The Brand Effect: A Case Study in Taiwan Second-Hand Smartfhone Market

Since the smartphone market is an oligopoly market structure, consumer purchase intention is usually driven by brand preference. This research analyses the customer-to-customer market of second-hand smartphones, pointing out how the brand factor affects the consumers’ purchasing behaviour. It is found that the recovery value and life cycle of Apple smartphones are higher and longer than those of other brands. Moreover, the recovery value of other brand smartphones is significantly driven by the debut date of the Apple smartphones, implicitly forming a consumption cycle. In addition, through machine learning models, the predictability for the recovery value is able to reach 93.55%.

Pedagogy and Student Learning Outcomes in Elementary Schools in Rural India: A Quasi-Experimental Approach

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of effective teaching methods on learning outcomes in elementary schools in rural India. Particularly, this paper studies an innovative learning enhancement program called “Parrho Punjab” launched in 2007 in the Indian state of Punjab. Using cross-sectional data, the effect of the “Parrho Punjab” program on third to fifth grade children’s learning levels in basic mathematics is evaluated. This study develops combined research designs of propensity score matching technique and the difference-in-differences (DID) method. In a first step, propensity score matching technique is applied to create a synthetic control group that is as similar as possible to the treatment group in terms of pre- “Parrho Punjab” characteristics. The difference-in-differences approach is then used to estimate the effect of the program on third to fifth grade children’s learning outcomes in basic mathematics. The results indicate a positive and significant effect of the program on children’s learning outcomes in basic mathematics, underscoring the importance of effective pedagogy in enhancing learning outcomes. Combining propensity score matching with the difference-in-differences approach, this study addresses the problem of unmeasured confounding. The DID approach will produce misleading conclusions in the presence of bias due to unmeasured confounders. To the best of my knowledge, previous studies using a DID method for examining the impact of effective teaching strategies on student learning outcomes in India have not made such attempts to address the problem of confounding bias.

Remittances and Economic Growth in Niger: An Error Correction Mechanism Approach

Migration has for a long time been a significant source of revenue for a huge number of persons in the Republic of Niger. In order to improve their families living condition, a great number of young people in Niger follow the migration path. In 2019, a total of 293 million U.S. dollars has been sent by migrants to their family members in Niger (World Bank, 2019), that is 3% of Niger GDP. The study used various time series econometric techniques including unit root test, Engle-Granger cointegration test, vector equilibrium correction method and some diagnostic tests on the residuals to inspect the connection between remittances and economic growth in Niger. The empirical results showed that there is the existence of a long run relationship between remittances and economic growth in Niger. The error correction term’s coefficient shows that about 51.62% of the discrepancy between long run and short run is corrected with a yearly data suggesting an acceptable rate of adjustment to equilibrium. Also, in the short run ceteris paribus a 10% increase in the remittances would lead to 2.03% increase in Niger Gross Domestic Product.

What Triggers Poverty of Young Nationals and Young Migrants? A Comparative Macroeconomic Approach

Identifying the macro-economic determinants of poverty is a key concern for developing poverty reduction policies. Since young people and young migrants in particular are more exposed to poverty, establishing the factors that trigger poverty among these social categories has even more relevance. A preliminary analysis shows that significant differences exist between at-risk-of poverty or social exclusion rate of young migrants and young nationals across European countries. For a more thorough study of the reasons behind these differences in poverty rates between young migrants and young nationals, two panel data regression models are estimated on a cross-section of 23 countries over the period 2010 – 2018 (one model for young migrants, the other for young nationals). Results confirm the main theories in the specialty literature: unemployment and inequality (measured by the Gini index) are the main triggers of poverty or social exclusion both for young nationals and young migrants. However, the income is significant for reducing poverty only for young nationals, but not for the young migrants. This result reinforces the necessity of better integration policies for young migrants in richer Member States.

Assessing MSMEs Growth Through Rosca Involvement Using Paired t-Test and One Sample Proportion Test

In this research work, rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) effect on the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and identification of a factor supporting the continuity of ROSCAs is studied. A well-designed questionnaire with a reliability value of 0.957 was distributed to 400 entrepreneurs in Wukari through snowball sampling technique. After validity check, 368 valid questionnaires were used for the research. Firstly, a paired t-test was applied to know if entrepreneurs achieve significant positive growth in their business before and after 5 years of joining ROSCAs. At 5% level of significance, entrepreneurs achieved significant positive growth in their businesses 5 years and above of joining ROSCAs. Secondly, a one sample proportion Z-score test was used to identify the major factor responsible for ROSCAs continuity. At 5% significance level, flexibility was identified as the major factor responsible for ROSCAs. It was concluded based on the results obtained that ROSCAs has a significant positive effect on the growth of MSMEs and ROSCAs continuity towards MSMEs growth is due to its flexibility factor in terms of operations, disbursement, seeking loans and interest rate.

Generalized Classes of Estimators for Population Mean, Ratio and Product Using Rank of Auxiliary Character Under Double Sampling the Non-Respondents

In the present study, generalized classes of estimators for estimating population mean, ratio and product of two population means using rank of auxiliary character in presence of non-response are proposed. The bias and mean square error of proposed classes of estimators are obtained and their performances examined. Specific conditions under which the members of proposed classes of estimators attain minimum mean square error are obtained. Comparative study of the proposed classes of estimators with the relevant estimators is carried out. An empirical study is given to justify the efficiency of the proposed classes of estimators.

Motivations of Young Consumers to Participate to Collaborative Consumption

Collaborative consumption is currently an exciting topic of interest for many debates and controversies being perceived as a fast-growing social phenomenon. Considering the contemporary development processes via sharing economy, there is an interest to prove that the segment of young consumers practices changed from traditional buying and owning behaviour to collaborative consumption stratagems. Thus, the central objective of the present study is to explore the potential young consumer behaviour adjustments and to discuss the motivations behind those changes by considering the emergence of collaborative consumption.The primary hypothesis of the present article states that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations influence teenager’s attitudes and behavioural intentions regarding participation in collaborative consumption.Regarding the methodology, the author’s performed confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The objective was to determine if previously exposed motivational factors influence positively the young consumer’s behavioural intention and their attitude towards a supposed adherence to collaborative consumption schemes.

Explaining Recent Romanian Migration: A Modified Gravity Model with Panel Data

The present paper contributes to studies on Romanian emigration from a demographic, spatial, and temporal perspective. The purpose of this paper is to assess the selected economic and demographic variables’ impact on the volume of Romanian emigration to the European Union (EU) during 2010-2017. The analysis was done using a gravity model. The models used in this study are the fixed effect model (FEM) and the random effect model (REM), both applied to panel data. The results show that the economic and demographic factors have a significant influence on the emigration’s destination, and the socio-economic and demographic situation in the host country determines the flow migration from Romania. The paper strengthens the literature through an empirical analysis of the economic and demographic determinants of Romanian emigration to the EU from the perspective of the country of origin.

The Effects of Highly-Educated Immigrants on Innovation in Three Developed European Countries

In the current globalized world, migration represents a topic of great interest, generating advantages and downsides as well, both for the people and the communities implicated. Highly-educated migrants represent a key factor in fostering innovation, productivity and economic growth, and promote knowledge diffusion/distribution in both directions, from origin to destination country and vice versa. This research investigates the effects of highly-educated immigrants on the number of patents (a good proxy for measuring innovation activities), in the case of Austria, Finland and Sweden, between 2011 and 2017. For the empirical analysis of the study case, we used panel data and developed a multiple linear regression model estimated through the ordinary least squares method (OLS), at the country-level. In line with the vast existing literature, the main finding of this paper is that highly-educated immigrants, representing external factors of innovation, have a positive and significant impact on the number of patent applications in all three receiving countries. Moreover, financial support in R&D (in different sectors) and investments in human capital (from diverse fields) serve as internal factors of innovation and also contribute vastly to the enhancement of innovation.

The Relationship Between Sustainable Development Goals and Migration. An EU-28 Perspective

This study approaches migration from the perspective of an effect of the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals. In order to analyse this relationship, several indicators used to measure the SDGs attainment level were employed. These indicators are also the ones related to migration. The results show that most indicators that are used to measure the achievement of SDGs have an impact on the migration flow. Consequently, GDP per capita and unemployment rate, as main indicators used to measure the Goal 8 (Sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all), have significant impact on migration, being main factors of immigration.The main conclusion is that there is a bilateral relationship between migration and SDGs. Not only that migration can influence the achievement of sustainable development, but, at the same time, it is itself influenced by how well the Sustainable Development Goals are attained.