ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS: CASE OF KUWAIT

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has already left a mark on the economic activities and labor markets in both advanced and developing countries. While the impacts on the economy vary considerably, the oil dependent economies have been hit harder. Along with the impact of the pandemic disease, they have been contending with a major collapse in oil prices. Kuwait is the world’s seventh largest exporter of oil. Falling oil demand might affect the future growth of Kuwait’s economy in the long run, and if the crisis continues, possibility to provide employment opportunities will be challenged. The aim of this paper is to analyze potential pandemic’s impact on employment in Kuwait in comparison with the financial crisis from 2008-2009, what is of crucial importance for the businesses in the region to understand. The paper is based on a systematic review of the secondary data gathered by international institutions.

MODELING OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC INDICES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS

This paper presents non-classical models for estimating and forecasting COVID-19 pandemic indices. These models have been successfully tested on country data where the pandemic is nearing completion. In particular, an effective algorithm for mortality index evaluation is also presented. This index is usually replaced by more simple estimates such as, for instance, „the number of deaths divided by the number of infected”; however, while the virus is at the stage of its rapid distribution, such superficial approaches are incorrect. Model indicators of the infection itself allow us to predict not only the apogee of the epidemic and the end of the quarantine period, but also the maximum number of infected people in some country (continent) during the height of the epidemic. The second part of the paper is devoted to an attempt to build regression models to explain (with using 100+ country socio-economic indicators taken from the World Bank data) the behavior of the epidemic spread indices. It is shown that the maximum number of infected people in the country is well predicted (R-square is close to 90%); and, moreover, migration indicators and the number of international air take-offs are effective regressors. Other indicators, for example, the mortality index, are difficultly modeled; nevertheless, it has a significant relationship with socio-economic factors. The presented paper might be valuable for making effective decisions to forestall some future pandemics or even the „second wave” of COVID-19.

STRINGENCY OF COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS AMONG ITALIAN REGIONS AND THE ROLE OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

The diffusion of COVID-19 pandemic among Italian Regions has been very uneven. The intensity of measures introduced to contrast its spread also shows a high heterogeneity among local jurisdiction, but this does not correspond, prima facie, with the intensity of the pandemic. What shapes the stringency of responses across different localities? Various factors could be hypothesised to be at play: factors related to the intensity of the pandemic, to the political and ideological orientation of governing authorities, to the models of growth and development characterising regional economic systems, and to the strength of lobbying groups pushing for more or less stringent responses. To address these questions, we elaborate a regional stringency index and analyse (using CART regression trees and other statistical methods) its relationships with some of these factors. The results show that the main driver of stringency (in an inverse way) is the weight of exports on regional GDP, suggesting that economic interests and business power might play an important role in shaping political responses to pandemics.

FINANCIAL LITERACY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS MEASURED BY P-FIN INDEX

Financial literacy belongs to the most important competences of all members of the modern 21-st century society. The authors present results of the research based on the personal finance index that is recently developed an innovative measure of knowledge. The questionnaire research that has been conducted among the students of two universities in the Czech and Slovak republic. It focused on full-time and part-time students with the aim to verify the suggestion that practical experience of distance learning students has a significant impact on the level of their financial literacy. Statistical analysis of the data shows, that part-time students have achieved better results in all functional areas of the personal finance index. Based on these findings authors also drew some conclusions for improving education in this field.

THE EFFECT OF INCOME STABILISATION TOOL ON SLOVAK AGRICULTURE

Managing income risk in agriculture is one of the important issues for farmers and policy makers nowadays. There exist a set of instruments and mechanisms for farmers to face the income volatility, including the individual or public support. Under II Pillar, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) offers the support for less favoured farms in the way of insurance, mutual fund, and Income stabilisation tool. The Income Stabilisation Tool (IST) represents the compensation to farmers for a “severe drop” in income, if the farm experienced an income loss of more than 30% compared to the 3-years average or the Olympic average of the preceding five-year income realizations. However, none of the EU countries has been currently using the tool operationally. The main objective of the paper is to investigate the potential effect of the Income Stabilisation Tool on mitigation of income risk in Slovak agriculture. The results of the paper show the existing possibility to improve financial situation and reduce the income inequality of particular Slovak farms in the future.

THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF THE ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM BIOMASS VIA ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Anaerobic digestion is a microbial process that occurs in the absence of oxygen where a community of microbial species breaks down both complex and simple organic materials, ultimately producing methane and carbon dioxide. Biogas refers to a secondary energy carrier that can be produced out of many different kinds of organic materials and its options for utilization can be equally versatile - biogas can be used to generate electricity, heat and biofuels. It is clear that introduction of the subsidies in 2009 for BGPs initiated usage of the AD technology for generating electric energy. The sharpest increase in number of BGPs was recorded in 2013; however, there was a major downsizing in their installation in 2014 due to change in the subsidy system. The main aim of the paper is to forecast economic viability of biogas plants in Slovakia based on the net present value indicator, estimation of payback period of the technology and assessment of the maximum economic price of input material.

SUSTAINABILITY COMPETENCIES FROM THE UNIVERSITY DISCOURSE

The subject of the research is focused on identifying the conditions that determine university’s specific response to sustainable development, as well as on identifying the characteristics of a transformative university, and the obstacles in the process of creating a sustainable university. Given the importance of educating the future decision makers, the paper is particularly focused on the problems and the possibilities for developing the competencies for sustainable development within the higher education. The originality of the paper is found in its wholesome overview of the universities’ response to the sustainable development challenge and in the identification of possible barriers that the universities face when striving to sustainability. The special value of the paper is in the analysis of the models for sustainable development competencies which should help to further understand these models and the possibilities for their application in university’s teaching practice.

THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES FOR THE MARKET SEGMENT B2G (B2A) COMPARED TO B2B AND B2C, BASED ON A CASE STUDY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES

In today´s highly competitive marketing methods, the market segments B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) are very well established and applied. The worldwide largest market segment, the B2A/B2G (Business-to-Administration/Business-to-Government) however, has until now received little or no attention in the literature. In the theoretical part of this paper, a focus has been placed on the measurements, how a company is able to find the right approach to operate its business successfully in this very specific business segment, where the players have completely different motivations. The aim of this paper is to gain insight into the basic concepts what rules must be followed to avoid delays, errors and losses, especially considering suppliers, who want to work internationally. This paper is complemented by a case study of an infrastructure product (sewage pipe system), that was manufactured and successfully launched and installed in the Philippines. This research shows the strategy for an infrastructure product market penetration for a new player in the market, with a „non-existent “product.

APPLICATION OF ECOSERV MODEL IN SERVICE QUALITY MEASUREMENT: CASE STUDY OF NATIONAL PARKS IN CROATIA

Service quality plays an important role in improving competitiveness across tourism sectors. In this context, there is a need to gain a better understanding of service quality in the growing segment of ecotourism. This study aims to measure service quality perceptions of visitors of Croatian national parks and identify its key dimensions by using a modified ECOSERV model. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyse the data. Six dimensions that seem to best explain perceived service quality in national parks were identified. The results of the study could be relevant for both academics and management active in the area of ecotourism and national parks.

AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF BRAND EQUITY BASED ON TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE ATTRIBUTES ON TWEETS OF THE LARGEST WESTERN EUROPE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES

Social networks have become a means of interaction between companies or organizations and consumers. However, few studies have dealt with the use of tangible and intangible attributes on social networks of manufacturing companies. This work deepens the concept of brand equity of European manufacturing companies through the analysis of brand engagement and electronic word-of mouth (eWOM) generated by social media posts. Firstly, tangible and intangible attributes have been identified on tweets. Secondly, it has been analysed if there is a link between tweets based on tangible and intangible attributes and number of likes (brand engagement) or retweets (eWOM). The multivariate analysis results show relationships between publications including the analysed attributes and brand equity. In contrast, eWOM is only related with tangible attributes. Conclusions are discussed.