Environmental, societal and economic risks are rising

Headline INTERNATIONAL: Environmental and societal risks rising

The Perception of Market and Economic Risks by Owners and Managers of Enterprises in the V4 Countries

The aim of the paper is to assess the impact of the length of entrepreneurship on the perception of the most important business risks in Slovakia and the Visegrad Group of Countries (V4 countries). The empirical research was conducted in 2019-2020. It was focused on assessing the state of enterprise risk management (ERM) application. The research file contained 422 online questionnaires completed by owners and managers of enterprises (OMEs). The results of this case study were compared with the results of similar studies performed in the V4 countries in 2017-2018. In total, 1,781 OMEs participated in the surveys mentioned. The following statistical methods were used to assess the data: ANOVA, Bartlett’s test, Agostini test, good fit test, and Grubbs test. The overall results of the empirical research highlight the significance and importance of the assessment of business risks in the V4 countries. The results in Slovakia in 2019-2020 and the research results in the V4 countries in 2017-2018 show that OMEs still consider market and economic risks to be most important in their business. Market and economic risks are related to sources that exert the most negative influence on enterprise success. The results are valuable for entrepreneurs, enterprise managers and institutions that provide comprehensive entrepreneurship support in the V4 countries. The overall results are significant at the regional, national, and international levels of the V4 countries and have the ability to strengthen the competitiveness of entrepreneurs within the EU common market.

THE RULES OF REMUNERATION OF THE WORKER COOPERATIVE MEMBERS

The subject of the foregoing study is an analysis of the specific rules for the remuneration of members of a worker cooperative who, by contributing to the organisation, participate in the economic risks associated with its operation. Each member of a worker cooperative is guaranteed the right to participate in the profit (balance surplus) of the cooperative, but at the same time participates in covering its losses up to the amount of the declared contribution. This special status of members of a worker cooperative, together with the obligation to work for that organisation on the basis of an employment relationship, has an impact on the remuneration of that category of workers. This can be seen in the structure of their remuneration, which consists of the current salary and the share of the balance surplus to be distributed among the members in accordance with the rules laid down in the statutes. Moreover, the current salary of a member of a worker cooperative and his share of the balance surplus are under protection provided by labour law for the remuneration of the employees.

Reduction of the Economic Risk by Adaptation Measures to Alleviate Heat Stress in Confined Buildings for Growing-Fattening Pigs Modelled by a Projection for Central Europe in 2030

Economic risks for livestock production are caused by volatile commodities and market conditions, but also by environmental drivers like increasing uncertainties due to weather anomalies and global warming. These risks impact the gross margin of farmers and can stimulated investment decisions. For confined pig and poultry production, farmers can reduce the environmental impact by implementing specific adaptation measures to reduce heat stress. A simulation model driven by meteorological data was used to calculate heat stress impact as a projection for 2030. For a business-as-usual livestock building, the indoor climate for several adaptation measures was calculated. The weather-related value-at risk quantified the economic risks caused by global warming and the stochastic component of the weather. The results show that only energy-saving adaptation measures to reduce the inlet air temperature are appropriate to reduce the economic risk to the level of the year 1980. The efficiency of other adaptation measures to reduce heat stress is distinctly lower. The results in this study can support the decision making of farmers concerning adaptation management and investments. It can inform agricultural policy design as well as technological development.

Economic stress of people 50 + in European countries in the Covid-19 pandemic–do country policies matter?

The Covid-19 pandemic caused lockdown of economies, which in turn led to the worsening of the economic situation of many households. During the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic governments undertook various measures to support economies and societies, including jobs protection along with financial support provision to people who suffered financial loss during the economic crisis. We analyse the economic situation of older Europeans, depending on their socio-economic status as well as country of residence characteristics, including economic and labour market changes during the first phase of the pandemic, the strictness of government policies but also the country development level using the Human Development Index. We use the results of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), including the SHARE Corona Telephone Survey, which was conducted during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our results indicate that individual characteristics have a higher impact on individual economic stress, compared to country characteristics. However, country’s response to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the overall level of development influences the economic situation and ability to cope with the economic risks people aged 50 and over face. People in more developed countries have smaller difficulties in making ends meet, while the economic crisis and more stringent policies reduce chances to receive financial support and increase economic risks.

Gulf boycott raises Lebanon economic risks

Significance They have failed to convene cabinet for more than a month amid a row over how to resolve a break in diplomatic relations with former Gulf allies. Measures taken by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain are damaging the already failing economy. Impacts Increased Iranian support for Shia forces in Lebanon could provoke further US sanctions. The Saudi import ban will hit the agricultural sector hard. Any flight bans would make it more difficult and costly for Lebanese nationals to travel to the Gulf.

Chapter 7: Prospects for Agri-Food Trade Between Russia and China

China features prominently in Russia’s medium-term export targets and is also considered to be an important investment partner for developing agriculture in the Russian Far East. Meanwhile, China is seeking to mitigate economic risks by diversifying import supply channels; Russia features as one such supplier. However, this chapter cautions that the agricultural and food trade relationship remains vulnerable to a range of operational, technical, and policy hurdles. These obstacles dovetail with political imperatives on both sides for self-sufficiency, which limits the scope for trade. Thus, China is and will continue to be an expanding market for Russian agricultural goods, but there are tenuous realities in terms of concrete cooperation.