Market Issues Research Articles

A causality investigation into stock prices and macroeconomic indicators in the Indian stock market

Background of the study The systematic impact of macroeconomic variables on stock market returns makes it crucial to comprehend the link between macroeconomic variables and the stock market. Stock prices are closely linked to macroeconomic indicators, a crucial aspect for investors, policymakers, and researchers in emerging markets like India, influencing investment decisions and policy formulation. Methods The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model was used in this study to examine the causal links between specific macroeconomic factors and Indian stock prices from April 2009 to March 2023. Results The outcomes of the research suggest that macroeconomic variables exert influence on the Indian stock market, across the short and long term. Moreover, the results of the paired Granger causality test suggest that the domestic macroeconomic variables possess predictive significance for stock prices in the Indian stock market. Conclusion The study reveals that macroeconomic variables significantly impact the Indian stock market, highlighting the need for investors and portfolio managers to monitor these conditions to optimize returns and mitigate risks. The Reserve Bank of India should maintain an optimal money supply to prevent inflation and exchange rate fluctuations, while bolstering the export sector and facilitating imports through initiatives like Atma-nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India. Policies focusing on productivity, infrastructure, and a favourable business environment are also crucial. Therefore, it is crucial for investors and portfolio managers to consistently analyse the current macroeconomic conditions in order to maximize their profits and minimize risks. This research has extensive significance for comprehending the intricate connections between the stock market and macroeconomic issues.

Effects of Dietary Microalgae Schizochytrium sp. Supplementation on Growth Performance and Skin Color in Jack Dempsey cichlid (Rocio octofasciata)

Growth retardation and decreased vivid coloration are significant issues in the ornamental fish market, particularly among cichlids. This study investigates the effects of Schizochytrium sp. microalgae supplementation on the growth and skin coloration of the Jack Dempsey cichlid (Rocio octofasciata). Three experimental groups were established: a control group (C) with no supplementation, and two microalgae-supplemented groups with 0.5% (S05) and 1% (S10). The control group was fed a commercial diet, while the S05 and S10 groups received the microalgae mixed with the commercial feed via spraying. A total of 135 Jack Dempsey fish (mean initial weight: 1.17 ± 0.14 g) were stocked into nine glass tanks (100 L each), with three replicates per group. After a 60-day feeding trial, growth indices revealed significant differences (p<0.05) between the control and algae-supplemented groups. The S10 group exhibited the highest final weight (FW) and the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR). Additionally, the weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) values for the S10 group were significantly higher than those of both the control and S05 groups (p<0.05). However, skin color parameters, including L* (brightness), a* (+red/-green axis), b* (+yellow/-blue axis), chroma (Ch), and hue angle (Hue), showed no statistical differences among the groups. This study demonstrates that a diet supplemented with 1% Schizochytrium sp. can enhance growth parameters and serve as a beneficial feed additive for Jack Dempsey cichlids.

Review the principle of trust in the marketing of investment-linked insurance products (PAYDI) in bancassurance

Trust is an essential element in the realm of investment. This study examines two legal issues in Bancassurance's PAYDI marketing. This study employs normative legal research, a systematic scientific approach used to address legal concerns that result from regulation. The utilized data consists of secondary sources, including statutes, judicial rulings, legal doctrines, and scholarly viewpoints. This study suggests that it is important to examine the teleological contractual relationship between the parties involved, particularly those that place importance on the social and moral components of the contract's goal. The collaboration between PAYDI and life insurance firms in implementing bancassurance marketing strategies with distribution business models is essential.

Metaverse: development prospects for labor relations

The article highlights the main theoretical issues related to the legal regulation of labor relations in the labor market, which are evolving within the new digital reality of the metaverse. It is noted that the metaverse is understood as a specific technological system that utilizes a set of technical tools for virtualizing space. The choice of direction depends on current legislation regarding the potential for developing the labor market through the application of high-tech meta labor platforms. The study argues that the growing trend of influence on the international community and the population of Ukraine by this new digital phenomenon of modern society, the metaverse, is significant in the context of realizing the right to work. This, in the future, will allow the use of IT technologies to identify barriers that limit the development of certain labor markets, directions, and integration in service provision. The author presents a visualization of the search for ways to resolve labor relations issues in the labor market under the conditions of the metaverse. The technologies used to create it are evaluated, which have enormous potential in realizing the right to work but also carry numerous risks. The article explores opportunities for improving the legal regulation of labor relations, especially in understanding the unique characteristics of elements where interaction between people occurs through their digital twins (avatars) using information technologies related to their identification and management of these digital avatars. Using existing research, the article proposes the author’s vision of the concept of a meta-labor platform and presents their understanding of meta-labor migration. The article also provides the postulates on which the concept of the modern meta-labor platform is based, indirectly through the ability to work of both meta-employers and meta-employees in the metaverse, given the current necessary technologies and infrastructure. It is suggested that the most crucial factor in transitioning to meta-labor relations is the transformation of the law as a mechanism to help organize renewed social relations. The main method used in the research of this article is the system-structural method, which allows establishing connections between different elements of the meta-labor platform as a complex system and analyzing the patterns generated by the spread of influence on meta-employers and meta-employees. Among the additional ones are used formal-logical, comparative-legal, as well as methods of legal modeling and forecasting.

Analysis of Capital Market Development and Economic Growth in Nigeria

This study examined the analysis of capital market development and economic growth in Nigeria between 1986 and 2022. As a result, the real gross domestic product was used as the dependent variable while independent variables in the study included market capitalisation, all share index, value of transactions, total number of new issues and exchange rate. The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag Modelling (ARDL) technique as well as the Engle Granger causality test were used to analyse the data obtained from the CBN statistical bulletin. The results emanating from the analysis reported that the total number of new issues had a positive impact on economic growth while other variables had insignificant effects on economic growth. Furthermore, the causality results revealed that all the stock market variables had a uni-directional causality running from each of them to economic growth. Therefore, it is recommended that new issues in the capital market should be seriously regulated as they can affect economic growth in a significant manner.

A Study of Administrative Regulations on Real Estate Project Finance and Recent PF Market Issues

Real estate project financing is the process by which real estate developers secure funding. This study categorizes the types of real estate finance and analyzes investment types based on the degree of financial companies’ participation. Financial companies invest in real estate development projects either through direct financing, using PF loans, or through indirect financing via mechanisms such as collective investment schemes. However, if a financial company is not merely a financial investor but also acts directly as a developing entity, appropriate regulation is required. From an investor protection perspective, the Financial Act aims to alleviate information asymmetry and enhance the financial soundness of financial companies. An important issue is the regulation of financial companies directly implementing real estate development projects. In particular, if a real estate development project fails, the implementer bears primary responsibility. Therefore, granting enforcement authority to a financial company that controls the funding mechanism may pose a risk to financial companies. Real estate financing suggests that administrative regulations should be organized in a way that facilitates collaboration among multiple administrative agencies. The regulatory frameworks of both the Construction Act and the Financial Act should govern financial companies’ participation in real estate development projects, necessitating close cooperation among different administrative agencies. In the complex and specialized administrative legislative process, overlapping responsibilities among multiple administrative agencies, such as those under the Real Estate Investment Company Act, may occur; conversely, gaps in responsibilities may also arise. With this in mind, it is necessary to acknowledge the role of financial companies beyond their fundraising function in real estate finance and to investigate the complex and diverse legal relationships that may arise as a result. In particular, given the current situation—marked by the downturn in the real estate PF market that began last year, the subsequent workout of Taeyoung Construction, and concerns about the deterioration of savings banks’ soundness—, it is crucial to explore an effective regulatory system for real estate development finance by integrating the Construction Act and the Financial Act.

Blockchain-enabled downward traceability to combat gray market

Cross-market brand owners have long been troubled by the gray market issues. This study examines a dual distribution channel model involving one brand owner, two retailers, and two independent markets. In this model, low-end retailers privately transfer products from the low-end to high-end markets, creating a gray market. The brand addresses this behavior by adopting blockchain. We examine the impact of blockchain on gray market invasion, firm decisions, consumer surplus, and social welfare through downward traceability. The results show that gray market invasion consistently benefits low-end market retailers while disadvantaging high-end market retailers. It is profitable for the brand to allow gray market invasion when the willingness to pay in the low-end market is substantial. Blockchain adoption can effectively inhibit gray market invasion, benefiting high-end market retailers while harming low-end market retailers and the brand, depending on the cost and penalty fee involved with blockchain implementation. When the cost of blockchain adoption is relatively low, brand adopting blockchain may achieve a win-win-win market situation. However, although consumer surplus and social welfare can benefit from a gray market invasion, adopting blockchain reduces this impact, especially when cost of blockchain adoption and penalty fee are both relatively high.

Identifying mass market adoption in the transition to electric vehicles

Abstract When plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs)—plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles—reach mass market adoption, their growth may be self-sustaining and their replacement of fossil-fuel vehicles nearly certain. Understanding this milestone is important, because afterward research and policy interventions that support PEVs will be less necessary. In this paper we outline how to identify mass market adoption and show that the PEV market has not reached this point based on two essential criteria: achieving adoption (not sales) of about 16% and the resolution of early market issues (any deficiencies affecting vehicles, infrastructure, and the surrounding ecosystem). The fact that neither of these criteria have been met highlights the early stage of the PEV market and means PEVs will require policy support throughout this decade.

A conceptual framework for exploring the use of a green marketing mix and brand image to attract customers for green services while visiting a hotel: A step toward marketing sustainability

Recently, the application of green marketing strategies to promote marketing sustainability has increased in response to the growing demand for eco-friendly products, Price, promotion, place, and service are all variables that influence purchasing decisions, and the current study aims to confirm this. as the brand plays a significant role as well because it is regarded as the driving force behind consumer attraction in society. For this study, a framework connecting brand image (brand benefits and competence, brand identity, brand personality, brand association, brand attitude, and behavior), the green marketing mix (green services, green place, green price, green promotion), and green purchasing decisions were created to better understand the relationships among these variables. Artificial neural network (ANN) analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) based on deep learning will be conducted via the new hybrid analysis approach. The research employed a survey of hotel customers in Iraq, Additionally, the researchers conducted structured interviews with a group of hotel managers. The issue of green marketing and how it relates to environmentally conscious consumer choices has received much attention, which has made addressing sustainability a top priority in the hospitality industry, particularly in hotels. In this study, customers were the main focus since their choice is crucial regarding switching to green services. However, a group of these hotel managers were interviewed to validate the findings and establish credibility. The current study was limited since it focused on clients in general, without considering clients from outside Iraq. Future studies can examine the variable of organizational support and the degree of change acceptance among customers.

SCENARIO ANALYSIS OF WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE IN BANGLADESH: AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Wholesale and retail trade is considered as one of the essential activities contributing to the domestic product, labour force and linkage between producers and consumers. The main objective of the study is to assess the status of input cost, gross output, gross value added of wholesale and retail trade in Bangladesh during the period of COVID-19 pandemic and also compare the volatility between wholesale and retail trade. The secondary data of wholesale and retail trade survey-2021 with 15,258 establishment have been collected from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Both the quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in this study. Scenario analysis was employed to find the current status of input cost, gross output, gross value added of wholesale and retail trade in Bangladesh. The study reveals that industrial cost was increased due to several constraints, including market issues, high labour costs, transportation issues, and logistical shortcomings. The findings of the volatility between wholesale and retail trade represent that retail businesses have more flexibility in expenses, while wholesale enterprises often have more output and value added. Finally, it has been found that gross output significantly depends on gross value addition, whereas COVID-19 affects all scenarios. The findings of this study would be helpful for the planners and policy makers of the trade sectors to take appropriate policies regarding wholesale and retail trade in Bangladesh.

THE IMPACT OF WAR ON THE INSURANCE MARKET OF UKRAINE: ANALYSIS OF OBSTACLES AND RESTRUCTURING OF THE FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE

The purpose. The aim is to analyze the condition, structure, and dynamics of the financial sector of Ukraine, identifying key trends. It also involves determining the major problems and growth opportunities for the financial sector as a significant factor affecting the national economy. Method. The study is based on the examination of statistical and empirical data from the National Bank of Ukraine, as well as the analysis of changes in regulatory acts governing financial services. Additionally, the author reviewed expert opinions on market issues related to specific entities. Using a comprehensive approach, the author was able to formulate general trends characteristic of the market as a whole. The results. This research presents the impact of martial law on the structure and dynamics of the financial sector in Ukraine, analyzes the causes of these changes, and identifies factors influencing the financial sector of Ukraine. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the article lies in exploring the relationship between military-political factors and the transformation of Ukraine's financial sector. The proposed study highlights the unique experience of the impact of military-political factors on the country’s financial system, which is relevant and significant for further research and practical applications. Practical significance. The practical significance of this article is that the research results will provide analytical information to financial institutions regarding the needs and opportunities for adapting to military-political risks. This will enable them to develop more effective risk management strategies and maintain stability in conflict conditions. Studying the impact of military-political factors on the stability of Ukraine's financial system can help identify key risks and ways to strengthen the resilience of financial institutions and national infrastructure.

Order-sensitive competitive revenue maximization for viral marketing in social networks

The Competitive Influence Maximization (CIM) problem is a critical issue in viral marketing, focusing on selecting a set of influential individuals, known as seed users, for competitors to maximize their revenue. These seed users have significant sway in social networks and serve as valuable marketing resources provided by the platform. They are often displayed in a certain order launched by the platform and the potential information hidden in the order can profoundly affect the final marketing outcomes. However, current CIM research predominantly emphasizes designing effective algorithms for seed selection while ignoring the impact of the seed order launched by the platform. Therefore, this paper focuses on identifying the optimal seed order to maximize platform revenue in a competitive market environment. Specifically, we introduce a new problem called Order-Sensitive Competitive Revenue Maximization (OSCRM) to investigate the CIM problem from a new practical perspective. We prove the problem to be NP-hard and present a simple greedy algorithm with a 1/3-approximate ratio. To address it more efficiently, we further propose an enhanced greedy algorithm called GMST. This algorithm leverages the maximum spanning tree (MST) and achieves a 1/2-approximate ratio. Extensive experiments on four real-world datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed GMST algorithm.

Financial Development and Income Inequality: Evidence from Latin America, 2001-2021

Numerous studies delve into the theoretical frameworks on finance and inequality. However, there are too few empirical tests on its theoretical relations due to a lack of data to capture financial development. Additionally, due to the many social and economic dimensions of a large economy such as Brazil or Argentina, it is unrealistic to consider that labor market or political issues are the only culprits of income inequality. More research is needed to understand the dynamics of inequality. In this paper, we evaluate the influence of financial development on income inequality using nineteen countries in Latin America from 2001 to 2021. Two indicators of financial development are employed. First, I use the broader definition of money, M3, as a percentage of GDP to capture the liquid liabilities because M1 or M2 may be a poor proxy in economies with weak financial systems. Secondly, the ratio of credit to private sector to GDP is employed because financial intermediaries with higher volumes of credit are more involved in financial development, such as diversifying risk, saving mobilization, facilitating transactions, allocating funding to economic activities, and monitoring borrowers’ activities. Based on the GMM estimator, our empirical findings support that better-developed financial markets reduce inequality.

Problems and Countermeasures of China's Foreign Exchange Derivatives Market

China's foreign exchange derivatives market continues to develop, but some problems remain. This essay predominantly analyzes the shortcomings in China's foreign exchange derivatives market and proposes corresponding countermeasures. This essay mainly focuses on the following four issues in China's foreign exchange derivatives market. They are trading scale and liquidity problems, insufficient product innovation, market participant structure problems, and insufficient market trust and risk awareness. Four corresponding countermeasures are proposed, which are proposed from four angles: appropriately lowering the threshold for foreign exchange derivatives business of small and medium-sized financial institutions, promoting innovation of market derivatives, strengthening market diversification, and foreign exchange derivatives supervision. This article aims to analyze China's derivatives market from multiple angles and put forward appropriate suggestions for optimizing China's foreign exchange derivatives market structure.

Scarcity and market design: How effective matching can promote the peer-to-peer sharing economy

Scarcity is an essential issue in service marketing. This study examined scarcity in a game-theoretic setting. It focused on the role of customer evaluations, through satisfaction ratings, on a technology-enabled peer-to-peer sharing economy platform in achieving stable provider–user matching. The model shows that an appropriate market design employing a user-proposing version of Gale and Shapley's (1962) deferred acceptance algorithm for a ride-sharing platform where many users approach a few providers can help avoid congestion and ensure stable matching. To manage scarcity, the model uses a customer satisfaction rating system that modifies the widely used batch matching algorithm by matching highly rated riders much faster than their low-rated peers. A platform's ability to offer time-bound stable matching for highly-rated users during scarcity is likely to help it maintain a competitive edge.

Acting like Living in a Panopticon? Hong Kong Social entrepreneurs’ Perceptions of Risks and Vulnerabilities

Hong Kong faces significant business and social uncertainty, which affects social entrepreneurs’ perceptions of risks and vulnerabilities. This study examines their narratives, taking into account the influence of Chinese propaganda, discourse and fear. Their experiences are likened to Foucault’s panopticism, where entrepreneurs feel constantly monitored, which influences their behaviour and statements. This study investigates 26 Hong Kong social enterprises through semi-structured qualitative interviews, where entrepreneurs expressed vulnerabilities, particularly of products, marketing, business model, staff, finance, low capacity and mission-related issues. Entrepreneurs also cited significant risks such as financial, operational, marketing, competitive, market, existential and political risks.

SENTIMENT ANALYSIS OF ELECTRIC CAR PRODUCT TRENDS IN INDONESIA USING BM25 AND K-NEAREST NEIGHBOR

The global and Indonesian shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) is driven by efforts to reduce emissions and promote sustainable energy. Social media, especially Twitter, functions as an important measuring tool regarding public sentiment towards electric vehicles in Indonesia, so that it can influence policy making. This research uses the BM25 and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) methods to analyze sentiment, which aims to improve EV adoption strategies. Conducted in 2023, this research applies data mining, specifically Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD), analyzing primary and secondary data descriptively and quantitatively starting with data collection from Twitter, followed by data crawling and initial text processing. Next, labeling, term frequency (TF) and inverse document frequency (IDF) calculations were carried out using the BM25 and KNN methods, with an Evaluation and Validation Diagram that visualized the process. The findings show that negative sentiment dominates at 48% (4800 data), followed by 34% (3400 data) neutral sentiment and 18% (1800 data) positive sentiment. The balanced distribution of sentiment highlights the diverse perceptions of society. BM25 and KNN pre-processing methods effectively reduce overfitting and underfitting, especially in negative and neutral sentiments. Accuracy testing without BM25 resulted in 58.6% to 60.25%, while integrating BM25 with KNN increased accuracy by 12.5% to 71% to 72.75%. Understanding sentiment provides a basis for decision making and policy development, as well as providing insight into public perceptions of electric vehicles in Indonesia. Implications include leveraging positive sentiment for marketing, adjusting strategies, refining pricing, addressing infrastructure and reliability issues, and collaborating with governments to increase adoption of electric vehicles in society.

Local understanding of community disaster resilience in rural Cambodia: exercises of localism and lessons learned from villagers’ workshops

ABSTRACT Community disaster resilience has become a key concept in the field of climate change and development, but it often remains a third party’s terms (e.g. donors’ or researchers’) rather than being understood from local perspectives. In an attempt to understand it in local terms, and to exercise localism in seeking the next steps of a climate change adaptation project, this study used focal group interviews organized in a manner of local workshops in Battambang, Cambodia. Villagers were encouraged to speak about what they had (strengths and assets) and saw opportunities (although many were expected to come externally). Addressing threats, they pointed out some broader issues, such as market failure and structural power issues, such as crop pricing, which were never prioritized in the initial project, partly because of limited local participation in agenda setting. The strength of this research is its action-oriented data collection technique, which produced and shared findings that are meaningful to the community for possible interventions. The findings point to a holistic approach of (climate-driven disaster-) resilient development, which requires addressing governance and market issues. By engaging community members, we also hope these exercises have contributed to increasing their sense of ownership or to ‘agency facilitation’.

Analisis Partisipasi Pemangku Kepentingan dalam Pembangunan Desa Inovasi: Studi Kasus Pulau Raam

This study analyzes stakeholder participation in the development of the Innovation Village in Raam Island, Sorong City, where most of the population works as traditional fishermen. A qualitative method was used with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as the data collection technique, involving representatives from local government, the private sector, academics, and the local community. The first FGD identified key potentials and challenges such as the need for fisherman's cards, electrical infrastructure, fishing gear, ice block supply, and issues of product marketing and legality. The second FGD gathered commitments from various parties to address these issues, including relocating the fuel outlet, supporting tuna marketing, and providing raw materials and ice. The results indicate that active and collaborative participation from various stakeholders is crucial in developing innovative and sustainable solutions for village development. To ensure the sustainability of this participation, continuous coordination and communication mechanisms, as well as periodic evaluations of each party's contributions, are necessary.

Examining the Insurance Industry's Role in the High-Quality Development of "Healthy China"

This study investigates the role and challenges of the insurance industry in the high-quality development of "Healthy China." This study begins by outlining the background and objectives of the Healthy China strategy. Subsequently, through a literature review and case analysis, it explores the historical roles and development of the insurance industry in the healthcare domain, as well as its positioning and responsibilities within the Healthy China strategy. The study further analyzes the practical engagement of the insurance industry in the construction of Healthy China, including innovations and promotions of health insurance products, and collaborative models between insurance institutions and healthcare services. Additionally, the study identifies challenges faced by the insurance industry in contributing to Healthy China, such as market development bottlenecks and issues related to product design alignment with market demands. Finally, drawing from case studies, this study proposes recommendations to enhance the penetration and coverage of insurance products, strengthen collaboration between insurance and healthcare institutions, and innovate insurance products and service models, outlining future development prospects for the insurance industry in contributing to Healthy China.