The threat of the negative consequences of global warming makes the discussion about the relationship between economic growth, productivity, and increasing renewable energy involvement an important topic. Hence, the aim of this study is to analyze the impact of renewable energy and energy supply on economic growth and productivity at the national level using stochastic frontier analysis and the aggregate production function framework. In doing so, we analyzed a panel of annual data from 133 countries from 2008 to 2014. We apply a generalized stochastic frontier model, which allows us to differentiate between persistent and transient inefficiency, as well as individual effects. Our results indicate a threshold level in terms of a country’s development that needs to be obtained to benefit from increasing renewable energy involvement over time. However, if this threshold level is obtained, productivity gains are evident. We also found that the role of the energy supply in aggregate production is nontrivial. That is, its inclusion changes the relationship between key input factors (capital and labor) by decreasing their overall elasticities and increasing the observed economies of scale.

GAMIFICATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION: EXPERIENCE OF POLAND AND UKRAINE

The aim of this paper is to define the factors influencing the level of energy poverty among students. The analysis of these factors is based on the results of a survey conducted among a group of 937 students at the Cracow University of Economics. The study takes into consideration the changes in the attitudes and behavior of students resulting from the introduction of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The switch to distance learning resulted in a significant increase in the number of responses related to feeling ill or sick due to inadequate temperature (from 24% before a lockdown to 32% after the introduction of a lockdown). Students experienced temporary surges in their overall living costs due to the pandemic, especially during the first wave. The respondents who experienced inappropriate temperatures (inadequate heating) due to excessive costs felt ill or became sick more often than others. The study demonstrated that those who pay more for energy (defined as a surplus payment in excess of 10%) tended to be, on average, less energy-aware than others. The following indicators of energy poverty among the students were distinguished: high living costs, small degree of influence over the choice of living quarters, as well as concerns over energy efficiency and environment. The conclusions drawn from the conducted studies may be utilized to design public policies aimed at curtailing the phenomenon of energy poverty among students. This issue is particularly prominent in large urban agglomerations where the costs of living are high and result in the feeling of pressure regarding the need to save money on thermal energy consumption.

This chapter discusses Cracow’s emergence as one of the most attractive destinations worldwide for the global business and IT services sector, tracing the sources of the city’s evolution from a low-cost offshoring and outsourcing hub to a byword for high class in-house service delivery and product development. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the relationships between the rapid development of the Fintech industry and the changes that have occurred in recent years in outsourcing and offshoring centres, including in the context of Brexit. The authors explore the consequences of technological progress for the embeddedness of offshoring locations, including the development of digital platforms that create the so-called two-sided markets. Next, drawing on data obtained from the available macro- and meso-economic databases as well as from qualitative and quantitative research conducted in the business services sector firms in Cracow, they discuss the impact of these processes on global corporations.

W niniejszym artykule zbadano współzależność między cenami LPG i ropy naftowej, wykorzystując model szeregów czasowych Seasonal Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average ze zmiennymi egzogenicznymi (model SARIMAX). Rozważono trzy scenariusze uwzględniające indeksy cen dla indeksu zachodniego, indeksu wschodniego i indeksu całkowitego, który jest obliczany jako średnia ważona dwóch poprzednich indeksów. Badanie koncentruje się na Polsce, która w okresie analizy była silnie uzależniona od dostaw surowców energetycznych z Rosji. Wyniki analizy ekonometrycznej pokazują, że: 1) istnieje silna i statystycznie istotna zależność między zmianami cen ropy a zmianami cen gazu dla importu do Polski ze wszystkich kierunków; 2) zależność ta jest najsilniejsza w przypadku indeksu zachodniego; 3) tygodniowe zmiany cen LPG skorygowane o związek między cenami ropy naftowej a cenami LPG nie wykazują szczególnie długiej pamięci ani sezonowości; 4) indeks wschodni charakteryzuje się dość dużą elastycznością względem przeszłej (krótkookresowej) dynamiki aktualnych cen LPG. Tak więc konflikt na Ukrainie i wynikający z niego spadek importu LPG z Rosji prawdopodobnie nie spowodują długoterminowej niestabilności rynku w Polsce.