The objective of this article is to analyze the two most important monetary laws that have been implemented in El Salvador, namely the Monetary Integration Law (MIL) and the Bitcoin Law. The most important articles of both laws will be analyzed, as well as the consequences of dollarization, and the possible advantages and risks associated with the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. Although this measure may have some positive aspects by encouraging financial innovation and facilitating remittances, the macroeconomic risk is very high due to the volatility of this cryptocurrency. So far no positive results have been achieved as the acceptance has been very low and there has been a depreciation of the asset in recent months.

The aim of this paper was to investigate the relationship between countries’ PISA study results from 2018 and a set of indices related to socio-economic inequality, such as the Gini index, human development index, or gender inequality index, along with purely economic variables, such as GDP per capita and government expenditure on education. The study covered 70 countries, consisting of 37 OECD countries and 33 non-OECD countries. Research methods included multivariate linear regression models, k-means clustering, and hierarchical clustering. Our findings revealed that the Gini index was statistically insignificant, indicating income inequality had little effect on students’ PISA performance. On the other hand, the gender inequality index was the single most statistically significant explanatory variable for both OECD and non-OECD countries. Therefore, our recommendation for policymakers is simple: increase students’ PISA performance, thus enhancing countries’ human capital and competitiveness, and focus on decreasing gender disparity and the associated loss of achievement due to gender inequality.

Psychological well-being and teacher self-efficacy are essential dimensions for ensuring effective educational performance and high-quality teaching. Fostering these competencies in educators is key to addressing the challenges associated with the current educational system. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program designed to enhance these two dimensions in teachers, taking gender and years of experience as covariates. The sample included 143 primary school teachers from Alicante (Spain), with an average age of 42.4 years and a mean of 14.14 years of professional experience. Of the participants, 58.3% were women and 41.7% were men. Psychological well-being was measured using Ryff’s scale, while teacher self-efficacy was assessed with Skaalvik and Skaalvik’s scale. Using an experimental design with control and experimental groups, along with pre-test and post-test evaluations, the program’s effects were analyzed through a general linear model for repeated measures. Results showed significant improvements in psychological well-being and self-efficacy in the experimental group. Although teaching experience proved to be a significant covariate, the program was effective in controlling for this effect. These findings highlight the feasibility of designing effective training interventions to strengthen teachers’ competencies.

In Ecuador’s financial system, private banks and savings and credit cooperatives coexist, both playing a key role in financial intermediation and the economic inclusion of traditionally underserved sectors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these institutions faced unprecedented challenges that tested their adaptability and operational efficiency. In this context, the present study evaluates the technical efficiency of banks and cooperatives in Ecuador over the 2015–2023 period, using a combined approach involving Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and mixed linear models (MLMs). A longitudinal and comparative methodology is adopted, allowing for the analysis of efficiency trends over time and the identification of their main structural determinants. The results show that cooperatives exhibit a higher average technical efficiency than banks, as well as greater resilience during the health crisis. The analysis reveals that operating expenses negatively impact efficiency, while equity and social capital show no significant effects. By combining DEA and MLMs, the study offers a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the factors influencing efficiency, underscoring the importance of tailored policies and institutional strategies focused on resource optimization and continuous improvement. The study concludes that efficiency does not rely solely on size or asset volume, but rather on managerial capacity and organizational adaptability in complex and changing environments.

The aim of this article is to examine the possibility that a market demand function (curve) might not be monotonically decreasing in its entire domain according to the consumer theory neoclassical as assumed by the law of demand (for normal goods). This may happen due to limited rationality of (some) consumers and the anchor price effect. When a price of a good decreases to some point, the amount demanded might stops increasing due to the loss of confidence effect: consumers' unwillingness to buy a too cheap product. The existence of this effect was examined via questionnaire on a sample of 377 undergraduate university students from the Czech Republic, Ecuador and Spain. The main result of this experimental study is that the loss of confidence effect appeared at all three locations, which indicates that the law of demand may not be valid in its entire domain. Furthermore, the results of this study imply that a significant percentage of people make decisions of limited rationality even when facing a very simple task. In addition, statistically significant difference in rational behavior with respect to gender was found.