European Journal of Economics

Digitalization and Productivity: Evidence from EU Manufacturing Sector

Aiste Lastauskaite — 2023-07-03

Manufacturing sector productivity is one of main driver for economy grow in Europe. In the context of manufacturing sector digitalization, importance of influencing factors for productivity increase plays a key role. This paper aims to evaluate digitalization impact on EU manufacturing sector productivity, considering variables as relative size measures for the period of 2012-2020. There are strong believe that digitalization is an engine of innovation and competitiveness in manufacturing sector. Changing processes and integration of digital technologies leads manufacturing sector towards productivity increase. We perform OLS regression on sample of 5013 records covering 27 EU countries and 642 manufacturing firms over the years 2012-2020. Analysis consists of such factors as operating revenue, number of employees per company, tangible fixed assets, intangible fixed assets, profit and loss, investment to digitalization. We study ratio of digital investment to total assets as dependent variable to understand how investment decision of company can be evaluated with independent variables, identified in literature review. We build 3 models for regression analysis. Highest value of R-Square calculated for operating revenue as dependent variable is 0.299 and significance level is sufficient. Our results indicate that R-Square is 0.366 for relationship between digital investment and independent variables in analysis. Moreover, intangible assets impact is not significant considering digital investment outlay, which contradict believe stated in literature for direct intangible impact on digitalization. The main variable is number of employees per company with identified significant negative route.

Direct Lending Shadow Banking Risk: Consequences of Commercial Banks Retreatment from European Middle Market

Alexander Hütteroth — 2023-07-03

The regional bank consolidation in the 1990 and the global financial crisis 2008-2009 reshaped the global credit market broadly. This paper analyzes potential direct lending risks based on the commercial banks retreatment from the European middle market loan segment. Fundamental characteristics of the private debt market development, like the intensified competition for deals, yield compression and deterioration of creditor protections and the potential shadow banking risks are analyzed. Furthermore, the lack of market information, delayed valuations and varying investment volumes are discussed in the context of challenging monitoring. In the conclusion the paper explains the importance for the European regulators to prepare for a drawdown of the private debt market, via three lines of defense to take care of the underwriting process, monitoring loans and restructuring expertise. Finally, the paper recommends conducting research on the European private debt deal structure and underlying investments for a regulatory monitoring.

Spiritual Connection and Well-Being at Work: The Impact of Meditation and Pranic Healing

Sarika Gulati Gupta — 2023-07-03

This study investigated the relationship between spiritual intelligence (SQ) and subjective well-being (SWB) in the workplace. The research used a sample of 216 participants who completed the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory-24 (SISRI-24), Workplace PERMA Profiler, and WHO-5 Well-being Index. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used to assess the data. Multiple regression analysis found that spiritual practices such as meditation, yoga, and Pranic healing can be applied to promote workplace performance by helping employees feel more connected to their workplace environments. The results demonstrated a large positive link between SQ and SWB, indicating that those with a higher SQ tend to engage in SWB at work. Moreover, the study found that the use of meditation, yoga, and pranic healing was analogous to higher SWB levels among participants, which can help employees cope with stress, enhance their emotional resilience, and improve their well-being. The findings indicate that adopting spiritual tools and techniques into employee well-being initiatives may result in enhanced workplace happiness and well-being.