YAW ACHEAMPONG

The advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution has made it inevitable for firms worldwide to modify their business models to integrate ICTs into their operations. The lockdown measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have accelerated this process as many businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, had to shut down their operations. Others also had to resort to conducting their businesses solely online. Thus, it has been argued that e-commerce has thrived during the lockdown period. Concentrating on the current 27 European Union (EU) member countries, this paper seeks to answer the following question: To what extent the COVID-19 impacted e-commerce has? Trend analyses and a paired samples t-test are used to compare the mean percentage of enterprises with e-commerce sales before the pandemic and the first year. The study finds a significant increase in the percentage of enterprises that made e-commerce sales during the first year of the pandemic compared to the previ...

Közepes jövedelmi csapda az, amikor a fejlődő országok nem tudnak a magas jövedelmű országok csoportjába kerülni. E csapda okai és megoldásai nem egységesek a kutatók között, az azonban általánosan elfogadott, hogy a fenntartható gazdasági növekedésnek kiemelt jelentősége van a csapdából való kikerülésben. A gazdasági növekedés egyik motorja a nemzetközi kereskedelemben való részvétel, és a 2006- ban elindított Aid for Trade (AfT, segély a kereskedelemért) nemzetközi kezdeményezés igyekszik támogatni a fejlődő országokat, hogy ők is tudjanak ebből profitálni. E folyamatok összekötésével jelen tanulmány arra keresi a választ, hogy az Aid for Trade hogyan járul hozzá ahhoz, hogy a közepes jövedelmi csapdában ragadt országok kikerüljenek onnan. Az elemzés során 76 közepes jövedelmű ország 2008 és 2018 közötti exportteljesítményét vizsgáltuk panelkvantilis regressziós modell segítségével. Eredményeink szerint az AfT eltérő hatást gyakorol az alsó és a felső közepes jövedelmű országokban...

In recent times, the middle-income trap (MIT) has become a pertinent issue as economists, researchers and development practitioners continue seek answers to why the majority of middle-income countries find it difficult to advance to high-income status. There is still no consensus in literature as to the exact cause(s) and the solution to the MIT. The World Economic Forum posits that, the score of countries on the Global Competitive Index (GCI) 4.0 accounts for over 80% of the variation in income levels of countries. This suggests that the extent of global competitiveness of countries could potentially help them to escape the MIT. However, some competitiveness literature have identified an apparent competitiveness divide among countries. This paper therefore seeks to answer the following questions: how does middle-income countries differ from the high-income countries in terms of global competitiveness. The study utilises an independent samples t-test and effect size measures to exam...

Recently, the middle-income trap (MIT) has gained considerable attention – besides European countries, several African, Asian, and Latin-American developing countries are also affected. Many countries have remained in the middle-income bracket for decades, whilst only a few have advanced to high-income status. Felipe et al. in 2012 showed that an annual growth rate of at least 3.5 and 4.7% sustained for a period of 14 and 28 years is required respectively for upper-middle-income and lower-middle-income countries to escape the MIT. Economic growth is influenced by several factors including foreign aid received. Thus, in this study, we aim to answer the question of how aid affects economic growth in middle-income countries and whether aid may contribute to escaping the MIT. Focusing on the countries that have remained in the middle-income group between 1990 and 2017, our analysis confirms that aid contributes to economic growth; however, the impact is positive in the upper-middle-inco...

Abstract. Due to the private sector’s inability to absorb the growing number of unemployed youths particularly in developing countries, as expected from neoclassical policies, critics of the neoclassical theory – the ‘critical view’ –  have advocated for direct job creation programmes such as the Government as Employer of Last Resort (ELR) as a solution to all forms of unemployment. This paper provides evidence on the ability of Government to tackle youth unemployment based on a study of Ghana’s National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) using features of the ELR proposal as an analytical tool. Design/methodology/approach. A mixed-methods, case study approach. Findings. Ghana’s NYEP has contributed to building some human capital; however, it does not meet all the criteria of an effective ELR scheme. Research limitations/implications. Although, the study focuses solely on Ghana’s NYEP, lessons from the programme’s implementation challenges should serve as a guide for governments and ...