Search results

The paper investigates if the process that led to the birth of the Euro Area had a significant impact in homogenizing the capital structure decisions of European firms since the first introduction of the common currency.

A large sample of firms was constructed, and a Tobit-censored regression model was utilized to investigate the determinants of firms' observed capital structures. The Black–Scholes–Merton model was used to infer market values of assets, as well as the volatility of those values, from the observed market values of equity and the corresponding volatility. The existing differences in national tax rules were considered for estimating firm-specific marginal tax rates.

It was found that, despite the currency union and the institutional harmonization process, certain factors still play a different role. In particular, the impact of profitability is consistent with the pecking order view in some countries, and with the trade-off theory in others. Assets risk, measured as the annualized volatility of the market enterprise value, is the best predictor of observed leverage ratios. The sector of activity is significant in determining leverage decisions even when assets' risk is taken into account. Despite the monetary union and the increased financial and institutional integration in the Euro Area, the country of origin still plays a significant role in capital structure decisions, suggesting that other country-level factors may affect firms' financing behaviour.

The paper indicates that, despite the long harmonization process of institutions, regulations and public budget required to join the Euro, firms' financing decisions are still affected by country-specific factors once the common currency is introduced. Therefore, new entrant countries in the Euro area should not expect their companies to immediately conform with those located in other countries within the common currency area.

This article investigated the impact of the currency change from national currencies to the Euro on the determinants of capital structure choices. It was shown that, despite the long harmonization process that led to the birth of the Euro Area, national factors still affect firms' financing decisions. This provides guidance for policymakers in countries that are planning to join the Euro about the impact this will have on firms' financing decisions in the entrant country.

The aim of this paper is to determine the needs and preferences of students concerning different areas and attributes of dormitories, taking their financial background into account.

A quantitative survey was conducted in the 21 publicly funded dormitories in Aachen (Germany) in 2022 to determine students’ needs and preferences for housing. In total, more than 1,200 students participated in the 10-min online survey.

The findings show the needs and preferences of students from different financial backgrounds for various areas in the dormitory. These include the location of the dormitory, the outdoor area, the shared spaces, the sanitary facilities (bathroom and kitchen), and the students’ private rooms. The results are divided into needs that all students have regardless of their financial background (“must-haves”) and needs that correspond to individual financial groups (“nice-to-haves”).

The results relate to the medium-sized city of Aachen as a case study in Germany – with an average rent level – and its urban situation. The outcomes are therefore only transferable to a limited extent to cities with different framework conditions, as the needs and preferences of students may differ.

The results serve as a valuable guideline for future development in the field of student housing for different rental segments.

The paper fills a research gap in the identification of current student housing needs and preferences in German dormitories, taking financial backgrounds into account.

Through Bourdieusian sociology, this study aims to interpret a globalized symbolic environment ward by the States and dominated by organizations through the States’ Nobilities enticing and the Euro-American influences disseminated by the cultural circuit of capitalism in the inculcation and incorporation of a class habitus conniving with this logic of domination.

This study has developed a theoretical essay based on the contributions of Bourdieusian sociology to discuss and understand the following concepts and their respective relationships: symbolic environment, globalization, organizations, State, State Nobility, Euro-American influences, cultural circuit of capitalism and class habitus.

The arguments built throughout this theoretical essay recognized how class habitus on environment contributes to organizations establishing themselves as a space that consolidates and replicates the domination logic. As indicated, the State Nobility is an intermediary element between dominant organizations and the State, as dominated.

This theoretical essay signals that less harmful alliances between organizations, the State Nobility and the State could culminate in social, environmental and economic scenarios provided with more inclusion, diversity and preservation.

This study presents an in-depth conceptual analysis to hold power structures responsible as direct and indirect drivers of environmental problems, with their different proportions and severity levels, affecting the planet.

This study proposes an alternative lens to debate and question how much the results presented by the contemporary world order compensate (if in any way) the damage that invades and deteriorate environmental assets.

The aim of this chapter is to examine the nominal and real convergence of Czechia. The importance of the convergence of Czechia with the euro area is linked to the future intention of joining the Economic and Monetary Union after the Maastricht criteria are met. This chapter covers the period from 2004 to 2021. We argue that nominal convergence is relative to the Maastricht criteria, when real convergence focuses on different areas: the Maastricht criteria, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power standards and real GDP growth rate, labour market (minimum labour costs and unemployment rates. Findings suggest that Czechia has reported the strongest real convergence in the area of relative economic level, moderate convergence of labour costs and divergence of unemployment. The nominal convergence analysis suggests that Czechia will not meet the Maastricht benchmarks in the near future and is not ready to join the euro area given its high inflation rate and the state of public finances.

The purpose of this study is to examine the long- and short-term relationships between the BIST100, RSC index, the EURO/TRY exchange rate, bank loans provided to the private sector, imports and exports, and nonperforming loans (NPLs) with the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound, Johansen co-integration and vector error correction model (VECM) causality tests. Political developments, pandemics, conflicts between countries, trade chains and general economic and financial problems that have frequently occurred worldwide in recent years have significantly affected the Turkish economy as well as all other countries. Türkiye's economy is intricately linked with global financial markets, and understanding the dynamics between domestic macroeconomic variables and external financial indicators can provide insights into the country's economic resilience and vulnerabilities to external shocks.

Two distinct models are used in the analysis, with the Borsa Istanbul 100 (BIST100) Index and the Real Sector Confidence (RSC) Index serving as the dependent variables. This study examines the long- and short-term relationships between the BIST100, RSC index, the EURO/TRY exchange rate, bank loans provided to the private sector, imports and exports, and nonperforming loans (NPLs) with the ARDL bound, Johansen cointegration and VECM causality tests. The study uses monthly data spanning from December 31, 2002, to July 29, 2022, offering a comprehensive perspective on the dynamics of the Turkish economy.

The findings reveal significant long-run relationships between the BIST100 and the exchange rate, imports and exports. Short-run dynamics indicate the importance of changes in these variables, as well as NPLs and RSC, in affecting the BIST 100. The model captures the impact of economic indicators such as imports, NPLs and exports on RSC. In addition, it underscores a long-run equilibrium relationship, suggesting a responsive RSC to deviations. There is a strong positive relationship between BIST100 and the RSC. Causality tests reveal temporal relationships and causal links, with evidence of bidirectional causality for some variables, providing comprehensive insights into the short-term dynamics and adjustment mechanisms influencing RSC in the Turkish economic context.

Amidst global economic uncertainties and fluctuations, particularly in emerging markets such as Türkiye, understanding the relationships between financial market indicators and macroeconomic variables may help policymakers formulate effective monetary and fiscal policies aimed at stabilizing the economy, promoting sustainable growth and mitigating financial risks. In addition, these insights have practical implications for investors, regulators and other financial market participants seeking to make informed decisions in an increasingly interconnected and dynamic global economy.

This study uniquely examines a wide range of macroeconomic variables and financial indicators specific to Türkiye, including both traditional and nontraditional factors. This study also offers unprecedented insights into the unique characteristics and dynamics of the Turkish economy and provides valuable insights for businesses, investors and policymakers to consider Türkiye’s economic environment more effectively.

This paper aims to examine potential diversification benefits between Eurozone (i.e. EURO STOXX 50) and key Asia markets: HSI (Hong Kong), KOSPI (South Korea), NIKKEI 225 (Japan) and TSEC (Taiwan). The sample covers the period from 04-01-2008 to 19-10-2023 in daily frequency.

The empirical investigation is based on the wavelet coherence analysis, which is a localized correlation coefficient in the time and frequency domain.

The results provide evidence that long-term diversification benefits exist between EURO STOXX and NIKKEI, EURO STOXX and KOSPI (after 2015) and there are signs for the pair and EURO STOXX-TSEC (after 2014). During the short term, there are signs of diversification benefits during the sample period. However, during the medium term, the diversification benefits seem to diminish.

These results have crucial implications for investors regarding the benefits of international portfolio diversification.

Under the circumstances of the accelerated technological advance and the overlapping of various global crises in the recent years, one of the main strategic priorities of the European Union in medium and long terms consists of building resilient regional and local communities which implies the aim to protect citizens against the impact of climate changes. Considering the essential role of the human capital in this endeavor, this chapter aims to investigate the relationship between human resources and economic development focusing a SWOT analysis in the case of Romania taking into account recent developments and trends of the European and global labor market related to various aspects induced by the green transition. The analysis of the structural demo-economic characteristics of Romania’s population revealed a decline of the total population, against the background of negative demographic and net migration, the increase in the average and median age of the total population, the rise in demographic and economic dependency ratios representing serious challenges for the development strategy on short, medium and long terms. To these, increasing quantitative and qualitative shortages in the labor market are added, which complicate the advancement of the green transition in Romania. In the conclusions of this chapter, strategic milestones on policies and measures in the short, medium and long terms at macroeconomic and labor market levels are proposed.

Corporate diversity encompasses the different talents, knowledge, cultures, experiences and values of its employees. This diversity is reflected in multiple characteristics, such as race, age, gender, social class, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, culture and disability. The objective of this study is to identify if diversity is a value driver.

We take the diversity score from the Diversity Leaders Index 2023 published by Financial Times (FT) and Statista; this will be our independent variable in linear regression models whose objective variables are relevant fundamental indicators of the Euro Stoxx 50 companies. It is, therefore, a cross-sectional sample with financial data taken as of the current date. We have 37 Euro Stoxx 50 components included in the diversity ranking.

The results indicate that diversity is not a value driver for trading volume, for its revenue, or for systematic risk measured by the beta parameter. However, it is observed, in a confidence interval of 90%, that the most diverse companies are larger (according to their market capitalization). In addition, the most diverse companies are more profitable [return on assets (ROA)] and valued by the market [price to earnings ratio (PER)] in a confidence interval of 95%.

These results indicate that companies should promote corporate diversity as a management strategy, as it is observed that more diverse companies are more profitable and valued by the market. This study provides a quantitative vision in the context of homogeneous companies such as the Euro Stoxx 50 Index on the aspects in which diversity is a value driver.