The very nature of work, labor market composition, and skill requirements are severely affected by technology-driven transformations currently underway with the 4^th industrial revolution (4IR). The effect of 4IR technologies on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and the contribution of TVET to the labor market is explicit. The paper presents the findings of a study that investigated whether TVET institutions are prepared to face the challenges of 4IR. The data for the study were collected by surveying 428 teachers from 15 countries in Asia and the Pacific engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at the tertiary level. The findings of our study undoubtedly bring greater attention to the initiatives of TVET in these countries in preparing the workforce for job roles necessitated in the 4IR. The findings can also be used to frame policy recommendations for the growth of economies.

This study examines the role of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee (CSRC) in the adoption of strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects that surpass regulatory requirements and basic stakeholder expectations. Our results demonstrate that the establishment of CSRCs enhances all strategic CSR mechanisms, particularly business reputation, stakeholder interaction, risk mitigation, and innovation. Additionally, strategic CSR practices exhibit a strong correlation with CSRC attributes and organizational characteristics. Specifically, the size of the CSRC is positively associated with all dimensions of strategic CSR. Furthermore, CEO membership is likely to impede risk mitigation and innovation capacity, whereas board chair membership enhances business reputation, stakeholder communication, and innovation potential. In terms of gender diversity, female CSRC members show a greater concern for business reputation and associated risks. Regarding committee functioning, increased meeting frequency has the potential to enhance various aspects of strategic CSR.

Many startups look for venture capital (VC) funding to grow their business. Anecdotally, in the Southeast Asia context, startup founders who attended an elite institute of higher learning have greater access to this kind of capital, but this has not been demonstrated quantitatively. We look at a dataset of nearly 800 startups in Southeast Asia who have received VC funding in the last 5 years and look for any correlation between the founder's educational background and the amount of VC funding received. We find that founders who have obtained a postgraduate degree from an elite university receive significantly more VC funding than those who graduated from other universities. Furthermore, this effect is only seen at later stages of funding, not at the seed stage. Potential reasons for this effect could be from stronger signaling of business acumen or technical skill; or better access to funding networks.

I examine the problem of budget deficit in a growing economy in which consumers hold money as a part of their savings in the case where consumers live forever. For simplicity and tractability I use a discrete time dynamic model and Lagrange multiplier method. In the appendix I briefly explain the solution using a discrete time version of the Hamiltonian method. I will show the following results. 1) Budget deficit is necessary for full employment under constant prices. 2) Inflation is induced if the actual budget deficit is greater than the value at which full employment is achieved under constant prices. 3) If the actual budget deficit is smaller than the value which is necessary and sufficient for full employment under constant prices, a recession occurs. Therefore, balanced budget cannot achieve full employment under constant prices. I do not assume that budget deficit must later be made up by budget surplus.

With the continuous advancement of technological revolution and industrial transformation, digital finance supported by big data and artificial intelligence has become an important engine for promoting carbon neutrality. We measured the industrial structure transformation index (ISU) of 30 provinces in China, and discussed the spatial spillover effect and transmission mechanism between digital finance and ISU using the spatial Durbin model. The research results demonstrate that the digital finance development can significantly improve the local ISU. Interestingly, the impact of digital finance on the ISU of adjacent areas has a significantly negative spatial spillover effect, which still exists under the different spatial weight matrix. Digital finance can improve ISU by improving green technology innovation, upgrading industrial structure, and alleviating capital allocation. We also found that the higher degree of marketization and environmental regulation can increase the positive influences of digital finance on ISU. This research proves the effectiveness of the digital finance in improving energy efficiency, and it encourages policymakers around the world to rely on digital finance to promote ecological governance and achieve high-quality economic development.

College choice and choice of major are the most important decisions for future earnings. It is still unclear, however, what makes a greater difference—college or major—or whether a choice of college matters more for some majors, but not the others. Using cross-classified models and College Scorecard data, I show that a discipline is more consequential for future earnings than a college. The effect of STEM is substantial but is less pronounced at institutions with higher overall median earnings. The effect of college selectivity on earnings is more pronounced for non-STEM disciplines. Institutional characteristics—such as tuition, shares of graduates receiving different forms of financial aid, institutional size and location, and type of college—correlate with earnings of graduates. Racial and gender composition of an educational program correlate with expected earnings of its graduates even after control for other institutional and disciplinary characteristics. Models presented here provide a better understanding of the effect of college and major choices on future earnings.

The primary goal of this research is to examine how different types of energy are used in South Asian countries and how they affect the environment and economic growth. From 1990 through 2021, this research employed Panel Data from multiple sources covering the South Asian countries of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Afghanistan. The results are determined by using the Fixed Effect Regression (FEM) technique in both models. Several significant findings are supported by the data. First, while using renewable energy flattens carbon dioxide effusion, using non-renewable energy sources increases it. CO2 emissions are affected negatively by gross domestic product but positively by gross domestic product square. These results provide credence to the idea that South Asian countries do experience an Environment Kuznets Curve. Furthermore, foreign direct investment has a beneficial effect on CO2 emissions, lending credence to the Pollution Haven Hypothesis. Model 2 instead finds that both renewable and non-renewable energy consumption contributes to economic expansion. Gross Fixed Capital Formation and foreign direct investment also contribute to economic growth in this area. Finally, Inflation retards economic expansion.

Based on the provincial panel data of China from 2011 to 2019 for a total of 9 years, this paper uses the entropy method to construct a comprehensive measure of the digital economy and common prosperity. We theoretically analyzed the impact mechanism of the digital economy on common prosperity using the econometric model. The study found that the digital economy can significantly promote the realization of common prosperity. The digital economy has a significant impact on the development and sustainability of common prosperity. The results of the impact mechanism show that the digital economy promotes common prosperity by increasing entrepreneurial activity. Heterogeneity research shows that the role of digital economy in promoting common prosperity changes with different regions. Specifically, the digital economy in the central and western regions can significantly promote the realization of common prosperity, but this impact is not significant in the eastern region. From the regression results of the digital economy, we can see that industrial digitalization and digital infrastructure play a greater role in promoting common prosperity. Economic openness affects the promotion of digital economy to common prosperity. The conclusion of this work provides an important research reference for the development of digital economy and the realization of common prosperity.

Financial development and industrial structure optimization are two-wheeled engines for promoting high-quality development, but the causal identification of the two is still poorly understood. This paper addresses this research gap by comprehensively analyzing the relationship between them. Regional economic growth is a necessary condition for achieving high-quality development. Taking China as an example, this study empirically examines the role of financial development and industrial structure optimization in high-quality development using the entropy method, fixed effects, mediation effects and instrumental variable regression. The study results show that (i) financial development has actively promoted regional economic growth. (ii) The driving effect on the central and western regions is greater than that on the eastern region. (iii) There are differences in the mediating effect of industrial structure optimization and rationalization between different levels of financial development and economic growth. (iv) In addition, the mediating effect of industrial structure optimization is larger in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. (v) The mediating effect of industrial structure rationalization is not obvious in the eastern region, but has a masking effect in the central and western regions. Our findings provide new strategies for financial development and industrial structure optimization in developing countries.

In this study, we examined the efficiency of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), DASH, EOS, and MONERO from March 1, 2018, to March 1, 2023. We separated the sample into four subperiods for this purpose: a Tranquil period that includes the period from March 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019; a First Wave that includes the year 2020; a Second Wave that includes the year 2021; and a fourth subperiod that includes Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022-2023. The results are mixed, with some cryptocurrencies exhibiting equilibrium and others exhibiting autocorrelation and predictability in their pricing. When the sample is divided into subperiods, most digital currencies have long memories in their returns during the Tranquil period, BTC, LTC, and XRP exhibit efficiency during the First Wave of the pandemic, while BTC, ETH, and MONERO indicate efficiency during the Second Wave. Most assessed digital currencies showed equilibrium by 2022, with the exception of ETH and MONERO, which exhibit long memories, and LTC, which demonstrates anti-persistence. These results hold significance for investors in these alternative markets, as they suggest that some cryptocurrencies may be more predictable and therefore potentially profitable, whereas others may require greater caution and risk management strategies.

Public diplomacy is a significant factor in promoting policy communication, people-to-people bonds, and the protection of foreign assets between two nations, but there is little research on the economic worth of public diplomacy. Python was used to crawl the daily search frequency of "China", "African countries", and related terms to construct the heat index of China-Africa public diplomacy during 2011-2019, and a two-way fixed effect model was developed to examine the impact of public diplomacy on China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in Africa. The empirical results show that public diplomacy has a considerable favorable effect on China’s OFDI in Africa, and after a series of robustness tests, the basic conclusion still holds. Heterogeneity tests show the investment promotion effect of public diplomacy is more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa and that the promotion mechanism exhibits the characteristics of poverty alleviation and risk aversion. In addition, the promotion effect of public diplomacy on China’s OFDI becomes greater as time goes on. In terms of impact mechanisms, public diplomacy may promote OFDI by enhancing financing capacity and improving national governance. The research conclusion has policy implications for promoting China-Africa public diplomacy and investment cooperation in the new era.

By an endogenous growth model with a two-period overlapping generations structure, I examine the existence of a budget deficit in an economy that endogenously grows by investments of firms. The consumers leave bequests to their descendants and hold money as a part of their savings. I use a Barro-type utility function, where people include the utility of their children in their own utility. The main results are as follows. 1) A budget deficit is necessary for full employment under constant prices. 2) Inflation is induced if the actual budget deficit is greater than the value at which full employment is achieved under constant prices. 3) If the actual budget deficit is smaller than the value which is necessary and sufficient for full employment under constant prices, a recession occurs. Therefore, a balanced budget cannot achieve full employment under constant prices. I do not assume that the budget deficit must later be made up by a budget surplus. I use a Barro-type utility function to prove the necessity (or inevitability) of a budget deficit instead of the neutrality of government debt. In the appendix of this paper, I show that if money, as well as goods, are produced by capital and labor, a budget deficit is not necessary for full employment under constant prices.

The integration of digital technology and traditional finance has further achieved the goal of low-cost and sustainable financial services and contributed to high-quality economic development. Based on the data from 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2021, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of digital finance on the urban-rural income gap. The results show that digital finance can significantly narrow the income gap between urban and rural residents. The quantile test shows that the greater the urban-rural income gap, the stronger the role of digital finance in narrowing the urban-rural income gap. The threshold effect test shows that the narrowing effect of digital finance on the urban-rural income gap will first increase and then weaken with the continuous improvement of the development level. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the secondary indicators of digital finance can significantly narrow the urban-rural income gap, and the effect of depth of usage is the most obvious. Moreover, digital finance has a significantly stronger effect on narrowing the urban-rural income gap in the eastern region than in other regions. Therefore, we should vigorously promote the development of digital finance and give full play to its effectiveness in narrowing the urban-rural income gap.

Based on the panel data of western central-cities from 2002 to 2021, this paper uses the intermediary effect model to analyze the relationship between urban internationalization, innovation ability and urban competitiveness. It is found that: (1) The internationalization of western central-cities has a positive and direct impact on the promotion of urban competitiveness, which has a significant impact on economic strength and infrastructure, and a weak impact on government efficiency and market efficiency The marginal growth effect of internationalization on urban scale will gradually decrease with the improvement of urban development level. (2) The continuous promotion of city internationalization can promote the innovation ability to enhance the competitiveness of the city. Compared with the internationalization of cities, the influence of innovation ability on the competitiveness of cities is small, and the innovation ability of western central-cities and each city is weak. The scale effect has become the main motivation to promote the competitiveness of cities. (3) In the process of internationalization of western central-cities, innovation ability has a part of intermediary effect on the improvement of urban competitiveness, and the effect on urban “hard environment” is significantly greater than that on urban “Soft-environment”. The results of direct and indirect impact tests show that the impact of the process of internationalization of western central-cities on urban competitiveness is exogenous.

Digitalization is nowadays one of the fastest developing processes. The adoption of digital technologies can provide innumerous opportunities for the organizations to evolve and gain competitive advantage by leveraging of technologies to respond to dynamic expectations and demands. Information about the country digitalization level is essential to decision makers in both public and private organizations. It can present insights on which areas need the most investment, and furthermore to gain feedback on the outcomes of these investments. For companies, it can create a certain predictability on which products and services will be required the most. To assess the evolution of this process in different countries, various indexes were proposed and employed by different corporations. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and ICT Development Index (IDI) are used by public organizations. Digitalization Index (DiGiX) and Cisco Digital Readiness Index (CISCO) are used by private companies. Comparing two sectors highlights the most common factors of digital evaluation. Indexes are analyzed thoroughly by their structure, coverage, weights, methodology and ranking. The result of the practical work is a equivalence table which shows the percentage of their similarity. Additionally, a new digitalization index is proposed, based on the result of the previous comparison, which can be applied to analyze both public and private sector of the country’s digitalization level.

The objectives and tasks of the European Central Bank (ECB) are defined in Articles 2 and 3 of Protocol (No 4) on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the European Central Bank (ECB). While in Article 3,1° of this Protocol other tasks are mentioned, the prime objective of the ESCB and therefore of the ECB, is price stability. This concept was originally specified by the Executive Board of the ECB as an annual increase of less than 2% in the inflation rate over the medium term, measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for the euro area. This paper examines to what extent the ECB has been effective in realizing price stability over the period from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2022. Price stability is important for economic agents. It allows them to plan their savings, spending and investment eventually resulting in sustained economic growth.   Notwithstanding the commitment of large human and other resources and the use of unconventional monetary policies, the ECB did not realize its prime objective during a large part of this period. We conclude that putting too much confidence in DSGE-modeling as one of the methodologies to determine monetary policy, may have played an important role in the ECB not achieving its main statutory objective.

The digital transformation of manufacturing industry can promote the development of green transformation and promote the differentiation of workers’ skill structure; On the other hand, it will also hinder the green development due to the huge energy consumption generated by the application of digital technology and facilities. In addition, the green transformation of manufacturing industry will also have differentiated impacts on the employment of labour with different skills due to the innovation of green technology. The existing research has not discussed too much about the interaction among the digital transformation and green transformation in manufacturing industry and labour structure. So, this paper uses the PVAR model to examine the dynamic relationship between digital and green transformation within the industrial sector from the perspective of labour structure, specifically analyzing the impact difference across regions. The results suggest that there is a reciprocal connection between the digitization of manufacturing sector and the labour structure, particularly in the eastern region of China, but the overall interaction between the two remains weak. The interactive between the green transformation of manufacturing industry and the labour structure in the central and western areas has been delayed over periods 1-6. Digital and green manufacturing transformation reinforce each other in central and western regions. However, the digital revolution in the manufacturing industry is hindered by the green transformation in eastern region.

Green innovation, driven by China's new development concept, plays a crucial role in high-quality economic development. In line with the green development trend, businesses increasingly prioritize whether their corporate environmental responsibilities (CER) can effectively enhance corporate green innovation (CGI) levels. This paper examines the influence and mechanism of CER on CGI using a dynamic perspective, drawing from 1,640 manually-collected panel data of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies between 2010 and 2017. The primary findings indicate that the impact of CER on CGI possesses phase-specific characteristics and a dual effect of "crowding in" and "crowding out." The current phase of CER negatively affects green innovation, while the lag phase has a positive effect. CER's impact on various CGI types is heterogeneous: specifically, it follows an "inverted-N" trajectory (inhibition-promotion-inhibition) for "strategic green innovation" and has a promotional effect on "substantive green innovation," which is stronger and has a longer time lag. The mechanism analysis reveals that financing constraints play a critical mediating role. A heterogeneity analysis based on multiple dimensions (ownership, industry, and location) suggests that CER has a more significant driving force for CGI among state-owned firms, high-polluting industries, and enterprises in inland areas. Finally, the paper presents corresponding suggestions for government and corporate entities.

The expansion of urban infrastructure is an important indicator of agglomeration and a major factor in the deterioration of the urban environment. The investment in urban infrastructure is accompanied by the sealing of ground. The implementation of effective policies to reduce the practice of sealing ground is impeded by the existence of conflicting interests and fiscal disincentives. A significant challenge is the dearth of policy-relevant information. Conventional analysis considers urban outcome indicators in proportion to population and neglects non-linear distribution patterns, thus obscuring global regularities that contain important information. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of urban imperviousness through the lens of urban scaling. The present study employs Germany as a case study to examine the extent to which the parameters of the scaling function differ between two types of cities. District Affiliated Cities (DACs) and Administrative City Districts (ACDs), which are afforded greater fiscal autonomy. The analysis indicates that the amount of sealed land exhibited a notable increase between 2006 and 2018 in the ACDs. Calibration of the scaling functions for cities with the actual coefficient of the DAC control estimate and a global orientation exponent (5/6) resulted in a 16% reduction of sealed ground. In conclusion, urban scaling laws offer a valuable tool for analyzing the complex dynamics of urban imperviousness and its control costs, thereby contributing to the formulation of more effective urban policies and planning.

The business world is a competitive place, and enterprises must cultivate sustainable relationships with their clients to gain customer loyalty. Concepts of relationship marketing (RM) are becoming vital in the service industry. Different RM strategies are used to attract customers, but some of these strategies do not achieve customer loyalty as easily as predicted due to customers’ changing behaviour patterns. This paper investigates the impact of RM strategies on customer loyalty through relationship qualities (customer satisfaction and trust) by concentrating on the high-end hairdressing sector in Auckland. Additionally, this research investigates the expectations of customers of high-end hair salons formed by RM strategies, which influence their satisfaction, trust, and customer loyalty to their service provider. The results indicate that brand image shows a significant relevance to trust, satisfaction, and customer loyalty claiming that brand image is an essential element of RM. Additionally, this investigations revels that, hair salons in Auckland are looking forward to ascertaining a sustainable relationship with their clients through a spectrum of strategies such as positive brand image, good service quality, reasonable price, and good value deals to earn optimistic relationship quality, which will ultimately escalate to customer loyalty. Findings of this research will be useful in supporting hair salons to gain a greater understanding of their customers by adopting effective RM strategies.