ABSTRACT. The interest aroused by the practices and thinking surrounding the circular economy can be seen in its spread to a growing number of disciplines, from the experimental sciences to engineering and the social sciences. In the field of economics and management, the circular economy fits in perfectly. The themes of innovation and technology occupy an important place in economics and management, and the circular economy is an integral part of the issues addressed by researchers. The aim of this conference is to show the links that exist between the economics and management of innovation and the circular economy: we place particular emphasis on the different forms of eco-innovations with a view to the circular economy, on the transformation of companies' knowledge capital to guide their technological trajectory and on the construction of "circular innovation ecosystems". Through these examples, we can highlight that the circular economy is now a key theme for researchers in economics and innovation management. Applying the key concepts of these disciplines to the circular economy (polymorphism of innovation, routines, dynamic capabilities, knowledge capital of companies, innovation systems and ecosystems) is a source of conceptual renewal and deepening. It also provides a detailed understanding of the actual implementation of the circular economy and its strengths and difficulties.

ABSTRACT. Keeping inflation on track and combatting environmental degradation has risen ever higher on the policymaking agenda. We investigate the impact of inflation on CO2 emissions by taking advantage of a novel dataset comprising 28 high-income countries from 1996 to 2021. We employ a unique amalgam of estimation methods ranging from regressions at the mean that account for slope heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence, quantile estimators, Cholesky impulse response functions (IRFs) using flexible local projections and a New Keynesian (NK) model with environmental externalities to confirm robustness. Our findings point to a positive and significant association between inflation and carbon emissions along with a negative effect of financial depth on carbon emissions, thereby providing strong incentive for policymakers to bring inflation back down to the target and enhance financial development in order to avert environmental degradation. These impacts appear to be heterogeneous across country groupings, with generally larger impacts in low inflation countries. By disentangling the inflation drivers, the evidence suggests that energy inflation is the primary driver of CO2 emissions with implications for the setting of monetary policy.

ABSTRACT. This analysis delves the dynamic of energy poverty among individuals grappling with housing insecurity and the mitigating potential of social capital. Utilizing a Wooldridge Conditional Maximum Likelihood (WCML) estimator, the findings indicate that energy poverty is significantly influenced by inertia effects within the vulnerable housing insecurity population, with individuals 8.3 to 8.8 pp more likely to remain in energy poverty if they were previously in that condition. Drawing on data from an Australian dataset, the research provides insights into the link between social capital categories, and energy poverty. The findings reveal that an increase of one standard deviation in the perceived degree of social support from friends and family at the individual level corresponds to a reduction in energy poverty by 5.4 pp. Similarly, an equivalent increase in the perception of not feeling socially isolated leads to a decrease in energy poverty by 4.1 pp. These results indicate that social ties, rather than just economic factors, significantly impact energy security.

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the asymmetric relationship between corporate tax avoidance and total factor productivity (TFP) using firm-level data for 141 European oil and gas companies, covering the period 2007 to 2015. Firstly, we rely on the novel mechanism advanced by Rovigatti and Mollisi (2018) to compute firms’ TFP. Secondly, we resort to Canay’s (2011) panel data fixed-effect quantile approach to assess the nonlinear, asymmetric effect that tax avoidance has on a firm’s productivity. When investigating the tax avoidance phenomenon, we make the distinction between fiscal facilities provided by companies’ holding structures and tax haven location. We discover that the impact of tax avoidance on TFP is not straightforward. On the one hand, fiscal facilities provided by holding structures have a mixed effect on TFP. On the other hand, tax haven location enhances the productivity of oil and gas companies from the extractive industry. Finally, we show that the impact of tax avoidance on TFP is stronger at higher quantiles, that is, for higher levels of productivity. Our findings show that offshore profit transfers represent a quite common practice for European oil and gas firms, in particular for the large companies, which helps them to increase their productivity. In our analysis we control for the role of ownership structure, firm size, intangibles, indebtedness and energy price dynamics. To check the robustness we use different approaches to compute the TFP and resort to a bootstrap panel quantile regression.

ABSTRACT. China has embraced the dual-carbon targets and has consistently pursued a trajectory of green recovery and green transformation since 2020. Actively promoting carbon sink fishery proves to be a cost-effective means of fulfilling the commitment to reduce carbon emissions. This study quantifies the carbon sequestration of blue carbon fisheries in seven coastal cities of Shandong province from 2016 to 2021, delving into their spatial-temporal evolutionary characteristics. Employing spatial correlation analysis, we utilize the spatial Durbin model with a double fixed effect to explore influencing factors and spatial spillover effects. Our findings reveal a fluctuating upward trend in fishery carbon sink within Shandong province, showcasing significant spatial correlation and spillover effects in coastal regions. Firstly, the carbon sink changing trend in coastal cities diverges from 2016 to 2021, with a distribution trend characterized by “more in the east and less in the west”. Secondly, the global Moran’s I indicates a positive spatial correlation in each region, while local Moran’s I identifies three types of spatial agglomeration: H-H, L-H, and L-L. Thirdly, economic development, mariculture structure, and fishery technology exhibit positive direct effects, while the direct effect of fishery labor force is negative according to the decomposed spatial Durbin model. From the perspective of indirect effects, the level of economic development has diffusion effect on adjacent areas, mariculture structure has a negative spillover effect, and the fishery labor force induces a polarization effect on the neighborhood. Consequently, each region must leverage its spatial resource advantages and coordinate efforts to foster the spatially linked development of blue carbon fisheries.

ABSTRACT. In this study, three waste-to-energy (WtE) techniques are economically assessed for operational costs: incineration, gasification and plasma gasification. The feedstock used was municipal solid waste (MSW), as a contribute of the waste management sector to sustainability. The results of each technique were compared to the cost of the kW from the national grid, in order to perceive their economic feasibility and some cost nuances for a Portuguese MSW sample. Factors as economic context, revenues from by-products, and market fluctuations affect the net results per technique, therefore framing the conditions of the study is essential to interpret and contextualize the values achieved.

ABSTRACT. This paper analyses the factors determining the individual perception about ecological transition in Spain. To do that, a national survey of 7,029 individuals has been implemented to obtain a complete overview of several dimensions of ecological transition, both in terms of social preferences related to acceptance of energy infrastructures (e.g., nuclear plants, wind farms, etc.) and actions carried out by citizens (e.g., waste sorting, use of electric cars, etc.). By this way, we can provide an overview of internal (e.g., age, education, etc.) and external (e.g., region, municipality size, etc.) factors that drive peoples’ beliefs and actions related with ecological transition. Concretely, we assume that these perceptions are shaped by the urban and regional characteristics, as there are important spatial inequalities (e.g., agglomeration, implementation of green energies, etc.) that interact with individual characteristics generating heterogeneous responses to climate and environmental challenges. Overall, identifying these heterogeneities is of crucial importance in view that ecological transition relies on social support and commitment that may differ across cities and regions according to previously discussed dimensions. In this sense, to ensure this social commitment it is needed to understand the way in which urban and regional specificities shape social acceptance of ecological transition. Our econometric results provide several policy implications regarding mechanisms driving ecological transition and the design of policy actions to boost this process.

ABSTRACT. The upsurge in demand for food, especially high-value foods, is driven by the rapid growth of the population and income levels. This poses significant issues in food security, especially for developing countries like Malaysia. This study analyses the increasing demand and evolving cereal consumption patterns in developing nations, with Malaysia as a specific focus. The study utilised Malaysia's Household Expenditure Survey data from 1998/99, 2004/05, 2009, and 2014 to estimate expenditure elasticities for rural and urban households regarding six major items (rice, wheat and wheat products, tuber, fish, and vegetables) using a two-stage Quadratic Almost Ideal System (QUAIDS) estimation procedure. This analysis forecasts the consumption of rice and wheat by Malaysia's growing population in 2030 using calculated elasticities, projected population, and GDP growth rates. This study demonstrates that in 2030 the Malaysian households will consume a total of nearly 2.6 tons of wheat and 5.8 million tons of rice compared to the current level of consumption of 1.6 million tons of wheat and 2.6 million tons of rice. Based on the findings, this study suggests some policy recommendations in order to ensure the future food security of the burgeoning population with higher per capita income. To our best knowledge, this is the first study on a middle-income country that analyzes the evolving food consumption pattern. Rapid population growth, urbanisation, and rising income are causing significant transformations in several developing countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This study warns that developing countries, such as Malaysia, will require increased cereal production to maintain food security due to rapid population and wealth development. To raise domestic grain production for future food security in developing and middle-income nations, it is crucial to produce high-yielding varieties, promote optimum agronomic practices, and maximise the use of scarce resources such as arable land.

ABSTRACT. The invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to unprecedented and large sanctions against Russia. Parallel to this process, many multinational firms voluntarily decided to suspend their activities in Russia. Using Spanish firm-level data, this paper quantifies the impact of trade sanctions and the voluntary decision of firms to suspend activities on exports and imports with Russia. We find that the voluntary decision of firms to suspend activities in Russia contributed to the reduction in exports and imports by 22% and 43%, respectively, while sanctions contributed by 10% and 31%, respectively. These figures highlight that the voluntary decision of firms to suspend activities had a stronger negative effect on trade than sanctions.

ABSTRACT. This paper uses the endogenous regime switching model with dynamic feedback and interactions developed by Chang et al. (2023) to estimate global food price mean and volatility indicators, the latter measuring uncertainty and risk in the global food market. Both are then included in structural VAR models to examine their effects on domestic food price inflation for a range of countries with different food shares in total consumption and in the CPI basket. Next, counterfactual analysis is carried out to assess the effects on core inflation. The results suggest that both global food price mean and volatility shocks have sizeable effects on food price inflation in all countries and persistent second-round effects on core inflation in most countries. An extension of the analysis using disaggregate global food price data shows that the existence of second-round effects is independent of the size of the response of domestic food inflation to global food price shocks. These findings imply that policymakers should distinguish carefully between the two types of global food price shocks (namely mean or volatility) and their effects on core inflation to formulate appropriate policy responses.

ABSTRACT. In this paper, the structural composition of the real estate price development in 70 major cities in Germany for the period 2015 to 2023 is analyzed. For this purpose, so-called convergence clubs of urban housing markets are identified for three submarkets: rental apartments, apartments for sale, and houses for sale. The convergence clubs of urban housing markets are identified based on a nonlinear time-varying factor model by Phillips and Sul (2007), an approach following Matysiak and Olszewski (2019). Despite a significant overall divergence trend for the 70 cities, significant convergence clubs can be identified. To illustrate the results of converging clubs in relation to the overall divergence trend, the concept of β-convergence is used. The exact composition of identified clubs depends on chosen model specifications. Nevertheless, the analysis shows clearly that the 70 urban housing markets follow structurally different price developments, but partly converge to a price level in subgroups (clubs). This observation is relevant for market monitoring, investors, housing providers and developers (risk diversification), and for housing policy . In conclusion, this study illustrates asymmetric price developments for the German residential real estate market between 2015 and 2023.

ABSTRACT. Multinational firms routinely acquire firms abroad while also divesting existing affiliates. A large literature documents that foreign-owned firms outperform domestic ones along a number of dimensions. It is less well known whether this is due to cherry-picking or improvements after acquisitions. Even less is known about the characteristics of affiliates that are divested and especially how they fare after divestiture. This paper uses firm-level panel data for 79 low- and middle-income countries to look at foreign versus domestic firms, domestic firms that will be acquired versus other domestic firms, foreign firms that will be divested versus other foreign firms and what happens to them after acquisition or divestiture. Regression results show that foreign firms acquire firms that are already more connected to the global economy, as exporters, intermediate input importers and along other dimensions, but that are not more productive than domestic firms. After acquisition, firms become even more likely to resemble continuously foreign owned firms. Divestitures result in lower propensities to be exporters and be otherwise globally connected, but divested firms remain different from continuously domestically owned ones. Therefore, the results document positive effects of foreign takeovers on the acquired firms as well as some persistence of desirable characteristics of foreign ownership even after divestiture. They thus offer encouragement for policy makers around the world with respect to the benefit of policies aimed at attracting more foreign investment.

ABSTRACT. Mobile money has become an important financial tool in many developing countries where access to traditional banking services is limited. Its introduction has helped to reduce poverty, unemployment and inequality, and has increased remittances, thus helping to mitigate conflict factors in developing countries. This article uses a conceptual framework based on the capability approach and the impact analysis method called Entropy Balancing to examine the optimistic impact of mobile money adoption on violent conflicts in 103 developing countries over the period 2000-2020. The results show that mobile money significantly reduces armed conflict by about 1.79 percentage points. The results are robust to several robustness tests, including alternative specifications and methods. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect may vary by type of mobile money, level of development, duration of conflict, financial development, and geographic area. Finally, income, unemployment, inequality and consumption volatility are the main channels through which mobile money can reduce violent conflicts.

ABSTRACT. We investigate the impact of climate change on firms’ investment in research and development (R&D) in developing countries. The paper relies on two con trasting hypotheses. In the first hypothesis, we speculate an optimistic situation where climate change could induce firms to spend on R&D to both reduce their environmental impact and curb the effects of future climate shocks. In the second hypothesis, we propose a pessimistic scenario where climate change would reduce firms’ incentives to invest in R&D. This second hypothesis would mainly be due to tighter conditions for access to finance from lenders, given the increased uncer tainty about the firm’s future returns in the face of climate change. The empirical results support the second scenario, small firms being more severely affected. Fur thermore, we examine the underlying mechanisms and identify financial access as the key channel through which climate change reduces R&D investment.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the possible impact of AI, via associated productivity improvements, on employment for 36 sectors in a sample of 27 European Union member states plus Japan, the UK and the USA over the period 1996-2021, considering the mediating role of demand due to its ability to revert negative sectoral employment effects of AI through the automation of tasks. The choice of the variables to include in our empirical model is based on a standard model of supply and demand behaviour for sectoral output. The results of estimating a regression that relates sectoral employment to productivity and a set of control variables employing fixed effects and generalized method of moments (diff and sys-GMM) confirm that the contributions of AI may be specific to the sectors where it is applied. Our findings reveal that there is potential for technological unemployment in certain sectors, 12 in total, while in 22 sectors the introduction of AI technologies will not necessarily result in unemployment. The exceptions are ‘Manufacture of rubber and plastic products and other non-metallic mineral products’ and ‘Postal and courier activities’, for which we find a positive association. The negative impact is more intense in services industries, while in the case of the manufacturing industry it only applies to two sectors and this effect is smaller in magnitude.

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the impact of asset price changes on durable goods consumption in 11 emerging EU economies, focusing on former communist countries from 2000Q1 to 2023Q2. Using Powell's (2020) panel quantile regression, we find that income increases positively affect consumption, while house price decreases have a stronger impact than increases. Lower-income households are more sensitive to stock price losses. Monetary and fiscal policy indicators reveal decreasing consumer confidence while wealth inequality deepens declines in consumption. An ageing population positively affects durable consumption in lower quantiles. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners to develop targeted interventions that stabilize consumption and address wealth inequality.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the relationship between economic uncertainty and bank deposits in Germany’s distinctive three-pillar banking system. Using vector autoregressive (VAR) methods, we show that deposits of banks with divergent governance structures react differently to uncertainty shocks. In particular, by distinguishing between financial and non-financial uncertainty shocks, we uncover nuanced patterns of depositor behavior. Both types of shocks negatively affect deposits in privately- owned banks, with financial shocks having a stronger effect. Deposits in savings banks respond positively to financial uncertainty shocks, highlighting their role as safe havens during financial distress. Similar results are obtained when accounting for the time-varying shock volatility associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. To control for the pronounced risk aversion of German savers in our analysis, we decompose the implied volatility of the German DAX index into uncertainty and risk aversion. We find that in times of high uncertainty, risk aversion leads to significant increases in deposits at savings banks, while deposits at privately-owned banks experience withdrawals. Deposit as well as withdrawal dynamics are observed simultaneously in a single banking system after a common shock. The results underscore the resilience of a bank-based financial system and open the debate on policies that provide stability in the wake of uncertainty.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the impact of international remittances on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across 109 developing countries from 2000 to 2022. Using rigorous econometric techniques, we find robust evidence that remittances positively influence SDG attainment, emphasizing their stimulative effects on sustainable development. To unlock full benefits, effective financial services are crucial. Introducing a financial inclusion index as a mediating variable, our findings reveal financial inclusion as a pivotal channel through which remittances impact SDGs. The study provides insights into the distinct contributions of remittance inflows to individual sustainability objectives, concluding with policy recommendations for advancing sustainable development in developing economies.

ABSTRACT. Initiatives undertaken in Africa emphasize that the mobility of people is part of a wider ideal of a united Africa, and that the free movement of Africans across continental borders would be an essential element of regional integration. Based on the skill cell approach pointed by (Borjas, 2003), this paper estimate the impact of immigration on labour market outcomes of native born in a develloping countrie. Using the labor force survey of Togo in 2018 we estimate the impact of immigration on natives’s jobs or natives workers, wages and the jobs search time. We find limited positve effect of the share of immigrant in informal and formal sector on natives jobs and on jobs research time. Showing that migrants does not took natives jobs. But estimations reveal that immigration has a significant negative impact on natives wages. The direction of impact depends on the degree of complementarity between the skills of immigrants and those of natives workers. At a general level, the empirical results seem to confirm the greater vulnerability of native-born workers with lower levels of education for potentially unfavourable effects of immigration. This is in line with much of the literature on the effects of immigration and might also be expected in view of the relative scarcity of educated workers in SubSaharan African countries. However, the results of our analysis reveal the need for immigration policies that enable African host countries to benefit from the potential of immigration to continue the regional integration process.

ABSTRACT. The SAR-FE models used to assess the existence taxable agglomeration rents (TARs) impose that all jurisdictions face the same TARs intensity. This paper re-asses the TARs phenomenon in Spain proposing a modification of the workhorse SAR-FE model which controls for heterogeneities in the effects of agglomeration size on business tax rates. The estimation of the model using a panel 6847 (84% of total) municipalities from 2006 to 2020 shows that TARs are not confirmed across the entire sample. Only those municipalities with low levels of marginal propensity for business relocation are able to exploit the rents generated by agglomeration.

ABSTRACT. This paper analyses the so-called "Queen bee syndrome" – female leaders who obstruct the career progression of other female workers- in the Euro-Area using the EWCS (2015) and the Global Gender Gap Index introduced by the World Economic Forum. Specifically, we study how job satisfaction is affected by the boss's gender and to what extent the environmental discrimination workers operate in modifies subjective well-being. The study also examines the effect of a boss's gender on certain quality management variables. Econometric estimates, using a Probit model (marginal effects), show that the boss's gender does not affect job satisfaction globally, but having a female boss does have an effect when female workers are considered separately. The variable has no relevance in praise and recognition when the worker works well, but does affect helping get the job done, and getting people to work together. The impact of the female boss variable, in any case, is only significant for female workers. By groups of countries, the positive effects of having a female boss are higher in more gender-egalitarian countries. Our study does not support the idea of the queen bee syndrome, maybe that of a helpful queen bee.

ABSTRACT. Table 1 presents the NHPW, the proportion of individuals with children, the average number of children, labor force participation, NHCH, and GGGI. As observed, on average, NHPW is higher for men than for women (by 15.1 percent), a characteristic present in all countries considered. This result is not surprising since the global average NHPW for men tends to be higher than for women. The largest differences are observed in the Netherlands (38 percent), Austria (35.5 percent), and the United Kingdom (31.5 percent), while the smallest differences are in Croatia (3.5 percent), Slovenia (5.3 percent), and Romania (9.9 percent). In contrast, the situation is reversed for NHCH, with women working 137.7 percent more hours than men on average. The most significant differences are in the Czech Republic (3334.9 percent), Lithuania (214.21 percent), and Germany (204.9 percent), while the smallest are in Portugal (45.54 percent), Latvia (67.34 percent), and Sweden (51.12 percent).

However, it's noteworthy the significant dispersion in NHCH across countries, with some dedicating nearly 21 hours to childcare, while others only dedicate around 7 hours. There is a high negative correlation between NHPW and NHCH, especially for women. Additionally, there is a negative correlation between the relative gender differences in NHCH and the GGGI, implying that the more gender-equal a country is, the smaller the differences in NHCH distribution.

When NHPW and NHCH are aggregated, women work, on average, 3.68 hours more per week (7.4 percent more). Except for Germany and Portugal, where men work slightly more in aggregate, in all countries, women work more hours. The most significant differences are in Poland (20.93 percent more) and the Netherlands (15.37 percent more). It should be noted that this analysis does not account for other household maintenance or caregiving tasks, so the differences could be more significant.

ABSTRACT. What will likely be the effect of the emergence of ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI) on the skill premium? To address this question, we develop a nested constant elasticity of substitution production function that distinguishes between industrial robots and AI. Industrial robots predominantly substitute for low-skill workers, whereas AI mainly helps to perform the tasks of high-skill workers. We show that AI reduces the skill premium as long as it is more substitutable for high-skill workers than low-skill workers are for high-skill workers.

ABSTRACT. The objective of this paper is to explore the impact of two extreme cases: solitude and primitive privacy deprivation, on young people’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using longitudinal survey data from four developing countries: Ethiopia, India, Peru,and Vietnam, I apply a quasi-experimental approach and use Difference-in-Difference-in-Difference method as an empirical identification strategy. Firstly, I categorise the four countries into two groups based on stricness of COVID policies: highly affected category andmarginally affected category. This categorisation is based on the individual exposure intensity measures I constructed. Intuitively, how exposed an individual is to the COVID policies are determined by two factors: (i ). the strictness of policy responses to COVID-19; and (ii ). the timing and duration of an individual’s compliance with these restrictive measures. To define individual-level variation in primitive privacy, I use living conditions as a proxy based on which, I then define two treatment groups and one comparison groups: (i ). solo dwellers as solitude group (treatment group 1), (ii ). sharing a bedroom with other members in a multi-person household as primitive privacy-deprived group (treatment group 2), and (iii ). those who live together with other family members but have their own independent bedrooms are considered the comparison group. Solitude and primitive privacy deprivation have both temporal and spatial dimensions. However during lockdowns, these two dimensions are interwinded to a certain extent. Preliminary results show that solitude contributes negatively to subjective well-being, compared to the well-being of those living in multi-person households during the pandemic. Neither solitude nor privacy deprivation significantly affect symptoms of anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression show a high correlation, suggesting comorbidity.

ABSTRACT. The imperative for sustainable development has enabled enterprises to adopt comprehensive strategies in order to harmonize economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social well-being. This paper introduces a novel framework for integrating sustainable development principles within enterprise management, employing the Fuzzy TOPSIS method to effectively evaluate and prioritize sustainability initiatives. By incorporating Fuzzy TOPSIS, a multi-criteria decision-making technique, the paper allows for the inherent uncertainty and ambiguity associated with sustainability evaluations. The proposed approach accommodates qualitative and quantitative parameters to assess the performance of various sustainability strategies. Drawing on a real-world case study from a major international airport in Greece, the application of the Fuzzy TOPSIS framework is demonstrated. The results highlight the varying impacts and trade-offs of different sustainable development initiatives, underscores the significance of stakeholder engagement throughout the sustainability assessment process. In conclusion, this paper contributes to the field of sustainable development in enterprise management by introducing a robust methodology that navigates the complexities of multi-dimensional decision-making. The Fuzzy TOPSIS approach offers a tool to integrate sustainable development into strategic planning, enabling enterprises to make informed choices that foster long-term resilience, positive societal impact, and responsible business practices

ABSTRACT. The paper is focused on the problem of satisfaction with IT and data analytics skills in firms. The main aim is to identify characteristics of firms which are satisfied or dissatisfied with their IT and data analytic skills. The research is based on the micro-data collected for the Advanced Technologies for Industry project in seven EU countries. We compare the data in these countries and apply Latent Class Analysis. Next, we perform ordered probit regression to identify characteristics of firms which are satisfied with three types of IT and data analysis skills available in their companies. We are particularly focused on the usage emerging technologies, but we also examine other factors such as different funding sources and type of industry. Our results suggest that firms with more intensive usage of different emerging technologies tend to be more satisfied with their IT and data analytics skills. The same is true for firms using AI. Firms with frequent upskilling of employees and multinationals are more satisfied with their IT skills but not with data analytics skills. The type of the main funding sources for digital transformation appears significant for satisfaction with professional IT and data analytics skills.

ABSTRACT. LinkedIn, a social media platform for professional networking, offers publicly available data on user and company profiles, job postings, groups, events, and more. Traditionally, insights into agri-tech industry trends have relied on company reports and surveys. However, vast online data remains largely untapped. This article leverages such data to provide valuable insights into global agri-tech business activities. We analyzed data extracted from 591 company profiles on LinkedIn that mention "agri-tech" in any section of their profile. This analysis reveals key findings, including the geographical distribution of company headquarters, the various industry sectors these companies operate in, employee size, follower counts, and year of establishment. Notably, the data shows a significant increase in new agri-tech companies founded over the past decade. Additionally, we delve into the companies' specialties and descriptions, which provide valuable insights into their core business activities and areas of specialization.

ABSTRACT. Our investigation examines the relationship among ecological footprint, economic growth and renewable energy use in 20 OECD countries from 1990 to 2019, paying special attention to the possible existence of structural changes in this relationship over the period studied. Our results provide evidence supporting the presence of breaks, with the Great Recession playing a very important role. Our analysis identified an initial phase of decoupling between economic growth and ecological footprint, characterized by a significant negative correlation between the utilization of renewable energy and ecological footprint until around 2012. Nevertheless, these patterns are becoming less evident in several countries following the Great Recession. The results emphasize the urgent need for a shift in policy, placing greater emphasis on pursuing a form of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines the impact of litigation outcomes on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), which are the main source of global warming issues. The empirical analysis is based on the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) model, the stochastic version of the Impact, Population, Affluence Technology (IPAT) model, estimated using panel data methods and instrumental variables. The data are collected for 32 countries over the period from 1990 to 2018. The results show that once litigations have been decided, GHG emissions decrease in the whole sample, including high-income and middle-income countries. The results hold when the past number of litigation claims/fillings are used as instrumental variables. The paper also finds evidence for the existence of the environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) in the whole sample and middle-income countries. The robustness checks confirm the results. These outcomes have important policy implications for global warming issues. We strongly believe that research results should be made available for reproducibility by the scientific community (Orozco et al., 2020). Thus, the data and code used in this study have been publicly released in a GitHub repository: https://github.com/ecervera/litigations-gng. The results can be seamlessly reproduced with Stata, R and Python through the use of the Docker application (AEA Data Editor, 2021).

ABSTRACT. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the effect of the circular economy (CE) on firm environmental performance (EP) and, in turn, on corporate reputation. Therefore, we will discuss and analyse the impact of CE principles renewable energy, recycling and sustainable policies on C02-emissions and the overall energy use of companies. The aim of the study was to examine the individual impacts and influences of CE and its sources of value on company´s environmental performance and their reputation. Therefore, panel data analysis was performed using a sample of 67 worldwide firms for the period from 2015 to 2023. The results show that every circular economy strategy has different impact on the firm´s environmental performance or its reputation. Renewable energy for example enables companies to improve their environmental performance by reducing both total CO2-emissions and overall energy consumption, as well as improving their reputation. By recycling, companies are still able to reduce their energy consumption while the value source has no impact on emitted CO2-emissions or corporate reputation. The implementation of sustainable policies, on the other hand, has no impact on environmental performance at all, but does enhance a company's reputation. Companies and decision-makers should therefore critically scrutinise which CE value source really achieves the desired effects on the environment and identify which principles involve the risk of greenwashing.

ABSTRACT. This study examines how primary renewable energy supply affects bribery by using a panel model approach based on the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach. We studied a panel dataset, which includes the 27 European Union (EU-27) member states over a period of 2016 to 2021. We find robust evidence that primary renewable energy supply reduces bribery, indicating that an increase in renewable energy supply across EU-27countries leads to a reduction in bribery by 10%. Interestingly, the lagged values of primary renewable energy are positively correlated with bribery. This emphasizes the idea that past primary renewable energy supply creates more opportunities and incentives for corruption and hence leads to an increase in bribery. Moreover, a strong negative correlation between adherence to the Eurozone, income levels, and bribery is also observed. More specifically, the EU has implemented robust anti-corruption mechanisms and regulations.

ABSTRACT. This study empirically investigated the impacts of institutions on the environment. Using the instrumental variable (IV) strategy, the effects of both formal and informal institutions and their interactions were estimated on mitigating the emissions of carbon dioxide across 140 countries over the span of 25 years (1990-2014). To build strong institutional foundations, I adopted the inclusive SESs framework as the conceptual foundation and reshaped it to fit into current cross-country empirical research, taking into account factors such as research questions, focal level of analysis, institutional theories and empirical specifications. The proposed empirical specification (FE-IV) proved to be compatible with the conceptual framework, cross-country level of analysis, and nature of the institutional and environmental problems. This study benefitted from the use of seven different institutional measures, six of which represent formal institutions, including political, legal and economic systems. A new variable, religious tensions, was employed for quantifying the level of within-nation trust; compared to the conventional measure, this allowed for far more observations and could be better explained by the constructed instrument. Overall, the results confirmed that carbon emissions are effectively mitigated in countries with stronger formal and informal institutions.