This study examines the relationships between financial sector development, financial inclusion, and income inequality in OECD countries by utilizing panel data from 38 countries for the period 2010-2022. The impact of financial sector development and financial inclusion on Gini coefficient is examined, while applying fixed effects, random effects and GMM modeling. The results suggest that financial inclusion is associated with lower income inequality, while the effect of financial development, proxied by private sector credit, is positive but not statistically robust. We find that financial development, measured by private-sector credit, is associated with higher income inequality - a pattern consistent with credit concentration in favor of higher-income groups - whereas financial inclusion is associated with lower inequality, through channels of broadened access to savings, credit, and risk-management. This study adds value to the existing literature by providing new empirical evidence on the dynamic interplay between financial and real sectors.
The green transition and the adoption of new green technologies impact all workers, necessitating upskilling and reskilling to remain relevant to the changing labour market. The dynamics of the green transition is determined by many factors including the required green skills and related skills mismatches. Hence, the aim of this paper is to assess the impact of green skills mismatches on green job creation in North Macedonia. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of a representative sample of 530 companies, randomly selected from all regions, economic activities and company sizes. The green job creation is assessed by estimating fractional logit regression. Besides the standard control variables, particular attention has been paid to the underskilling, overskilling, skills deficits, skills obsolescence and horizontal skills mismatches. The results reveal that the green jobs creation is considerably limited by the presence of underskilling and skills obsolescence, while horizontal skills mismatches are emphasized as a problem that weakens the short run planning of green jobs. Accordingly, we suggest policy measures in the fields of education and business cooperation aiming to overcome skill mismatches and accelerate the green transition.
Horizontal mismatch, the misalignment between workers' fields of study and their current occupations, is a structural issue in Kosovo's labor market. Evidence on its consequences remains scarce and primarily descriptive. This study analyzes its impact on hourly wages, working hours, quit intentions, and short-term contracts using data from the Kosovo Labor Force Survey (LFS) for 2012-2023. While descriptive statistics and OLS estimates indicate lower wages and slightly higher working hours among mismatched workers, mismatch status may be non-random and subject to endogeneity concerns. To address selection on observables, kernel propensity score matching (PSM) is implemented as the primary estimator. The findings, consistent with existing literature, suggest that mismatched workers earn & euro;0.163 less per hour (6 percent relative to the mean hourly wage) and work 0.374 additional hours per week (0.9 percent relative to the mean weekly hours) compared to adequately matched workers. The estimated effects on short-term contracts (-0.1 percentage points) and quit intentions (+0.3 percentage points) are small and statistically insignificant. Overall, the results suggest that the primary economic cost of horizontal mismatch in Kosovo operates through earnings penalties rather than contractual instability or pronounced dissatisfaction.
The aim of this article is to analyse how changes in the number of post-secondary non-tertiary education (ISCED4) graduates influence the total unemployment rate and the youth unemployment rate in Romania over the period 1991-2023. Using a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) framework, we decompose lnISCED4 into positive and negative partial sums to test for potential short-run and long-run asymmetries while controlling for EU accession and the global financial crisis. The NARDL results for total unemployment suggest a long-run relationship and significant short- and long-run asymmetry. However, with controls included, the long-run coefficients on lnISCED4+ and lnISCED4- are imprecise, implying that asymmetry mainly reflects short-run adjustment. A benchmark linear ARDL model provides stronger evidence of cointegration and points to a modest negative long-run association between lnISCED4 and total unemployment. For youth unemployment, the NARDL estimates show robust short-run asymmetry. Increases in ISCED4 graduates are followed by short-run increases in youth unemployment, whereas decreases are also associated with subsequent short-run increases, while long-run education-related coefficients remain statistically insignificant. Robustness checks using labour force normalised ISCED4 intensity measures indicate that long-run asymmetry and levels relationships are sensitive to scaling and a shorter 1996-2023 window. These findings underline that expansions in intermediate vocational supply may generate temporary youth labour market pressures when absorption and matching mechanisms are weak and may support policy-makers in designing complementary measures to improve school-to-work transitions.
Drawing on internal communication and organizational change literature, this study develops a conceptual framework that examines the influence of internal communication on employee readiness for change. In theory, internal communication is recognized as an important prerequisite for employees' perceptions and acceptance of change. Nevertheless, its role in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is not sufficiently studied, especially in the post-COVID-19 context which altered many communication preferences. To fill this gap, the proposed framework combines Internal Communication Satisfaction and perceived Quality of Change Communication, together with Work Demands and Information Overload as workplace stress-ors. The hypotheses were empirically tested through a quantitative survey of 454 employees from Croatian SMEs. Using a disjoint two-stage PLS-SEM approach, the findings confirmed that both Internal Communication Satisfaction and perceived Quality of Change Communication positively affect employee Readiness for Change. Results additionally revealed moderating and complementary mediating effects. The study has several theoretical contributions and offers practical implications for management.
