Recent research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has holistically affected the financial and industrial sectors of China, in a considerably adverse manner. This paper aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the transportation and logistics sector in China. In this regard, the study opted for a quantitative method of research design, along with primary data collection. The explanatory variable here is the COVID-19 virus, whereas, the dependent variables are air freight, ocean freight, and land freight. The data analysis technique used is the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis, comprising of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and the path assessment method. A structured survey questionnaire was also used, and the survey questionnaire scale was set from strongly agree to disagree strongly. The findings revealed that the effect of COVID-19 on air freight is statistically negative and significant. Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 on land freight is statistically negative and significant, whereas the effect of COVID-19 is statistically insignificant in the context of ocean freight, particularly during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, keeping these results in consideration, policymakers can enhance their support, so as to increase the performance of the logistics and transportation sector in China.
The purpose of this paper is to analyse disclosure of environmental information (DEI) for a set of 100 companies listed at the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) and identify possible correlations between this and the evolution of some relevant economic and financial measures of companies’ activities. For these purposes we have calculated an index of environmental information disclosure and we employed a system dynamic panel data estimation model and panel corrected standard errors for sampled companies for the 2013–2017 period. The results we have obtained show that sampled companies have a low degree of environmental information disclosure, as the highest registered score was of 15 out of a maximum of 29 points, with an average of merely 6.37 points. Regarding the possible correlations, the tests performed have shown that entity size, expressed by the number of employees, is the factor which positively influences environmental information’s disclosure. Results also evidence that performance determines the quantity of information the firm provides to external users, as opposed to maturity/age. Our study is the first approaching companies from Bucharest Stock Exchange with data for 5 years using a mixed approach (DEI–index and regressions) and we think the results obtained are useful for managers, general public and investors, considering that size and performance greatly influence companies’ environmental awareness.
This paper examines the relationship between the structure and share of government expenditure into Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the real GDP per capita. Our study uses a micro panel data for a sample made of ten countries from Central and East European, for the period 2002-2012. The empirical results of the linear regression show that the GDP/capita is positively correlated with public order and safety expenditures as well as with economic actions, while national defense and general public services are negatively correlated. The results obtained largely correspond with the ones reached by other researchers approaching the topic of the relationship between economic growth and composition of the government expenditures. The health and education expenses, though instrumental for the long-term development of any society, did not show any significant impact upon the evolution of the GDP/capita, probably as a result of the short-term available data.
The current paper evaluates the impact of corruption and rent-seeking behaviors upon economic wealth in the European Union states using a public choice approach. The period of study is 2000 to 2019. To measure this impact, the present study uses a regression with variables reflecting governance quality and considered relevant, from a public choice approach, to corruption and rent-seeking. The main results of this study show a negative relationship between the level of corruption and economic wealth for all analyzed countries, especially for the ones that compose the new member states group. For all the EU member states, the variables capturing governance quality seem to have a positive impact on economic wealth. The higher levels of governance performance, synonymous with lower levels of rent-seeking, personal interest, and political pressures on state administrations, contribute to economic wealth, as public choice theory emphasizes. There is a need for reform and an increase in the efficiency of public institutions, especially in new member states.
The objective of this paper is to identify the most efficient healthcare systems in a sample of 17 EU Member States. According to the health system financing schemes, the selected countries belong to two main groups, Beveridge and Bismarck. The research includes five input variables describing the financial and human resources, the level of health infrastructure, the medical technology and the healthcare utilization. On the output side we analysed four measures that reflect the overall health status of the population and the effectiveness of prevention and emergency care. Using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, the most efficient healthcare systems are found in Sweden, the UK and Romania. The constraints applied for all the indicators and scenarios lead to higher or lower inefficiency scores, the Beveridge group being on average more efficient than the Bismarck one.
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