An Econometric Model for the Analysis of the Influence of the Refurbishment Costs on Housing Prices

With reference to the Italian context, the present research intends to analyze the functional relationships between the unit cost of restructuring and the selling prices in the residential segment. The analysis has been contextualized to the three clusters (Northern Italy, Central Italy, Southern Italy and Islands) in which the Italian territory is commonly divided. The case study concerns 965 residential units sold in the first half of 2019 and located in the 103 provincial capitals. The implemented econometric technique is a data-driven method that employs a genetic algorithm and allows the identification of the most influencing factors among the explanatory variables considered. For each cluster, a model has been selected in order to study the influence of unit cost of restructuring on housing prices.

Investigating the Impact of Trade Disruptions on Price Transmission in Commodity Markets: An Application of Threshold Cointegration

Threshold cointegration is introduced as an econometric technique to model the impact of trade disruptions on spatial price transmission in commodity markets so that market participants and policy makers can understand the global impact of trade disruptions on prices. The threshold cointegration technique that is employed is flexible in that it allows the number of thresholds and their location to be determined endogenously and the threshold variable to be exogenous to the system. We innovate on the threshold cointegration technique by selecting a measure of trade disruptions as the threshold variable. This innovation can be used for any commodity market that is spatially connected due to arbitrage; however, to illustrate its usefulness we apply the technique to trade disruptions for canola traded between Canada and China using weekly data between 2014 and 2019 and find that canola trade disruptions between Canada and China impacted global price transmission and resulted in market fragmentation.

Impact of Institutional Quality on Bilateral Exports: Exploring the role of Development

This study uses the gravity model to analyze the homogeneous and heterogeneous effect of institutional quality and development on bilateral exports. We use the panel data of 61countries for the period 2000 to 2016 and employ the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Liklihood (PPML) econometric technique with a High-Dimensional fixed effect (HDFE) for an estimation that allows the analysis in the presence of high dimensional fixed effects. The findings reveal that the direct effect of institutional quality and level of development on bilateral exports is positive and significant. Further, the institutional quality and the level of development of the exporter country have more impact on bilateral exports than that of the importer country. Our estimation results of homogeneity of institutions show that when both trading countries share the same level of institutional quality, it boosts the bilateral exports. The major finding of this study reveals that the interaction effect of institutional quality and level of development on bilateral exports is positive and significant. High value of interaction term of exporter economy and low value of importer country suggest that interaction effect of institutional quality and level of development on bilateral exports of exporter country have a greater impact than the interaction effect of institutional quality and level of development of importer country due to having the more production and exports facilities in exporter country. Based on the findings, some essential policies are also recommended, followed by some future research gaps.

Do Human Resources Run Economic Growth? Empirical Evidence From Pakistan

This study analyzes the role of human capital in economic growth using data from 1981 to 2017. The data were taken from the World Bank (WDI) and the Economic Survey of Pakistan (Various Issues). It was scrutinized for stationarity of variables through ADF and an appropriate time series econometric technique of ARDL is applied for empirical analysis. The results suggest that both proxies of human capital, education, and health have positive impacts on the economic development of Pakistan. The study findings also suggest that government machinery may divert enough resources for the improvement of education and health services to accumulate human capital for achieving the desired goal of higher growth and development.

How Does Institutional Quality Moderate the Influence of Financial Development on Environmental Pollution? Evidence From G20 Countries

Unlike previous studies that focused mainly on the relationship between financial development and CO2 emissions, the current study examined the moderating effect of institutional quality on the influence of financial development on environmental pollution in G20 countries over the period 2003-2015. The panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) is employed as an econometric technique. The findings are established as follows: First, the findings show that institutional quality appears to have a mixed (positive and negative) effect on environmental pollution. Second, the findings show that financial development has mixed (positive and negative) effect on environmental pollution. Third, the findings also show that the interaction between institutional quality and financial development has a negative and statistically significant on environmental pollution, meaning that institutional quality complements financial sector to reduce environmental pollution. Policy implications are discussed.

Financial Inclusion Measurement in the Least Developed Countries in Asia and Africa

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial inclusion in the least developed countries in Asia and Africa. We used World Bank data to estimate the probit econometric technique in the studied countries. The results show that young people and women are groups excluded from financial inclusion and that education and income are two of the key pillars for increasing financial inclusion. Furthermore, the results reveal that a higher level of financial inclusion increases the level of official savings in countries, which in turn promotes their development. The findings of this study are beneficial for policymakers in the least developed countries to promote innovative approaches to enhance the involvement of excluded people in formal finance.

Investigating the long-term effects of child labor on household poverty and food insecurity in Ghana

This paper explores the extent to which child labor perpetuates the cycle of household poverty, as well as food insecurity using the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey. The study employs a counterfactual framework and an endogenous treatment effect econometric technique to accurately examine the causal link between child labor and long-term household poverty and food security. Results suggest a positive relationship between early paid work and long-term poverty and food insecurity. This finding provides empirical evidence to indicate that child labor has the potential to create and perpetuate poverty traps. From a policy perspective, findings from this study also contribute to the modern policy debates surrounding the achievement of the sustainable development goals on reducing poverty and hunger in developing countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: a buzz of negativity with a silver lining of social connectedness

PurposeLockdowns are generally characterised by financial depletion, loneliness, stress, depression, loss of jobs and businesses, among others. The effect of the recent lockdown in Ghana as a result of COVID-19 pandemic has not been different. The primary question this study seeks to answer is: are lockdowns only characterised by negativity, or could there be a positive side that has not yet been harnessed?Design/methodology/approachTo answer this question, the authors rely on a dataset of 879 observations obtained through an online survey administered from 25 April to 3 May 2020. Using a regression approach, the authors applied an ordered probit econometric technique with its associated predicted margins.FindingsThe authors show evidence that in the midst of the negativity surrounding the lockdown, social connectedness is evident, especially in relatively less busy cities. The authors recommend that instead of losing oneself through social isolation and loneliness during lockdowns, people should use lockdowns as an opportunity to build and exhibit social capital and harness the opportunities associated with it. The authors also recommend that during lockdowns, channels of social connectedness should be made easily accessible and cheaper through a well-targeted government subsidy programme for the poor.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is a novel study that provides the first empirical evidence on the relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown and social connectedness.

Reinvestigating Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows in European Countries: Any Difference from the Romanian Economy?

The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants of FDI inflows in Romania. Data was collected from the UNCTAD and WDI from 1990 to 2018, and econometric technique was utilized to address the objective of the study. Consequently, there exists a negative relationship between FDI inflows, growth rate and market size in Romania. However, GDP per capita and per capita growth has a positive relationship with FDI inflows. Furthermore, it could be established that there is an existence of a unidirectional causality which runs from FDI inflows to economic growth. Therefore, the policy makers in Romania should ensure the sustainable growth of GDP per capita and capita per output in the country. Also, as a matter of urgency the authorities in Romanian economy should embark on aggressive policy that will expand the market size and ensure a sustainable rate of economic growth in the country.

Public Works and Children’s School Attendance: Evidence from Rural India

Rural public works programmes offer a guarantee of temporary employment to any household upon request. This article examines household survey data from India and measures the effect of public works participation on the school attendance of children in workers’ households. Since schooling and public works are determined simultaneously, it relies on an econometric technique that exploits heteroscedasticity in the public works decision rather than requiring an instrumental variable or exclusion restriction. It is found that higher public works intensity is associated with a small but significant decrease in the likelihood of full-time school attendance and that this effect does not appear to be driven disproportionately by women or girls specifically. It is important to consider intergenerational effects when evaluating the effectiveness of rural public works for long-term poverty alleviation.