The article views that a comprehensive approach to trade and investment policy would ensure the comparative advantage of trade and the well‐being of Bangladesh.

Integrating improved ecosystem status assessment and ecosystem management urgency to identify important zones for ecological protection and restoration

The implementation of ecological protection and restoration (EPR) aims to provide the corresponding ecosystem services (ESs) for the region’s long-term development. Ecosystem status, usually evaluated by ecosystem quality, is an important foundation for delineating EPR zones. However, previous assessment methods fail to consider the effects of site conditions on ecosystem status. Furthermore, if limited resources are allocated to areas where ecosystem management is less urgent, the overall efficiency of the process will be compromised. To fill this gap, we developed a new framework that integrated improved ecosystem status assessment and ecosystem management urgency (EMU) to identify important EPR zones. To begin, the study area was divided into several ecosystem site type based on the site-condition factors, such as soil, climate, and others. Ecological quality then was assessed by parameters from remote sensing, including leaf area index, fractional vegetation cover, etc., which supported the identification of potential EPR zones based on a more accurate assessment of ecosystem status. Secondly, the EMU was determined by assessing the risk of ES supply–demand in the future under various development paths of the study area, potential EPR zones with great EMU are the EPR zones. Finally, the importance levels for EPR were divided by ecosystem quality to improve the practicability of EPR projects, and the important EPR zones are those where we should focus our efforts. The new framework was implemented in Hunan Province, a representative province in China of marked contradiction between economic development and ecosystem protection. The findings show that there is a 58.7 % disparity in the spatial distribution of potential EPR zones, depending on whether the impacts of site conditions on ecosystem status are taken into account or not; and given the EMU, the extent of important EPR zones under natural growth path (NGP) and economic development path (EDP) account for 0.43 % (902.15 km2) and 0.56 % (1195.43 km2) of the study area, respectively, comparing to the existing protection zones, there is 7.2 % (NGP) and 10.1 % (EDP) of vacancy, respectively. Under the ecosystem conservation path, the extent of EPR zones is 0, indicating that the ecosystem will recover gradually without the need for excessive human intervention. The new framework can assist in accurately identifying important EPR zones and promoting regional development by advanced ecosystem intervention in areas with potential risk in the future.

Determinants of Kuwait long‐run and short‐run economic growth

AbstractThis paper examined the relationship between growth and its demand side determinants in Kuwait from 1970 to 2020. A set of autoregressive distributed lag models were applied to estimate the long‐ and short‐run relationships between economic growth and its determinants. The results suggest that exports, gross fixed capital formation (investment), imports and household spending exhibit a long‐run relationship with economic growth. While exports, gross fixed capital formation, share of government spending in GDP and household spending exhibit short‐run relationship with growth. Moreover, the results suggest that long‐ and short‐run economic growth in Kuwait is mainly driven by exports and to a lesser extent household spending. As Kuwaiti exports are dominated by oil exports and oil production is limited to the organisation of petroleum exporting countries quota this limits the policy makers from the most effective tool to stimulate growth. In this context Kuwait needs to enact policies to diversify exports, build a local industrial base, utilise imports to feed into non‐oil export sectors, direct investment spending to develop non‐oil industries and encourage FDI to facilitate innovation and technology transfers and spill overs to progress from a volatile oil‐based economy to a more diversified and sustainable growth path.

Quantitative analysis and stochastic modeling of osteophyte formation and growth process on human vertebrae based on radiographs: a follow-up study

Osteophytes are frequently observed in elderly people and most commonly appear at the anterior edge of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae body. The anterior osteophytes keep developing and will lead to neck/back pain over time. In clinical practice, the accurate measurement of the anterior osteophyte length and the understanding of the temporal progression of anterior osteophyte growth are of vital importance to clinicians for effective treatment planning. This study proposes a new measuring method using the osteophyte ratio index to quantify anterior osteophyte length based on lateral radiographs. Moreover, we develop a continuous stochastic degradation model with time-related functions to characterize the anterior osteophyte formation and growth process on cervical and lumbar vertebrae over time. Follow-up data of anterior osteophytes up to 9 years are obtained for measurement and model validation. The agreement test indicates excellent reproducibility for our measuring method. The proposed model accurately fits the osteophyte growth paths. The model predicts the mean time to onset of pain and obtained survival function of the degenerative vertebrae. This research opens the door to future quantification and mathematical modeling of the anterior osteophyte growth on human cervical and lumbar vertebrae. The measured follow-up data is shared for future studies.

Asynchronicities of growth: a process extension to the Uppsala model of internationalisation

AbstractWe contend that the Uppsala internationalisation process (IP) Model offers the basis, yet unrealised, for a process theory of growth of the internationalising firm. From the Model’s origins, particularly in Penrosean theory, we develop this potential by offering a theory extension that explicates the organisational changes within the firm required to sustain international growth. This repositioning distinguishes us from previous attempts to amend, supplant or extend the IP Model. In developing the theory extension, we specify how we remain faithful to the IP Model’s behavioural assumption ground. We provide a model of the internationalising firm that posits non-linear growth paths. This is due to the challenges of synchronising the external opportunity seeking of the firm as it expands internationally with the internal capacity building required to realise these opportunities. Introducing to the IB field this asynchronicity problem, an absence of temporal concurrence, we show its potential in explaining organisational changes and discontinuities in the internationalising firm’s development as it seeks to grow. By extending the IP Model to offer a theory of growth of the internationalising firm, we provide the basis for further process scholarship on this topic that addresses contemporary concerns and developments.

State-society relations and the “re-industrialization” of the developed world: Power relations, coordination and growth paths

State-society relations and the “re-industrialization” of the developed world: Power relations, coordination and growth paths

Intergenerational transmission and the reinforcement of the political engagement gap: Identifying how university‐educated parents enable their children to become more politically interested during early adolescence

AbstractResearch consistently shows that parents' educational attainment is associated with their children's level of political interest. The life stage when this relationship is established and grows has been identified to be between the ages of 10 and 16. This paper identifies the social class‐based practices that drive the influence of parental education on the development of political interest among early adolescents and explains why the social gap grows at this point. The paper draws on two panel surveys, the Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study and the Understanding Society Youth Survey, and applies latent growth curve modelling and path analysis. The findings show that university‐educated parents influence the change in political interest of their children in early adolescence by raising their educational aspirations, enabling their access to political activities in school, choosing the school for their children, taking their children to museums and art galleries and influencing their children's friendship groups.

The enablers and stumbling blocks in sustaining growth of women-owned micro-enterprises in India – a qualitative inquiry

Purpose The study aims to understand why women-owned microenterprises (WOMEs) in India experience a lower growth rate, where growth can be represented in increments in the venture’s size or scope. There is no conclusive understanding of the factors that affect the sustained growth of WOMEs in India. Design/methodology/approach What personal, social and economic factors support or hinder the choice, growth and sustainability of women-owned ventures? What role do institutional factors (government, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), self-help groups and microfinance institutions) play toward the sustainability of WOMEs? The answers to these questions were obtained through a qualitative design by interviewing 30 micro women entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu, a Southern state of India and one of the largest hubs for WOMEs and their responses were content analyzed using NVivo 12 software. Findings The findings capture and apply the fundamentals of two key theoretical perspectives, resource-based view (RBV) and self-determination theory (SDT), in identifying the links between the individual, social and economic factors and their combined effect on the sustained growth of women-owned micro businesses. The findings add value in identifying the ingrained cultural norms and traditions and several internal and external factors that support or challenge the growth of WOMEs. This study highlights that the interventions by the government need to be strengthened for the growth and sustainability of WOMEs. Practical implications The study’s findings provide suggestions to policymakers, banks, funding agencies, financial institutions and NGOs to design applicable policies and schemes toward the sustained growth of WOMEs. Originality/value This study contributes toward a better understanding of the trends in the context of WOMEs from an Indian context. This topic has received little attention in the academic literature. Second, the study’s conceptual contribution is an application of SDT and RBV to understand and categorize the enablers and deterrents in the path of growth of WOMEs, which is a novel pursuit.

The Supermultiplier Model and the Role of Autonomous Demand: An Empirical Test for European Countries

ABSTRACT In recent years, Supermultiplier models have attracted rising attention, highlighting the role of autonomous components of demand in shaping the long-run growth path of the economy. This paper aims to empirically test the implications of this approach in selected European economies, grouped according to the literature on welfare model classification. First, we outline the short-run adjustments and long-run relations between autonomous demand growth and output by estimating a vector error-correction model (VECM). Second, we assess if a causal relationship between the variables can be identified by estimating a structural model and computing the orthogonalized impulse response functions, focusing in particular on the effects of a demand shock on output. The empirical results confirm a positive and significant relation between autonomous demand and output in the long run for all countries considered. Moreover, we find that the causal direction runs from the former to the latter, corroborating the idea that autonomous demand shocks permanently affect the growth path of the economies under scrutiny.

Crustal anisotropy beneath southeast Tibet revealed by Pms arrival times

AbstractThe mechanisms of uplift and deformation of the Tibetan Plateau are highly concerned. Understanding the crustal deformation mechanisms beneath southeast Tibet is important as it is located at the major path of Tibet's growth or expansion. Recent studies are controversial on whether large‐scale crustal flow is dominant or not in this area. We applied Pms arrival time technique based on receiver function to events from 10 years of observation and obtained the crustal anisotropy parameters. The results show that both the large‐scale faults and local crustal flow play major roles in crustal deformation in interested areas, while the large‐scale crustal flow is not very well preferred. Furthermore, the crustal anisotropy in southeast of the study area is characterized by complex anisotropies, which may be potentially related to the converging of two mantle flows from various origins.

Research on the Psychological Growth Path of College Students from the Perspective of Discontinuity and Balance Theory

Mental health education is an integral component of ideological and political education, serving as a cornerstone in promoting campus harmony and stability. From the discontinuity and balance theory perspective, the agenda setting is closely intertwined with pertinent psychological policies, implementation strategies, and pathways for psychological growth. By attending to the psychological growth issues and information of college students sequentially, ideological and political workers collaborate with psychology experts, we-media platforms, as well as relevant psychological organizations and associations to collectively influence policy-making processes while promoting policy development changes and enhancing the effectiveness of policy implementation. Empirical research findings systematically demonstrate that the mental growth status of college students exhibits positive correlations with variables such as their emotional difficulties, carriers for disseminating psychological work propaganda, peer counselors’ working modes, ripple effects from network hot events, and learning outcomes from online courses. This paper explores practical endeavours and innovative attempts towards constructing an atmosphere conducive to mental health education, promoting equilibrium within psychological educational policies, and enhancing educational outcomes for college students.

Phase field simulations on the rate‐ and grain‐size‐dependent crack propagation of polycrystalline NiTi shape memory alloy

AbstractA three‐dimensional non‐isothermal phase field model of polycrystalline NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) was established based on the Ginzburg–Landau's theory, which considered the interaction between crack growth and martensite transformation (MT). Then, the crack propagation of polycrystalline NiTi SMA and its dependence on the system's grain size and loading rate were studied by the phase field simulations. The results show that the proposed phase field model can characterize the MT behavior, temperature field changes, and stress‐displacement response of NiTi SMA during the crack growth with different grain sizes and loading rates. That is the higher the loading rate, the higher the fracture toughness is; the larger the grain size, the higher the fracture toughness is and the more significant the influence of grain boundary on the crack growth path becomes. Meanwhile, as the grain size increases, the fracture mode gradually changes from the transgranular fracture (for the fine‐grained alloy with a grain size ≈ 15 nm) to the intergranular one (for the coarse‐grained alloy with a grain size ≈ 100 nm).

Financial intermediation and efficient risk sharing in two-period lived OLG models

AbstractThis article investigates a two-period lived overlapping-generations (OLG) model that incorporates financial intermediation. A risk-neutral bank offers loan and deposit contracts that insure risk-averse agents against idiosyncratic income shocks. Agents prefer financial intermediation to capital markets if it provides efficient risk sharing. The analysis demonstrates that in any two-period lived OLG model in which productive capital is increasing in investment levels, financial intermediation, when implemented for the purpose of efficient risk sharing, cannot instigate business cycles or complex dynamics. The resulting dynamics is monotonic and qualitatively indistinguishable from the dynamics of the classical OLG model by Diamond (Am Econ Rev 55(5):1126–1150, 1965). Business cycles may only occur if banks offer inefficient contracts. Efficient contracts will, in general, not induce dynamically efficient growth paths.

Missing Transformational Place Leadership-Why High-Tech Industries are not Developed in Hong Kong

This paper adopts a place leadership perspective to examine the failed efforts of developing high-tech industries in Hong Kong. It demonstrates that it is challenging to change from transactional to transformational leadership and argues that the failure of developing high-tech industries in Hong Kong is partially attributable to the lack of transformational political and business leaderships. The political leaders' ineffectiveness in developing hightech industries in Hong Kong is also attributable to the regional/national/international institutional structural forces that have created both opportunities and challenges. This study contributes to the discussion on the critical value of transformational place leadership for creating new local/regional economic growth path and the embeddedness of place leadership in local/regional/national political and economic institutions.

Impact of pollution prevention practices and Green Environmental practices on sustainable performance: Empirical evidence from Chinese SMEs

Adequate protection of the environment is one of the hot spots of concern for all sectors of society due to severe environmental pollution. The solution to this issue is friendly management of the environment. With the rapid growth of Chinese Manufacturing SMEs for economic development, environmental pollution and abuse of resources are arising. To resolve these issues, Chinese manufacturing SMEs are accelerating the implementation of green innovation in their industries. However, it is a complex task that involves enterprise, government, and social considerations. Therefore, it is essential to identify the green drivers for this implementation. With a focus on China's current situation from previous research and views from experts, this study aims to investigate how Chinese Manufacturing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are responding to resource misuse and environmental pollution by implementing green innovation, emphasising the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving environmental performance. This study primarily looks into the factors that influence the adoption of green innovations by analysing the growth paths of Chinese SMEs operating in highly polluting industries over a longer time frame than five years. Artificial Intelligence is a valuable tool for solving the issues of ecological degradation. A quantitative method has been implemented for the Chinese companies’ samples from the deeply polluting industries for more than five years. The findings of this paper advise that the average board size, the governing board meetings, and organisational performance are positively connected with the Chinese firms' environmental process. Board independence and diversity of gender have irrelevant associations with ecological performance. A convenient threshold regression model has been used to accumulate the respondents' data. It also reveals that larger board sizes and more frequent governing board meetings are positively associated with improved environmental performance among these firms. The findings state the critical implications for the firm executives, policymakers, environmental activists, and regulators. This result supports the insight drained from the resource dependence, stakeholder, firm agency, and legitimacy theories.