The aim of this study is to test the existence of the Balassa-Samuelson (BS) effect in the Southeast Europe. The effect, which represents one of the main theoretical explanations for a prolonged period of deviation from the relative purchasing power parity, should be of significant interest to countries from this region, as they all seek to join the European Union and, ultimately, the Economic and Monetary Union of the EU (EMU). In order to test the existence of the BS effect in the region, panels of real exchange rates and GDP per employee of four potential EMU members are tested for cointegration. These two variables were chosen as the best available proxies for the price level and productivity, both of which are used to develop the analytical framework of the BS effect. Rejection of the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis in this study has multiple implications, most important of which are discussed and closely examined in the discussion section. The paper also provides some recommendations on what should be done in any further studies on the Balassa-Samuelson effect in the region. Proliferation of such studies can be expected as these countries start the process of joining the EMU.

The paper seeks to establish a relationship between sector wise employment growth rate and GDP growth rate in the Indian economy. The devoir has been to find out whether employment has grown in the same rate as the GDP. To unearth it, there has been some digging done with tool of correlation analysis and multiple regressions, to entrench the desired relationship between employment and GDP growth, with the variables being growth rate of gross domestic product and sector wise employment growth rate. From recent studies it has been discovered that India has a fairly stable growth path with the growth rate ranging from 7% to 10% from 2000 to 2016. However, since the same period the Indian economy reportedly clocked less than even 1% of growth in employment with the labour force participation rate being 52.135% in 2016. The employment-unemployment data released by Labor Bureau (EUS 2015) has put the unemployment rate at 5%. Independent estimates also suggested that 2013-2015 period saw the total employment shrinking by 70 lakhs heralding a new ‘jobless growth’ under the NDA government. Our studies reveal that even though there has been economic growth in the Indian economy, this growth has not been accompanied by corresponding rise in employment. In a major sector like railways the Pearson correlation coefficient is negative, indicating that there has been a steady decline in employment as the economy grew. Even though the Plantation and private-owned factories show moderately positive correlation coefficient value till 2009, the total number of jobs created in recent days remain deplorably low and far below the required level (8.1 million per year estimated by the World Bank).

This article deals with the forge and results of an alliance between the monopoly operator of the telephone service, the multinational capital and an autonomous administration determined to recover industrial fabric thanks to introducing advanced technology of telecommunications in a territory (Basque Country) punished by the depression during and after the industrial reconversion of the first years of the decade of 1980. It tries to shed light through a case study on possible differential elements with regard to the strategy that multinationals followed on other occasions. The methodology used comprises the drawing of the contextual framework of the central facts and the story of the conception, birth and trajectory of the company indicated. The work follows the trail of sectoral studies of an aggregate nature, published a decade ago, to which the perspective of business history adds. In a second axis, it adopts the comparative perspective to contrast different situations and circumstances studied. Other fundamental aspects also emerge, such as the link between regulatory activity and industrial policies at different levels of development and execution.

This study examines the effect of financial literacy on personal investment decisions, using structural equation modeling for a sample of 150 employees of Nigerian Central Bank. The results show that financial knowledge has an influence on retirement planning but not too significant. Also, financial knowledge has a weak positive/insignificant relationship with portfolio choice. However, the study reveals that financial behavior and retirement planning have a positive/significant bidirectional relationship while also; there is a positive/relatively significant relationship between financial behavior and portfolio choice. Therefore, the researcher recommends as follows: employees of any organizations should identify detestable financial behavior, for an understanding of one’s finances and its application in day to day activities are inevitable; and veritable measures to cultivate sound financial behavior. People should develop policy that encourages spending only on those things that sustain positive marginal utility. Employees of all levels/cadres should endeavor to invest in gilt-edged investments such as real estate, government securities and stocks of globally reputable companies that have lived for more than 50 years. Employees should endeavor to broaden their financial knowledge by regularly attending symposiums, seminars and conferences on financial matters.

A Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) compares to a value-added tax on financial transactions and financial services. This differs from the financial activity tax (FAT) that is raised on profits of financial companies or on profit-related remuneration of financial managers. An FTT is neither necessarily related to a certain kind of financial transaction or service, nor does it have a clear assessment base or a certain tax rate. These are decisions to be made during political discourse. Taxes, also an FTT, have the potential to reduce trading volumes. This can even lead to a closing down of markets that operated on small margins that can be devoured by an FTT. If such markets fulfill the economic assumptions of perfect competition, an FTT should be rejected by economic reasons. The fiscal aspect of an FTT depends on the participating countries, the assessment base and the tax rate. The European Union hasn’t been able to design an EU-wide FTT; not even the complete Eurozone has agreed on an FTT so that ten countries are currently negotiating the project in an in-depth cooperation. The assessment base has already eroded, starting with shares, bonds and derivative products right after the world financial crisis, reaching a minimum compromise with only shares as an assessment base for the FTT. Negotiations are still ongoing so that even some exceptions from this assessment might be possible. Experience has shown that an FTT leads to evasive reactions. Sweden and France know very well about that, and that might be a reason why Sweden does not participate in the in-depth cooperation. The cooperation still lacks a decision about the tax rate, they still have to negotiate about the distribution of the tax revenues, as the smaller countries within the in-depth cooperation fear that the bureaucratic cost of an FTT might exceed their proceeds from this project. The successful implementation of an FTT – even only within the ten countries of the in-depth cooperation – seems doubtful.

Tourism is a significant part of the national and international economy, but the understanding of its dynamics requires an analysis based on existing realities, expressed by statistical data. The paper aims to present an image of the dynamics of the number of journeys regarding the European space taking into account the forms of tourism, but also certain reasons for tourist journeys. We can certainly state that we cannot look to the future without analyzing the present, without understanding it in its depth.

This study intends to assess whether companies that experience M&A performed superiorly to those firms that did not in the same period in a emerging market. In addition, it aims to verify if the constant use of M&A is correlated with the improvement of a company’s financial performance, or if at some point the excessive use of M&A could harm the firm’s performance. The study analyzes M&A transactions in Brazil that took place from 1995 to 2014. In order to avoid selection bias, propensity score matching (PSM) is applied to compare the financial performance of companies that did M&A with those that did not carry out any M&A. The U-inverted relationship between performance and M&A experience was evaluated using linear regression model with a quadratic experience term. The results suggest a possible disadvantage in adopting M&A as a performance improvement tool, what may come from strategic decision-making problems within the company itself or from agency conflicts. In addition, an inverted U-shape relation was found between the performance and the number of M&A transactions accumulated in the last three years and five years, what corroborates the theory that M&A can improve financial performance at first, but the more transactions a company does, the less the ability to manage the results obtained from them.