Prague Economic Papers, 2023 (vol. 32), issue 6

Effects of Demographic Change on Economic Growth: A Panel ARDL Approach for Selected OECD Countries

Hakki Çiftçi, Cevat Bilgin, Handan Kaynar Bilgin

Prague Economic Papers 2023, 32(6):589-607 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.846  

The changing population dynamics have substantial impact on economy. This paper investigates the effects of demographic change on economic growth. The share of working age population, child dependency ratio, old-age dependency ratio and age dependency ratio are used as demographic variables. The effects of these variables on the gross domestic product per capita growth rate are examined for the OECD countries covering the period 1970-2021. Four different models are estimated by using panel ARDL estimation method. The findings derived from the estimated models point out that the old-age dependency ratio and age dependency ratio have negative effects...

CAT Bonds: A Suitable Systemic Approach for Handling Catastrophic Risks in the Czech Republic?

Petra Tisová, Eva Ducháčková, Bohumil Stádník

Prague Economic Papers 2023, 32(6):608-627 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.844  

Catastrophic natural events in the Czech Republic have always caused a considerable burden on public finance. However, this risk can be transferred to capital market investors through CAT bonds, which have never been used for this purpose in the Czech Republic. The paper deals with the theoretical background of CAT bonds, resulting in a back test simulation of a hypothetical CAT bond issued for the period 1999-2003. As a result, by transferring the risk to the capital market, investors could save a significant part of the Czech Republic's public funds.

Does Urban Greening Construction Promote Technological Innovation of Enterprises? Evidence from China

Yongxiang Jiao, Fen Xu, Hongen Yang

Prague Economic Papers 2023, 32(6):628-658 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.848  

Based on data for cities and enterprises in China from 2009 to 2020, we examine the effect of urban greening construction on corporate technological innovation. Urban greening con-struction has a pronounced promoting effect on the technological innovation of enterprises, which is more significant among enterprises in the Eastern Region, enterprises in heavily polluting industries and state-owned enterprises. However, urban greening construction only has a significant promoting effect on enterprise invention and green patent applications and has no significant promoting effect on utility models and design patent applications. In addition, urban greening...

Analysis of Comovement Between China's Commodity Futures and World Crude Oil Prices

Tianding Zhang, Song Zeng, Jie Li

Prague Economic Papers 2023, 32(6):659-698 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.847  

We Examine the Comovement between China's Commodity Futures and World Crude Oil Prices Based on Their Daily Return Series. Using a Dynamic Time-Varying Approach, We Combine the Generalized Autoregressive Score (Gas) Model with the Copula Approach, Allowing for Asymmetry and Tail Dependence. Our Results Demonstrate a Significant Nonlinear Causal Impact of World Crude Oil Prices on Each of China's Commodities. The Comovement between China's Commodity Futures and Crude Oil Prices Is Positive, with Varying Degrees of Significance across Different Commodity Types. Notably, Non-Ferrous Metal and Chemical Commodity Futures Are More Vulnerable to Rising Crude...

Determinants of Sustainable Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: A System GMM Approach

Meshesha Demie Jima, Patricia Lindelwa Makoni

Prague Economic Papers 2023, 32(6):699-723 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.845  

There is no consensus on the key drivers of financial inclusion due to variation in the socioeconomic features of countries, use of indicators and research methods. The main objective of this study is, therefore, to empirically examine the key drivers of financial inclusion across 26 selected Sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies for the period between 2000 and 2019, using a system generalized method of moments (GMM). A principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to construct a composite index of financial inclusion to address the multi-dimensional nature of the variable. The findings of the study indicate that both the macroeconomic and microeconomic...