Milena Jakšić
Malči Grivec1 and Srečko Devjak2
In this paper, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the savings of Slovenian households in banks is explored. For this purpose, an econometric model is developed and the macroeconomic variables exerting a statistically significant impact on household deposits in banks are identified. Among all the macroeconomic variables considered in the paper, the research study has shown that there are only two macroeconomic variables with a statistically significant impact. These two macroeconomic variables are the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA) reference interest rate used as a proxy variable for the rate of return, and the price of one Bitcoin as a yield on an alternative investment opportunity. The results of this research study are important for both the Central Government in Slovenia and for Slovenia’s banks as household deposits are a source of funding for banks in the time of a crisis as well, and because of the fact that the volume of the loans granted accelerates the GDP growth, which shows the successful implementation of the economic policy.
Edvard Jakopin1 and Aleksandar Gračanac2
After the COVID-19 pandemic-induced global recession of 2020, the Republic of Serbia achieved one of its highest growth rates in 2021 in the past two decades of transition, that rate being 7.5% (only in 2004 was a higher 9% growth rate achieved). At the beginning of 2022, however, Europe was faced with a new global upheaval caused by war in Ukraine with unpredictable economic consequences. Inflationary pressures have been increasing, primarily due to the strong growth of energy and food prices. The effects of global recessions reflect in the slowdown in structural reforms in all transition economies. The paper investigates the structural performance of the growth of the Serbian economy between the global recession and the slowdown in growth. A special accent is placed on the analysis of structural problems, the solution of which was in the shadow of economic growth.
Muntazir Hussain1, Irfan Saleem1 and Usman Bashir2
This study aims to investigate the dynamics of the interest rates and exchange rates during the pandemic-induced crisis in the Chinese economy. In the study, rolling window detrended cross-correlation analysis (DCCA) was used. The DCCA coefficient was extracted based on detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). The data used in the study are the daily data of the period from 2/1/2019 to 7/5/2021. The results obtained in the study suggest the presence of positive cross-correlation between China’s interest rate and exchange rate after the COVID-19 pandemic, and they also report the existence of weak positive cross-correlation during the initial days of the pandemic. However, the weak positive cross-correlation became stronger over time. Higher interest rates are associated with higher exchange rates after the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the research study have policy implications in that conventional higher interest rates introduced to defend the exchange rate might fail during pandemic-induced crises.
Tuan Viet Le1 and Kyle Elliott2
This study investigates the correlation between state income tax and unemployment rates across the United States. Using panel data in 50 states pertaining to the period from 2006 to 2022 with different regression models, the results suggest that the state corporate and personal income tax rates are positively correlated with the state unemployment rate. Specifically, a 1% decrease in the personal income tax rate may lead to a 0.712% decrease in the state unemployment rate, and a 1% decrease in the corporate income tax rate may cause a drop of 0.328% in the state unemployment rate. In addition, the results show that a personal income tax hike is associated with an increase of 1.532% in the state unemployment rate, and a corporate income tax hike may increase the state unemployment rate by 0.78%. The results of this study are relevant in the context of increasing government spending in the US and the world. Policymakers and government officials may not want to abuse the tax policy to fund the budget deficits.
Nabil Alimi1 and Lassad Ben Dhiab2
This study is aimed at analyzing the effect of the governance index and the governance components index on economic growth in 48 developing countries over the period 2002-2020. Corruption control, the effectiveness of the government, political stability, and regulatory quality are but a few of the many variables taken into account by the governance components index. The findings of the study show that governance has an asymmetric effect on economic growth. Moreover, the results indicate that enhancing governance in developing countries can obstruct economic growth in them. This outcome should not surprise and cast doubt on the positive effects of sound governance on economic growth, as improving governance requires numerous resources currently lacking in these countries. Therefore, policymakers must boost economic growth at the initial stage so that they can identify resources for improving governance and capitalize on them as well.
Ibrahim Abidemi Odusanya
In this paper, the way in which economic growth influences income distribution is examined with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite considerable growth in a number of the SSA countries, the region has been slow in reversing the rising trend of income inequality. A large proportion of countries in the region globally rank among economies with extreme income inequality. The study covers a period from 1995 to 2015, due to the limited data on the measure of income inequality, the Gini index, for the largest number of the countries of the region. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) system was employed in examining this paradox. The findings of this research study do not only suggest the presence of an inverted-U relationship between economic growth and income inequality, but the supposition of the S-shaped curve hypothesis in the interplay of growth and inequality was also tested and confirmed. It can be concluded that in no way do spurts in economic growth bring about diminution in income disproportion in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Milena Jakšić
We hereby inform the domestic and foreign academic community that the Economic Horizons scientific journal, which is published by the Faculty of Economics of the University of Kragujevac, has been ranked into the Q3 Category on the SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) List for the year 2022. The Journal has been referenced in the Scopus Base since October 2020.