Volume 13 (2018): Issue 3 (December 2018)

Entertainment-based events are often held in malls across Kazakhstan and United Arab Emirates (UAE), but its crowd pulling power and influence on retail sales were seldom estimated or reported. This study addresses this void by comparing the impact of such event on the level of visitors and retail sales among tenants in MEGA Mall, Kazakhstan and Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, UAE. Data from different store categories in both countries revealed that entertainment-based events do increased the level of store visitors (during the day of the event) compared to the previous weekdays and weekend. Similarly, increased in sales were evidenced among the mall’s tenants in Kazakhstan and UAE (during day of the event). Evidence also suggested that anchor tenants (hypermarkets) are more likely to see sales increased from such event in both countries. In contrast, luxury stores benefited the least from the entertainment-based event in both countries. Overall, this study suggested that the hedonic value of entertainment-based event works well for family- and children-oriented businesses. Recommendations for future are presented.

The paper examines the behaviour of the yield curve of the knowledge considered as production factor. The concepts of complementarity and substitutability among classical production factors are revisited in order to put the bases to analyse the special production factor (a species of the neo-production factors) namely knowledge. In this context, some distinctions are made between information and knowledge putting in view the added value of knowledge related to information. Some graphical construction and algebraic formalisms are convoked in order to better ground the final conclusions regarding the increasing nature of the knowledge yield curve in the knowledge-based society. The approach is preponderantly logic and conceptualized, trying to get general results which could then be tested, by other researchers, in order either to corroborate or to reject them.

Business sustainable competitiveness is a very complex concept. This complexity generates a variety of possibilities to define, to measure and to test it. The purpose of the paper is to develop the concept of businessness (for business sustainable competitiveness) by leveraging productivity, profitability, effectiveness and sustainability, at firm level. The interrelations between them, in terms of revenues per employee, return on assets, total assets turnover and Dow Jones Sustainability Index, were integrated into models/functions in order to develop, test and apply businessness. The article is about proposing functions (by using multiple discriminant analysis) in order to measure business sustainable competitiveness (businessness). The hypotheses and functions were tested using a sample of 500 companies (2000 observations) from Global Fortune 500. The results showed that there are direct and positive interrelations between the following items: number of employees, revenues, net income and total assets, but with different degree of correlations between groups. Therefore, it is very important to consider industry/group when conducting an analysis on business sustainable competitiveness.

The paper examines from an empirical point of view the state of economic sustainability of Romania on the period 2007 - 2017. To this end, a set of macroeconomic indicators for sustainability was used. To be mentioned this set of indicators is elaborated within The Centre for Financial and Monetary Research "Victor Slăvescu", in its annual publication named "Financial stance of Romania". Although the obtained results in the past are coherent with the main macroeconomic dynamics on the analysed period, it seems that these results must be correlated with the so-called cyclical position of the economy, but this analysis will be done in the future. The study puts into evidence the importance of sustainability analyses in addition to the usual descriptive analyses, because they indicate not only the macroeconomic evolution, but also the national economy tendencies from the sustainability perspective.

In this study, we examine the impact of the 2008-2009 Global Crisis on poverty rates across the globe. Our results are mixed. We find that, after the crisis, there was a marginally significant increase in the number of the poorest group of people (living on less than $1.25 a day at 2005 international prices) across the world. However, we do not find any significant increase in the number of people in the other low-income categories (living on less than $2, $2.50, $4, or $5). Although we do not find any significant increase in the poverty headcount ratios (the percentage of poor people in the population living on less than $1.25, $2, $2.50, $4, or $5), our results show that, interestingly, there has been a significant decrease in the national poverty headcount ratios (percentage of people living below the national poverty line which is based on estimates from household surveys) after the crisis. Overall, we suggest policymakers to focus on the poorest group of people during these hard times since this group is affected the most.

The aim of this study was to empirically examine the development of air transport in Turkey in the period between 1980 and 2015. The study intended, within its scope, to determine the developments experienced in air transport in Turkey and the probable causes of the structural changes. Moreover, it was aimed at highlighting the years in which the structural changes in air transport were realized. In line with this objective, the one-break Zivot Anderews (1992) unit root test, the two-break Clemente-Montañés-Reyes (1998) unit root test, and the one-break and two-break LM were applied to the domestic and international air transport data of the 1980-2015 period. The results of the study show that there were substantial economic and political developments both at home and abroad in the years that the significant structural breaks that affect air transport took place.

This study intends to investigate the relationships of brand image, consumer purchasing attitude, intention, and loyalty. Purposive sampling is adopted in this study and three hundred questionnaires are sent to graduate students, who have experiences purchasing in E- commerce. There are 185 responses and only 183 valid responses. Our results verifies that brand image positive influence on attitude on e-commerce. Furthermore, we find that consumer purchase attitude significantly influence purchasing intention. Finally, we prove that purchasing intention also significantly influences consumer loyalty. The contribution of this study has proven that brand image affects consumers' purchasing attitude.

Over the last decades, youth unemployment has attracted serious attention of the public, politicians and researchers of social phenomena. Economic and sociological literature of the past 20-30 years abounds in studies aiming at clarifying the causes of this phenomenon. Statistical data show that youth unemployment rate is twice or even three times higher than the rate of general unemployment. Also, there are major discrepancies in youth unemployment rates across countries. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the evolution of this phenomenon and to present and debate on the main factors causing its high rates in several European countries. Both objective factors such as, educational system, government policy on wages and education etc. and subjective ones, related to the role of family, traditions, mentality, habits etc., are discussed.

While usually lauded, "empathic giving" may actually lead to suboptimal outcomes due in part to the enhancement of tribal sentiments in individual interactions, as well as by decisions driven more by emotional, rather than rational, considerations in the giving process. This point is linked to recent suggestions that government should reform social safety nets in order to decrease these negative interactions, and increase their efficacy. To this end, we use analyses of the September Supplements to the Current Population Survey in order to explore and find a negative change in individual-level volunteering subsequent to hurricanes Katrina and Ike, but not after hurricane Charley. We also find variations by region, and in particular, in "Deep Blue" states, as well as by whether individuals were located in the hurricane-affected states. Our findings are consistent with the notion that empathy may lead to more problems, including burnout and stratified giving, with implications for a public or private call to action.

This study is designed to investigate the factors influencing students' intention to adopt electronic learning (e-learning) in a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) economy. The overarching theory underpinning this study is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which has been extended to include the learner's computer self-efficacy, the course flexibility and the instructor's attitude dimensions. Constructs from this extended TAM were used to design a questionnaire that was administered among 494 students using a survey method. Relevant hypothesis were formulated and tested using multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that gender, type of course, Internet experience, prior experience in e-learning/mixed mode courses and initial proficiency level in e-learning significantly impacted on student's intention to enroll for a fully online degree programme. Furthermore, computer self-efficacy, course flexibility and the instructor's attitude were found to be pertinent antecedent to the Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) while (PEOU) and (PU) were both found to be predictors of attitude towards e-learning. These results have managerial implications for higher education institutions which need to pay a close attention to the factors influencing students' attitude towards e-learning.

Since 2007, Romania has been under the under the glance of experts in the European Union, but also under the strict monitoring of the NBR and also under the pressure of citizens and investors' expectations about the moment of euro adoption. My research concerns have also been channeled to this point of maximum interest, impact and timeliness, which is why I have proposed through this paper to highlight a synthetic situation regarding the fulfillment of the convergence criteria from the moment of accession to the European Union, to the present. The objective of this paper is to reflect, in dynamics and correlation, the degree of fulfillment of the nominal and real convergence criteria, the sustainability of the levels achieved for certain indicators, so necessary for joining the single currency, without shocks. Romania is a country subject to frequent fluctuations at all levels: economic, political, legislative, also reflected in the fluctuations in meeting the convergence criteria. The lack of medium and long-term sustainability of the criteria considered necessary for joining the euro area will make this desiderate ever more remote.

This paper examines the presence of herding on foreign trading at individual stock level and portfolio level in the Colombo Stock Exchange as a response to a long-standing trading belief that investors mimic the trading strategies of foreign investors. The standard CSAD framework of Chang et al (2000) is extended replacing return on market portfolio with return on market foreign portfolio holding in the model specification. The standard CSAD specification is also used to identify the presence of herding towards the market under high market volatility, bullish market condition, high trading and transaction volume, domestic and global market crisis and up and down market conditions. Except for the evidence on herding towards the market under bullish market condition at portfolio level, the regression results under other market conditions do not provide reasonable evidence for the presence of herding on foreign trading or herding towards the market on average. Further, taking CSAD as a proxy for heteroskedastic residuals following the framework of Banz (1981), the capital asset pricing model of Black (1972) is used to test the specification of CSAD. The findings suggest that the form of herding accounted for by CSAD is a manifestation of residual heteroskedasticity.

Today most of the world's products benefit from a huge success because of a big brand. If in the past this was the case for the luxury industry where the power of branding it's reaching the consumer in the most impactful way. First by the mystery surrounding the brand, then by keeping the consumer as loyal as possible, the result being huge revenues for this brands, for, eg. LVMH, the largest group by revenue. But things are no longer the same, today the power of branding and huge revenues moved to another industry flourished, tech industry, where companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, dominate their sectors benefiting from a strong brand name.

A number of events taking place in the twenty-first century such as mass arrests of members of the Iran President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad's executive office accused of witchcraft make one doubt that witch hunt trials remained in the far Middle Ages. It is religious motives that are usually considered the main reason for anti-witchcraft hysteria. When analyzing the history of anti-witchcraft campaigns we came to the conclusion that in the majority of cases witchcraft was a planned action aimed at consolidating the state power and acquiring additional sources of revenue. By using economic instruments we tried to reveal some general regularities of witch hunt in various countries as well as conditions for this institution to emerge and for ensuring its stability by the state power We show that witch hunt was an instrument of implementing institutional transformations aimed to consolidate the political power or to forfeit wealth by the state power.

Mauritius has undergone massive developments during the past several years. However, along with economic progress, these developments have also been the cause of trouble for the Mauritian population as they have worsened the problem of traffic congestion. Providing state-of-the-art transportation systems is thus crucial for the proper functioning of the Mauritian economy and society. Hence, the paper explores the repercussions that traffic congestion has on the society, economy, and individual. Also, the paper seeks to examine the impact of traffic congestion on several aspects, such as worker productivity, economic growth, commuter health and safety, travel reliability, and the environment. Questionnaires have been helpful tools in obtaining quantitative data. A sample of 100 respondents, consisting of people travelling to and from Ebene and Port Louis on a daily or regular basis, was selected using convenience sampling. The data obtained were then analysed through the SPSS software. Results indicated that traffic congestion negatively impacted on various aspects of the society and economy. The study has depicted that the respondents have affirmed that traffic congestion has an adverse effect on the society, the economy, and the individual. The paper discusses important practical issues relating to traffic congestion in Mauritius, its sources and its effects on the society, the economy, and the individual. Thus, it provides insights to the Mauritian Government and policy-makers on the ways in which they can measure traffic congestion, manage traffic more effectively, adopt appropriate policies, and invest in infrastructural projects. This paper is apt, original, and a must-read as it discusses such issues as traffic congestion, its roots, and its repercussions on the Mauritian society, economy, and individual.