Quantitative storytelling in the making of a composite indicator

The reasons for and against composite indicators are briefly reviewed, as well as the available theories for their construction. After noting the strong normative dimension of these measures—which ultimately aim to ‘tell a story’, e.g. to promote the social discovery of a particular phenomenon, we inquire whether a less partisan use of a composite indicator can be proposed by allowing more latitude in the framing of its construction. We thus explore whether a composite indicator can be built to tell ‘more than one story’ and test this in practical contexts. These include measures used in convergence analysis in the field of cohesion policies and a recent case involving the World Bank’s Doing Business Index. Our experiments are built to imagine different constituencies and stakeholders who agree on the use of evidence and of statistical information while differing on the interpretation of what is relevant and vital

The Employment of Ukrainians as an Opportunity to Fill the Labour Market in Poland – Selected Issues

The labour market in Poland has undergone significant transformations over the past two decades. The observed changes have been influenced by various factors related to, among other things, the possibility of free movement of the population resulting from membership of EU structures, demographic changes, technological changes, and the automation and robotisation of production processes. Demographic change is becoming a significant challenge, highlighting the shortage of workers with different qualifications and competencies in the labour market in various sectors of the national economy. This paper aims to indicate to what extent Ukrainian citizens can fill the gaps in Poland’s emerging labour market. To that end, a survey was conducted in the Qualtrics programme in May-June 2022 among Ukrainian citizens who arrived in Poland before 24th February 2022, i.e., before the outbreak of the war and who were registered in the Gremi Personal database. This particular company provides support connected to employment for Ukrainians. Due to the non-probabilistic sampling technique, the results cannot be generalised with regard to the entire population. To analyse the results, descriptive statistics were used to examine the population structure and determine the signifi cance of the characteristics studied and the correlation between them. The research shows that labour shortages in Poland’s labour market can be compensated to some extent by employing migrants from, for example, Ukraine. The commencement of the proper research was preceded by the preparation of a pilot study and the collection and analysis of statistical data related to the situation on the Polish labour market, taking into account the level and structure of employment and an indication of shortages in the labour market when the research was prepared, and the fact that complete statistical data ended in 2020, hence the decision to include this research period in the analyses

The challenge of quantification: an interdisciplinary reading

The present work looks at what we call "the multiverse of quantification", where visible and invisible numbers permeate all aspects and venues of life. We review the contributions of different authors who focus on the roles of quantification in society, with the aim of capturing different and sometimes separate voices. Several scholars, including economists, jurists, philosophers, sociologists, communication and data scientists, express concerns or identify critical areas of our relationship with new technologies of 'numericization'. While mindful of the important specificities of the different families of quantification, we use our broad and holistic canvas to explore possible spaces for a more systematic investigation of incumbent and novel quantifications, as to increase communication among disciplinary communities, and among these and society, in the pursuit a democratic agency and self-defence

COVID-19 and digital deprivation in Poland

Research background: The problem of digital deprivation is already known, but the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted its negative consequences. A global change in the way of life, work and socialisation resulting from the epidemic has indicated that a basic level of digital integration is becoming necessary. During the lockdown, people were forced to use ICTs to adapt to a rapidly changing reality. Current experience with coronavirus pandemic shows that the transition to these extraordinary circumstances is not smooth. The inability to rapid conversion to the online world (due to a lack of skills or technical capabilities) significantly reduces professional mobility, hinders access to public services, and in the case of children, exposes them to the risk of remaining outside the remote education system. Purpose of the article: This research paper is addressing new issues of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on deepening and increasing the severity of e-exclusion. The goal of the paper is to indicate territorial areas in Poland which are particularly vulnerable to digital deprivation due to infrastructural deficiencies. Methods: Raster data regarding landform, combined with vector data regarding population density and type of buildings as well as the location of BTS stations are used in so-called modelling overland paths (GIS method) to indicate areas vulnerable to the infrastructural digital divide. Findings & Value added: The research showed that 4% of Poles remain out-side the Internet coverage, and additional ten percent of them are out of the reach of the Internet, allowing efficient remote work or learning. The research indicated that digital 'accessibility gap' is underestimated. E-exclusion has become a pressing issue and requires urgent system solutions, in case of future lockdowns

Digital transformation and economic growth – DESI improvement and implementation

The paper aims to improve the methodology of the Digital Economic and Society Index (DESI), the European Commission’s newest index to assess the development of the digital economy. In particular, we investigate whether methodological changes to the structure of DESI improve its ability to capture the digital transformation of EU economies. Using the sensitivitybased analysis, we check whether the selection of weights of individual elements included in the DESI is optimal or should be improved.We also verify the importance of DESI in explaining changes in GDP per capita in EU economies. In the literature, we find that digital transformation has enabled the creation of new business models and maximized efficiency in traditional firms. Using DESI, we empirically test whether the gap between rich and poor countries in European Union can be closed or eliminated through rapid and intensive digital transformation.Our results show that the DESI – when modified by eliminating the pillars on internet services and digital public services – has the same explanatory power. Connectivity is the dimension with the largest impact on digital transformation in EU countries. We also find that DESI is a significant regressor to explain changes in GDP per capita in EU countries

Transformation of Energy Markets: Description, Modeling of Functioning Mechanisms and Determining Development Trends

One of the key contemporary economic and social issues today is the global energy transition [...

Determinants of COVID-19 Impact on the Private Sector: A Multi-Country Analysis Based on Survey Data

Our paper aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on private sector companies in terms of sales, production, finance and employment. We check whether the country and industry in which companies operate, government financial support and loan access matter to the behaviour and performances of companies during the pandemic. We use a microdata set from a worldwide survey of more than 15,729 companies conducted between April and September 2020 by the World Bank. Logistic regression is used to assess which factors increase the likelihood of businesses suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show that COVID-19 negatively impacts the performance of companies in almost all countries analysed, but a stronger effect is observed among firms from developing countries. The pandemic is more harmful to firms providing services than those representing the manufacturing sector. Due to the pandemic, firms suffer mainly in sales and liquidity decrease rather than employment reduction. The increase in the number of temporary workers is an important factor that significantly reduces the probability of sales, exports or supply decline. The analysis results indicate policy tools supporting enterprises during the pandemic, such as increasing the flexibility of the labour market or directing aid to developing countries

SDGs implementation, their synergies, and trade-offs in EU countries – Sensitivity analysis-based approach

Sustainable development is one of the most urgent challenges facing humanity. Its basic principle is to improve people’s well-being and maintain it over time. In 2015, the United Nations approved 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to ensure a better and sustainable future for all, balancing economic, social and environmental development. SDGs create an ‘indivisible whole’; thus, examining their interactions is crucial. Our goals were twofold: (i) to assess the implementation degree of SDGs in EU countries and (ii) to examine the interactions between goals. The potential to achieve a given SDG is approximated by a composite indicator, calculated based on an innovative method of implementing tools derived from sensitivity analysis (SA). Respecting the degree of variability of individual variables and their correlation, we set the weights to equalise their importance. Moreover, the application of SA allows us to remove strongly correlated variables that are not transferring supplementary information. We use countries’ linear ordering and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to assess interactions between SDGs.Our research shows that Scandinavian countries predominately occupy the leading positions, respectively, eight times on the podium for Sweden and four by Denmark (of which three as a leader). The Netherlands also stands out, occupying the superior position in the performance of SDGs 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 17. The top in achieving one of the most priority area – no poverty (SDG1) belongs to Czechia. Our study confirmed the results obtained by many researchers regarding the more potent synergy between SDGs compared to the trade-offs. The only trade-offs observed in our study relate to SDG15, which negatively correlated with SDG3 and 17. Furthermore, SDG7 was the only one not associated with others