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Volume XX, Summer, Issue 2(88), 2025
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The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted household consumption, savings, and income across Europe, with Hungary, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic among the most affected. This study investigates the effectiveness of fiscal policies in mitigating these impacts, focusing on key government interventions such as spending, subsidies, revenue, and debt. Utilizing a Markov Switching Vector Auto regression (MS-VAR) model, the analysis covers data from 2000 to 2023 and distinguishes three economic regimes: the initial shock, the peak crisis, and the recovery phase. To enhance forecasting accuracy and capture complex nonlinear relationships between fiscal variables and household behaviour, the study also employs the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) machine learning algorithm.
The results show that the COVID-19 shock caused a sharp decline in household consumption and income in all three countries, with Slovenia experiencing the most severe immediate impact. Hungary demonstrated the strongest recovery, supported by effective fiscal measures such as subsidies and increased government spending, which significantly improved household outcomes. The Czech Republic followed a more gradual recovery path, with notable improvements in forward-looking consumption behaviour (IMPC). The XGBoost model provides out-of-sample forecasts that reinforce these findings, showing Hungary with the most favourable projected recovery path.
Overall, the study highlights the importance of timely and targeted fiscal interventions in managing the effects of economic crises. The findings suggest that governments should prioritize flexible, data-driven fiscal policies to protect household financial stability during downturns and promote sustainable recovery.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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This study maps the evolving cybersecurity talent landscape in four Asian economies - the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong - using 223 LinkedIn job postings (August 2024) and mixed quantitative - qualitative analyses. Regression results confirm that senior positions demand, on average, 5.3 years more experience than analyst roles and that Philippine postings require 1.5 years less experience than their Hong Kong benchmark, reflecting country-specific maturity levels of the digital sector. Thematic analysis highlights rising demand for cloud-security, incident-response, and governance skills. Importantly, we link these workforce trends to macroeconomic outcomes: Asia-Pacific now holds 60 % of the global cybersecurity talent gap and closing it could lift developing-country GDP per capita by 1.5 % within a decade. Policymakers therefore face a dual imperative - protecting the digital economy and unlocking productivity gains - by investing in skills pipelines and cross-border talent mobility. Findings inform targeted recruitment, training, and economic-development strategies across the region.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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The irresolute studies on pattern of ownership and its bearing on the profitability, sustainable development and growth of firms has made it pertinent to delve deeper into the learnings about the determinants of ownership impacting the growth and sustainable development of Indian firms. Firms are characterized by a network of associations for financing, capital structure, managerial ownership, and compensation. Business antiquity indicates that while these relationships often involve conflicts and differing opinions, nearly all parties align with the all-encompassing goal of achieving the robust business performance. Prior research has explored the associations among different parties within a firm and their impact on performance through the lens of agency philosophy. However, the results from these studies remain inconclusive due to disparities in how ownership and performance are measured. A comparative sample of companies from the four key industry classifications was taken for this study to catch the various determinants of ownership pattern thereby affecting their sustainability. Ownership was captivated taking foreign ownership, director ownership, institutional investors, Indian and foreign promoters. The results showed that good financial performance, women directors’ shareholding, dual structure of leadership and grander boards have an optimistic impact thus impacting sustainable development and growth of Indian firms.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Technological innovations are widely regarded as key drivers in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While substantial research has explored the relationship between technological innovations and sustainable development, few studies have specifically examined the impact of digital innovations on the triadic nature of sustainable development. This article aims to fill this gap by analysing the influence of digital innovations on the three pillars of sustainable development (economic, ecological, and social) in the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Using advanced econometric techniques, the study investigates the relationship between digital innovations and sustainable development across its three dimensions from 2006 to 2022. The findings reveal that digital innovations have significant effects on sustainable development in WAEMU countries, with varying impacts depending on the specific dimension. The study offers insights into how digital innovations can be leveraged to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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This study examines the relationship between corruption and military spending in the Asia-Pacific region. Using key governance indicators from the World Bank - specifically control of corruption, political stability, and rule of law - it assesses governance quality across nations. Employing econometric techniques, the research explores whether countries with stronger governance tend to spend more or less on their military. Additionally, it analyses how corruption, as a critical governance factor, influences defence expenditures in the region. The findings of this research contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing military spending decisions in the Asia-Pacific context, seeking to understand the economic and political dynamics shaping defence expenditure patterns in the region. This study contributes to the broader discourse on the intersection of governance quality, corruption, and national security.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Why are most products in retail stores designed, packaged, and decorated attractively? This paper develops a theoretical model illustrating how consumers derive utility from a "sense of play" associated with the designs and decorations of products, distinct from their practical utility. The concept of "play" is broadly defined to encompass non-functional or non-essential activities and emotions such as recreation, diversion, playfulness, and entertainment. The model demonstrates that as an economy grows and develops, the relative significance of play-related utility increases compared to practical usefulness. Consequently, product designs become more sophisticated and decorative. The study concludes that economies tend to evolve into "play-oriented economies," where the sense of play becomes a central factor in marketing strategies. Furthermore, this shift introduces a bias in the estimation of purchasing power parity.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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This paper develops a multidimensional risk ranking model for bank supervision, using the k-means cluster approach. It employs a combination of size, balance sheet, and market-based indicators for predicting idiosyncratic and systemic risk. The risk rankings are benchmarked to a long-run threshold, which regulators may wish to target for the resolution of financial crises. When the tool is applied to data on Indian banks between 2005 and 2023, several important results emerge. The effectiveness of different signals depends on the nature of the impending financial stress event. Market-based indicators are better at predicting external shocks, while markers related to asset size forecast credit booms and busts with greater efficiency. Moreover, the model is superior to heuristic regulatory measures of bank-specific distress and its resolution.
The framework is also able to distinguish between the risk performance of public and private sector banks, during a period that spans the global financial crisis (GFC), the non-performing asset (NPA) crisis in India, and the COVID pandemic. Private banks exhibit better risk profiles during the GFC and NPA crises. This study emphasises a multifaceted approach to bank supervision, in order to capture the heterogeneity of financial crises.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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This study investigates public perceptions regarding living conditions, employment, trust in leadership, and attitudes toward democracy, corruption, and personal safety in South Africa, drawing on data from four rounds of the Afro-barometer survey conducted between 2016 and 2022. By integrating data from all rounds, the analysis offers a comprehensive perspective on socio-political and economic dynamics over time, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing both descriptive and regression analyses, the study identifies a marked deterioration in perceived living conditions and employment, accompanied by declining trust in leadership and heightened concerns related to democratic governance, corruption, and safety.
The results further indicate that negative perceptions of living conditions are significantly associated with unemployment, lack of personal security, diminished trust in leadership, and skepticism toward democratic institutions. Conversely, employment, trust in leadership, and favorable views of democracy are positively correlated with improved perceptions of well-being. These findings underscore the imperative for governance reforms and targeted policy interventions to address crime and unemployment, thereby fostering public confidence in democratic leadership and institutional effectiveness.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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This paper examines how blockchain-based tokenization has revolutionized real-world assets (RWAs), with a focus on fixed-income securities like bonds. In financial markets, tokenization - the process of transforming physical asset ownership rights into digital tokens on a blockchain - has become a game-changing innovation that promises improved accessibility, liquidity, and transparency. Examining tokenization mechanisms, the paper shows how distributed ledger technology and smart contracts simplify processes, shorten settlement times, and lessen the need for middlemen.
The paper demonstrates the usefulness and advantages of tokenized bonds by analysing recent case studies, such as the European Investment Bank's the issuance of digital bonds and BlackRock's introduction of its first tokenized fund on the Ethereum blockchain. Additionally, it looks at how regulations are changing, addressing programs like the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation of the European Union, which aims to give digital assets a comprehensive framework. In addition, the paper examines the difficulties in implementing tokenization, including issues with legal recognition and technological compatibility, and assesses possible advancements in this field in the future. This paper adds to a better understanding of how blockchain technology is changing conventional financial instruments and markets by offering a thorough assessment of the state and prospects of asset tokenization today.
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
