Does Banking Accessibility Matter in Assuring the Economic Growth in the Digitization Context? Evidence from Central and Eastern European Countries

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nexus between financial (banking) accessibility and economic growth in the context of the digitization process. Thus, we built a panel model to evaluate the correlations between the banking accessibility and economic growth during 2010–2021 period for the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Furthermore, we applied the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method with eight independent variables measuring the degree of banking accessibility and the dependent variable for economic growth. The results show that improving financial accessibility positively influences economic growth and greater access to banking services does not necessarily stimulate economic growth. In the digitization context, the results are relevant for the policymakers outlining that investing more in digitization is important, but this does not necessarily help people to have more access to banking services because there is also a lack of will and financial education that restrain them from embracing the digital changes

Is the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment and Energy Sufficiently Debated Nowadays?

The aim of this review was to analyze to what extent the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), environment and energy has been addressed in the specialized literature and which are the deficient segments in this regard. VOSviewer was used for data extraction, mapping and grouping the articles from journals that have been indexed in Web of Science (WOS). A total of 102 papers were found approaching the topic of corporate social responsibility, environment and energy policy, 5192 research papers for CSR and the environment and 320 on CSR and energy policy. Following the bibliometric analysis, we can conclude that we are facing a shortage of works that analyze the relationship between the three fields together. The number of published articles was reduced to establish the direction of influence between the three variables, as well as the impact between them. However, the advantage that emerges from this lack of works is that there are many opportunities to find news on this subject and to discover solutions to improve the quality of life. This study can be used as an impetus for researchers to examine the trends of this research topic

How Much Financial Development Accentuates Income Inequality in Central and Eastern European Countries?

Financial development is often associated with significant economic growth, but studies have shown that a high level of financial development can be the cause of deepening income inequality in many countries. The main objective of the proposed study is to identify to what extent financial development influences income inequality in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Thus, for the model specification we used as dependent variable the Gini coefficient and as independent variable the financial development index. The sample period for the analysis was from 2004 to 2019, restricted by the lack of data on the Gini coefficient in CEECs. Data on the financial development index were collected from International Monetary Fund, and data on the Gini coefficient were extracted from the World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform. The study unravels several contributions. First of all, the use of quantile regression allowed for the examination of the effects of financial development across the entire distribution of income inequality. Second of all, the use of a comprehensive financial development index offered a more robust and comprehensive measure of financial development compared to single indicators. Taking into account that the Gini coefficient must be close to zero, this result was a positive one with, in essence, financial development reducing income inequality in CEECs. Thirdly, the specific focus on CEECs fills a gap in the literature. Finally, the findings of this study have important policy implications. The obtained results indicate a negative causal relationship between financial development and income inequality, emphasizing the fact that the relationship between these two components cannot be generalized for all regions. These might include measures to promote financial inclusion, improve financial literacy, and enhance the stability and efficiency of financial systems. Supporting financial development in CEECs and similar transition economies can be an effective strategy for tackling income inequality