Politická ekonomie, 2026 (vol. 74), issue 5
Articles
Exploring the Impact of Export Diversification on Energy Mix Diversification: Role of Institutional Quality, Foreign Direct Investments and Research & Development
Muhammad Shahbaz, Cem Işik, Serdar Ongan, Bekhzod Kuziboev
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1509 
This research investigates the effects of export diversification (henceforth, EXD) on energy mix diversification for 26 European Union (EU) countries. To achieve this aim, we employ the quantile regression model and GMM estimator for 1995-2020. The primary objective of this study is to examine the complexity of these two crucial factors. At lower levels of diversification, EXD has a negative impact on energy mix diversification; however, this effect becomes positive at higher levels of diversification. This situation underscores the significance of considering this factor when formulating energy policies. Specifically, exploring strategies to increase...
Fintech Borrowing and Business Changes During the Pandemic
Kunhyui Kim, Peter J. Morgan, Martina Marsili
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1506
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in ASEAN play a significant role in ASEAN GDP, but their access to financial services or fintech has been relatively low. In this context, the emergence of companies offering fintech services or technology-enabled financial services, has been welcomed to access financial services that would otherwise be difficult to obtain from formal financial institutions during the pandemic. Our research focusses on five Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, to answer the following questions. First, what is the impact of the usage...
Natural Resource Dependency, Political Stability and Environmental Sustainability in the G7: Role of Operational Behaviour of Multinational Firms Using Quantile Regression
Mohammad Ridwan, Anowar Hossain, Tasfia Mahjabin, Md. Emran Hossain, Afsana Akther, Mohd Ziaur Rehman, Md. Eleais
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1511
This study examines the impact of natural resource dependence, political stability and the operational behaviour of multinational corporations (MNCs) on CO2 emissions in the G7 region from 1996 to 2021. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data, a quantile regression approach is employed to assess how these factors influence CO2 emissions across different emission levels. The results indicate that economic growth, natural resource reliance and political stability contribute to higher CO2 emissions, whereas MNCs’ operational behaviour and renewable energy use significantly reduce emissions. Robustness checks using Driscoll-Kraay standard...
How Do Digital Government and Digital Finance Promote Green Investment?
Ilhan Ozturk, Sana Ullah
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1518
In order to tackle climate change and global warming, policymakers all around the globe have stressed fostering investment in green initiatives and projects. Particularly in top polluted economies, the importance of green investment has recently increased manifold. Thus, researchers have focused on finding the determinants of green investment. This analysis aims to scrutinize the nexus between digital government, digital financial inclusion and green investment in top polluted economies by employing two-stage least squares (2SLS), generalized method of moments (GMM) and smoothed instrumental quantile regression (SIVQR) methods. In addition to analysing...
Foreign Direct Investment, Fiscal Decentralization and ICT: Pathways to Environmental Sustainability in Canada Under Geopolitical Uncertainty
Babatunde Sunday Eweade
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1522
Balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability remains a pressing challenge for Canada, particularly in the face of rapid technological advancement, global integration and increasing geopolitical uncertainty. This study analyses the effects of economic growth, foreign direct investment, ICT development, trade openness, fiscal decentralization and geopolitical risk on Canada's CO2 emissions from 1980 to 2022. Using the ARDL bounds test and Toda-Yamamoto causality method, the results confirm that economic growth and other macroeconomic and institutional factors significantly shape emission trends. FDI, trade openness, ICT development,...
Environmental Sustainability in Southeast Asia: Evidence from Linear and Nonlinear Unit Root Tests and Policy Implications
Sefa Özbek, Bahar Özbek
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1510
This study focuses on Southeast Asian countries that have attracted attention with their recent economic growth performance. The validity of environmental sustainability is investigated through data for the period 1973-2022. For this purpose, ecological footprint data from Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are used. Unit root tests with various power properties are used in the study. Firstly, we use ADF and PP unit root tests based on the Dickey-Fuller unit root test procedure. In addition, among the nonlinear unit root tests, those of Leybourne et al. (1998) and Harvey and Mills (2002) are used....
Fed versus ECB: Which Matters Most for Visegrad Economies? Evidence from a Bayesian VAR Model
Monika Junicke, Vincenzo Merella
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1524
This paper employs a VAR model with economically meaningful structural restrictions to examine how monetary policy shocks originating from the Fed and the ECB influence macroeconomic variables in Central European economies, specifically the Visegrad Group (V4). We investigate whether US monetary policy shocks affect the V4 independently or primarily through Germany. Our results indicate that US monetary policy shocks significantly affect V4 macroeconomic variables, at times equalling or surpassing the influence exerted by their European counterparts, even after accounting for indirect effects transmitted through Germany. Additionally, our findings...
Digital Transformation and Economic Inequality: Trends, Clusters and Policy Impacts Across Economies
Licong Xing, Ke Xu, Chengdi Luo, Yaoyi Zhang, Michal Basta
Politická ekonomie 2025, 74(5) | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1542
Digital transformation is reshaping economic structures worldwide, yet its implications for income inequality remain debated. This study examines the relationship between digital readiness (DR) and income inequality across twelve advanced and emerging economies from 2005-2024. Using panel regression, clustering, and machine learning approaches, the study explores trends, structural country groupings, and the determinants of inequality. The results reveal heterogeneous dynamics: emerging economies often experience inequality reductions as digital readiness improves, whereas the effects in advanced economies are weaker or insignificant. Fixed-effects...