Journal of Economic Structures 

About: Journal of Economic Structures is an academic journal published by SpringerOpen. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Computer science & Productivity. It has an ISSN identifier of 2193-2409. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 310 publications have been published receiving 3533 citations.

Does financial inclusion reduce poverty and income inequality in developing countries? A panel data analysis

Abstract: Financial inclusion is a key element of social inclusion, particularly useful in combating poverty and income inequality by opening blocked advancement opportunities for disadvantaged segments of the population. This study intends to investigate the impact of financial inclusion on reducing poverty and income inequality, and the determinants and conditional effects thereof in 116 developing countries. The analysis is carried out using an unbalanced annual panel data for the period of 2004–2016. For this purpose, we construct a novel index of financial inclusion using a broad set of financial sector outreach indicators, finding that per capita income, ratio of internet users, age dependency ratio, inflation, and income inequality significantly influence the level of financial inclusion in developing countries. Furthermore, the results provide robust evidence that financial inclusion significantly reduces poverty rates and income inequality in developing countries. The findings are in favor of further promoting access to and usage of formal financial services by marginalized segments of the population in order to maximize society’s overall welfare.

An empirical retrospect of the impacts of government expenditures on economic growth: new evidence from the Nigerian economy

Abstract: The impacts of public expenditures on economic growth have been revisited in this paper with respect to capital expenditure, recurrent expenditure and the government fiscal expansion in line with support for the budgetary allocations to various sectors in the context of the Nigerian economy. Pesaran’s ARDL approach has been applied to carry out the impact analysis using annual time-series data from 1981 to 2017. Empirical findings support the existence of a level relationship between public spending indicators and economic growth in Nigeria. Incisively, recurrent expenditures of government were found to be significantly impacting on economic growth in a negative way while the positive impacts of public capital expenditures were not significant to economic growth over the period of the study. Further results from the Granger Causality Test reveal that fiscal expansion of the government that is hinged on debt financing is strongly granger causing public expenditures and domestic investment with the latter also Granger causing real growth in the economy. We, therefore, provide some important policy recommendations following the results of the empirical analysis.

The moderating role of entrepreneurship education in shaping entrepreneurial intentions

Abstract: Few studies investigated the role of entrepreneurship education in students’ entrepreneurial intentions. These studies produced controversial results which invited the attention of researchers for further investigations. This paper examines the moderating role of entrepreneurship education on the predictive value of attitude, subjective norms and self-efficacy for entrepreneurial intentions. True Experimental Design (post-test-only control group design) is used to investigate the change in the nature and magnitude of the impact of independent variables (personal attitude, self-efficacy and subjective norms) on the dependent variable (intentions) using entrepreneurship education as a moderating variable. Data were collected from the treatment group (completed entrepreneurship course) and control group (not taken entrepreneurship course) from various higher education institutions in Oman. Total 500 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 204 filled questionnaires were received back in which 196 qualified as valid responses. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses. The statistical relationship among the modeled variables was estimated using Partial Least Square method. The results revealed that attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms and self-efficacy are the significant predictors of entrepreneurial intentions. However, entrepreneurship education moderates this relationship by strengthening the path coefficients of attitude toward entrepreneurship and self-efficacy. Same time it weakens the path coefficient of subjective norms.

Matching global cobalt demand under different scenarios for co-production and mining attractiveness

Abstract: Many new and efficient technologies require ‘critical metals’ to function. These metals are often extracted as by-product of another metal, and their future supply is therefore dependent on mining developments of the host metal. Supply of critical metals can also be constrained because of political instability, discouraging mining policies, or trade restrictions. Scenario analyses of future metal supply that take these factors into account would provide policy makers with information about possible supply shortages. We provide a scenario analysis for demand and supply of cobalt, a potentially critical metal mainly used not only in high performance alloys but also in lithium-ion batteries and catalysts. Cobalt is mainly extracted as by-product of copper and nickel. A multiregional input–output (MRIO) model for 20 world regions and 163 commodities was built from the EXIOBASE v2.2.0 multiregional supply and use table with the commodity technology construct. This MRIO model was hybridized by disaggregating cobalt flows from the nonferrous metal sector. Future cobalt demand in different world regions from 2007 to 2050 was then estimated, assuming region- and sector-specific GDP growth, constant technology, and constant background import shares. A dynamic stock model of regional reserves for seven different types of copper, cobalt, and nickel resources, augmented with optimization-based region-specific mining capacity estimates, was used to determine future cobalt supply. The investment attractiveness index developed by the Fraser Institute specifically for mining industry entered the optimization routine as a measure of the regional attractiveness of mining. The baseline scenario shows no cobalt supply constraints over the considered time period 2007–2050, and recovering about 60 % of cobalt content of the copper and nickel ore flows would be sufficient to match global cobalt demand. When simulating a hypothetical sudden supply dropout in Africa during the period 2020–2035, we found that shortages in cobalt supply might occur in such scenarios.

Innovation, total factor productivity and economic growth in Pakistan: a policy perspective

Abstract: The objective of this study is to endorse the driving factors behind total factor productivity (TFP) and economic growth in Pakistan. Pakistan’s average growth rate is 5% for last few decades, and although this growth level is satisfactory, Pakistan faced several formidable challenges yet. The economic growth has been determined mainly through labor-intensive technology and export-oriented manufacturing activities. However, TFP is assessed from the aggregate production function using the Cobb–Douglas production function that permits for the simultaneous expansion of outputs and contraction of inputs. The annual timer series data have been extracted from 1972–2016 World development Indicator (WDI) for this study. The overall results reveal that almost all variables are statistical significant. Moreover, innovation significantly contributes to economic growth and production level in Pakistan. This analysis may have significant suggestions to policy makers in Pakistan and other emerging economies when framing sustainable growth policy.