"In others we trust": Finland and Norway – High Trust Societies in the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, trust has been identified as a key mechanism in pandemic containment. Norway and Finland, two Nordic countries with high trust scores, are cited as best-practice examples. In a qualitative research project on the theoretical construct of caring economics conducted by the author, the deep societal anchoring of trust and integrity has been confirmed in both countries. Based on the empirical example of the Nordic countries, the concept of caring economics emphasizes partnerism and thereby the real wealth of nations. Dugnad/Dugnadsånd, which refers to collective effort, is a trust-based Norwegian type of commons and commoning that can be regarded as an intersection with caring economics. Dugnad/Dugnadsånd integrates the various notions of interpersonal, system, and institutional trust, and thus widely supports mechanisms of pandemic control.

Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research towards Sustainable Natural Resources

The global concerns on sustainability issues such as scarcity of natural resources, rapid environmental degradation, intense international competitions, and imbalanced of social equities are increasing, resulting in growing attention towards sustainable use of natural resources, especially in the agriculture sector. Natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable are a part of the real wealth for a nation which can contribute towards fiscal revenue, income, and poverty reduction (OECD, 2011). In the agriculture sector, natural resources can be used to provide occupations in enhancing the livelihoods of the poorer communities.

MONETARY POLICY AND FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION IN BASEL III: GLOBAL TRENDS

Introduction. The article deals with the peculiarities of the transmission mechanism of monetary policy in the implementation conditions of the Basel Committee requirements on Banking Supervision "Basel III". The problem of the mechanism violation of the classical monetary multiplier, the imbalance of the monetary circulation system, the frequency increase of debt defaults and the amplitude of macroeconomic fluctuations in the global economic system are marked as a study result of the effects of the credit mitigation policy conducted by the US Federal Reserve amid the global financial crises of the last decade and changes in the nature of financial intermediation based on the synthesis of asset securitization and structured finance instruments. The purpose of this article is to investigate changes in monetary policy and financial intermediation in the implementation context of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Basel III as a source of imbalance in the global economy. Research methodology. The system method, method of scientific abstraction, methods of analysis and synthesis, statistical, comparison, generalization, scientific prediction were used. Results. The article deals with the implications of implementing the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Basel I and Basel II in the area of monetary policy and financial intermediation; peculiarities of monetary multiplier mechanism operation in modern conditions are revealed; the possible consequences of implementing Basel III requirements for the mechanism of monetary supply formation in the world economy are analysed; the change in the role of gold as monetary metal in central bank foreign exchange reserves and the implications of these changes in terms of price dynamics and the distribution of real wealth in the global economy are examined. Conclusions. It is proposed to consider the requirements of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision "Basel III" as such, which will exacerbate the volatility of global financial markets, increase the likelihood of increasing the frequency of debt defaults and, given the possibility of using gold as a means of redistribution of real wealth in the global economy, will cause an increase in the amplitude of macroeconomic fluctuations. Keywords: monetary policy; financial intermediation; the central bank; US Federal Reserve; Basel III; bank capital structure, monetary base; money multiplier, correspondent accounts; money supply; monetary gold; global economy.

National Wealth

Why are some nations wealthy and others poor? How did the wealthy nations become rich? What are the components of wealth? How should nations manage their wealth for the future? These are among the most important questions in economics. They are also impossible to answer without defining wealth, and understanding how it can be created, destroyed, stored, and managed. National Wealth: What is Missing, Why it Matters assembles a collection of high-quality contributions to define the key concepts and address the economic and policy issues around national wealth. It considers insights from economic history, addresses the impacts of the changes to national accounting, and teases out the policy implications for both rich and poor countries and the institutions within them. Using expert analysis and theoretically grounded empirical work, this book evaluates the progress that has been made in measuring national wealth, as well as the recent developments in theory and practice which show that the change in real wealth is an essential indicator of economic progress and future well-being. Measuring the change in real wealth answers the fundamental question: How much does the stream of future well-being of the population rise or fall as a result of policy actions today? Organized into four parts, National Wealth defines the key political and economic concepts of wealth, examines the history of wealth creation and destruction, and provides a detailed analysis of the individual components of wealth before finally examining the lessons for managing wealth for sustainable national prosperity.

Media Review: Three Books on a New Economics: A German Perspective

The first part of this paper presents the ideas of Niko Paech and Christian Felber, two popular exponents of alternative economic models in Germany and Austria. Both authors invoke psychological and behavioral factors, noting that our current economic system is leaving people dependent, unhappy, and dissatisfied, and that this system’s values are contradictory to our constitutional and fundamental values. The book presented in the second part of the paper helps understand this absurdity. It’s Riane Eisler’s The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics, in which she explains how we can reach an understanding of connections that are still largely invisible, and change the mindsets responsible for replicating harmful behavior and policies reflected in our current economic system.

The functioning of non-profit organizations and motivations of participants

This article presents the motives that lead people to engage in activities of NGOs. The first part discusses the concept of NGOs and characterized areas of their operation. While the second presents the motivations that guide the participants NGOs. The presented content shows that human motivations and attitudes are a source of innovation and creativity, and thus constitute the real wealth of NGOs.