Tom 28 (2018): Zeszyt 4 (December 2018)

The paper documents the impact of global competitiveness on economic growth in the EU Member States. In a panel data approach, for a time span of 10 years (2008- 2017), a validated influence of Global Competitiveness Index on annual rate of GDP in the EU countries was found. The impact is higher in the group of Eastern and Central European countries (ECE) than in the Western European (well developed) countries, as well as at European economy level.

This paper explores the dynamics of public and private debt in Ghana for the past 32 years. Ghana’s total public debt stock to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has remained above the 60.0% sustainability threshold recommended by the West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ) since 2013. Implemented bank reforms in the country show an upward trend for domestic credit to private sector by banks as a percentage of GDP. Using exploratory review approach, the paper identified fiscal dominance, cost of borrowing, deterioration in export earnings, ineffective fiscal, monetary and debt management policies coordination as factors responsible for changes in total public debt stock. On the other hand, increased domestic borrowings by government from the banks, and Deposit Money Banks’ (DMBs)’ adverse selection in private sector credit allocation affect changes in domestic credit to the private sector by banks. Of these causes, fiscal dominance is the major determinant of public and private debt in Ghana. The study, therefore, recommends that government should pursue fiscal operations that are necessary to put public debt on a declining path. In addition, effective coordination of fiscal, monetary and debt management policies need to be strengthened together with the autonomy of the Bank of Ghana in the use of its monetary policy instruments.

This research is important because the commencement of the Asean Economic Community (MEA) has a positive impact that is spurring the growth of investment from within and outside the country, so that domestic investment has the potential to increase which will increase the number of employment for Indonesian workers especially in province of North Sumatera.This study aims to: identify the effect of household consumption on economic growth, identify the effect of investment on economic growth, identify the influence of Labor on economic growth, and identify the effect of interest rate on economic growth . The data used in this research were secondary data in 2006-2016 in Province of North Sumatera. Data obtained from various agencies, namely: Department of Labor and Transmigration, Central Statistics Agency of Province of North Sumatra, some other sources such as journals and relevant research results. Methods of analysis using Two Stage Least Square method (TSLS). The results of this study found that: Household consumption has a positive and significant effect to economic growth, Investment has positive and significant effect to economic growth, Labor has positive and significant impact to economic growth, and Interest rate has a negative and significant effect on economic growth.

With disruptive technologies constantly emerging, the impact of artificial intelligence is becoming a relevant topic nowadays. An extensive investment in business intelligence support systems has been recognized as one of the top priorities of most successful managers. However, these constant internal changes of systems and management styles rarely happen smooth and natural, and frequently they trigger serious issues for the companies and its interactions with their customers. Implementations like automated call centers and online payment systems are just mainstream examples which can be used to show the numerous implications of the intrusion of artificial intelligence systems in our everyday life. With the increasing use of various forms of technology, an ongoing discussion has emerged about people's willingness to accept these technological trends. There are, of course, both pro and counter arguments to be discussed. In this article there are presented the results of an eye-tracking experiment about the reaction of consumers towards several forms of artificial intelligence. It has been shown that consumers have the tendency to react more at unexpected situations involving robots and forms of artificial intelligence.

In the present paper, a fog computing framework for smart urban transport is developed. The proposed framework is adapted to the smart city concept. It uses a collaborative multitude of end-user clients to carry out a substantial amount of communication and computation. It can be adapted for specific situations of smart cities in Romania, such as: Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași or Bucharest. Economic and social implications as well as available European funding sources are presented.

The performance guarantee represents the contractor's liability to ensure the beneficiary on the fulfillment of the quality conditions for the contracted works, as well as of their execution within the agreed contractual term. In the context of a growth trend in the industrial construction market since 2018, we considered it appropriate to study the impact of the performance guarantees on the financial balance of the contractors operating on this market. Through this research we aim to analyze the methods of guaranteeing the construction works, to assess the financial, accounting and fiscal issues of a construction company as a general contractor, to identify potential risks and to find solutions to avoid them.