Issue 2, 2023

Poverty reduction belongs to the long-term priorities of public policy actions in most countries. In 2010, the European Union and its member states aimed to reduce the number of people living at risk of poverty by 2020. However, most EU countries failed to achieve their targets concerning poverty reduction, partly because of the challenges they had to cope with (slow economic recovery after the crisis, migration, COVID-19). In 2022, poverty risks were increasing in the EU countries once again. Therefore, research focused on determinants of poverty can help policymakers to identify the areas in which policy measures will be useful for poverty reduction or at least its stabilisation in the EU countries. The paper introduces an analysis examining five determinants of poverty (related to employment, incomes, education, and social protection), when poverty was understood in terms of incomes as well as material deprivation. The panel regression analysis was done for cross-sectional data covering EU 26 countries and the period 2010–2019. Statistical results revealed the statistically significant relationships between poverty risks (measured with the use of at-risk-of-poverty rate and rate of material deprivation), and employment, work intensity, and income inequality (representing the determinants of poverty). Findings indicated that particularly the policy measures adopted within the employment and labour market policies must be used in the fight against poverty in EU countries.
Keywords: employment; income inequality; material deprivation; panel regression; poverty; work intensity
JEL: I32; I38; P46

This paper analyzes the effects of types of taxes on economic growth in Eurozone countries. Three of the largest types of taxes are taken into analysis, namely personal income tax (PIT), corporate income tax (CIT), and value-added tax (VAT). The data for the independent variables (types of taxes) and the dependent variable (Gross Domestic Product – GDP) from 2002 (since the creation of the currency union) until 2019 have been taken into consideration. A total of 306 observations are entered into the panel model and analyzed using a fixed effect regression. The purpose of this paper is to highlight which types of taxes can affect growth and the magnitude of their effect. Results reveal that personal income tax, social security contribution, and customs duties and excises have a negative effect on GDP in the Eurozone countries. Whereas corporate income tax and value-added tax have a positive effect. We also find that as the share of tax income in GDP increases, their impact on economic growth deteriorates. Based on the empirical findings, we recommend that policymakers should focus on Value Added Tax and corporate income tax in order to have an impact on economic growth. Extra care should be taken in personal income tax revenues and customs and excise revenues, revenues that negatively affect economic growth.
Keywords: Tax revenue; Economic Growth; Value Added Tax; Personal Income Tax; Corporate Income Tax
JEL: C50; E62; F43; H20; P10

The article analyses the crisis situation in the EU today, caused by the dominating influence of big companies and banks in public affairs on national and European levels in post-democracy (C. Crouch). In light of the political-economic and critical approach, the article analyses the power of global firms as a main factor in the New public management (NPM) during the current neoliberal capitalism. The post-democratic consequences by the implementation of the NPM in the EU and its member states are: a) emptying political institutions of their democratic content; b) defective market economy due to existing monopolies, and c) attempts to privatisation of civil society. The conclusion comprises some ideas for the rehabilitation of politics and its democratisation.
Keywords: European Union; Post-democracy; New public management; Neoliberalism; global/giant firms
JEL: P16; H1; D42; L38; K4

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, be they traditional enterprises, family businesses, traders, social economy enterprises, crafts or liberal professions (referred to hereafter as MSMEs), are an essential part of the solution towards a competitive, climate-neutral, circular and inclusive European economy, provided that the right conditions are created and prevail. The positive impact is generated by MSMEs through improving their own environmental performance and through providing expertise and solutions to other enterprises, citizens and the public sector. While acknowledging and highlighting the diversity and different needs of the European MSMEs, the current paper focuses on identifying factors for boosting their green transition and mapping out the effects of the recent multiple crises on this process.
Keywords: micro enterprises; small and medium-sized enterprises; MSMEs; sustainability; digitalization; support policies; social responsibility
JEL: D83; H12; L25; M38; P18; Q56

“Traditional” digital marketing campaigns are based primarily on a priori geotargeting, augmented with profiling of potential consumers based on language, sociodemographics, interests and preferences. A step ahead is when experimental results from A/B testing are used for more precise retargeting, in order to prove in a statistically significant way the direction and size of the effect of a potential communication marketing impact. Through the application of uplift modelling, it is possible to complement the experimental data from A/B testing by identifying the effect of specific marketing treatments (e.g. a specific message, alternative display ad design, web page layout and/or change in price offer) on specific individuals as opposed to an overall increase or decrease in conversion rates caused by the impact. This technique can help evaluate and predict their responses through supervised machine-learning classification algorithms. This nuanced analysis allows for personalized targeting of marketing communication to only leads who are likely to respond positively to an impact. This paper proposes and demonstrates a prototype model for optimal retargeting of customers based on machine learning algorithms and open-source programming.
Keywords: Uplift models; predictive modeling; retargeting; supervised machine learning
JEL: M37; C35; C55; C63

The article presents the results of the analysis of business philosophy changes under the influence of Covid-19 in the context of sustainable development. The aim of the article is to study the change in the philosophy of doing business under the influence of Covid-19 consequences and to highlight the main features of the philosophy and vectors of development. In the process of describing the business philosophy, the authors proposed an approach based on the criteria of sustainable development. The methodological basis of the study were methods of comparison, generalisation, analysis and synthesis, scientific abstraction, and expert evaluation. Characterisation of certain business philosophies was based on open public information on certain sectors of the economy, according to GICS. This approach enabled international comparability of research results. The authors found that the business philosophy has changed under the influence of COVID-19 and received an ecological, socio-psychological focus. Analysis of business philosophies allowed us to identify new slogans in the philosophy of generalised enterprises by sectors of the economy (industrial and consumer). The hypothesis that the business philosophy should be simple and customer-oriented has been confirmed. At the heart of this philosophy are social responsibility, economic aspects, corporate culture, and the goals of sustainable development.
Keywords: business philosophy; sustainable development; Covid-19; business concepts; business relationship styles; customer behavior
JEL: M21; M14; O1; L21

The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the volatility of the stock market in the ASEAN region. Mass vaccination and strictness policies are government efforts to tackle stock market losses. Hence, this study aims to examine the effect of the COVID-19 vaccination and the stringent government policies on the volatility of stock markets in ASEAN countries. We collected the daily index prices, the number of vaccines, and the stringency index from 13 January 2020 to 31 August 2021. Using the GJR-GARCH model (1, 1) and Generalized Least Square regression, this study found that the mass vaccination had a negative effect on stock market volatility, whereas the government’s stringent policies had a positive effect. Mass vaccination tends to increase the confidence of economic actors, impacting investors’ confidence in the stability of the stock market. Meanwhile, the government’s strict policies have caused uncertainty among economic actors and investors regarding the economic prospects during the pandemic, leading to high levels of volatility. Therefore, governments must promote more aggressive vaccination policies, thereby reducing stringent policies for economic agents.
Keywords: COVID-19; mass vaccination; stringency policy; stock market volatility
JEL: G14; G15; G18; I18

The purpose of this study is to determine the main factors of state regulation that affect the efficiency of investment activities in agriculture of Ukraine. It is proved that the weakness of state regulation of investment activity in agriculture is the lack of a balanced long-term policy of economic development, which turns Ukraine into an agrarian state. The balance of payments deficit has been covered in recent years (2015–2019) due to exports of low value-added agricultural raw materials. Taking into account the fact that the world food market is constantly growing shortage of quality products, Ukraine has prospects to become a developed agro-industrial country in terms of stimulating investment in the processing of agricultural raw materials. Methodological tools for assessing the impact of government action on key indicators of investment activity in the agricultural sector of Ukraine have been developed. The level of impact of the effectiveness of state regulation with the use of such tools as financing of investment management bodies and financial incentives for investment development is the highest compared to the effectiveness of other instruments of state regulation. Rising government spending on investment management and financial assistance to farmers has a positive impact on the dynamics of return on investment in agriculture. The practical value of the developed methodological tools lies in the possibility of their use by managers of agricultural enterprises to forecast their condition, taking into account the influence of factors of state regulation related to ensuring the efficiency of investment activities in the agriculture of Ukraine. Given that forecasting is reduced to one resulting parameter, the proposed toolkit is easy to use. It should be used to justify regulatory decisions, in particular, on investment processes in agriculture.
Keywords: investment support; agriculture; investment efficiency; VAT refund; state budget; farmers; strategy
JEL: H70; Q10; Q14

The goal of this article is to present a methodology for assessing smart and sustainable destinations’ development. There are plenty of studies on the determination of concepts and models of smart destination and smart tourism. But to implement them, there is a need for initial knowledge of the status quo and opportunities for comparing best practices and similar destinations. The management of tourist destinations needs an instrumentarium for assessing the achievements and status in regard to the model of smart destinations. The focus should be on the use of strategic-oriented development in the course of the evolution of technology infrastructure, infostructure (Buhalis, 2020, Gretzel et al., 2015) and pool of knowledge and skills, as well as their interrelations with sustainability. This paper augments theory and practice with a methodology that can be used for the elaboration of a strategy for smart destination development based on sustainability and a human-centric approach. The presented methodology in the article includes a model of a smart, sustainable destination and is applied in the case study. The strategies and development of tree cities are researched.
Keywords: smart destination; sustainable development; human-centric approach; smart city
JEL: L83; O20; Q01; Z32

The clearest picture of an actual gender policy in a country could be given by investigating the local authorities’ appointment of the directors and supervisory board members of public enterprises since no mandatory quotas have been imposed on membership on those boards. On the other hand, the election of the supervisory board member of those enterprises by the employee could show if gender inequality is present in the population. The paper’s second goal is to detect any patterns in the appointment of the directors, supervisory board chairmen, and supervisory board members regarding their age and gender and the firm’s characteristics. In a sample of all of Belgrade’s public enterprises, we found that gender inequality is widely present in the world of politics. At the same time, it does not appear to be present in the population. Regarding age policy, older people are more likely to be appointed by the local authority in financially more powerful enterprises.
Keywords: public enterprises; gender policy; age policy; financial performance; board
JEL: M41; M48; M14; G30