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The role of mental budgeting in healthy financial behavior: a survey among self-employed entrepreneurs
15-25Views:212Self-employed entrepreneurs (without personnel) manage their business and household finances at the same time. Both domains tend to interact with each other. In this study, it is studied whether and how self-employed entrepreneurs manage their finances. More specifically, the role of mental budgeting and time orientation in healthy financial behavior is studied. Mental budgeting is a way to manage expenses. It entails setting budgets, making reservations on budgets, compensating after too much spending on a budget, and non-fungibility (treating money as earmarked and categorized). It can be expected that self-employed entrepreneurs using mental budgeting strategies behave in a more healthy financial manner. Survey data were collected among self-employed people without personnel in The Netherlands. The survey contained, among others, questions about the company, time orientation, financial management, tax attitude, reported tax compliance, and concern or worry about the future. Questions were factor analyzed using principal component analyses. The resulting scales were used for further analyses. Regression analyses were performed to predict concern or worry about finances, financially restricting to and exceeding budgets, and reporting tax compliance. In this paper, two components of time orientation are distinguished: awareness of consequences and carelessness about the future. From these components, four orientation types of self-employed people were obtained. The orientation type focusing on long-term consequences shows more healthy financial behavior, whereas the orientation type focusing on the present and less on consequences shows less healthy financial behavior. Responsible and healthy financial behavior of self-employed entrepreneurs is related to focusing on long-term consequences, using mental budgeting, and keeping one’s budgets. Aspects of mental budgeting are predicting worry about business finances. Differential effects of mental budgeting were found on restricting one’s budgets, and exceeding budgets, respectively. Of two measures of future circumstances (work disability, pension), only pension measures were predicting worrying about finances. Mental budgeting was not related to tax compliance, except for fungibility. Past tax behavior is predictive of other (past) tax behaviors. Fiscal history measures prove to be correlated with present measures.
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Agricultural cooperatives and their membership in cooperative unions in Serbia
25-32Views:132Goal of this paper is to analyse business of agricultural cooperatives in Serbia and their territorial distribution. Paper also comprehends analyses of premises of directors of agricultural cooperatives towards cooperative associations, based on result of survey conducted on chosen sample. Analysis is based on the hypothesis that reform processes present in the Serbian economy, and completely absent from cooperative sector, have weaken the work of cooperative unions and undermined regular relations between cooperatives and their associations. Paper also analyse premises of directors of agricultural cooperatives on relevant questions on membership and work of 12 regional, provincial and Cooperative union of Serbia, based on result of survey conducted in 148 or 7.2% of 2.055 agricultural cooperatives in Serbia. For cooperatives that are not members of any union, paper gives systematization of reasons why cooperative is not member and motives that could inspire cooperative to become a member. For cooperatives that are members of some union, we give analyses of answers if cooperative is satisfied with work and activities of union conducted for cooperative welfare; and suggestions for activities that cooperative unions should practice in the interests and needs of their members.
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Less favoured area measure in the Netherlands: a welcome or negligible addition?
23-28Views:161The Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) Directive (75/268) which was introduced in 1975, was the first common European instrument of regional agricultural structural policy. LFAs are areas where agriculture is hampered by permanent natural handicaps. The major objectives were to ensure the continuation of farming, thereby maintaining a minimum population level and preserving scenic landscapes and environmentally valuable habitats. In the Netherlands, the LFA measure is used as an additional payment, to compensate farmers for negative economic effects due to the conservation of these natural handicaps. It was not implemented as a stand alone policy, but is linked to measures aiming at active nature and landscape conservation management. In this paper, the effects will be examined of the regulations aiming at the conservation of natural handicaps on farm businesses within LFAs, when comparing them to farm businesses outside LFAs, where these regulations and handicaps do not exist. The main data source that was used is the Farm Accountancy Data Network. Reference groups of farms were compiled with the use of the simple and multiple imputation approach in Stars (Statistics for Regional Studies). Both analyses were tested with the use of a parametric and a nonparametric test. When comparing the results of both analyses, it can be concluded that there is no evidence that there is a statistical difference in family farm income corrected for and not corrected for LFA payment between the LFA farm businesses and the reference groups. Based on these findings it can be concluded that the size of the compensatory allowances is small and there is no evidence that it has a significant effect on the family farm income of LFA farm businesses. The main purpose of the Dutch LFA policy is to compensate farm businesses for negative economic effects due to the conservation of natural handicaps. Although this may be true for some individual farms, based on the methods used in this paper, it appears not to be the case for the collectivity of LFA premium beneficiaries as a whole.
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Marketing characteristics of Tokaj wine specialities based on factor and cluster analyses
93-101Views:204The marketing kind of analysis in the domestic and international markets of Tokaj’s wine speciality has not happend yet. The present research scientific method supportedly defines the consumers of Tokaj’s wine speciality and it determinates the overlay receipt. The basis of the questionnaire research at the wine consumers cirlce is a representative sample of 1179 people. It confirms the truthfulness with factos and cluster dissection. On the hungarian market 5 sections can be devided, which has been determined by the earning category, the wine savvy and the referene price interval. Tokaj Wine Specialities named “late vintage” are also available. This name can be confusing for the consumer, some do not understand in what they differ from other Tokaj Wine Specialities, as actually all Tokaj Wine Specialities are late vintage wines; particularly, wine is harvested later than usual, occasionally in October or November. The findings obtained during the research can beutilised in practice, too. In accordance with the results and conclusions, we have several practical suggestions. Our methodological suggestion is that the result of the cluster analysis based upon a large number of representative sample should be cross-checked with focus group tests; what is more, upon justification and verification, a detailed analysis of the given segments can also be performed better with this method. It would be worth studying the exact reasons for the popularity of wines with the name ”late vintage”. Such types of Tokaj Wine Specialities should be given higher priority in marketing terms. My suggestion is that the type of wine accepted and liked by consumers should be kept count of as TokajWine Specialities officially, too. The future marketing strategy has to be developed by knowing the sections and by it’s further research which has to integrate to the strategy of Tokaj’s wine region.
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Some uses, underuses, and misuses of the findings of disparities between people’s valuations of gains and losses
7-13Views:167The well-known behavioural finding that losses have a greater impact on people’s well-being than gains, has important implications for the study of individual and collective choices, as well as the ways in which analyses are carried out -- many more than have yet been seriously considered. It also has many for analysts’ use of such tools as price elasticities, discount rates, value of statistical lives, risk analysis, and the like. A greater recognition of the behavioral findings would likely lead to reductions of the biases in many present analyses.
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Economic analysis of some agrotechnical factors in maize production - a Hungarian case study
5-16Views:385This paper focuses on the economic and statistical evaluation of the production technology findings of the polyfactorial maize production experiments carried out between 2015-2017 at the Látókép Experiment Site of the University of Debrecen, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management. The examined agrotechnical factors included irrigation, previous crop, tillage, crop density, hybrid and N nutrient supply, while the effect of different crop years was taken into consideration. In addition to descriptive statistical methods, we used multivariate regression analysis during the statistical evaluation. In the course of the evaluation, we examined three models that differed in terms of tillage methods and the consideration of crop year. In our best fit model, the factors were 71% responsible for the change in yield value. We carried out efficiency and comparative analyses in the course of the economic evaluation.
Averaged over the three examined years, it can be stated that nutrient supply and crop year had an outstanding effect on yield, while irrigation had a minimal effect. However, global warming may justify irrigation in the future, not only from a biological point of view, but also from an economic aspect.
Ideal tillage is also greatly affected by crop year, too. Altogether, of the examined tillage systems, subsoiling proved to be the best from an economic point of view.
Our investigations confirm that it is better to perform intensive farming under more favourable market conditions. The optimum of N fertilisation is probably outside of the range we examined, if the extreme changes in maize and fertiliser prices are ignored.JEL Classification: Q16, Q12, Q13, O32
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Consumer willingness to pay a premium for a functional food in Ghana
51-59Views:197Interest in functional foods has been growing in sub-Saharan Africa due to consumer concerns with diet and nutrition. This paper analyses consumer awareness, perceptions and effects of the determinants of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for Moringa bread in Ghana. An ordered probit model is employed. The empirical results indicate that consumer knowledge of the nutritional and health benefits of Moringa bread is what matters most to consumers in respect of their WTP a higher premium for the product. Consumers with knowledge on Moringa products are more willing to pay above 50% price premiums for Moringa bread. Fruitful policy recommendations are made in the paper.
JEL code: D12
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The economic and social role of private farms in Hungarian agriculture
33-41Views:159The situation and importance of private farms in Hungary have significantly changed and are still changing due to the political and economic regime change of 1989-90 and subsequent events. The aim of this study is to provide – unlike the practice of the last two decades – an impartial review of the social and economic role of Hungarian private farms. To demonstrate the changes occurring in private farms, we rely on the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO-KSH)such as the General Structure Surveys, the Farm Structure Surveys, and tables from the online stADAT database.
From the point of view of methodology, time series analyses (2000–2010) were performed in the framework of this secondary research. Our hypothesis that private farms in Hungary deserve much more attention than previously, from the perspective of the output of Hungarian agriculture, food consumption and, last but not least, employment (the environmental factor was not examined this time) has been clearly confirmed. The role and significance of this group have also been exceedingly important since EU accession, particularly in the fields of horticulture and animal husbandry, and the strengthening of these positions is indisputably a national economic interest. -
Cross-sector analysis of the Hungarian sectors covered by the Effort Sharing Decision – Climate policy perspectives for the Hungarian agriculture within the 2021-2030 EU programming period
17-24Views:172Ever since 2012, the EU ETS (European Union’s Emission Trading Scheme), which is the EU’s climate policy was extended to include the ESD (Effort Sharing Decision) sectors’ (agriculture, transport, building) regulations. As its name implies, this mechanism is based off of shared interests and efforts, all in order to reach the climate goals. Therefore, analysing the agriculture sector from an environmental viewpoint requires the analysis of related sectors as well, since their performances will have an impact on determining the requirements to be met by the agriculture. Seeing that those primarily present in said sectors are not various firms, but people and public utility management institutions instead, the level of regulations draws from the economic state of the various countries in question (GDP per capita). Therefore, member states like ours did not receive difficult goals until 2020, due to our performance being lower than the average of the EU. However, during the program phase between 2021 and 2030, all nations are to lower their GHG (greenhouse gases) emission, and have to make developments to restrict GHG emission level growth within the ESD, which means we already have to estimate our future possibilities. During the analyses, we will see that analysing agriculture from an environmental viewpoint, without doing the same to their related sectors and their various related influences is impossible. The GHG emission goals determined by the EU have to be cleared by the agriculture sector, but the inputs from transport, waste management and building are required nonetheless.
JEL classification: Q58
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Analyse the financing structure of agricultural enterprises in 2002–2006
91-94Views:139The capital structure of agricultural enterprises notable modified since the change in Hungary’s economic system. The study discusses the capital structure of agricultural enterprises in Hungary and analyses the most significant indicators, that we can use to describe the financing situation of the firms. My empirical analysis is based on data containing 192 agricultural enterprises between 2002 and 2006. I try to assess the reasons of the changes in the structure of resources of enterprises in order to find the determinants effecting the capital structure. Furthermore, I assess the index numbers illustrating the management of the enterprises.
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Country-specific determinants of horizontal and vertical intra-industry agri-food trade: the case of Bulgaria and Romania
69-75Views:119The article analyses patterns and country-specific determinants of agri-food trade of Bulgaria and Romania with the European Union. As literature focusing on agricultural aspects of the topic is limited, the paper seeks to contribute to the literature by providing up to date results and suggestions as well as by identifying the determinants of horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade of the Bulgaria and Romania after EU accession. Results suggest that intra-industry agri-food trade is mainly of vertical nature, referring to trade of different quality products. Results verify that determinants of horizontal and vertical IIT are similar and suggest that economic size and FDI are positively, while factor endowments and distance are negatively related to both sides of IIT. Results are mainly in line with the majority of empirical literature in the field.
JEL code: Empirical Studies of Trade – F14
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Examination of leader communication in agriculture
41-47Views:163My doctoral and research topic was significant in the examination and analysis of leader activities in the framework of a functional, modularly constructed empirical research program of the Department of Management Sciences. I could make statements and correspond about leader activities; these exercises and the influential factors on these activities were studied by the examinations and analyses of leader communication. In this article, I will demonstrate the research I made in on agricultural communication, as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Management Sciences.
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Importance of the generic segment of thye plant protection products – the case of the Polish market
25-33Views:122Authors present results of the analysis of developments in the plant protection products industry, with a focus on its generic part. Authors concentrate on long-term changes of prices, volumes and values of generic pesticides launched into the market. There were two strategic groups of producers identified: research and development (R&D) and generic. The analyses conducted prove that there is a relationship between the amount of generic products on the market and their prices. It is also clear that the number of competitors significantly influences the speed and range of price erosion. Used as examples generic plant protection products were placed on the market with an average price 15% lower comparing to branded pesticides.
JEL code: M31
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Somatic development and some motor performances of young girls based on age and birth season
117-123Views:119There are numerous publications in the literature reporting physical development and motor performances of children of different ages based on sex and various environmental factors. However, there are not many publications on the birth season effect. The aim of the study was to evaluate the differences among children in physical development and motor performances based on age and birth season. Physical development described by body height and body weight, in addition to motor performance indicators including the twenty-metre dash, standing broad jump, six minutes of continuous running, throwing with a stuffed ball, and obstacle race-tests were studied. The survey included the participation of 426 girls. From the group the seven-, eight-, and nine-year olds numbered 148, 191, and 87 respectively. The group of girls who were born in winter, spring, summer and autumn numbered 114, 110, 89 and119 respectively. The tested data were evaluated with unitrate analyses of variance using SPSS statistical package. Mean value, standard error, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were calculated. The significance of differences between mean values was evaluated using “t” test. Differences with an error below 5% were considered to be significant. Furthermore, a correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between season of birth, body development and motor-related performance data. Age, body height, body weight, throwing a stuffed ball in one hand, twenty-metre dash, six minutes of continuous running, and obstacle race-test are interdependent variables of development and motor performances of young girls of this age. Data from the study results show that the children group included in the tests was quite homogenous in body height, but heterogeneous in body weight and motor performances. Physical development and four of the five evaluated sport skills were affected by the birth season. Development and motor performances of the summer- and autumn-born girls are generally better than those born in winter or spring. Differences are significant except for the obstacle race-test. Age, body height, body weight, throwing with a stuffed ball in one hand, twentymetre dash, six minutes of continuous running, and the obstacle race-test seem to be interdependent variables of development and motor performances of young girls of this age.
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Organic food sourcing, processing and distribution: a case of satisfying a growing market
5-10Views:262A case study of an organic food company in the Slovak Republic involved in producing and sourcing inputs, food processing and distribution is presented. The case is based on a June 2014 “live” case study prepared for students in International MBA in Agribusiness programs at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev. The company was established in 2001 with the objective to bring organic food to health conscious consumers. The company grows organic spelt grain, wheat, rye, buckwheat, herbs and apples on its 156 ha and 400 ha of owned and rented farmland. The company further processes these crops into more than 40 finished products. Students are presented with company information and summaries of a company visit and discussions with management. Students perform PEST and SWOT analyses, identify a shortage of owned and leased land as a problem the company must address, conduct research and analysis, and recommend product specification contracts as a solution to the problem.
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The economic efficiency of apple production in terms of post‑harvest technology
99-106Views:117This study analyses how the level of postharvest technology’s development influences the economic efficiency of apple production with the help of a deterministic simulation model based on primary data gathering in producer undertakings. To accomplish our objectives and to support our hypotheses three processing plant types are included in the model: firstly apple production with no postharvest and prompt sale after the harvest, secondly parallel production and storage combined with an extended selling period and thirdly production and entire postharvest infrastructure (storage, sorting-ranking, packing) with the highest level of goods production and continuous sales. Based on our results it can be stated that the parallel production (plantation) and cold storage, so the second case is proved to be totally inefficient, considering that the establishment of a cold storage carries enormously high costs with resulting a relative low plus profit compared to the first type of processing plant. The reason for this is that this type is selling bulk goods without sorting-grading or packaging; storage itself – as a means of continuously servicing the market – is not covered properly by the consumers. Absolute efficiency ranking cannot be established regarding the other two processing plants: plantation without post-harvest infrastructure resulting lower NPV, but a more favourable IRR, DPP and PI as developing a plantation and a whole post-harvest infrastructure.
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Internationalization development of tertiary education system in the Republic of Croatia
95-97Views:111This paper forms a part of Executive MBA Training in Agribusiness and Commerce which has been supported, developed and carried out in frame of the Tempus project AHEAD, CD JEP 19009–2004. Understanding of business and management with all components related (from economic principles, marketing, accounting to organisational behaviour, strategic development and thinking etc.) and especially international focus on all this areas initiated the idea of this paper. Clear idea of strategic management from formulation, implementation and evaluation, as well as how important analyses are to develop any kind of good business or development plan (as one of the learning outcomes on MBA training) are present throughout the whole paper. Introduction to internationalization development of tertiary education system is given thru PEST analysis followed by analysis of whole tertiary education in Croatia, identifying major issues for internationalization of tertiary education, analysing them and suggesting solutions to develop it in right direction.
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Composite indicators and sustainable development of regional agriculture applied to the Stavropol Territory in Russia
81-88Views:204The aim of this paper is to understand and evaluate agricultural sustainability in the Stavropol Territory by means of a composite indicator. In particular, the paper applies principal component analyses to calculate a composite sustainability index by integration of selected economic, social and environmental indicators. The results demonstrate the utility of analyzing several indicators in conjunction. The results also may indicate which variables influence development of regional agriculture. This information is important in order to design agricultural support policy and to implement an increase the sustainability of the agriculture sector.
JEL Code: O13, Q11
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Success factors of international sporting events in different regions of Europe
25-29Views:286Sport events always played an important role in human life from the ancient Olympics and marathon races to today’s modern Olympics, World and continental championships. In our days these remarkable sport events come to the fore because participants of the sporting world effectuate even more, greater and more varied ones. Furthermore, the competition for organisation between cities and countries is becoming more and more intense (Zeman 2005). The organisation of international sporting events is an extremely complicated and multiple task. The organising committee has to manage the duties and activities, to co-ordinate the participants’ work, to satisfy the needs of international sport association(s), sponsors and other stakeholders. Within the frame of the research we reveal the success factors of international sporting events in different segments of Europe, and in addition to this compare the event organization practices of analysed regions along the identified success factors. In this study we represent the results of a quantitative research, where organizers of World and European Championships – organised between 2000 and 2008 in different European countries – were asked and statistical analyses have been applied. According to our results beside the essential technical and task oriented areas the human aspects of organisation, the partnerships, coordination and communication are all-important factors. Especially in countries of East-Central Europe, where organisers have to pay more attention on selection, control of partners as well as on continuous communication with them in order to assure accurate performance in time.
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Factors influencing Albanian consumer preferences for standardized olive oil
131-136Views:134Albania is considered one of the most important countries where olives are cultivated due to its geographical position and climate conditions. The country is facing many problems with the quality of olive oil which is related to cultivation methods and agronomic techniques. The economic value of the sector is calculated almost €20 million per year. For years the cultivation of olives and associated products have been considered an important sector within agriculture and are an integral part of the Albanian diet. The current study aims to analyze the factors influencing consumer preferences for a standardized olive oil. The data collection was conducted through a socio-economic survey. The survey was an important element which provided general and specific information linked to the study area. The interviewees were selected randomly. Descriptive and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the survey data. As a result, we conclude that Albanian consumers prefer domestic olive oil because they are familiar with the taste and believe in its qualities. Usually, Albanian consumers choose the quality of olive oil at the purchase moment, due to their close relationship with the seller.
JEL CODE: D12
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The role of education, knowledge and human resources for the agricultural development in the perspective of new cap: an hypothesis of change in Basilicata
123-129Views:128The role of education, knowledge and human resources in the agribusiness becomes of primary importance for the development of agricultural sector and, more generally, of the territory. The main objective of the present paper is to verify the role of investment in human resources and, consequently, in services for the agricultural development for the dynamics of rural development, trade and international cooperation of agribusiness.After a literature review, the paper firstly analyses the characteristics of the Italian Region of Basilicata, selected for our empirical application, and secondly develops an econometric model to explain the relationship between the rural GDP and a set of economic variables and of network-education-social (NES) dummy variable. These NES is representative of social, educational and, network factors, describing the degree of openness of the region firm. As expected, the results show that farmers may act as engines for economic development when they are trained on the basis of the needs and requirements related to innovation and research, and they are assisted through new models of organization of agricultural services.
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Sport as power of integration among minorities
57-62Views:181The opportunities and development of skills in the field of sports may open a door to social inclusion that also facilitates social integration. Based on the funding provided by the national sports strategy and integration, the research project can be developed further on and implemented. The efforts of the European Union (EU) and of the European Council towards the member states are carried out through its directives, and the analyses of these documents provide guidelines for the elaboration of the Hungarian Roma strategies. Funding is one of the key factors for the elaboration of Roma integration strategy and its efficiency. The research highlights upon the way of thinking and mentality of Roma young people about sports currently, and on the importance of sport affairs for them. Also, reflects on the factors which promote motivation to have successful career goals and achieve those based on the program. The sports integration survey suggests conclusions on the role of mentoring in Roma youngsters’ studies, in sports, in building social relations, the role model motivating for them, or on the supportive role of the parents or even the lack of it in their families. The expected result would be a survey on sporting habits of the Roma minority and disadvantaged youth and their positioning in education through which we could develop programs to promote the integration of the Roma minority and to improve their general circumstances. The National Social Inclusion Strategy (Ministry of Human Capacities, National Social Inclusion Strategy 2011–2020) provides the financial background of the integration project whose application also prevails in the field of sports integration. The aspirations of the EU provide guidance to the amount of funding and its allocation manners. The National Roma Self-Government’s (NRSG) sports integration project and best practice has provided the basis for the sports integration research project. The survey is examining the recreational habits, motivational factors, study levels among the Roma minority and the disadvantaged young people. Based on the questionnaire, we can draw some conclusions about the development of sports integration programs. The issues cover the field of sport activities of young people aged between 9-18 and on the significance of sport opportunities for break-out for the Roma youth, and on the effect of role models for them. The sports integration projects treat simultaneously the development of education and sport, furthermore they are significantly linked to each other. The target group of the questionnaire survey are mainly the Roma and disadvantaged people. The sample item number is 1216 completed questionnaires from the whole territory of the country, from 16 schools. As shown in the survey, the sport and the level of education are significantly related to each other. Those who do any sports, obtain higher level of achievement in their studies. It can be revealed by the fact that through mentoring the sportsmen can promote their school performance and sport development together. The research highlights on another observation, namely, it also confirms the legitimacy of sports integration program and points out the direction for development. For accomplishing the goal of social inclusion through sport we have at hand the appropriate concept. It is, furthermore necessary to strengthen and to develop the mentoring program, which ensures the lower drop-out rate among the participants. The effect of Sports integration is motivating for the Roma and for the disadvantaged youth. The use of sport as a tool for social inclusion proves to be of utmost importance.
JEL code: Z23
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Structural Breaks or Continuous Adjustments in Grain Production and Prices 1961-2014? An Explorative Study
11-22Views:116This article analyses grain production and prices 1961-2014. We first describe the development in aggregated and relative allocation of land worldwide for wheat, corn and soybeans, and the growth in production volumes and yields. We then proceed by analyzing long-term price relationships. Finding that grain prices are strongly co-integrated, we estimate an Error Correction Model to see whether deviations from the long-run equilibrium are quickly adjusted. Furthermore, we investigate whether changes in land allocations for these principal field crops are best described as a continuous process or as a series of structural breaks, hypothesizing that events like the introduction of GM technologies and the “energizing” of corn after 2005 caused structural breaks in acreage shares and relative prices. Given the major and sometimes dramatic political events and technological changes during this period,one would expect to find significant structural breaks in grain production, yields and prices. However, our main conclusion is that grain markets generally adjust smoothly and continuously. Prices adjust quickly towards long-run equilibrium, and the results from a series of Chow tests indicate that the changes in relative land allocations have progressed as a relatively smooth process with few structural breaks.
JEL Classification: O13, Q10, N50
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Arguments for the optimisation of using biomass for energy production
103-108Views:117Using biomass to produce energy is not a new idea. In the past, the by-products of energy(?) production processes or naturally grown materials were mainly used for energy production. At the same time, during the production of biomass the conventional sources of energy are used (fuels, the embodied energy of which is used in the production of the biomass and equipment, etc.) which must be taken into account when determining the net energy production. This research aims to examine how to optimise the production and use of biomass energy and its supply chain in the energetic and economic criteria system, as well as how to impact upon the managing models of the processes to the energetic and economic parameters of the supply chain; we ask what criteria characterise the natural (environmental), economic and social sustainability, and how they can be implemented e.g. within the framework of an innovation cluster. This article describes a test model, and analyses the results of the model examinations and the conditions for compliance with sustainability criteria. Arguing the environmental, economic and social sustainability among the criteria of the model for evaluation is not possible at all times by means of direct indicators. The results of the research proved that only multi-criteria optimisation models serve a proper decision-making instrument for the evaluation of biomass utilisation for energy production.
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The most relevant factors and trends in energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, focused on renewable energy sources (RES)
Views:481This paper analyses the good political and legal environments, mutually beneficial strategic policy, along with level of economic development and growth, superior geographical conditions and cultural integration degree of the important effecting factors of the energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. By using the main points listed above this article refers to related trade and investment theories, and it’s divided into two aspects: Kazakhstan's export of Chinese energy products with time series data 1998-2014 and China's investment in Kazakhstan's energy sector with time series data 1998-2016 to construct the vector autoregressive model (VAR).We selected relevant variables and data to construct an econometric model from the perspectives of trade and investment to make an empirical analysis on the influencing factors of energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. Our results show that China's demand for large-scale market and for opening to the outside world as well as Kazakhstan’s great energy potential are the most important factors their cooperation. It can be stated that in our days Kazakh legislation is suitable for promoting the Chinese energy investments, but in the long run it would be beneficial to mobilize national capital especially in RES investments and research. In the end, we found the most important reserves in competitiveness of electricity and heat (both from fossil and renewable energy sources) are power grid consolidation and waste heat utilization in the short run.
JEL CODE: F14; Q43
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