JournalTOCs

Journal of Social and Economic Statistics
Number of Followers: 2

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Online) 2285-388X
Published by Sciendo

[389 journals]

Economic Determinants of Birth Rate in Romania. A Spatial Analysis
- Abstract: The purpose of this article is to determine the factors influencing the birth rate in Romania, by incorporating explicitly the spatial factor in the proposed models. The study is justified by the dramatic fall of the birth rate over the past three decades. With a negative natural population growth and an increasing number of emigrants, the population will become older and there will be a few million less in the next decades. To achieve the objective, various spatial modelling methods were used, such as Spatial AutoRegressive Model (SAR), Spatial Error Model (SEM), Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and a spatial panel data model. The data granularity is at the county level for the year 2020. Results show that GDP per capita and the amount of financial support received by families for raising a child have a significant effect on the birth rate. Using a spatial approach for modelling the birth rate, we reveal demographic problems that may exist in certain areas and identify the regions that would require a policy to stimulate birth rates.
  PubDate: Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT
The Impact of the Standard of Living on Digital Performance in the
European Union
- Abstract: The Digital Economy and Society Index can be considered a complex indicator that measures the digital performance of the European Union. This indicator has undergone some methodological changes, precisely to be permanently aligned with the European Union’s development strategies but especially with technological development. The aim of the paper is to highlight the impact of the standard of living and its components on digital performance at the level of the European Union. Moreover, the paper will analyse the current state of digital performance at the level of the European Union. The results can serve as a policymaking tool to facilitate the implementation of the digitalisation project at the European level.In this article, hierarchical clustering was used to define groups of countries from the perspective of digitalisation. Ward’s algorithm determined four homogeneous clusters that were presented in the analysis. This approach serves as a hypothesis to test the correlation between digital performance and living standards. Thus, with the help of the linear correlation coefficient, a strong positive relationship was identified between the Human Development Index and the Digital Economy and Society Index. Moreover, at the level of the Human Development Index components, it was identified that individual well-being and education correlate linearly with the Digital Economy and Society Index; therefore, the analysis was completed with a multiple regression to verify this dependence. The last part of the case study is represented by the classic linear regression model, which confirms the hypothesis that living standards influence digital performance.
  PubDate: Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT
An Assessment of the Russo-Ukrainian Conflict on the European Cereal
Exports Using Network Theory
- Abstract: Cereal grains are basic nutrients in the human diet. Given the production capacity gap between countries, food security is subject to global challenges. The Russian invasion of Ukraine from February 2022 has inevitably raised concerns on the resilience of the agro-food system. In this paper, we use network theory to examine the export flows of the European producers of wheat, maize, and barley. Based on annual data from the United Nations Comtrade database, we build specific weighted and directed networks to comparatively assess the dynamics of cereal exporting patterns. We employ centrality metrics for network statistics and modularity for community detection. The central hub for all three cereals remained unchanged. Our results show the following core countries Russia for wheat, France for barley and Ukraine for maize. Their main export destination is also the same, from Russia to Türkiye, France to China and Ukraine to China respectively. Compared to the previous year, several destinations including low-income countries worldwide did not appear as recipients of the Ukrainian exports, but additional countries located in Europe and interconnected by land emerged as partners. This study provides a general assessment of the European exports to support a better understanding of the community structure under the Russo-Ukrainian conflict setting.
  PubDate: Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT
Does Board Gender Diversity Really Improve Financial Performance and
Default Risk' Evidence from Romanian Companies Engaged in International
Trade
- Abstract: Currently, in the business world, important attempts are being made to assess the possibility of verifying the creditworthiness of companies by going beyond traditional financial data and incorporating alternative data as well. Does the fact that the board of a company has a certain structure influence the financial health of that company' The paper’s objective is to ascertain if there is a correlation between the board of directors’ gender diversity, financial performance, and the probability of default for that respective company. The empirical study examined a sample of Romanian companies engaged in international trade. Using natural language processing techniques, I predicted the gender of the respective director by his/her first name. The second step of the research was the analysis of the correlation between the percentage of women on the board and traditional financial indicators such as profit or turnover, and the correlation between the percentage of women on the board and that company’s probability of default. The results show that there is generally not a strong correlation between the percentage of women on the board of the company and the other financial and risk indicators at the entire population level, but there is a strong correlation for some specific industries such as education, meaning that there are industries were the presence of women in board really impacts the performance of the business.
  PubDate: Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT
Youth Religiosity: A Bibliometric Coverage and Quantitative Assesemnt of
Internal and External Dimensions
- Abstract: Due to its complex character, the evaluation of the way an individual is religious involves multidimensional approaches, which includes both aspects of creeds and effective manifestation. The exhaustive bibliometric analysis reveals eight main research themes of interest, at the interaction of religiosity and youth. In the context of assessing religiosity, the paper further provides an analysis of the religious phenomenon among Romanian adolescents and young adults. It employs an exploratory factor analysis for identifying the specific religiosity dimensions, and principal components analysis for reducing dimensionality and for a more in-depth analysis. Both adolescents and young adults exhibit a relatively strong level of internal religiosity, which pertains to personal beliefs and faith. Additionally, both groups demonstrate a moderate level of external religiosity, which refers to religious practices and behaviours.
  PubDate: Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT
Motivations of Young Consumers to Participate to Collaborative Consumption
- Abstract: 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.
  PubDate: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT
What Triggers Poverty of Young Nationals and Young Migrants' A Comparative
Macroeconomic Approach
- Abstract: 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.
  PubDate: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Assessing MSMEs Growth Through Rosca Involvement Using Paired t-Test and
One Sample Proportion Test
- Abstract: 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.
  PubDate: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Generalized Classes of Estimators for Population Mean, Ratio and Product
Using Rank of Auxiliary Character Under Double Sampling the
Non-Respondents
- Abstract: 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.
  PubDate: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT
The Effects of Highly-Educated Immigrants on Innovation in Three Developed
European Countries
- Abstract: 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.
  PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
The Relationship Between Sustainable Development Goals and Migration. An
EU-28 Perspective
- Abstract: 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.
  PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Explaining Recent Romanian Migration: A Modified Gravity Model with Panel
Data
- Abstract: 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.
  PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
The Characteristics of Migrant Physicians from Romania
- Abstract: An important part of migration represents the brain drain, especially the migration of physicians. Romania has a health system in continuous reform, facing for over 3 decades a shortage of employees. Moreover, employed specialists and young physicians migrated, the health care system registering a medium efficiency. The number of migrant physicians from Romania followed an ascending trend, and this had negative consequences on Romanian population health. The main objective of this paper is identifying the profile and the dynamics of the migrant physician from Romania. Other objective is highlighting the Romanian counties where most physicians migrated from and the preferred destination countries.
  PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Challenging Youth Unemployment Through International Mobility
- Abstract: Youth unemployment is a challenge in many European countries – especially since the financial crises. Young people face difficulties in the transition from education into employment. This article focuses on young mobile Europeans from six countries (Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania and Spain). The research question is whether and to which extent international mobility has an impact on employability and therefore reduces youth unemployment. By using a cluster analysis of personal adaptability, social and human capital and career identity, the importance of mobility experiences for employability is analysed in a recent dataset of 5,272 young (formerly) mobile respondents. Youth mobility is established as a strong characteristic for the employability cluster. Mobility is however not the long-term aim of most of the mobile young people, since most of the mobiles choose to return to their home countries after one or more stays abroad.
  PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
International Migration and its Socio-Economic Effects in European
Countries. Editorial Note
- PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
How are European Migrants from the MENA Countries Affected by COVID-19'
Insights from an Online Survey
- Abstract: COVID-19 pandemic has affected and still affects many countries in the world, reshaping many of the economic and social activities. Based on the results of an online survey, this paper highlights the perceptions of the way the pandemic has affected one of the most vulnerable categories in a society, migrants. We focus our research on the migrants and refugees from Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, living in Europe, as in the recent years and mostly after the migrant crisis in 2015, they are in large numbers in European countries. Using ANOVA models, our results show that unemployed migrants, students but also migrants who find it difficult on present income are most worried about the COVID-19 crisis and fell they will be greatly affected in terms of income and employment by this crisis. Also, women are more worried by COVID-19 than men with respect to the health aspect.
  PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Life Satisfaction and Migration - What Relationship'
- Abstract: The aim of the paper is to empirically assess if immigrations is a potential predictor of life satisfaction in European countries, considering also other socio-economic determinants. For this purpose, we are using data from the European Quality of Life Survey 2016 implemented by Eurofound. Our results show that immigration, measured here by migrants born in another country, has a net positive impact on subjective well-being, and strictly in this context, migration does not prove to be a threat on well-being. Also, the results suggest that immigration leads to well-being in different ways, more precisely it seems to support a better quality of life for the more privileged and not so much for the less privileged. The statistical and econometrical evaluation of the conection between life satisfaction and other determinants, grouped in categories such as demographical, socio-professional, economical highlights a series of general and specific influences. Subjective well-being, representing eudaimonic well-being, is positively associated with an improvement in the areas of life satisfaction, especially with the standard of living and family life. We also identified positive influence on life satisfaction, in relation to aspects such as the freedom to decide how to live, the efforts made to have a better life or individuals’ own optimism. A very important aspect is a good health, a reduced risk of psychological depression and chronic physical and mental problems.
  PubDate: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT
A Causal Relationship Between Trade, Foreign Direct Investment and
Economic Growth in Niger
- Abstract: Foreign direct investment and Trade were regarded as an important elements in enhancing economic development. This study used some time series econometric tests including the Augmented Dickey – Fuller (ADF) unit root test developed by Dickey – Fuller, stationary test developed by Kwiatkowski-Philips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS), Johansen co-integration test and Granger causality test to analyse the connection between foreign direct investment, trade and economic growth in Niger. The tests results showed a bilateral relationship between trade and economic growth and a unidirectional causal relationship between trade and foreign direct investment with direction from trade to foreign direct investment. The long run effect tests revealed that trade has a positive effect on economic growth while foreign direct investment has a negative effect on economic growth in Niger. On average, ceteris paribus, the coefficients are statistically significant at 5% level.
  PubDate: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Specialisation Vs Diversification. Which One Better Upholds Regional
Resilience to Economic Crises'
- Abstract: As economic crises periodically disrupt the economic activity, a large and continuously growing literature was dedicated to understanding the reasons behind the crises, their mechanism, effects and, most of all, the determinants of resilience capacity, and the ability to overcome hardships by adapting and changing. By preparing in advance for economic shocks through resilience building during good times, the impact of economic crises can be attenuated. Starting from these considerations, the paper focuses on regional economic specialization and its opposite – economic diversification, two business strategies already acknowledged in the literature as relevant factors for the capacity to mitigate economic crises. We tested the hypothesis of vulnerability-inducing economic specialization in the Romanian economy, using NUTS3 level data and found that more diversified regional economies were better at coping with the hardships triggered by the recent recession.
  PubDate: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT
Detecting Anomalous Data in Household Surveys: Evidence for Argentina
- Abstract: This paper advances in the detection of anomalous data in income reports of Argentina. In particular, income declared by households surveyed in the Encuesta Permanente de Hogares (EPH, Permanent Household Survey in English) -for the period 2003-2017- and in the Encuesta Anual de Hogares Urbanos (EAHU, Annual Urban Household Survey in English) -for the period 2010-2014- are analyzed.A widely known technique in forensic accounting and auditing, such as Benford’s law -also known as the first digit law- is used. If the analyzed data were generated naturally-free of manipulation- it should follow the logarithmic distribution of Benford. The Chi-square test and the absolute mean deviation (MAD) are used for verification.The results suggest that the income reported in the EPH does not follow the Benford distribution and the degree of compliance with this law decreases significantly between 2007-2015 coinciding with the intervention period of the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INDEC, National Institute of Statistics and Censuses in English).
  PubDate: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT