Domestic Resource Mobilization and Human Capital Development in Sub- Saharan Africa

This study investigates the nexus between domestic resource mobilization using aggregated and disaggregated taxes, and human capital accumulation as measured by the index of human capital and total factor productivity. The study explores panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag. We further explore the linear and nonlinear effects of taxes on human capital accumulation. The results from the scatterplots show that taxes at aggregate and disaggregated levels positively correlated with the two measures of human capital. On the linear analysis, the impact of aggregated and disaggregated taxes is largely negative under the index of human capital but largely positive under the second measure in the short-run. However, the long-run results indicate that aggregate and disaggregated taxes significantly amplify human capital accumulation. On nonlinearity, there is no presence of human capital laffer curve (HCLC) in the short-run under the two measures of human capital. However, there is presence of HCLC in the long-run. The net effects results show that some taxes (such as indirect taxes, taxes on goods and services) are distortionary in improving the level of human capital development while some taxes (such as total tax, direct tax, taxes on income, profit, and gains) can distort human capital development in the SSA region.

Innovative Activity of Small and Medium- Sized Enterprises

The importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the economy of our country is constantly growing. In 2018, they made up 99.8% of the enterprises in the country. They employ 75.7% of all employees in the economy and they provide 65.3% of the country‘s added value. The innovation activity of SMEs largely determines the overall innovative performance of our country, and therefore the pace of its development. It is increasingly realized that the stimulation of innovation in SMEs is an important mechanism for achieving competitiveness and economic success not only of individual enterprises but also of our country as a whole. Given this, the first purpose of this study is to perform a comparative analysis of the innovation activity of Bulgarian SMEs compared to the other EU countries and to determine the main areas of achievement and lag. The comparative analysis was performed on the basis of data from official national, European and world sources, as well as from published research results on this issue. The second purpose is to present the results of an empirical study of the innovation activity of a sample of Bulgarian SMEs, conducted by the authors. The survey covers 100 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises from different sectors of the processing industry and its purpose is to check, supplement and clarify secondary information studied for the first stage.

The Mediating Role of Brand Engagement and Store Image on Relationship between Brand Identification and Purchase Intention: a Study of Omani Retail Market

Based on the convergence of social-identity and theory of reasoned action (TORA), the purpose of this research is to investigate the mediating effect of brand engagement and store image on the relationship between consumer brand identification and purchase intention. The study empirically investigates a theoretical framework developed from literature evidence using partial-least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) to test hypotheses. A structured questionnaire, measuring items on a Likert seven scale, was used to collect data from 344 participants among shoppers of famous retail chains in Muscat. The results indicated that store-brand identification (SBI) alone is a weak predictor of purchase intention (PI). The results revealed that brand engagement (BE) and store image (SI) fully mediate the relationship between SBI and PI. Intrinsically, the study serves to enhance the insight into customers’ attitudes towards private-labeled store brands with a focus on the Omani retail market. The findings contribute a valuable insight on retail marketing strategies, and an interpretation into branding literature related to retail marketing and provide an understanding of marketing strategies and guidance for retail store management in Oman both at a strategic and tactical level.

Research of the Influence of the Innovations of the Business Models on the Economic Results of the Enterprises

An expanding amount of research and a growing number of scientific publications are devoted to the problems of business model innovations, given their increased theoretical and practical significance. However, this concept is not well developed. There are very few publications in Bulgaria dedicated to the theory of business models and in particular to their innovation. A study of the processes of innovation of business models in Bulgarian enterprises, including their activity and the actual results achieved by their implementation, has not yet been made. In view of this, the purpose of this article is to briefly present the results of a study of the effects of business model innovation, conducted in a sample of Bulgarian enterprises, as well as to clarify their impact on the economic results of enterprises. The results of the empirical study demonstrate the impact of the innovation capacity of enterprises on the level of economic results achieved through these innovations. The main hypotheses of the study are: 1. Firms that innovate their business models achieve higher economic results than the average level of results for the respective industries. 2. The positive impact of business model innovations on the economic results of enterprises is stronger than the impact of individual innovations of another kind. 3. The economic results of the conducted innovations of the business models are higher in the industries with high innovation capacity than in the industries with low capacity. 4. The economic results of the conducted innovations of the business models are higher in the big enterprises than in the small and medium enterprises with lower innovation capacity. The authors hope that this article would provoke a discussion on these and other similar issues related to this topic. The results would assist future research as well as business leaders in making management decisions in developing strategies. The paper is organized as follows: Section 1 is a introduction and a overview of relevant literature, Section 2 explains the methodology, Section 3 presents the results of the empirical study and a discussion of the results and Section 4 contains the conclusion.

Learning Outcomes and the Success of Entrepreneurs: The Case of Vietnam

This paper aims to analyze the effect of investing in balanced skills on the probability of success of entrepreneurs within the context of Vietnam. By not taking this possible linkage into account, previous researchers have underestimated the effect of general and specialized skills as learning outcomes from formal schools and higher education institutions on the probability of success of entrepreneurs. Additionally, the effect of balanced skills – a combination of general and special skills – on the probability of success of entrepreneurs in Vietnam does has not attracted much of scholars’ and policy makers’ attention. Data provided by GEM helps this paper analyze the effects of learning outcome and balanced skills on the probability of success of entrepreneurs. The empirical results support the theory of entrepreneurship that invests more first in general, special skills and then balanced skills will increase the chance of success of entrepreneurs.

Financial Data Processing in Big Data Platforms

Today’s digital society generates more and more data on a daily basis in all areas of human activities, especially in the financial sector. Such data can be collected, stored, processed, and analyzed, providing serious analytical opportunities for the end users. A lot of such systems are implemented and work using cloud technologies, which have a number of advantages, but they use a pay-per-use model and thus are not very suitable for medium and small organizations, non-profit and academic institutions. In this paper, a system, capable of fetching, storing, and processing big data is proposed and tested with financial data. It uses an open-source component-based approach and can be custom-built and implemented in national universities or centers of competence/excellence. That can present unique opportunities to researchers and developers to use and work with Big data on economic and financial problems, to investigate dependencies, use large simulation and forecast models and analyze results, using the new technologies and Big data provided by them.

Identifying Strategies as a Ploy for Overcoming Negative Effects of COVIDization of Economy

The main goal of this publication is to highlight the importance of the strategy as a ploy to overcome the negative effects as a result of COVIDization of the economy. The term COVIDization of the economy is the term that best describes the situation caused by COVID-19 in the short term and the long term consequences it will have for the business. The first wave presented the companies the economic challenges that they had to deal with in the short term. The subsequent two new waves also determined the need for strategic changes on the part of companies. In these conditions, all five strategies derived by Mintzberg appear – plan, a pattern of behavior, positioning, ploy, perspective. The article substantiates from a theoretical point of view the importance of strategy as a ploy through some of the most popular concepts used in strategic management - McKinsey’s 7S, the Pyramid for organizational development; through the Value-added chain, the Strategic map and Balance scorecard. Viewed in this way, “strategy” means the definition (undertaking) of a set of actions to achieve a specific goal under certain, set as a result of COVIDization, external conditions and available internal prerequisites. The presented empirical data are the result of a study conducted in the period March-April, 2020.

A Study of the Yield of Honey in Farms from North-Eastern Bulgaria

The aim is to study the prices, cost and profitability of honey from the Ruse region. A serious problem has been defined for honey, which is a major product of regional beekeeping, respectively its profitability - steadily declining prices do not cover the rising costs of production and sale. The study found that the average prices of the online segment of organic honey compared to the same offline segment in packages of 1 kg have a difference of almost 2 times, and in the smallest cuts 3 times. The gross profit (margin) of the regional honey of the B2B offline markets in the biological and conventional segment for 2020 is negative. The study found that own B2C online channels in the conventional segment achieve a net return of 48 BGN/year per beehive, and in the biological segment - 97.92 BGN/year per beehive. The latter provides 150 beehives with a net income of 1224 BGN/month, which is the yield on the sale of organic honey on the offline B2C markets with 950 beehives. Marketing strategies of beekeeping farms in the Ruse region are needed to achieve competitiveness and profitability at the sectoral and regional level.

Impact of Oil Revenue Spending on Income Distribution: the Case of Azerbaijan

This paper examines the impact of the oil factor on income distribution in a resource-rich country, Azerbaijan. Since the early 2000s, the rapid increase in oil revenuesh as been used for the economic and social development in the country. The increased revenues from oil sales has led to a sharp increase in the share of the top 10% of the population in total income, the stabilization of the share of the lowest 10%, and a significant decline in the share of the middle layer. The widespread use of oil revenues has played a leading role in the formation of new structural features in social stratification. In addition to the sharp decline in extreme poverty in the country, the layer with a higher income has emerged. At the same time, increasing oil revenues has not given a strong impetus to the formation of a prosperous middle layer. This paper also demonstrates that the solution of the income inequality problem is related to improving the quality of institutions, enhancement strategies for the use of oil revenues in the short and long terms, as well as ensuring the consistent implementation of an active diversification policy.

Ottoman Institutions and Legal Regulations in 19th Century Bulgarian Economy; A Review Based on Institutional Economics

In the 19th century, developments took place in many areas around the world. The industrialization process has accelerated in the world, production scales have increased, and the economic integration process has started. With the globalization of trade, the boundaries became less visible, and entrepreneurs could trade freely in different parts of the world. In this article, the extent to which the economic activities on the Bulgarian territory could be integrated into the world trade in the 19th century, the political and financial institutions of the Ottoman Empire, and the legal arrangements that affected the welfare of the Bulgarian people will be discussed. In making this discussion, the basis of institutional economic thought will be examined, and the effects of the institutions of the Ottoman Empire on the economic structure of Bulgaria will be reviewed. Did the Ottoman Empire, expressed in the terms of institutional economics, constitute inclusive institutions or exploitative institutions in economic activities on the territory of Bulgaria? This discussion will be more explanatory under four main headings. These are; traditional institutions, tax regulations, financial institutions, and legal regulations. Thus, the effects of the Ottoman Empire on the economic structure in the territory of Bulgaria will become more pronounced.