The purpose of the present investigation is to scrutinize the impacts of green energy technologies, trade, the per capita income, and oil price on the carbon dioxide emissions and ecological footprint in France over the 1980/2022 period. Therefore, to achieve this objective, the Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach is employed.
In fact, the obtained results showed that renewable energy is a contributor to the improvement of the French environment. In fact, a positive shock to renewable energy alleviates both the CO2 emissions and the ecological footprint. Moreover, an upsurge in oil prices reduces the CO2 emissions while their reduction enhances the ecological footprint. On the other hand, trade is proven to have a negative effect on the environmental damage. Furthermore, a positive variation in the GDP per capita exerts a positive upshot on the CO2 emissions and ecological footprint, in the long run, whereas, a negative shock to the GDP per capita has a negative impact on the carbon dioxide emissions. Finally, a robustness check analysis is added using quantile regression (QR) in order to explore the effects of positive and negative variations of the different explanatory variables.
In fact, referring to these results, some strategic directions are proposed in order to decarbonize the French economy. Therefore, diversifying the electricity mix by introducing more renewable energies should be a priority. On the other hand, in order to avoid an increase of the State's energy bill in the event of an increase of the oil prices, it is important to reduce oil imports by increasing energy production from renewable sources such as hydraulic, solar, and wind energies.
Fostering innovation is one of the key roles of the Circular Economy (CE) that applies also to European Union (EU) firms, because entrepreneurs are persistently seeking new ways and means to create values, contributing with significant market opportunities, and depicting large potential for EU sustainable growth. This study explores the effects of firms’ investments in using highly disruptive technologies in the energy sector on the Eurozone (EU-27) in the last two decades (1990–2019). An Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) experiment through a Deep Learning (DL) approach is implemented to test this hypothesis. The empirical findings show that investments in highly disruptive technologies, especially by large digitally qualified companies, boost economic growth. They are also a crucial driver of digitalization not only because they enhance a wide strategic change implying a radical innovation in business models, but they completely transform markets, from energy to food production, water resources, pollution, connectivity, and plastic waste. These expected benefits represent a possible policy measure to offset the decline in global activity due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on global energy markets. In addition, a positive association between trade and output is confirmed. Finally, promising policy actions are discussed.
This paper studies the characteristics of Spanish and Portuguese business cycles over around 150 years. We estimate a time-varying multi-country Bayesian Vector Autoregression, jointly modeling real and financial variables for Portugal and Spain to investigate convergence and synchronization. The primary evidence indicates a consistent common component linking the business cycles of the two nations. Fiscal policy harmonization and financial market integration have been successful, as seen in the converging trends of stock prices and budget deficits. However, this does not extend to credit and country spreads, where idiosyncratic dynamics continue to be significant and are unlikely to diminish in the near future, which can pose challenges in implementing further policies like the Euro.
The objective of this work is to assess the linkages between conventional and organic milk markets in the US. To this end, it employs the recently developed Quantile Frequency Connectedness (QFC) model and monthly retail prices from January 2009 to February 2024. The empirical results suggest: First, price connectedness is both quantile- and frequency-dependent. Second, adjustments to incoming information are likely to completed within 3 months. Third, large (in absolute value) price shocks result in stronger price connectedness relative to small. Fourth, where asymmetric connectedness exists, it points to the conventional milk market as a net transmitter of shocks to organic. Fifth, although the retail share of organic milk has increased rapidly, the intensity of price connectedness remained fairly stable over time.
This research delves into the effects of recent crises on investor behavior within the currency options market, particularly focusing on the relationship with underlying exchange rates. Analyzing daily EUR/USD currency call pair data from May 4, 2011, to June 19, 2023, we employ a genetic algorithm to calculate stochastic volatility in line with the Garman and Kohlhagen model. Through the application of the STAR model, we identified shifts in investor behavior across various crisis periods. These shifts are linked to inherent asymmetries in the time series data, illustrating the diverse strategies of different investor types, such as fundamentalists and chartists. Our findings reveal how each investor group tailors its approach to these market asymmetries, showcasing distinct strategies and responses to fluctuating market conditions and crises. This study contributes to the financial literature by offering a more nuanced understanding of how crises influence investor behavior and the dynamics of currency markets. Ultimately, it sheds light on the complexities of investor behavior during economic challenges.
Cohesion policy and the EU funds have been key elements for territorial integration in Europe. Evidence shows that EU funds support the growth performance of regions. However, less has been discussed about the potential impact of macroeconomic uncertainty on the effectiveness of EU funds. Our analyses confirm that EU funds are important in understanding regional economic growth differences. However, the extent of macroeconomic uncertainty decreases the effectiveness of the EU funds. Our results are robust in including local controls, non-linearity of the EU funds’ effect, different EU fund categories, and regional heterogeneity in the EU.
Using Panel data, GMM and GLS econometric models, and a sample of six Mediterranean (MED) countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia) over the period 2002–2023, this paper assesses empirically the impact of financial inclusion on income inequality, poverty, and financial stability asymmetries in the MED region. While the empirical literature covering the region is relatively scarce, this paper adds to that literature by bridging a significant existing gap, especially in the aftermath of the recent financial and debt crises and the recent political and social turmoil that have been unfolding in several MED countries. Our empirical results show that financial inclusion decreases inequality but has no significant effect on poverty. Other empirical results show that while the empirical evidence indicates that enhanced financial integration is a contributing factor to financial instability in the MED region, an increase in financial inclusion and in population contributes positively to financial stability.
This study examines the price relationships between the three major EU olive oil markets; Spain, Italy and Greece. The empirical analysis utilises a series of linear and non-linear econometric techniques to explore long and short run relations examining market integration as well as the pattern of price transmission. The study utilises monthly wholesale data for virgin olive oil for the three countries, covering the period January 2000 to April 2022. Results from the Diks and Panchenko nonlinear causality test suggest Spain to be the central market and stable long-run relations are revealed between the examined price pairs through the non-linear Momentum Threshold Cointegration model, with the strongest relation being identified between Italy and Greece. Regarding the pattern of price transmission, it is found to be asymmetric for the pairs Spain-Greece and Spain-Italy, whereas for price pair Italy-Greece symmetry is confirmed, and the Law of One Price holds in its strong version. This suggests that while the markets are integrated, the EU olive oil market is characterised by inefficiencies indicating the need for further reforms.

