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This study, an exploratory one, aims to empirically investigate the association of national intellectual capital (NIC) with the national digital transformation readiness of the European Union's (EU’s) member states. Apart from building the conceptual model of NIC, this study explores the role of NIC dimensions in the digital divide between European countries.

Based on the literature review and the available EU statistical data and indexes, the theoretical framework and conceptual model for NIC were developed. The model explores the relation of NIC and its dimensions (human, social, structural, relational and renewable/development capital) on the readiness of European countries for digital transformation and the digital divide. Significant differences between EU countries in NIC and digital readiness were tested. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the association of each NIC dimension with digital transformation and digital divide within the EU.

Despite a positive association between all dimensions of NIC and digital transformation readiness, the proposed model of NIC was not confirmed in full. Regression analysis proved social capital and working skills, a dimension of human capital, to be the predictors of digital transformation at a national level, able to detect certain elements of digital divide between EU member states. Structural capital, knowledge and education, as dimensions of human capital, were predictors of the digital divide in terms of the integration of digital media in companies.

This research has a limited propensity for generalisation due to the lack of common measurement models in the field of NIC exploration.

This research offers policy makers an indication of the relationships between NIC and digital transformation, pointing out which dimensions of NIC should be strengthened to allow the EU to meet the challenges of digital economy and to overcome the digital divide between EU member states.

The use of digital technologies is key in creating active and informed citizens in the public sphere and productive companies and economic growth in the business sphere.

This study provides an original theoretical framework and conceptual model through which to analyse the relationship between NIC and digital transformation, which has thus far not been explored at the level of the EU. This research makes an original contribution to the empirical exploration of NIC and produces new insights in the fields of digital transformation and intellectual capital.

Although economic output has nearly doubled in the last 30 years, life satisfaction levels in the UK and other developed countries have remained resolutely flat, with evidence that depression and anxiety are increasing, notably among young people. While governments in the developed world focus on economic development as the key route to well‐being, a growing body of research suggests that, once basic needs have been met, this approach is flawed. This well‐being manifesto for a flourishing society, produced by the think tank new economics foundation (nef), proposes eight alternative priorities for government action to promote well‐being. While the focus is on UK policy and the examples are largely drawn from the UK, the key themes of the manifesto will apply to many developed country contexts.

The purpose of this article is to first introduce, and then review the uses of, the Five Ways to Well‐being communication messages and the dynamic model of well‐being, developed by the new economics foundation (nef) for the 2008 Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing.

The article describes an informal review of those uses of the Five Ways to Well‐being and the dynamic model of well‐being which have come to nef's attention.

The Five Ways to Well‐being messages are found to have been widely used, both in public health and a variety of other settings. They have been used: to directly promote well‐being to individuals; to help frame organisational strategy; and indirectly, in initiatives with headline objectives other than promoting well‐being. A number of examples of their use are given in different contexts. The dynamic model of well‐being is shown to be a deep influence on nef's continuing well‐being work and the work of those influenced in turn by nef, particularly in ensuring that policy and practice takes account of both external conditions as well as personal resources; and of people's feelings as well as their functioning.

Future directions for nef's work are highlighted, particularly measurement of involvement in the Five Ways to Well‐being activities and exploration of the ways in which different well‐being measures impact on policy.

The article provides, for the first time, an overview of how nef's contributions to the Foresight Project have been used since their publication, and will be of interest to those in a range of policy and practice settings who value real‐life examples of the implementation of a “well‐being approach”.

Teaching complex economic theories can be made relevant through everyday life experiences and current economic, social, and environmental crises can be used as vehicles for student learning. The purpose of this paper is to help students understand that the economy should be seen as a social system that evolves over time driven by conflictive and contradictory forces and enable them to develop the critical thinking skills needed to make better choices for a more equitable and sustainable future.

The paper reviews the historical role played by neoliberalism on education in general and on the teaching of economics in particular. A historical/critical/action-learning approach discusses five pedagogical teaching methods that have been implemented in undergraduate economics courses and demonstrates how teaching social economics can be made possible by bringing the real world into the classroom and taking the classroom into the real world.

There is an urgent need to rethink the teaching of economics and the economics curriculum from one that stresses self-interest, profit maximization and cost minimization, to one that stresses cooperation, collaboration, fairness, and ethical values rather than economic value, as ways of satisfying society’s needs and addressing systemic issues of inequality, power and greed. Bringing teachers and students together in collaborative learning environments, thereby learning from the mistakes of the past and minimizing the impacts of the present so that future generations can also participate, is the much-needed change in how social economics can be taught post-financial crisis.

This paper is a response to the special issue on the theme teaching social economics during the global financial crisis. The authors have provided insights into their teaching pedgagogy in the context of this topic.

Emotion regulation (ER) has been identified as an important factor influencing psychological and health problems of adult populations. The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in the literature by examining available evidence relating to the use of ER strategies (avoidance, problem solving, reappraisal, rumination and suppression) on the well-being of older people (OP).

A systematic search for peer-reviewed articles published from 1985 to 2015 was conducted in PsycINFO, CINAHL, Medline, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Collections and ASSIA and resulted in 1746 titles. In total, 20 studies met full inclusion criteria (the cross-sectional association between well-being and ER was reported, participants were 60 years or older, without cognitive impairment and the article was written in English, Portuguese or Spanish).

Rumination was found to be the ER strategy most strongly associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in OP populations, while mixed result were found for avoidance, problem solving, suppression and reappraisal.

Given the scarcity of research examining the association between ER and positive psychological concepts only a conclusion about ER and negative mood measures could be made. Questions for future research on ER and well-being in OP are proposed.

This paper addresses a significant gap in the literature regarding the use of ER strategies in older adults.

Reports research by the National Consumer Council (NCC) into UK children’s experiences and views as consumers; this survey of 10 to 19 year olds found that they form a new shopping generation which is more even consumer brand oriented than American counterparts but feels vulnerable and is critical of shops, companies and advertisers. Outlines the NCC recommendations for a children’s agenda: this covers stiffer fines for mis‐selling to children, monitoring of children’s wellbeing and life satisfaction, new Ofcom powers to enforce content labelling for entertainment, and ending abuses in Internet marketing to children.

During the 1980s and early 1990s it was widely reported that large parts of the European countryside experienced considerable industrial growth led by a burgeoning of small and medium‐scale enterprises. The growth of these firms was closely associated with an expansion of trade and the intensification of competition on a world scale and the renaissance of industrial districts in specific localities. Within this context the notion of the “network” has been deployed in order to explore the complex interrelationships that exist in the relatively uncharted territory that lies between enterprises. This concept is employed to show how production units without any apparent legal connections establish a web of relationships in terms of flows of materials, information and finance. Social networks of entrepreneurs often lie behind the multitude of inter‐firm linkages. Focuses on a garment‐producing district of the northern Greek region of Macedonia that has experienced an explosion of enterprises and jobs since the early 1970s. Drawing on the experience of the small town of Polikastro and the adjoining rural county of Peonia, sets out to explore the processes of subcontracting and production networking. Aims to investigate the form and the nature of interorganizational relationships within the locality as well between rural industrialists, urban intermediaries and parent enterprises abroad. Examines changes in the linkages between firms within the context of developments that have taken place in the local communities and in the international marketplace.

American society has undergone many changes since World War II. Perhaps the most notable of these has been its transformation from an industrial to a post‐industrial society, a society that is no longer primarily goods‐producing but one that has increasingly been providing a greater variety of services.

This study investigates labour market fluctuations and gender issues in the health and care sector. A large data set from public registers has allowed us to compile a comprehensive picture of the job categories that particularly attract men. We find a polarisation of men in the upper and lower positions in the job hierarchy. In the metropolitan area, men tend to be discouraged from taking jobs in the health and care sector, as opposed to the peripheral region, where alternative job offers may be more scarce. A logistic regression analysis shows that (young) age is the major explanatory factor for leaving the health and care sector to find occupation elsewhere. However, gender (male), wage levels (low), marital status (single) and education (none) are also significant. The study discusses seven theoretical perspectives for male and female careers in the health and care sector: The need for flexibility. Destandardising of jobs. Devaluation of feminised work areas. Human capital as a stabiliser. Feminisation. The prospects of boundaryless careers. The spatial dimension.

The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent national intangible capital (NIC) explains GDP growth and to assess its impact on GDP formation in different countries. The paper brings a new perspective to explaining hidden economic drivers.

The paper introduces a new theoretically and computationally justified method, so-called ELSS model that is based on expansion and augmentation of the Cobb-Douglas production function with a wide range of NIC indicators. The method is applied by using the database that contains NIC indices for 48 countries covering the period from 2001 to 2011.

The results show that intangible capital accounts for 45 per cent of world GDP. The figure for the USA is 70.3 per cent and for the European Union 51.6 per cent. The Nordic countries stand out with a higher figure at 64.7 per cent, with NIC contributing to 72.5 per cent of GDP in Sweden, 69.7 per cent in Finland and 67.6 per cent in Denmark.

The expanded Cobb-Douglas production function is sensitive to valuations of capital inputs and sensitive to estimates of production shares for various augmenting and expanding inputs. Therefore further work is needed to develop and test methodologies for the assessment of all of these.

ELSS production function helps to give a realistic picture of the value and impact of NIC and accordingly gives evidence for accurate investment decisions for the future.

The method will help policy makers figure out what steps are needed to reduce the cross-country NIC differences.

The authors have uncovered the value of NIC beyond monetary inputs, and at the same time taken account of country specifics. The ELSS formula is comprehensive yet not too complicated to replicate. The approach significantly contributes to the development of the current research tradition into intangibles.