Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Olfa Frini Author-Name: Khoutem Ben Jedidia Title: Population Age Structure Change and Labour Productivity: Evidence From Tunisia Abstract: Relying on a macroeconomic view, this paper investigated the popula- tion ageing effect on the aggregate labour productivity. It examined the effects of the labour force participation rate through three broad age ranges: young adulthood (15-29), prime age (30-49) and old age (50- 64). It computed the labour force participation rate by age considering the working-age of the same age range. Using Tunisian data covering the years 1965-2014, the cointegration method testified for a long-run relationship with a progressive adjustment process towards equilibrium. Unlike the conventional approach outcome, the age-productivity profile in our study did not follow an inverted U-shape. Labour productiv- ity edged down for young workers, rose for the prime age adults, and kept on rising for older people. Accordingly, population ageing did not alter the Tunisian labour market performance. Thus, to achieve better productivity gains and enhance the country’s economic growth, delaying the retirement age beyond 60 was advocated. Keywords: population age structure change, labour force participation rate, labour productivity, error correction model, Tunisia Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 1-19 Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-18209 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-1/population-age-structure-change-and-labour-productivity-evidence-from-tunisia.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/population-age-structure-change-and-labour-productivity-evidence-from-tunisia File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:106 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jovana Savić Author-Name: Aleksandra Pešterac Title: Antecedents of Mobile Banking: UTAUT Model Abstract: The development of modern information and communication tech- nologies enabled banks to rely on mobile banking as an important distribution channel in their businesses. Given that investments in the development of mobile banking systems are extremely high, knowledge of which factors affect the intentions of individuals to use mobile bank- ing services can be of great importance. For this purpose, empirical research was conducted and 313 respondents were surveyed in the territory of Sumadija, Central Serbia. The collected primary data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS v. 20. To examine the fac- tors in the work, the UTAUT model (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) was used. The results of empirical research indicate that all components of the UTAUT model have statistically significant influence on intention to use mobile banking, with performance ex- pectancy singled out as the most important antecedent, while effort expectancy has the weakest impact. The paper confirms the success of the UTAUT model for testing mobile banking antecedents, and gains new insights regarding the intention of using mobile banking in Serbia that can serve for managerial purposes. Keywords: modern technologies, mobile banking, intention to use mobile banking, UTAUT model Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 20-29 Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-19381 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-1/antecedents-of-mobile-banking-utaut-model.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/antecedents-of-mobile-banking-utaut-model File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:107 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mukhtar Wakil Lawan Author-Name: Matthew Oladapo Gidigbi Title: Causal Link Between Employment and Renewable Energy Consumption: Evidence From Nigeria Abstract: The paper examined the causal link between employment and renew- able energy consumption in Nigeria for the period of 1991 to 2014 using annual time series data. The Toda-Yamamoto Granger Causal- ity approach was used for causal analysis and Johansen cointegration technique to verify the long-run relationship between model variables. The results supported the conservation hypothesis with unidirectional causality from employment to energy consumption, but no evidence of cointegration was established. The study recommends that Nigeria should review its energy policy in order to promote private investment in renewable energy projects towards finding a sustainable solution to help solve the energy crisis, create employment opportunities, and minimise environmental pollution peculiar to long-term use of fossil fuel. Keywords: renewable, causality, employment, cointegration, energy policy Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 30-40 Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-19730 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-1/causal-link-between-employment-and-renewable-energy-consumption-evidence-from-nigeria.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/causal-link-between-employment-and-renewable-energy-consumption-evidence-from-nigeria File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:109 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tijana Šoja Title: Gold in Investment Portfolio From Perspective of European Investor Abstract: Gold is a unique asset, highly liquid, but scarce and limited. It is a luxury good and can be considered an investment opportunity. Gold is an asset which does not carry counterparty risk – there is no associated credit risk. Due to these characteristics, gold represents a significant asset, and has a fundamental role in investment portfolios. These circumstances increase the interests of investors to include gold in investment port- folios, especially during times of financial crisis. If an investor decides to include gold in investment portfolio, it is necessary to evaluate the portion of gold in the portfolio considering risk aspect, return and diversification. In this research, a hypothesis was tested and confirmed that gold offers good diversification for the investment portfolio, which implies that gold is a desirable asset in the investment portfolio. This research is focused on developing an optimal portfolio that com- bines the Eurozone bond index with the investment grade rating from 1 to 10 years (EG05), the stock index Euro Stoxx50 and gold using the Markowitz methodology. The result showed that optimal portfolio should include gold with a share between 1% to 9%, depending on the risk that the investor is willing to accept. Keywords: gold, investment, portfolio, crisis Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 41-58 Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-19652 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-1/gold-in-investment-portfolio-from-perspective-of-european-investor.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/gold-in-investment-portfolio-from-perspective-of-european-investor File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:105 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mirko Sajić Author-Name: Zlatko Bundalo Author-Name: Dušanka Bundalo Title: Defining the Need for and Proposing How to Transform Traditional Into Digital Banks With The Support of Information and Mobile Technologies Abstract: The need to practically and effectively implement the transformation of standard traditional banks into digital ones and how to transform them using information and mobile technologies are analyzed and described in the paper. The aim of this paper is to provide clear evidence about the need to transform banks from their present, traditional form into a new one that organizes and provides services, through a so-called digital bank. The great influence of mobile digital information technologies on the entire financial sector is further emphasized. The problems that appear because of the divergence of the existing concept of bank development and way in which modern clients want to obtain services, according to the possibilities of modern mobile digital technologies, are addition- ally explained. Proposals are also given for how to practically perform these changes and transformations, together with reasons that require changes. The basic principles for transitioning banks from traditional to digital formats through the so-called hybrid transformation period are presented, and several concrete solutions are proposed. Keywords: bank transformation, information and mobile technologies, traditional retail bank and digital bank, hybrid period of bank transformation, digital bank creation period Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 59-76 Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-18751 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-1/defining-the-need-for-and-proposing-how-to-transform-traditional-into-digital-banks-with-the-support-of-information-and-mobile-technologies.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/defining-the-need-for-and-proposing-how-to-transform-traditional-into-digital-banks-with-the-support-of-information-and-mobile-technologies File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:108 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Venkat Ram Raj Thumiki Author-Name: Ana Jovancai Stakić Author-Name: Rayaan Said Sulaiman Al Barwani Title: Resultant Effect of Crisis-Driven Hr Strategies Applied During Current Economic Crisis in Oman – An Hr Manager’S Perspective Abstract: During an economic crisis, companies redesign their functional strategies for survival and growth. This paper aims at identifying HR practices adopted during the current economic crisis in Oman, and explains the resultant effect of crisis-driven HR strategies from an HR managers’ perspective. Primary data was collected online from 112 HR manag- ers representing various manufacturing and service organizations in Muscat, Oman. It was found that HR managers perceive a greater im- pact of economic crisis on their businesses rather than other types of crises such as natural and technology crises. They think that managing employees during an economic crisis is relatively easier than managing other resources and other stakeholders. Changing HR practices during economic crises include, abeyance of employee benefits and cutting costs on employee recreation. Knowledge management activities have been increased and non-monetary motivation techniques are being adopted as a part of crisis-driven HR management. Increased employee engage- ment and enhanced corporate image among employees were identified as the resultant effect. Testing the hypothesis revealed that cost cutting on employee recreation is significantly higher in large organizations, job redesign activity is significantly higher in small organizations, while large organizations find it difficult to deal with employees during pe- riods of crisis more so than small and medium sized organizations do. Keywords: economic crisis, abeyance, job redesign, non-monetary motivation, knowledge management Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 77-98 Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE15-19262 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-1/resultant-effect-of-crisis-driven-hr-strategies-applied-during-current-economic-crisis-in-oman-an-hr-managers-perspective.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/resultant-effect-of-crisis-driven-hr-strategies-applied-during-current-economic-crisis-in-oman-an-hr-managers-perspective File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:110 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Nemanja Stanišić Author-Email: nstanisic@singidunum.ac.rs Author-Name: Tijana Radojević Author-Email: ndojevic@singidunum.ac.rs Author-Name: Nenad Stanić Author-Email: nstanic@sinigdunum.ac.rs Title: Predicting the Type of Auditor Opinion: Statistics, Machine Learning, or a Combination of the Two? Abstract: The goal of this study is to overcome the identified methodological limitations of prior studies aimed at predicting the type of auditor opinion and draw definite conclusions on the relative predictive performance of different predictive methods for this particular task. Predictive performance of twelve candidate models from the realms of statistics and machine learning is assessed separately for the two common real-life scenarios: a) when prior information on the client (i.e. types of audit opinion received in the past) is available and can be used in prediction, and b) when such information is not available (e.g. new companies). The results show that, in the first scenario, several methods from both realms achieve comparable predictive performance of around 0.89, as measured by the Area under the curve (AUC). In the second scenario, however, machine learning algorithms, particularly tree-based ones, such as random forest, perform significantly better, achieving the AUC of up to 0.79. Finally, we develop and assess the predictive performance of two hybrid models aimed at combining the strong points of both statistical (i.e. interpretability of results) and machine learning (i.e. handling a large number of predictors and improved accuracy) approaches. The complete procedure is demonstrated in a reproducible manner, using the largest empirical data set ever used in this stream research, comprising 13,561 pairs of annual financial statements and the corresponding audit reports. The procedures described in this study allow audit and finance professionals around the globe to develop and test predictive models that will aid their procedures of audit planning and risk assessment. Keywords: auditor opinion, financial reports, generalized linear mixed models, random forest, guided regularized random forest, ensembles Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 1-58 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-21832 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/predicting-the-type-of-auditor-opinion-statistics-machine-learning-or-a-combination-of-the-two.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/predicting-the-type-of-auditor-opinion-statistics-machine-learning-or-a-combination-of-the-two File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:111 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Richard Angelous Kotey Author-Name: Joshua Yindenaba Abor Title: The Role of Technology as an Absorptive Capacity in Economic Growth in Emerging Economies: A New Approach Abstract: Studies have shown that the effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on economic growth have not always been direct, especially in developing regions; certain characteristics must exist in the economy for the effects of FDI to be well absorbed. Therefore, this study sought to assess the economic impact of FDI on economic growth in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, factoring in technology as an absorptive capacity. Because of the scarcity of data on a viable proxy for technology in the African context, we measure technology in a novel approach, using annual number of published innovation-related papers as a proxy for technological presence. Data from forty-three Sub-Saharan countries over a 19-year period (from 1990 to 2008) was analyzed. Using a Fixed Effects (FE) regression model, the study found that FDI had a negative and significant effect on GDP, which is our proxy for economic growth. However, when FDI is interacted with technology, the relationship turns positive and significant. This implies that countries with technological presence are more able to absorb from FDI than those with little technology. Furthermore, the study found that countries with high technology were able to absorb more from FDI than those with low technology. Keywords: foreign direct investment, technology, innovation, absorptive capacity Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 59-78 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-20133 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/the-role-of-technology-as-an-absorptive-capacity-in-economic-growth-in-emerging-economies-a-new-approach.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/the-role-of-technology-as-an-absorptive-capacity-in-economic-growth-in-emerging-economies-a-new-approach File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:112 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mawih Kareem Al Ani Author-Name: Asma Mohammed Al Kathiri Title: Ownership Concentration and Firm Performance: An Empirical Analysis in Oman Abstract: This study investigates the effect of ownership concentrations on firm performance. A sample of 115 Omani companies in three sectors (i.e. financial, industrial and service) was selected for the study. The sample companies selected were listed in the Muscat Securities Market for a period of five years (2011–2015). Four types of ownership were analysed, namely, the ownership of Omani investors, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country investors, Arab non-GCC investors, and foreign investors. Firm performance was measured by return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and market fair value (MFV) of share. Panel regression was used to study the effect of ownership concentrations on firm performance. Results reveal a positive and significant effect of GCC countries and foreign investors on ROA only in the industrial sector. Moreover, a positive and significant effect of Omani and GCC countries investors was found on MFV in the service sector. Finally, results found no effect of ownership concentrations on ROE in all sectors. Keywords: ownership structure, return on assets, return on equity, market fair value, Oman Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 79-94 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-20239 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/ownership-concentration-and-firm-performance-an-empirical-analysis-in-oman.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/ownership-concentration-and-firm-performance-an-empirical-analysis-in-oman File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:113 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Segun Subair Awode Title: The Rising Government Expenditure in Nigeria: Any Influence on Growth? Abstract: This study attempts to examine whether government expenditure in Nigeria has had any influence on growth in the economy. The study focuses primarily on capital and recurrent types of government expenditure, and these were regressed against the real gross domestic product. Secondary time series data ranging from 1981 to 2016 obtained from the CBN Statistical Bulletin were used. Having established that the series were co-integrated in the long run through the Cointegration technique of Johansen, the study then used the error correction and Granger causality techniques to achieve its objectives. Results indicated that recurrent expenditure exerts a significant positive influence on real GDP, while the influence of capital expenditure on real GDP turned out negative. The Granger causality test revealed that both capital and recurrent expenditures Granger cause real GDP. The study, therefore, advocates for a strong monitoring and evaluation system of the way in which government funds, especially those intended for capital projects, are being used, so as to bring about a meaningful influece on the economy. Keywords: capital expenditure, economic growth, error correction mechanism, Granger causality, gross domestic product Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 95-108 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-20251 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/the-rising-government-expenditure-in-nigeria-any-influence-on-growth.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/the-rising-government-expenditure-in-nigeria-any-influence-on-growth File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:114 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Dung Tien Luu Title: Forecasting Model of Vietnamese Consumers’ Purchase Decision of Domestic Apparel Abstract: The study of the determinants of consumer purchase decision of domestic goods is necessary in the context of Vietnams’ international integration in order to support domestic firms to improve their competitiveness. This study aims to analyze the factors influencing Vietnamese consumers’ purchase decision of domestic apparel based on the Binary Logistic regression model. This study uses survey data gathered from 240 consumers in Vietnam in 2019. The research results showed that i) Perceived price, ii) Perceived quality, iii) Consumer ethnocentrism, and iv) Demographic variables (age; the family with a child; the level of education; income; and sex) have significant influences on the consumer purchase decision of domestic apparel in Vietnam. Keywords: consumer ethnocentrism, domestic apparel, perceived pric, perceived quality, Vietnam Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 109-121 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-20672 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/forecasting-model-of-vietnamese-consumers-purchase-decision-of-domestic-apparel.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/forecasting-model-of-vietnamese-consumers-purchase-decision-of-domestic-apparel File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:115 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Irena Đalić Title: What Can We Expect in The Future of Academic Research? Most Common Research Problems Analysed in The Top Journals in the Field of Entrepreneurship Abstract: In the modern era of academic research, it is extremely difficult to define an entirely or largely unexplored research problem. Every researcher is faced with this question in their research. It takes a lot of work and effort to primarily find a topic that is relevant and that will be attractive for study and research. The focus of this paper is research problems related to the field of entrepreneurship. This paper deals with trending research problems over the course of the last five years in the field of entrepreneurship. The survey was conducted with the aim of identifying the least explored areas of entrepreneurship in order to predict future research topics. The methods used to achieve this scientific goal include: description, classification and explanation. By analyzing the sample of 393 papers from the five most cited journals in the field of entrepreneurship, the author came to the conclusion that in the past five years the majority of papers dealt primarily with the topic of innovation and advanced technology, and hardly touched upon the topic of women's entrepreneurship. This paper should help future researchers to select the topics or fields of research in the domain of entrepreneurship. Keywords: entrepreneurship, journals, indexed, citations Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 122-138 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-21179 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/what-can-we-expect-in-the-future-of-academic-research-most-common-research-problems-analysed-in-the-top-journals-in-the-field-of-entrepreneurship.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/what-can-we-expect-in-the-future-of-academic-research-most-common-research-problems-analysed-in-the-top-journals-in-the-field-of-entrepreneurship File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:116 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yhlas Sovbetov Author-Name: Muhittin Kaplan Title: Causes of Failure of the Phillips Curve: Does Tranquillity of Economic Environment Matter? Abstract: Although empirical literature regarding the Phillips curve is sizeable enough, there is still no wide consensus on its validity and stability. The literature shows that the Phillips relationship is fragile and varies across countries and time periods; a statistical relationship that appears strong during one decade (country) may be weak the next (other). This variability might have some grounds for idiosyncrasy of a country and its economic environment. To address it, this paper scrutinizes the Phillips relationship over 41 countries over the period 1980-2016, paying attention to how inflation dynamics behave during tranquil and recessionary periods. As a result, the paper confirms the variability of the Phillips relationship across countries, as well as time periods. It documents that the relationship holds in the majority of developed countries, while it fails to hold in emerging and frontier economies during tranquil periods. On the other hand, the relationship totally collapses during recessionary periods, even in developed markets. This shows that tranquillity of economic environment is significantly important for the Phillip trade-off to work smoothly. Moreover, both backward- and forward-looking fractions of inflation remarkably increase during recessionary periods as a result of the Phillips coefficient loses its significance within the model. This indicates that markets become more inflation-sensitive during these periods. Keywords: The Phillips Curve, inflation, recession, tranquility Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 139-154 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-21569 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/causes-of-failure-of-the-phillips-curve-does-tranquillity-of-economic-environment-matter.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/causes-of-failure-of-the-phillips-curve-does-tranquillity-of-economic-environment-matter File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:117 Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Oyakhilome Ibhagui Title: Do Large Firms Benefit More From R&D Investment? Abstract: We examine the importance of firm size in the relationship between research & development (R&D) and firm performance. Our empirical analysis, based on data drawn from Nasdaq-listed companies for the period 2002 to 2017, shows that R&D can have effects of varying magnitudes on firm performance, depending on firm size. When R&D weakens firm performance, the negative effects are more pronounced for small-sized firms, but when the impact of R&D is positive, leading to an improvement in firm performance from increased R&D, largesized firms tend to reap most of the benefits. Accordingly, we show that firm size matters in understanding the scale of the impact of R&D on firm performance. Keywords: research and development (R&D), firm performance, firm size Journal: The European Journal of Applied Economics Pages: 155-173 Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.5937/EJAE16-21770 File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/files/2019-16-2/do-large-firms-benefit-more-from-rd-investment.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-URL: https://journal.singidunum.ac.rs/paper/do-large-firms-benefit-more-from-rd-investment File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:sng:ejae01:118