Economics Ecology Socium

Assessing the Effectiveness of the Fiscal Policy Tools in Facilitating Inclusive Economic Growth

2024-12-27T10:34:32+00:00

Introduction. Fiscal policy aims to promote economic growth and ensure inclusive growth in reaching low-income populations and benefit from economic activity. Therefore, fiscal policy instruments should be appropriately chosen to achieve inclusive growth. Maintaining the financial system's stability determines the critical role of fiscal policy, especially given its impact on economic growth and the reduction of income inequality. Therefore, it is crucial to identify targeted fiscal measures to promote economic development and reduce income inequality simultaneously.

Aim and tasks. This study investigates the effects of fiscal policy instruments on inclusive growth in several selected countries, including EU members and EU candidate countries. The analysis covers the period from 1996 to 2022, using a Bayesian VAR model to examine data on direct and indirect taxation and current and capital spending, with GDP per capita (or GDP growth) and the GINI index serving as the impact variables.

Results. The results indicate that capital spending positively affects GDP growth while reducing the GINI index, which causes inclusive growth but does not have an immediate impact. Current spending is a fiscal policy instrument that does not positively affect inclusive growth, as it does not promote economic growth but only increases income equality. Direct taxes increase GDP but do not always reduce the GINI index. As for indirect taxes, this policy instrument is frequently used for inclusive growth. It promotes economic growth, reduces the GINI index, and creates more equally distributed income among the population. Therefore, achieving inclusive economic growth is more feasible for the selected EU members and candidate countries through increased capital spending or indirect taxes.

Conclusions. The study found that indirect taxes can reduce income inequality with inclusive growth. Capital expenditures play a crucial role in the medium and long term in helping to achieve inclusive economic growth in a country. For developing countries, direct taxes and capital expenditures can effectively achieve inclusive growth. In contrast, developed countries can achieve similar results using a combination of tax measures and expenditures.

A Review of Green Business Negotiations and the Development of Sustainable Business Transitions

2024-12-27T10:34:52+00:00

Introduction. Seeking consistency with the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals, business entities are transforming from “doing business as usual” to sustainable business practices. Businesses are encouraged to undergo a green transition process. Green business transitions form a specific context for business negotiations. The engagement of business entities in negotiations largely depends on the willingness of parties to find a solution for the contradictory interests of parties and to come up with a solution for the negotiation problem in the form of a joint decision.

Aim and tasks. The study aims to raise awareness of green thinking for a successful green business transition by using negotiations as a sustainable business practice. For businesses, the process of change that results in becoming successfully green is intertwined with negotiations, where parties strive to achieve outcomes complying with the green business transformation perspective and are constituted as sustainable business deals.

Results. This study justifies the need for a clear definition of green business negotiations and a framework that distinguishes them from conventional ones. Network maps of keyword searches do not reveal a clear link between negotiation and green business transition research. Although literature presents distinct theoretical models of negotiation and negotiation algorithms, they fail to establish cohesive research streams that could be categorized into clusters. This observation indicates that negotiation frameworks and green concepts exist independently in literature. VOSviewer tool was used to represent bibliometric relationships and co-occurrence in the literature visually. Exploration of the potential intersection between these areas is essential to clearly understand their interrelationships and implications for effective green business practices. Additionally, Barber’s Negotiation Phase Model demonstrates that the specific tasks and elements of green business negotiations are integral to all phases of the negotiation process. Understanding these elements can enhance the effectiveness of negotiations related to business sustainability.

Conclusions. The framework that integrates green business negotiation specifics into the Negotiation Phase model provides a nuanced understanding of green business negotiations, highlighting the importance of integrating environmental considerations at each stage of the negotiation process. Practitioners can enhance their strategies and outcomes by recognizing the distinct characteristics and requirements of green business negotiations, ultimately fostering more sustainable business practices. The findings emphasize that integrating green business negotiations within established negotiation frameworks is crucial for enhancing organizational strategies, promoting sustainability, and achieving effective outcomes in green business practice.

EU Policies on Human Security, Environmental Sustainability, Strategic Foresight, and Digital Transition in EU Candidate Countries: Moldova and Ukraine

2024-12-27T10:35:08+00:00

Introduction. The relationship between theoretical and conceptual frameworks has not been fully investigated in recent debates regarding European Union (EU) governance, human security, environmental sustainability, and strategic foresight. From this perspective, this paper addresses the evolving nature of European governance in the field and the dynamic framework of the collection, analysis, and monitoring of EU policies, which demonstrates that the central objective of the study is based on empirical analysis and interaction with annual policies.

Aim and tasks. This study aims to develop a matrix model for analysing the EU Strategic Foresight Reports (EU SFR Reports) released by the European Commission (EC) from 2020-2023. Since this research is based on reports published annually by the European Commission, the research plan develops an analysis matrix covering and monitoring annual reports. The study will also collect the most significant theoretical and scientific knowledge from specialised literature in the last five years.

Results. The analysis results revealed a focal dynamic of some topics in human security, environmental sustainability, and strategic foresight by quantifying, reporting, and evaluating diagrams, interpreting data, and monitoring concepts. An important part of the analysis focuses on how the two EU candidate countries for the European Union (Moldova and Ukraine) have employed legislative lines and directions regarding the relational nexus between human security, environmental sustainability, and strategic foresight.

Conclusions. In conclusion, it should be noted that empirical monitoring of the four European Commission reports for 2020–2023 (EU SFR) provides valuable findings regarding the impact of European policies, effectiveness, and institutional commitments, as well as the functional terms of security design, sustainability, and strategy. These results provide a standard for assessing future policies and demonstrate the importance of EU policies in influencing candidate countries' strategic vision and governance.

Assessing Employee Perceptions of Information Technologies in Public Sector Digitalization

2024-12-27T10:35:22+00:00

Introduction. The increasing role of digitalisation in the public sector is caused by the possibility of improving the quality of public services. However, the effective implementation of digitalisation in public organizations and its use is influenced by technological, organizational, environmental and human factors. Therefore, it is relevant to assess the perception of employees of government bodies and their perception of using information systems and technologies.

Aim and tasks. The goal is to study the resilience of public organisations and employee reactions in crises using information systems. The stated goal determined the survey of employees’ opinions on the effects of the implementation and use of information and communications technology (ICT) in terms of improving communication and coordination in the organisation, crisis response capabilities, and satisfaction with the use of the system.

Results. The study analysed the responses of representatives of various public administration and administrative management levels in Bulgaria, the results of which were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics. The survey involved 73 employees of public organisations holding various positions, which made it possible to assess the perceptions and impact of ICT use by employees. In the context of this study, it has been proven that information systems technology supports communication and coordination in public organisations. This affects the system’s perceived usefulness and the employees’ handling of unexpected changes (crises). Resolving crises using information and communication technologies affects employee satisfaction, which contributes to increasing organisational resilience.

Conclusions. This study examines the attitude of employees working in public administration toward the use of information and communication systems and the strengthening of the digitalisation process. Based on rank correlation analysis, research hypotheses were proven. It was found that there is a relationship between the use of ICT, improved organisational coordination and communication, crisis management and satisfaction of public sector employees with the use of ICT. The above factors affect organisational resilience and the ability to adapt in the context of digital transformation.

Investment and Infrastructure Development Projects in Public–Private Partnerships in Ukraine

2024-12-27T10:35:37+00:00

Introduction. Acquiring sustainable development of the public-private partnership process is an urgent task, given the need for post-war reconstruction in Ukraine. Nowadays, development is suspended, which is experiencing an investment gap due to the risks and uncertainty of war conditions and insufficient guarantees for investors, an imperfect legal framework, and unresolved institutional problems. Therefore, the task of identifying obstacles to the development of public-private partnerships and improving their mechanisms arises.

Aim and tasks. The study aims to analyse investment and infrastructure development projects within the framework of public-private partnership in Ukraine, identify barriers to sustainable development, assess the prospects for external financing and the need for private investment, develop proposals to increase the level of guarantees for investors and improve the mechanism of public-private partnership.

Results. The need to change the principles of evaluating public-private partnership projects is indicated to facilitate the formation of a new paradigm of cooperation between society, business, and institutional structures during the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Obstacles to developing public-private partnerships, exceptionally high risks for investors, significant uncertainty caused by the war, insufficient investment guarantees, and the way to acquire a dynamic public-private partnership financial model are indicated. It is proposed that projects aimed at redistributing risks between project participants be diversified and fragmented, which will facilitate the involvement of SMEs in the public-private partnership mechanism. New approaches are proposed to increase the level of guarantees to investors and measures to improve the public-private partnership mechanism, which will provide the prerequisites for sustainable development.

Conclusions. The conducted analysis showed that the improved mechanism of public-private partnership would reduce the risks of external investment by 28% and increase the chance of returning insured loans in case of failure by 11.9%, which increases guarantees for external creditors. This indicates that the total share of private investment in public-private partnership projects should reach 67%, and external investment should provide 75% of the total volume of investments.

Assessing Emotional Intelligence in Engineering Managers in Bulgaria and its Impact on Team Effectiveness

2024-12-27T10:35:56+00:00

Introduction. Under the dynamic conditions of globalisation and increasing competition, modern organisations constantly seek to update their approaches to achieve efficiency and productivity in all activities. One of these approaches would be to build the emotional intelligence of the manager, which has an undeniable role in the work of a working team that achieves the set goals. Since the management of modern organisations aims to achieve efficiency in all aspects of their activities, the manager's emotional intelligence would directly affect the team's effectiveness in the organisation. It leads to a team construct, professional development of team members, and team leadership.

Aim and tasks. The study aims to assess the emotional intelligence of managers from the engineering industry in Bulgaria and prove its correlation with team effectiveness. The criteria and methods of team management and the evaluation of their effectiveness in industrial enterprises were studied. The tasks were to clarify the theoretical issues of the considered problem, to examine the emotional intelligence of managers practically, and to draw conclusions about the relationship between the emotional intelligence of managers and team effectiveness in the organisation.

Results. An overview analysis of the existing literature was conducted, and on this basis, the key criteria supporting the effective work of the team were derived. The emotional intelligence of middle-level management was investigated, and on this basis, the direct relationship between it and team effectiveness in the organisation was proven. The need for intervention in individual indicators to improve the team functioning of the organisation was determined based on a study of the emotional intelligence of managers. The development examined the criteria of Self-awareness, Self-management, Social awareness, and management of relationships in the team, relating to measuring the emotional intelligence of managers. The conclusions drawn are that in the surveyed enterprises, the main attention should be paid to the Social awareness criterion since the final results need to meet the modern requirements for businesses to address human resources from a social perspective.

Conclusions. Evaluating the team's performance helps eliminate weaknesses and strengthen its strengths. The team is motivated and committed to achieving the set goals when this assessment is adequate and timely. The identification of criteria, factors, methods, and team performance evaluation plays a key role in managerial decision-making, providing the key to the success of team functioning in the organisation.

Accounting and Audit of Agriculture Enterprises in the USA

2024-12-28T11:17:03+00:00

Introduction. The USA accounting and audit industry is a complex and influential sector encompassing institutional structures. The Big Four, regional (local) firms, and independent auditors are the most common among them. In turn, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ensures that professional standards and financial reporting are met through its rigorous oversight. The demand in the industry springs from business expansion, economic prosperity, and the implementation of certain regulatory norms and standards for unsettled debts. The problem is the investigation of the peculiarities of the accounting and audit industry in the United States, size, regulatory framework, dominance of the Big Four firms, and ever-increasing technology use in the field.

Aim and tasks. This study examines the peculiarities of accounting and auditing in the USA in the context of agribusiness development.

Results. An analysis of leading audit firms (Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG) showed an average increase of 40% in income over the period 2018-2023. Accounting and auditing in the USA remains the leading sector among developed countries, showing the highest projected turnover growth due to strong B2B demand, rising labour costs (71.2% of total industry expenses) and increasing industry profitability (27.5%). However, despite the growth in the overall number of companies, the industry remains fragmented, with the top five companies accounting for 17.2% of production value in 2023. Technology is still developing, and new laws are being set every so often in the accounting and auditing industry. A comprehensive set of approaches is required to characterise agribusiness in the United States.

Conclusions. The analysis of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which has the authority to supervise and regulate accounting, revealed the audit standards that the FASB conducts for review and takes action against firms that violate the standards and rules of ethics. The most important aspect of the supply of professional auditors is meeting the demand for credible audits in the market.

Network Modelling of Assessing the Impact of Threats to the Economic Security of Logistics Operators

2024-12-27T10:36:24+00:00

Introduction. The increasing crisis phenomena affecting modern business structures and risks for the economic security of logistics organisations determine the relevance of their research. It is crucial to determine changes in the conceptual and categorical structure of enterprises’ economic security and threats to the economic security of logistics entities in an unstable financial situation. Activity-on-node (AoN) modelling was used as an analytical tool for developing project measures, allowing for effective planning of implementing activities to improve logistics organisations’ economic security.

Aim and tasks. This study aims to extend the presentation of the methodology related to the triple model of logistics actors (purpose-resources-time), which includes five stages of threat indicators in the context of ranking.

Results. Key factors influencing the economic security of a logistics entity have been identified, enabling the accumulation of resources in critical operational areas. This is achieved by prioritising economic security measures based on a quantitative (scoring) assessment of threat levels and the probability of their occurrence. According to experts, potential threats to the economic security of the Fozzy Group LLC (Ukraine) were identified to predict the corresponding threats based on their possible characteristics. The implemented measures to prevent potential threats to logistics activities showed an increase in the average comparable indicators by 21% (2022). The following trends in the probability of threat occurrence to the economic security of a logistics entity are identified: an increase in the percentage values of the indicators, specifically «very high» (6.0%), «high» (2.7%), «medium» (3.0%), «low» (2.0%), and «very low» (1.0%). The fingdings indicate the effectiveness of implementing measures to improve security, particularly regarding economic effects. The proposed approach for assessing threats to economic security in logistics activities prioritises and implements the most significant measures to strengthen security through a quantitative (scoring) assessment and using a network model (AoN) with plane representation.

Conclusions. It is emphasised that the main aspects of this article will allow domestic business structures to apply this network modelling approach, predict threats to economic security, and develop practical strategies for strengthening the security component in the context of modern challenges. These findings provide a promising fundamental basis for enhancing the economic security of logistics entities in the context of network modelling.

Strategic Management of Sustainable Economic Development in Transport and Logistics Sector Companies

2024-12-27T10:36:47+00:00

Introduction. The impact of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and military actions make the issue of business viability in Ukraine relevant. Modern reality requires new management approaches based on sustainable development strategies. Crisis phenomena have seriously affected local and global logistics, disrupted supply chains, and caused changes in the transport and logistics sectors. The slow development of transport technologies and intermodal transport has reduced Ukraine’s potential and negatively affected its competitiveness. Therefore, effective strategic management for the sustainable economic development of transport enterprises is vital for overall economic development.

Aim and tasks. This study aims to analyse and formulate strategies for the sustainable economic development of transport enterprises, including challenges and innovative solutions, such as digitalisation and the development of smart transport systems.

Results. Current trends in the development of domestic and international freight transportation, along with the restoration of capacity in Ukraine, confirm the prospects of the industry and its promising prospects even in wartime. The analysis of the operating profitability of Ukrainian transport companies in 2018-2022 showed a negative value (-1.6%), indicating losses in the industry. However, in 2019-2021, there was steady growth, and in 2021, profitability increased to 5.8%. However, according to 2023 calculations, Ukraine has the lowest logistics performance index among neighbouring countries (2.70), indicating severe problems in logistics management and international competitiveness. Because the development of digital technologies in the transport sector creates conditions for their direct use in all sectors of the economy, it is only possible to formulate strategic development directions by considering the need to develop digital transport tools. The main trends in the transport sector have proposed a methodology for forming and implementing a sustainable economic development strategy for transportation companies.

Conclusions. The concept of strategic preparation and management of sustainable economic development is the most common practical application of the theoretical foundations of regional companies and fulfils the monitored part of their transport policy. Strategic models focused on adapting to modern challenges have been proposed to ensure the development of transport and logistics companies. Transport companies operate under constant changes in business environments that require flexibility and a mandatory management approach.