Recent Economic Crisis Research Articles

Using Decision Trees to Examine the Impact of Various Indicators in Company Performance at the Aftermath of an Economic Crisis

This work applies popular machine-learning tree-based methods attempting to identify factors that affect company performance at the aftermath of an economic crisis. The methods are used to aid the revelation of information that may be linked to company performance and the effects of economic distress to publicly listed companies. Economic data and indicators from France are used, as recorded during the period of a recent economic crisis (2008-20012). Firms are categorized according to the change in their sales performance in 2017 as compared to that before the crisis. The models examine firm findings during the crisis period (between 2008 and 2012) and attempt to relate them to the category assigned for each firm in 2017, revealing some connections between the results in these two periods. Findings aim to identify economic key-characteristics that may relate to improved future performance and may provide insight on the decision-making process at firm level, in terms of debt accumulation, investment, exporting activity and others.

THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS ON EXCHANGE RATE REGIME CHOICE IN SRI LANKA

This study investigates the impact of economic, political, and institutional factors on the choice of an exchange rate regime in Sri Lanka from 1972 to 2020. Since the exchange rate regime in Sri Lanka has recently been vulnerable due to the late 2021 and early 2022 economic and currency crises followed by economic, political, and institutional volatility, it is important to investigate the impact of such factors on the exchange rate regime. This study aimed to fill specific empirical and practice gaps, and it addresses the empirical gap by examining Sri Lanka and identifying certain contradictory results in the literature. There are conflicting results for the same variable in the literature because of the different economies being tested, which is obvious. This study addresses the practice gap by examining the recent economic and currency crisis in Sri Lanka, which led the researchers to conduct the study for Sri Lanka. The study's dependent variable is categorical and comprises three choices: pegged, intermediate, and floating. The thirteen independent variables were categorized under three main determinants: economic, political, and institutional. A multinomial logistic regression predicted the model. According to the study’s findings, all the economic variables are statistically significant except international reserves and globalization compared to an intermediate regime. None of the political stability variables are significant in Sri Lanka. Left-wing government (government ideology) is robust among the institutional quality determinants, although the result is ambiguous. According to the results, economic factors lead the way in determining the exchange rate regime in Sri Lanka.

Political Economy of Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) prevention and control in Lebanon: identifying challenges and opportunities for policy change and care provision reforms

IntroductionLebanon is a middle-income country facing substantial fragility features. Its health profile shows a high burden of NCD morbidity and mortality. This paper intends to analyse the political economy of NCD prevention and control in Lebanon.MethodsThis study adopted a literature-based case study research design using a problem-driven political economy analysis framework. A total of 94 peer-reviewed articles and documents from the grey literature published before June 2019 were retrieved and analysed.ResultsLebanon’s political instability and fragile governance negatively affect its capacity to adapt a Health-in-All-Policies approach to NCD prevention and enable the blocking of NCD prevention policies by opposed stakeholders. Recent economic crises limit the fiscal capacity to address health financing issues and resulting health inequities. NCD care provision is twisted by powerful stakeholders towards a hospital-centred model with a powerful private sector. Stakeholders like the MOPH, UN agencies, and NGOs have been pushing towards changing the existing care model towards a primary care model. An incremental reform has been adopted to strengthen a network of primary care centres, support them with health technologies and improve the quality of primary care services. Nevertheless, outpatient services that are covered by other public funds remain specialist-led without much institutional regulation.ConclusionOur study revealed a locked equilibrium in NCD prevention policymaking in Lebanon, but with an incremental progress in service delivery reforms towards a primary care model. Advocacy and close monitoring by policy entrepreneurs (such as civil society) could initiate and sustain the implementation of policy change and care model reforms.

Editorial introduction: Studies about the impact of recent economic crises

Editorial introduction: Studies about the impact of recent economic crises

Towards the individuated journalistic worker in pandemic times: Reflections from Greece and Cyprus

Drawing on a comparative qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews, this study examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on journalists’ working conditions and practices in Greece and Cyprus. The findings provide empirical evidence that the crisis had a significant impact on journalistic work: changing patterns in labour conditions, advancing the role of the individuated worker; cumulating levels of professional risks and stress; increasing insecurity and pressures in the sector – aspects that undermine journalism capacity to offer useful information needed for an informed and engaged citizenry. Still, these changes in both countries are not solely driven by the pandemic situation. Rather the recent crisis seems to have deepened structural pathogenies of journalism in both Greece and Cyprus, including sustainability issues intensified by the recent economic crisis, the lack of a strong professional culture that makes journalism vulnerable to political pressures, as well as dependences and deficiencies in interacting with new technologies.

Policy-driven strategic transport planning for the Western Province, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s transport sector strives for efficient and effective mobility solutions in terms of the quality and quantity of services provided. However, the modal share of public transport continues to decrease with increasing personal incomes, resulting in the deterioration in service quality of all transport systems in the Western Province. This occurs despite significant government investments in expressways and plans for rapid transit projects. The recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the consequent fuel crisis have forced the government to limit investment on transport projects that would be sustainable and bring maximum return on investment. Such selection requires careful consideration of appropriate transport policies and plans. Based on a critical review of existing transport policies and programs, this paper proposes selecting policy-based projects found to be best suited to the Western Province. Several proposals to improve the service quality in different transport modes through better regulation integration of IT and other modern technologies are discussed in terms of selecting policy parameters.

Underutilized crops as a resource to combat the food, nutrient, and economic security in Sri Lanka

Food insecurity in Sri Lanka has risen dramatically owing to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent economic crisis. Movement and activity restrictions imposed to control the spread of the pandemic, combined with acute shortages of essential food items, have had a severe impact on people's livelihoods, resulting in food insecurity and increased vulnerability to malnutrition. Provision of quality food for the community at a minimum cost is prioritized by the government due to consecutive seasons of poor harvests, foreign exchange shortages, higher food inflation, and reduced household purchasing power. Currently, the focus has shifted to find sustainable food sources to meet both the nutritional and economic needs of communities. Meanwhile, consumption patterns based on a few dominant species of major food crops are recognized as one of the biggest threats to global nutrition and food security and this is also true for Sri Lanka. As a result, there is a growing need to discover new food crops targeting healthy and diversified dietary patterns.Effective use of underutilized crops (UCs) in this context appears to be one of the imperative means to minimize the pressure mounted on major crops as they could produce different kinds of foods rich with macro- (Protein and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (Vitamins and minerals- Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Iron). Fruits, vegetables, cereals tubers/yams and medicinal plants are examples for different groups of underutilized crops that are nutrient-dense, health-promoting, and climate-resilient. UCs are well adapted to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions as well as low-input farming systems. Their systematic cultivation is advantageous in rural areas where people have poor income generation and lack of market accessibility. Therefore, this rich genetic diversity could be used to enhance food and economic security in numerous ways, most importantly through, direct access to a diversity of nutritionally-rich foods, increased purchasing power from savings on food bills and year-round income from selling the value-added products. It is essential that people know how best to make use of these invaluable natural resources to ensure their wellbeing. This review discusses on the positive aspects of promoting UCs on addressing food, nutrient and economic security in Sri Lanka.

Topological indices of lead sulphide using polynomial technique

The primary area of research in all branches of science and engineering is the production of low-cost goods considering the recent global economic crisis. Making small-scale, inexpensive, light-weight and high-quality items is essential for today's and tomorrow's world. Nanotechnology is more than enough of a contributor to this whole situation. Emerging nanomaterials like Lead Sulphide (PbS) have characteristics that set them apart from traditional materials. Topological indices (TIs) are numerical values associated with chemical compounds and are widely used in quantitative structure-property/activity relationship (QSPR/QSAR) studies. These indices are very useful for the prediction of certain physio-chemical properties of chemical compounds such as boiling point, stability, strain energy, entropy, etc. The M-polynomial and NM-polynomial techniques lead us to TIs for a molecular graph in less time compared to the usual computation from their definitions. Therefore, in this study, we utilise the M-polynomial and NM-polynomial techniques to compute various degree-based and neighbourhood degree sum-based TIs of complex crystal structures of PbS.

Water affordability analysis: a critical literature review

Abstract Water and sanitation affordability has drawn researchers’ attention over the past years due to the recent economic crisis and the growing role of tariffs on funding services. This paper conducted a systematic review of previous research on water and/or sanitation affordability and a critical qualitative discussion on the methodologies adopted. The research framework relied on a hybrid approach that combines systematic quantitative and narrative analyses. The literature review protocol applied returned 79 relevant studies published by journals and recognized international organizations and four key topics, namely affordability indicators, threshold, data source, and practical use of the analysis were identified and critically discussed. This paper contributes to the literature by presenting and discussing the most important water affordability issues and enlightening the potential role of the analysis in public financial policies.

Application of machine learning techniques in estimating the construction cost of residential buildings in the Middle East region

The recent global economic crisis resulted in a crash in the real estate market. This has underscored the significance of accurately predicting construction costs for real estate units in the near-term economy. Over the past few decades, there has been limited research conducted on forecasting the construction costs of housing units. Effective cost forecasting, particularly during the early stages, can play a crucial role in minimizing expenses and ensuring the viability of a project. In recent years, the utilization of machine learning techniques has witnessed a significant surge. These techniques offer generalized solutions and demonstrate favorable performance in terms of effort, time, and cost. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to compare the capabilities of different machine learning methods in estimating real estate construction costs. As part of the study, multiple economic variables and indices will be used as inputs for the machine learning models. The paper will also assess and discuss the performance of each technique by comparing it against actual measurements. Ultimately, the aim is to identify the most suitable approach for such cost estimation tasks.

Local Financial Institutions and Income Inequality: Evidence from Brazil's Credit Cooperative Movement

ABSTRACTLocal financial institutions can play a crucial role in reducing income inequalities at the within‐country level by promoting inclusive economic growth and development across time and space. This is against a backdrop of increasing financial and economic fragility, to which emerging economies have also been exposed over more recent decades and years. This article adds emerging economy evidence from Brazil to an empirical literature on the income inequality implications of cooperative financial institutions. Panel‐data estimations for 2004‒19 reveal that Brazilian credit cooperatives have gone beyond commercial banks in supporting communities that have traditionally been underserved financially. Additionally, the article provides new evidence and insights on credit cooperatives’ resilience in the context of a relatively recent but severe economic crisis in Brazil. The results indicate that credit cooperatives have helped fill gaps in finance and economic opportunity that tend to arise in an emerging economy setting. Furthermore, the contribution of credit cooperatives in filling these gaps is found to be more significant at lower levels of development. These findings add theoretical and, importantly, empirical support to the relationship channel of financial inclusion, which is in line with the optimistic perspective in this debate.

A Second Life for Educators: A Hybrid Extended Reality Education Between Zuckerberg’s Vision and Educational Researchers’ Imaginary

While Extended Reality (XR) education is a contested future that consists of diverse discourses, Meta’s monopoly of XR technology leads to the misconception that Mark Zuckerberg’s vision will be the only future of Metaverse education. To address this discursive power imbalance, this paper draws on the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse to analyze the interests and significance behind different discourses on XR education. In particular, through an exhaustive comparison between Zuckerberg’s vision for Metaverse education and educational researchers’ imaginary of XR education, I identify that the primary difference between these discourses is the extent of users’ digital autonomy. This difference unveils the two parties’ grasping motivations: whereas Zuckerberg uses his utopian vision to cover Meta’s recent economic crisis and to secure Meta’s power in the future education market, educational researchers employ their decentralized imaginary to maximize their degree of freedom to create in the future learning environment. Lastly, I argue that the two radical dreams should learn from one another about digital governance. Thus, a hybrid XR education is proposed.

Parental unemployment and adolescents’ subjective wellbeing—the moderating role of educational policies

Abstract Crossover effects of parental unemployment on subjective wellbeing of children attract growing attention in research on social inequalities. Recent economic crises call for identifying policies that mitigate the adverse effects of unemployment. Building on the theoretical insights from Capability Approach, we examine the relationship between parental unemployment and subjective wellbeing of adolescents across countries with different educational policies. We use multilevel modelling and data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). We combine microdata on 45,992 adolescents in 32 countries with macro-level indicators of educational policies. We find that parental unemployment is associated with lower subjective wellbeing among adolescents, but the magnitude of this association varies depending on access to financial support for participation in education. Adolescents who receive educational allowances and who live in countries with broader access to such support are less harmed by parental unemployment.

The Impact of Recent Economic Crises on Income Inequality and the Risk of Poverty in Greece

We consider the impact of the two recent economic crises, one that resulted from the great recession of 2007–2009 and one following the COVID-19 pandemic, on income inequality and the risk of poverty in Greece. To this end, we also investigate the key macroeconomic variables affecting the Greek income distribution. We find that alternative measures of inequality and relative poverty have deteriorated during the years of crises, implying that the country’s response to economic shocks has been particularly harmful for its more disadvantaged citizens. Regarding the variables affecting the income distribution, we show that income inequality and the risk of poverty increase with growth, implying that the benefits of growth, and burdens of recession, are distributed unequally among members of the Greek society. Moreover, inequality appears to increase with unemployment and decrease with the share of wages and salaries in total income. This finding highlights the importance of labour market regulations and workers’ welfare for attaining equality. Finally, we provide evidence that, during pre-election periods, income inequality is reduced, meaning that the political budget cycles, which are characteristic of the Greek economy, generate gains in terms of equality, but these gains are short-lived and mainly benefit the middle bracket of the income distribution.

Effects on the Business in the Conditions of Superior Crises

Abstract In recent years, financial and economic crises have been observed, which are a consequence of various global problems and phenomena. Despite the experience of 2008, it seems that the enterprises did not learn enough of their lessons and failed to foresee the difficulties for their business and finances. There are not many examples in history that have seen phenomena of superimposing economic and financial crises. In this case, the situation is caused by the pandemic caused by CoviD-19 and the war in Ukraine. The two events have had serious nongarnishing shocks to businesses and enterprise economies. The purpose of the current research is to trace the effects on business in the conditions of overlapping economic crises – in this case, caused by the covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The object of research will be the non-financial enterprises in Bulgaria, and the subject is the analysis of the effects on business as a result of overlapping crises. The aim is to derive and justify the effects and consequences for business in Bulgaria. The aim concerns the claim that the overlapping crises have a negative impact on the finances and economy of the enterprises in Bulgaria. The research was conducted on the basis of a survey among Bulgarian companies from the non-financial sector. The survey is conducted annually at the end of the year, summarizing in December of each year. About 800 companies - members of the Bulgarian Industrial Association take part in it. Their profile is mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, most of them being small.

Experiences of insecurity among non-standard workers across different welfare states: A qualitative cross-country study

In recent decades, economic crises and political reforms focused on employment flexibilization have increased the use of non-standard employment (NSE). National political and economic contexts determine how employers interact with labour and how the state interacts with labour markets and manages social welfare policies. These factors influence the prevalence of NSE and the level of employment insecurity it creates, but the extent to which a country's policy context mitigates the health influences of NSE is unclear. This study describes how workers experience insecurities created by NSE, and how this influences their health and well-being, in countries with different welfare states: Belgium, Canada, Chile, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Interviews with 250 workers in NSE were analysed using a multiple-case study approach. Workers in all countries experienced multiple insecurities (e.g., income and employment insecurity) and relational tension with employers/clients, with negative health and well-being influences, in ways that were shaped by social inequalities (e.g., related to family support or immigration status). Welfare state differences were reflected in the level of workers' exclusion from social protections, the time scale of their insecurity (threatening daily survival or longer-term life planning), and their ability to derive a sense of control from NSE. Workers in Belgium, Sweden, and Spain, countries with more generous welfare states, navigated these insecurities with greater success and with less influence on health and well-being. Findings contribute to our understanding of the health and well-being influences of NSE across different welfare regimes and suggest the need in all six countries for stronger state responses to NSE. Increased investment in universal and more equal rights and benefits in NSE could reduce the widening gap between standard and NSE.

Investigation of ESG spillovers for external stakeholders in Russian regions

Waves of recent global economic crises at the beginning of the 2000s gave a rise to an increased attention to external effects, or spillovers, of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) practices of companies. The paper aims to study the impact of ESG practices on regional economic and social development from the viewpoint of external stakeholders, considering the ability of local companies to retain key human capital. The theoretical framework of the research is corporate governance theory and the ESG concept. Correlation, factor, regression and path analyses are used in combination to determine the impact of individual ESG practices on regional development and place attachment. The empirical evidence comes from the 2023 survey of 359 respondents from two industrialized regions of Russia. The originality of the study is based on (1) a structured questionnaire developed by the authors to examine external stakeholders’ opinions on ESG problems in the regions, and (2) the sociological concept of place attachment viewed as the most important indicator of human capital retention. Our findings show that practices of social responsibility and labour market growth primarily influence the perception of regional economic development. In turn, there is no significant relationship between ESG practices and people’s attachment to the region of residence. Practical conclusions show that external stakeholders are mainly concerned about ESG labour market spillovers: creation of stable jobs, provision of career prospects and technological advantages in the region.

Sustainable Business Performance: Examining the Role of Green HRM Practices, Green Innovation and Responsible Leadership through the Lens of Pro-Environmental Behavior

Due to the recent economic crisis, the requirement for sustainable company performance has spread across the globe, with green initiatives being seen as the best way to address it. Recent literature and regulators have taken notice of this predicament. The deployment of green innovation, responsible leadership induction, and green human resource management (GHRM) techniques have been made necessary by the significant focus on attaining business sustainability. This study aims to provide light on the banking industry’s perception of how GHRM practices, green innovation, and responsible leadership affect business sustainability practices. The data were provided by 396 banking professionals employed by the top five commercial sector banks nationwide. By using the Mplus program for analysis, the study’s hypotheses were evaluated using structural equation modeling. The findings show a positive relationship between GHRM practices, ethical leadership, green process innovation, and sustainable company performance. However, an intriguing finding between responsible leadership and sustainable business performance was the role that pro-environmental conduct played as a partial mediator. The findings offer scholars and practitioners interested in firms’ sustainable business performance additional context-specific social, ecological, and financial implications. The effectiveness of GHRM practices, responsible leadership, and green innovation as a strategy to increase business sustainability in a developing country environment has only received minimal academic attention so far. A literary gap exists as few studies have been conducted to test the role of green HRM, responsible leadership, and green innovation’s impact on sustainable business practices. Small number of studies taken pro-environmental behaviors as a mediator in the recent past. In light of this, the present study has taken these behaviors as a mediator to test the mediation effect in the banking sector of Pakistan. So, the present study removed the gap by exploring the mediation effect of pro-environmental behaviors. The selection of Pakistan’s banking sector for analysis in the present study is a significant contribution to the literature because no studies have previously been conducted on Pakistan’s banking sector to analyze the role of green HRM practices, responsible leadership, and green innovation’s impact on sustainable business performance through the mediating role of their pro-environmental behavior. The present study provides guidelines to senior management in the banking sector to understand the role of green HRM practices, responsible leadership, and green innovation practices’ importance for sustainable business performance as sustainable performance is essential to excel in this competitive business world.

The ‘presidential accordion’ in times of crisis: is it still well tuned?

ABSTRACT The article analyses the role of the President of the Italian Republic (PoR) as it relates to the process of government formation during the political, economic, and pandemic crises of the last three legislatures. The analysis focuses on the political actions of Giorgio Napolitano and Sergio Mattarella, the two Presidents of the Republic elected (and re-elected) as heads of state during those crises. To explain how the PoR operates when forming a government, the article examines the conditions allowing the functioning of the ‘presidential accordion’, i.e. the expansion and contraction of the presidential powers in the process of government formation. The presidential accordion hypothesis has been supported by many empirical studies focussing on the role of the PoR in the Italian parliamentary system. The aim of this study is further empirically to test the hypothesis in order to verify whether profound exogenous crises, such as recent economic and pandemic crises, can be considered as independent or intervening variables strengthening or weakening the PoR in the Italian political system.

THE ROLE OF INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS IN CONFRONTING ECONOMIC CRISES IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The creative solutions economy strategy, which aims to deal with crises or boost output and productivity under normal circumstances, has contributed to the improvement of the United Arab Emirates' economic and social performance. As a result, after being one of the most underdeveloped nations, it has achieved significant strides in the area of economic innovation. In light of the recent economic crises that the United Arab Emirates has seen and experienced, it is instructive to investigate the potential effects of novel remedies on the economy. Regardless of the origins of the global financial, health, cultural, and political problems, the UAE has been able to achieve acceptable accomplishments via the applications of the economics of new solutions. High levels of innovation have been achieved in the UAE through science, knowledge, and the application of technology, as well as in the field of research and development. The UAE is one of the countries that encouraged development and innovation and provided the necessary means, financing, and support to get to where it is today.