Prices of conventional and renewable energy as determinants of sustainable and secure energy development: regression model analysis

Background The prices of energy resources are important determinants of sustainable energy development, yet associated with significant unknowns. The estimates of the impact of prices of energy products in the domestic market (for domestic consumers) are rare—hence the importance and novelty of this research. Therefore, the main goal of the paper is to assess the impact of domestic prices of gasoline, gas, coal, and solar energy on sustainable and secure energy future. Methods The research includes 14 countries (of which 7 are developed and 7 are developing countries) and a period of 5 years (2014–2018). The model also includes discrete variables: level of development (developing or developed), and the fact as to whether the country is an energy exporter or not. For the purposes of analysis, the following elements were used: Panel Data Analysis, Linear regression (with random and fixed effects), Durbin–Wu–Hausman test, and Honda test, with the use of R-studio software for statistical computing. Results The research showed that the biggest negative impact on energy sustainability was recorded by an increase in the price of coal and the smallest one by an increase in the price of solar energy. An increase in the price of gasoline has a positive impact, while an increase in the price of gas has no impact. The basic methodological result showed that the fixed effects linear model is more accurate than the random effect model. Conclusions The results of the paper, important as a sustainable energy policy recommendation, showed that the impact of changes in energy product prices is significantly greater in developing countries, but that the status of the country as an energy exporter has no significance. In addition, the paper points to the need to intensify the research on the assessment of the impact of energy product prices for domestic consumers on their ability to pay that price, because with a certain (so far undefined) increase in energy product prices, a certain group of domestic consumers moves into a category that is not in line with sustainable energy development and is extremely undesirable in every respect—energy poverty.

Transmission Channels between Financial Deepening and Economic Growth: Econometric Analysis Comprising Monetary Factors

Contemporary literature continues to foster discussion whether financial development is important for economic growth. In the clash of theoretical arguments, the prevailing idea is that finance exerts a direct positive influence on GDP growth. However, the presence of theoretical counterarguments and contradictory results of empirical studies suggest that scientists, in search of an answer about the direction and power of the net effect, should develop methods of empirical analysis, and the very mystery of the relationship between finance and growth will finally be solved exclusively empirically. In this paper, the authors contribute to the development of the ‘finance-growth’ literature by answering some existing questions concerning the transmission channels from finance to growth, relying on more recent data compared to already conducted studies. We use panel data covering the period 1995 to 2019 for 168 countries. In addition, the paper touches on the problem of studying the exogenous conditions of such channels, considering the assumption that among these conditions there may be those that hinder the impact of financial deepening on economic growth. Our focus is on monetary conditions, and in the empirical part of the study, we touch upon the problem of the influence of price stability on the operation of these transmission channels. The methods of the conducted study are based on the dynamic panel data analysis techniques (System GMM). The novelty of this paper lies in the development of the modern theory of the financial sector transmission mechanism in the economic growth context. The main result of the study is that productivity channel is the most reliable transmission channel of financial deepening to economic growth. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this channel remains virtually unaffected by inflation. The channel of capital accumulation should be considered less reliable (in terms of statistical reliability of estimates obtained), but it has turned out to be a more economically significant transmission channel. This channel is sensitive to the inflation factor in certain categories of countries. Finally, as follows from the estimates gained, the non-linearity of the “finance-growth” relationship can be explained by the non-linearity of the variable responsible for the capital accumulation channel.

Presentation of Novel Multiple Regression Model for Accounting Information Quality, Corporate Investment, and Moderating Role of Ownership Structure in Companies

The conflicts of interest between managers and shareholders force managers to make decisions that do not meet the interests of shareholders. One of these decisions is to invest less in the company’s operational activities. Increasing the information quality is one way to prevent that issue, allowing stakeholders to monitor investment decisions. The present study investigates the relation of accounting information quality, corporate investment, and ownership structure for Iranian firms, using panel data analysis from 2009 to 2018. We applied a multiple regression model to test the hypotheses. The results show that the quality of accounting information significantly affects the investment decision for the company’s main operations, so the first hypothesis of the research is confirmed. At the same time, there is no effect of capital structure on accounting information quality and firms’ investment decisions. Thus, the second hypothesis of the research failed to be confirmed.

On Exports and Economic Growth: Revisiting Export-Led Growth Hypothesis Including North-South Divide

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to revisit the export-led growth hypothesis in the wake of globalization. This will help in trade policy decisions and make it possible to standpoint whether the export promotion is a good idea to accelerate economic growth. Design: The ELG hypothesis is examined for 107 countries through panel data analysis using cointegration and panel regression tests from 1990 to 2018. The study finds strong support for the long-run relationship between exports and gross domestic product and the export-led growth hypothesis in a two-variable regression framework. Findings: It is evident from the long-run coefficient of dynamic ordinary least squared that a 1.0 percent increase in real exports increases the real gross domestic product by 0.53 percent. The long-run coefficient of real exports for the Global South (0.55) is found higher than that of the Global North (0.51), which indicates that in the wave of globalization, the evidence of export-led growth hypothesis is stronger for comparatively poor Global South than the richer Global North. Practical Implications: The results indicate implications for export promotion policy in the Global South countries to accelerate economic growth and increase real gross domestic product. Originality: The study is the first to explore the ELG hypothesis using a big pool of 107 countries, including the global north-south divide.

How Does Government Policy Improve Green Technology Innovation: An Empirical Study in China

This paper divides government policy according to policy quantity, policy effectiveness and policy executive force so that the government policy can be quantified in more detail. Green patent data is used to represent green technological innovation, and the fixed effect model and panel data analysis from 2010 to 2019 are employed. The empirical results show that government policy has a significant direct promoting effect on green technology innovation. And the positive impact of policy quantity and policy effectiveness on green technology innovation is greater than that of policy executive force. In addition, the government policy will weaken the positive effect of enterprise innovation vitality on green technology innovation. Research conclusions also show that the direct and indirect effects of government policies on green technology innovation are heterogeneous. The government still needs appropriately policies adapted to the local situation, coordinated in policy quantity, policy effectiveness, and executive force, and accelerate the establishment of market-oriented green technology innovation environment. Different regions also should find the right green technology innovation policy scheme for their own regions.

Pre-Emptively Managing Overtourism by Promoting Rural Tourism in Low-Density Areas: Lessons from Madeira

Overtourism refers not only to situations in which carrying capacity levels have been exceeded, but also to those in which tourists and residents share negative feelings of discomfort and other emotions, loss of quality of life and unpleasant experiences in their activities of daily life. The growing number of places struggling with the problem of overtourism suggests that brand new approaches are required to minimize the effects of excessive tourism. However, the impacts of overtourism are place-specific and a one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate. Many destinations still have a considerable margin to manoeuvre but are nonetheless heading towards increasingly unsustainable levels of tourists per square kilometer. Such regions have time to take some pre-emptive measures based on principles of sustainable development using greener and energy-saving technologies. Over the past few decades, degrowth has arisen as an unorthodox approach based on principles of fairness and social and environmental justice. In certain areas, such as island economies, the economic dynamics remain largely dependent on the tourism sector, which forces the local actors to think and act differently. In this study, we analyze the strategies employed by Madeira to counter the negative effects of oversaturation in a pre-emptive way. The findings of this case study, based on the data at the county level, are enhanced by a panel data analysis of a number of relevant explanatory variables explaining the dispersion of tourists to the rural hinterland. The results suggest that the development of the rural hinterland has proven capable of exerting a progressively positive influence well beyond the borders of the rural hinterland by accommodating a growing share of the increasing numbers of tourists welcomed in the region in the 2002–2019 period, at the expense of the main capital city. This study confirms the importance and potential of the development of the rural hinterland to tackle overtourism in the main tourism areas. In terms of recommendations, it is suggested that local operators and policy-makers must develop efforts to research new ways to adopt energy-saving projects and develop tourisms products that incorporate eco-friendly behaviors.

Does Climate Change Influence Russian Agriculture? Evidence from Panel Data Analysis

Agriculture is one of the economic sectors primarily affected by climate change. This impact is very uneven, especially for countries with large territories. This paper examines the contribution of climate change to the improvement in agricultural productivity in Russia over the past two decades. Several ensembles of fixed effects regressions on yields and gross harvests of grain, fruits, and berries, potato, and vegetables were evaluated for a sample of 77 Russian regions over the 2002–2019 period. In contrast to similar studies of the climate impact on Russian agriculture, we considered a larger set of variables, including both Russian and global climate trends, technological factors, and producer prices. Russian weather trends such as winter softening and increase in summer heat have a significant but opposite effect on yields. An interesting finding is a significant and mostly positive influence of global climatic variables, such as the CO2 concentration, El Niño and La Niña events on both harvests and yields. Although technological factors are the main drivers of growth in Russian agricultural performance over the past 20 years, we found a strong positive effect on yield and gross harvest only for mineral fertilizers. The influence of the other variables is mixed, which is mainly due to data quality and aggregation errors.