Vol. 1 No. 1 (2023)

Open Access

Article

Identifying and prioritizing investment risks in digital markets using multi-criteria decision making techniques and data mining

Pourya Pourkhosravani, Siavash Safdarpour, Mohammad Taghipour

The ever-increasing advancement of technology and the adaptation of the common people’s lifestyle have led to the emergence of digital markets and the removal of restrictions such as physical presence, specific working hours, etc. Investing in digital markets, as it can be more profitable (compared to previous methods), is also associated with many risks. In this research, the importance of multi-criteria decision-making and data mining and the need to use them in investing in digital markets were investigated. The statistical population of this research was collected over a period of 5 years during the years 2017–2022. For this purpose, SPSS software, the AHP technique, and data mining were used. The research results showed that both in the AHP method and in the data mining method, the receiving and payment portals are the most important.

Open Access

Article

Public and private healthcare administration priorities in new electronic age

Revaz Lordkipanidze

The work defines the such priorities of healthcare administration as creation of free-tax medical town-campuses and reduction of costs for accessibility of medical services, increase in service speed and improvement in the quality, constant process of improving the qualification, wide-regional network management, combination of public and private insurance, essential increase in healthcare costs of GDP, striving for the highest standards of technical level, ensuring the non-profitability of medical organizations, combining various stages of medical services, electronic transparency and direct communication of financial reporting with some needful maintaining of commercial secrets and bank accounts, usage of wide outsourcing practices.

Open Access

Article

Identifying and prioritizing supply chain risks using the ANP and Dematel Model Process (including case study)

Hojatollah Shakeri Tabariyan, Mohammad Taghipour

Uncertainty is one of the most important challenges in the supply chain that can affect its goals. Therefore, identifying and evaluating risks is of particular importance. If the importance of risks in any industry can be identified, there can be specific measures against them, and the organization can be protected from their damage. Chain risk management can also be a useful approach in organizational and management due to its dynamic nature and the role of the main business functions. Given that the car industry in any country is one of the indicators of development because of its value and special place in industrial production and the after-sales service network, and in terms of its extensive connection to the chains of the previous and later industries, it is a key industry. And it has a high potential for employment and an effective role in economic growth and development. Therefore, this study was devoted to a case study on the supply chain of Iran Khodro Company. The goal is to identify and prioritize the supply chain risks for this company. In this regard, after identifying the effective risks in the supply chain of Iran Khodro Company, according to experts, we used the Dematel-ANP Combined Approach to rank the identified risks and apply the importance of each risk strategy and responsive programs appropriate to them.

Open Access

Article

The effect of bank credits on agricultural output in Nigeria: 1981–2019

Andrew Ugbede Junior, Odi Nwankwo

The agriculture sector of the Nigerian economy has suffered a severe setback, particularly after the advent of oil in mass production. The government shifted attention completely to the oil sector at the detriment of the agriculture sector, resulting in a practice of mono-economy. However, in recent times, the government has seen the need to diversify the economy to reduce its overdependence on the oil sector. Thus, both the bank and the government have been channeling resources to the sector to boast its productive capacity. Thus, this study seeks to investigate the impact of bank credit on the agriculture sector from 1981 to 2019. The data was subjected to a preliminary test—a unit root test—to ascertain the order of integration and subsequently the method of estimation. The unit root outcome shows a mixed order, which informed the adoption of the dynamic ARDL method. The finding from the estimation proved that the impact of bank credit on agriculture productivity in the long run is positive but weak. This suggests that bank credit to agriculture could not explain the variation in the performance of sectoral output. In contrast, the impact of government expenditure on the agriculture sector is strong and positive. This validates the significant contribution of government involvement to the revival of the sector. Thus, a recommendation is made of the need for banks to increase their credit and loan advances to the agriculture sector by lowering the interest charged on loans to the sector. Secondly, banks should give close monitoring to the funds loaned out to the agriculture sector to ensure the funds are truly channeled to the sector and not diverted. Moreso, the government can still do more for the sector to fully revive. More productivity-enhancing strategies, such as subsidizing modern farm equipment, seeds, and so on, can still be put in place by the government to help the sector regain its lost glory.

Open Access

Article

Government expenditure and economic growth nexus: How valid is Wagner’s law in the Nigeria situation?

Udi Joshua , Aishat Princess Umar, Ayobami Temitope Owolabi

This study specifically aims at verifying if Wagner’s law is consistent with the Nigerian situation by adopting the ARDL method. Findings from the estimation prove that Wagner’s law is a fallacy in Nigerian experience. In contrast, the Keynesian theory of national income is applicable to the economy of Nigeria, as demonstrated by the strong positive impact of government expenditure on economic growth. Equally important, FDI inflows demonstrate a strong positive relationship with the economic growth of Nigeria. Note that Nigeria went into recession recently and is now going through the recovery stage. This, in line with the findings, calls for the adoption of an expansionary fiscal policy in order to stimulate aggregate demand and, by implication, improve output performance in the economy. Most importantly, the increased government spending should be tailored toward viable sectors with close monitoring to avoid diversion of resources through corruption. Efforts should also be made to attract foreign companies to invest in the economy.

Open Access

Article

The heterogeneous impact of oil price shocks on traditional and modern renewable energy in developed and developing countries

Vithyea You

The prevalence of renewable energy helps solve environmental problems and strengthens energy security with less dependence on nonrenewable energy, mainly fossil fuels. One important aspect is that renewable energy consists of two components: traditional and modern renewable energy. This paper examines the effects of an oil price shock on these two different types of renewable energy consumption by applying a local projection method to panel data from 147 countries during the period from 1993 to 2015. Our results show that the effects of an oil price shock depend on the development level and the dependence on nonrenewable energy. In highly nonrenewable energy-dependent countries, traditional renewable energy is sensitive to oil price changes, irrespective of their development levels. However, both traditional and modern renewable energy are insensitive to oil price changes in less nonrenewable energy-dependent countries, regardless of their development levels. Meanwhile, an oil price shock positively affects modern renewable energy in developed countries with high dependence on nonrenewable energy, but not in developing countries. These results provide important policy implications for policymakers and investors to foster modern renewable energy and call for balancing macroeconomic development with environmental benefits and costs.

Open Access

Article

An analysis of the nexus between youth urban mobility and COVID-19 trajectories for peace and development in Africa: Perspectives from Tanzania

Willy Maliganya, Lwidiko Badi

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 posed prominent public policy concerns. It posed many unanswered questions, especially among the youth who require social protection in different contexts. The pandemic spread over 200 countries worldwide, infecting over 640 million individuals and resulting in the deaths of over 6.5 million people. However, the pandemic has a similar fundamental consequence, marked by widespread inequality across households and individuals. It is estimated that its consequences might be more detrimental, particularly among the youth in low-income families like Tanzania. The country received significant global attention for its COVID-19 response during the first year of the pandemic since it did not share pandemic statistics, implement lockdowns, and question vaccine efficacy while emphasizing traditional medicines. Despite the progress made, the ripple effects of the pandemic are still felt in the country and will probably remain for a long and drive policies for generations to come. Still, there is scanty information about how the youth have been affected by the pandemic, particularly in urban areas, and relatively little is known about the relationships between youth, urban mobility, and COVID-19 trajectories for peace and development in the country. This chapter uses Tanzania as a case study to assess the nexus between youth, urban mobility, and COVID-19 trajectories for African peace and development. The chapter relied on secondary data collected through a systematic review. Content analysis was applied to analyze the data. The chapter reveals several studies on youth and COVID-19 in Tanzania. Nevertheless, these studies are very few. Like other parts of Africa and the world over, COVID-19 has significantly impacted the youth in Tanzania. It also revealed determinants and challenges, like social, economic, health, mental, and learning effects, of urban youth mobility in the face of COVID-19. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has largely affected the lives of youth, this chapter provides relevant information that will prompt responsible authorities to adopt effective response measures for addressing the pandemic for enhanced peace and development in Tanzania and Africa.

Open Access

Opinion

Pro-market reforms and firm performance

Bohao Deng, Qadeer Abdul, Xu Jiang

Empirical findings from prior research regarding the impact of pro-market reforms on firm performance have been mixed and ambiguous. The primary objective of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review to investigate how pro-market reforms affect firm performance. We summarize the possible factors that led to the mixed findings and provide suggestions for future research.