The present work investigates quantile coherency between the price of gold and the implied volatility index (GVZ) of gold, in the US, from 2015 to 2024. The empirical results suggest: First, on average, gold traders are concerned more with sudden price upswings than with downswings. Second, the intensity and the sign of the link between gold price returns and GVZ returns depends on the market-state and the traders’ time horizon. Gold price and implied volatility returns exhibit a stronger link at the upper than at the lower part of their joint distribution and the absolute magnitude of quantile coherency tends to increase (almost) monotonically from the high- to the low-frequency. Third, gold traders’ perceptions regarding changes in future prices and, consequently, about self-protection, are quite volatile; Lastly, crises such as the coronavirus pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict are associated with an increase in quantile coherency.
Standard Dutch Disease is simply a case of difficult, longer lasting and therefore risky process of adjustment towards a new, favorable macroeconomic outcome. In this paper we present a modified version, where the scenario is more severe: additional to the induced inter-industry changes, the new general equilibrium itself could be worsened, as the sudden booming of a specific economic activity (especially in the extraction industry) causes permanent opportunity costs and externalities that adversely affect the production possibilities in other sectors. After reviewing standard theoretical literature and the part that focuses on the specificities of low-income economies, in the fourth section we conceptualize this hypothesis on the potential exploitation of Eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbons reserves. ‘Dealing’ and ‘cleaning’ costs generate a political and an environmental crowding out and thereby a worsening of the Production Possibilities Frontier, next to the existing, potential benefits from the discovered resources. We argue that the final outcome depends on the special characteristics of each region being decisive for the severity of the permanent harm to other industries, as well as on the degree of openness of domestic economy and the biasness of consumers’ preferences. The conclusions from the discussion of the specific hypothesis can be useful for a more accurate cost-benefit analysis of expansion in the extraction industry.
The paper examines whether the investment of individuals in the Upper Secondary Education system is efficiency. It estimates the private return on investment in upper secondary education, overall and comparatively in general and vocational upper secondary education. It also estimates private rate of return, comparatively, by gender and type of education. The estimation is performed using the Mincer method and the short-cut method. The income data used came from a primary survey, which was conducted throughout the Greek economy with stratified sampling. Research has shown that investing in the upper secondary education system is efficiency. In particular, the investment of individuals in Upper Secondary General Education (in total and by gender) is more efficient than the investment of individuals in Upper Secondary Vocational Education. Females’ investment in Upper Secondary Education (overall but also by type, general and vocational) is more efficient than that of males.
Traditional insurance is being threatened as the global business environment becomes more competitive. This paper investigates the influence of competitive intelligence on organizational sustainability of the Nigerian insurance industry. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design in data collection from selected companies. Evaluation of the measurement and structural models was done using SPSS AMOS 23 to confirm reliability and validity and also test the hypotheses. The results show that individually, competitor intelligence, product intelligence and strategic intelligence all have a significant relationship with organisational sustainability. However, technological intelligence and market intelligence have no significant relationship with organisational sustainability. The results further reveal that when combined, dimensions of competitive intelligence namely technological, strategic, product, market and competitor, have a positive relationship with organisational sustainability. The study while highlighting the importance of competitive intelligence and organisational sustainability in the Nigerian insurance industry reveals concentration only on a few areas. It thus recommends that there is a need for the insurance industry to recognise and enhance the application and implementation of competitive intelligence across all facets of the organisation’s operations. JEL Classification: G20, J24, M19
Shipping is the sector of the economy via which approximately 85% of all world trade is transported and which is technologically developing with enormous leaps. Its digital transformation has highlighted new opportunities, but at the same time new threats. Due to the great demand from the maritime community for digital operations (specifically digitization and automation), maritime cyber security is becoming an issue of utmost importance. A protection framework through which shipping can be shielded against cyber-threats is absolutely necessary. As hackers are becoming increasingly aware of cyber-vulnerabilities within the maritime sector and shipping is undoubtedly a key pillar of the Greek economy, this study fills the existing gap by presenting a survey carried out within the Greek maritime community with the aim to investigate the human factors and the awareness stakeholders have about maritime cybersecurity. Our detailed research resulted in two main findings. Firstly, it was found that the basic principles of security (availability, integrity, confidentiality) and the related information and communication technologies (ICT) have not been adequately understood in order to be protected from cyberattacks. Secondly, our perception that the human factor can contribute to maritime cybersecurity in a positive or negative way was confirmed. JEL classification: L86, L92
