Enabling the Circular Economy transition: a sustainable lean manufacturing recipe for Industry 4.0

Over the past 10 years, the concepts and objectives of circular economy have been increasingly detailed and become strategic issues of international, European, and national policies. However, the transition towards circular production models continues to be affected by several barriers and critical factors that make the transition difficult to achieve. The paper tries to design a relationship between sustainable production and lean production, highlighting the opportunity to invest in reverse-logistics and how Industry 4.0 system represents a breeding ground for circular economy targets application. The aim of the current study is to examine the relationships among sustainable production, lean production, and Industry 4.0 in order to evidence the need to adopt a lean methodology and Industry 4.0 technologies in a sustainable development perspective for companies. Following a holistic vision, the authors summarize the production principles and formulas, which, although in parallel, lead to similar results and therefore represent the pillars of a competitive and sustainable business. In conclusion, exploring the circular economy principles and production chain model, challenges, opportunities, and future outlooks are formulated.     

Likelihood based testing for no fractional cointegration

We consider two likelihood ratio tests, the so-called maximum eigenvalue and trace tests, for the null of no cointegration when fractional cointegration is allowed under the alternative, which is a first step to generalize the so-called Johansen’s procedure to the fractional cointegration case. The standard cointegration analysis only considers the assumption that deviations from equilibrium can be integrated of order zero, which is very restrictive in many cases and may imply an important loss of power in the fractional case. We consider the alternative hypotheses with equilibrium deviations that can be mean reverting with order of integration possibly greater than zero. Moreover, the degree of fractional cointegration is not assumed to be known, and the asymptotic null distribution of both tests is found when considering an interval of possible values. The power of the proposed tests under fractional alternatives and size accuracy provided by the asymptotic distribution in finite samples are investigated.     

Pension fund taxation and risk-taking: should we switch from the EET to the TEE regime?

Most countries tax retirement savings according to the EET (exempt contributions, exempt accumulations, taxable withdrawals) regime. Relevant literature recommends the use of TEE (taxable contributions, exempt accumulations, exempt withdrawals) or EET systems and emphasizes their near equivalence. We show that this near equivalence breaks down when considering the tax effects on risk-taking. This paper proves that the TEE regime is risk-taking neutral, while the EET regime does not, in general, respect this property. The argument of risk-taking neutrality thus calls for broadening the use of the TEE configuration.     

The true and fair view construct in the context of the Polish transition economy: some local insights

This paper addresses issues of financial reporting within the context of European harmonization and accession. The construct of the True and Fair View (hereafter TFV) constitutes a locus of reflection for the establishment of a mutually intelligible foundation for financial reporting in the New Europe including applicant states for European Union (hereafter EU) membership. This paper provides insights as to the meaning and the local embeddedness of TFV in the context of the Polish transitional economy.

The Audit Act 1994 and the Accounting Act 1994, as amended by the 2000 Acts, incorporate the provisions of European law with the aim of harmonizing Polish accounting and financial reporting regulations with the corresponding regulations in the EU. The Accounting Act 1994 for the first time introduced in Poland the current wording of the TFV construct in accordance with the requirements of the Fourth Directive. The question addressed in this paper is how the construct of TFV is understood and operationalized.

This paper demonstrates the particular local understanding of the TFV construct in contemporary Poland through (1) textual analysis of the legal pronouncements (both national and international) and (2) narrative analysis of local debates and commentaries in the national press and academic journals. Given the difficulty of expressing judgements based upon accumulated experience, where much of the experience is constituted by continental influence, in particular the German tradition, and regulatory arrangements of a centrally planned economy, Polish practice perceives the TFV requirement primarily as a formal and legal compliance, and not yet as something with a substantial rationale in the observance of the rule of accounting law. The paper concludes that TFV is a contingent construct which resides in a particular socio-economic, historic and cultural context and is understood differently outside this context. The local Polish reception and understanding is articulated.     

Post-socialist constitutions: The de jure–de facto gap,its effects and determinantsa

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate on constitutional rules and their economic effects by extending focus to the de jure–de facto constitutional gap. First, evidence is provided that size of this gap matters as higher gaps lower the effectiveness of the constitutional commitment mechanism. Second, several explanations of this gap are identified, in particular relating to the democratization process, political conflict, age and comprehensiveness of the constitution. The conclusions are based on an empirical study for the unique setting of the post-socialist countries of Europe and Asia, which all enacted new constitutional frameworks after 1989 and it is shown that in some of these countries constitutions acted as blueprints.     

Efficiency of Regional Public Investment: An NPV-Based Spatial Econometric Approach

This paper develops a new methodology of spatial econometric modelling for regional public investment in local economies. The approach, based on the financial concept of net present value of cash flows, can be applied in the analysis of regional public investment with long-term financial inputs and outputs. With local public revenues related to spending in the model, one can observe economies of scale of investment with possible saturation effects and a marginal investment multiplier, explaining the extent to which public investment costs translate into public revenues. The main advantage of the proposed model is to behave counter-cyclically due to accumulation over the periods and to cover multi-period investments as well as postponed effects. This paper gives an example of public investment efficiency in Polish NUTS-5 municipalities regions.     

European Union Enlargement Announcement and Corporate Valuations

This study explores the effects of the European Union accession announcement on the valuations of companies in the prospective member states. I examine firm level data from ten countries which joined the EU in May 2004. My analysis reveals that the announcement of these countries’ future EU membership in November 2001 significantly increased the Tobin’s Q ratios of their publicly traded firms several years before formal membership was granted. This increase in firm value can likely be attributed to a reduced cost of capital and/or an expected increase in growth opportunities and cash flows, resulting from the announcement of their countries’ inclusion in the EU.     

The Euro Changeover and the Factors Influencing Perceived Inflation

The most flamboyant economic effect of the euro changeover on consumers was a dramatic increase in perceived inflation. To directly measure perceived inflation, Brachinger developed a new index of perceived inflation (IPI). This index is based on some hypotheses about factors influencing perceived inflation. An experimental study is presented which investigated the influence of two of these hypothesized factors, purchase frequency and loss aversion, on individual judgments of price changes. Furthermore, two additional factors have been included that are informative with respect to the IPI, product segment and price level. Judgments of inflation were assessed with three methods, yielding different results. Empirical evidence for the hypotheses was obtained.      

Impact of Digital Transformation on Value Creation in Fintech Services: An Innovative Approach

The aim of this article is to indicate economic and financial characteristics of financial technology, or fintech, that contribute to value creation in the financial services industry. This study presents a theory of digital transformations and elements of ecosystems theory and connecting them to fintech issues. Building from the DIPLOM model of corporate diplomacy. Corporate diplomacy. Building reputations and relationships with external stakeholders. Sheffield UK: Greenleaf Publishing Limited, this article proposes the DIPLOMA model with seven elements of fintech best practice, that are, Digital, Innovation, Pricing, Learning, Openness, Modernity, and Agility. This article stresses on practical insights to provide tool to enable stakeholders create value on fintech.     

The Process of Education of OSH Services and Organization Development

Contemporary business is characterised, first and foremost, by quickly growing competition, rapid changes in customer preferences, and constant pressure for innovations and cost effectiveness. That creates a difficult work environment, with occupational safety and health (OSH) management becoming a strategic element in the planning of enterprises?? development (compare: Znajmiecka-Sikora et al. 2009, 2010). The article aims to analyse the knowledge, qualifications, and professional competence of OSH service employees??a group that is crucial for maintaining an appropriate safety level in the organisation??in the context of employers?? expectations. The study covered 450 OSH service employees working in selected provinces of Poland and was carried out from 2009 to 2010. It used an interview questionnaire composed of 64 items concerning the knowledge, skills, activity in the training market, and flexibility of OSH service employees. The analysis of received results indicates that although OSH service employees hold appropriate qualifications (confirmed by certificates of having undergone appropriate training), they often have insufficient knowledge and skills in the scope of duties imposed on them, hence they are not able to meet the expectations of their employers.