Energy poverty, or the inability of households to afford adequate access to energy services, is an issue that can have a significant effect on the quality of life and even the state of health of individuals and even the overall development of a nation. Since it was first brought into focus more than two decades ago in the UK, this topic has gradually gained the attention of academics and policy makers all across the EU and beyond. The current paper addresses the topic by providing not only a renewed discussion, but also an improved energy poverty indicator (with clear and relevant results at the EU level): the Compound Energy Poverty Indicator (CEPI). Moreover, knowing that the risk of poverty and social exclusion, efficiency of heating systems, total consumption of energy per household and rising energy prices tend to increase the severity of this problem in some countries, CEPI is then included into an econometric model so as to determine some possible factors that tend to put pressure on an already existing issue of energy poverty. The results of this research are expected to be relevant not only for academics (as it offers insights into the structure and severity of this topic within the European Union), but also for national and EU policymakers who are confronted in the field with the problem of sustainable development.

Besides their common link with unemployment, unemployment benefits are also relevant to the decision to become an entrepreneur. We thoroughly explored this relationship for a panel of 23 EU countries over the period 2001–2019. Our results demonstrate that generous unemployment compensations hinder entrepreneurial initiative, and those opportunity entrepreneurs, who are more likely to create new jobs and innovation, are affected more. Contrary to common belief, we find an unequal pattern of effects, with higher benefits being more detrimental at the beginning of the unemployment spell. A favourable policy framework results in being relevant for entrepreneurial endeavours on its own; in addition, high-quality policies and programmes for entrepreneurs are found to temper the negative effects of large unemployment benefits on new business creation during long unemployment spells. Our results support the call for properly designed unemployment benefit systems (as both level and time pattern) that ensure an optimum balance between adequate income replacement and poverty prevention, on the one hand, and limited side effects on new venture creation, on the other hand.

Our study aims to quantitatively assess some of the determinants of shadow banking dynamics in 11 European Union (E.U.) countries from Central and Eastern Europe (C.E.E.) over the period 2004–2017. Using panel data estimation techniques and a quarterly data set compiled from several publicly available data sources, we alternatively evaluate the impact of six macroeconomic and financial variables on two dependent variables corresponding to two different measures of the shadow banking sector, namely the broad one (including all non-monetary financial institutions, except insurance corporations and pension funds) and the narrow one (excluding from the above one the investment funds, other than money market funds [M.M.F.]). Our findings confirm that shadow banking is sensitive to overall macroeconomic conditions and that economic growth positively influences the expansion of this segment of the financial sector. In addition, a higher demand for funds from institutional investors, which also reveals a more developed financial system, supports the expansion of the shadow banking sector. Moreover, in a low interest rate environment, the search for yield makes investors turn to shadow banks, while the development of the shadow banking sector is also found to be complementary to the development of the rest of the financial system, in particular, traditional banks.

The paper investigates the drivers and barriers that encourage or hinder the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies within Romanian SMEs. By using the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, we examined the role of several factors from each TOE dimension in predicting the AI adoption behaviour. The factors were constructed through factor analysis followed by the estimation of a linear regression model. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was then used in order to further explore the relationships and to check the robustness of the linear regression model. Our findings highlight the significant role played by leadership, organizational readiness, as well as the “push-and-pull” effect of competitors and customers in encouraging SMEs to adopt AI technologies. However, in the case of Romania, specific challenges related to a lack of digital skills among employees, a limited understanding of the relative advantage that digitalisation can offer, as well as a lack of marketing efforts from the side of vendors make it difficult for SMEs to consider the implementation of AI technologies. This exploratory study seeks to understand the underlying trends of the phenomenon and serves as a stepping stone for vendors, managers, as well as researchers to better understand the market for AI tools and solutions among Romanian SMEs.

Conceptual and methodological divergence in defining the issue of energy poverty (i.e. the inability of households to afford adequate access to energy services) has made it difficult to assess the problem at a European level using a standardized approach. Moreover, existing research raises concerns with regard to socio-economic and environmental differences between European states that may have a significant impact on this phenomenon. The current paper builds upon a set of newly proposed econometric methods for the trans-national measurement of energy poverty and for the study of its determining factors – the Compound Energy Poverty Indicator. The research shows that Southern and Eastern European countries present peculiar socio-economic traits that distort the impact of predicting variables, such as the tenure status of households. The results imply that a cautious approach is needed when attempting to measure and predict energy poverty at a trans-national level based on macroeconomic indicators. Regionally specific policy measures and indicators may be needed in order to assess the problem in a truly functional, accurate and more efficient. Keywords: energy poverty; Compound Energy Poverty Indicator; sustainability; tenure status

This paper examines the interplay between formal and informal institutions in driving new business creation across 44 emerging and frontier economies. Specifically, using data from 2006 to 2021, it explores how tax rates, fiscal administrative burdens, and corruption interact to influence the registration of new companies. We reveal that higher corporate taxes stifle entrepreneurship by reducing after-tax profits and incentivizing informality, whereas higher labor taxes, counterintuitively, boost new business entry by altering individuals’ occupational choices. Complex tax administration procedures create a ‘bottleneck’ effect, discouraging business registration and underscoring the need for streamlined processes. Interestingly, corruption plays a double-edged role: while it generally ‘sands the wheels’ of new business creation, it can also ease the burden of tax administration, aligning with the ‘grease the wheels’ theory. To promote formal business creation as a key driver of economic growth, governments in emerging economies should adopt a balanced approach by simplifying fiscal procedures while strengthening their efforts to tackle corruption.