It is possible to provide green, ecological, and innovative products and services through green and sustainable public procurement. This study analyzes the opportunity offered to public contracting authorities in the Republic of Croatia (RH) in transformation from existing economy to a sustainable one through the inclusion of small and medium sized (SME) companies and inclusion of selection criteria that promote all three sustainable goals. The study employed a qualitative method and empirical analysis of public procurement procedures for eggs in the period from 2013 to 2021 in RH. The product was procured in many social institutions, hospitals, schools, student canteens and by procuring a sustainable product, added value could be created for the entire community. Data from the Electronic Public Procurement Classifieds of the Republic of Croatia (EOJN RH) and Data from the State and European Union (EU) Statistical Office were used. The research showed that sustainable procurement criteria were used for the first time in 2021, and that public contracting authorities put a stronger focus on the environmental pillar of sustainability and less or almost none on the economic and social pillar. The volume of demand and production was also calculated. The study found that the first contractor for sustainable product was SME company, producer of food, who adapted to the green conditions of public procurement in a short period of time. The paper empirically demonstrated that public procurement can be a powerful tool, but it was not used enough in the observed period for the observed products in RH.

This study determines the efficiency and productivity of Mexico’s urban and rural municipalities in generating economic welfare between 1990 and 2020. It establishes the incidence of context and space on efficiency, using Data Envelopment Analysis, the Malmquist-Luenberger Metafrontier Productivity Index, and Nonparametric Regression. The results indicate that 4 of the 2456 municipalities analyzed were efficient, that productivity increased, and that context and space influenced efficiency. This highlights the need for policies that optimize resource utilization, enhance investment in education, stimulate local business development, encourage inter-municipal cooperation, reduce rural-urban disparities, and promote sustainability.

In recent years, enological tourism, also known as wine tourism, has emerged as a globally popular tourism product. The role of wine tourism in Slovakia is similarly significant, given the country’s favourable conditions for the development of wine tourism products. The objective of this study is to analyze the current demand for wine-themed experiences among tourists in the Nitra region. This paper presents a characterization of wine tourism based on an analysis of secondary sources. Following the processing of the initial findings from a demand-oriented questionnaire survey, the authors endeavor to delineate the profile of the wine tourism visitor by examining the demand for wine tourism from the vantage point of domestic consumers. It is the authors’ contention that an understanding of the profile of the wine tourism visitor is beneficial in optimising the provision of wine tourism products and stimulating the development of tourism infrastructure.

Earnings disparities in South Africa, and specifically the Eastern Cape region are influenced by a complex interplay of historical, socio-economic, and demographic factors. Despite significant progress since the end of apartheid, persistent disparities in earnings continue to raise questions about the effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing inequality and promoting equitable social system. Individual-level dataset from the 2021 South African general household survey were subjected to exploratory analysis, while Heckman selection model was used to investigate the determinants of earnings disparities in the study area. The results showed that majority of the population are not working for a wage, commission or salary, which also pointed to the gravity of unemployment situation in the area of study. Most of the working population (both male and female) are lowest earners (R ≤ 10,000), and this also cuts across all age-group categories. Majority of working population have no formal education, are drop out, or have less than grade-12 certificate, and very few working populations with higher education status were found in the moderate and relatively high earnings categories. While many of the working population are engaged in the informal sector, those in the formal sector are in the lowest earners group. Compared to any other race, the Black African group constituted the majority of non-wage earners, and most in this group were found in the lowest earners group. Some of the working population who were beneficiaries of social grants and medical aids scheme were found in the lowest, low, and moderate earnings categories. The findings significantly isolated the earnings-effect of age, marital status, gender, race, education, geographic indicators, employment sector, and index of health conditions and disabilities. The study recommends interventions addressing racial, gender, and geographic wage gaps, while also emphasizing the importance of equitable access to education, health infrastructure, and skills development.

This paper presents a quantitative exploration of the functionality of cost accounting systems and their determinants in social welfare organizations. We conducted a questionnaire survey of managers of social welfare organizations running special nursing homes for the elderly and conducted a cluster analysis based on the data collected. The questionnaire was created based on the scales used in previous studies, with some new scales developed. For data analysis, the statistical analysis environment R was used. The clValid package of R was used to assess the validity of the cluster analysis. Based on the results of the analysis in this paper, it is expected that social welfare organizations that pursue cost leadership strategies and have a strong public interest orientation will benefit greatly by being able to utilize a highly functional cost accounting system. Such organizations will be able to improve their business efficiency by utilizing cost information, and their social contribution activities based on the resulting resources will truly be a contribution to public welfare. The findings from this study are of practical significance because they can be used by business managers of social welfare organizations to review the functionality of their cost accounting systems. We also focus on the degree to which nonprofit organizations focus on social contribution activities (in this paper, we call this public interest orientation). The public interest orientation of an organization is thought to affect the functionality of the cost accounting system in the same way as the organization’s strategy, but there has not been enough quantitative research on this point. By focusing on the public interest orientation of social welfare organizations, this study contributes to deepening our knowledge in this area.

This study explores the scale efficiency of four star hotels in a small tourist destination in Croatia. The number of overnight stays and the increase in hotel beds are two indicators of the development of a tourist destination. Among the accommodation facilities, hotels play a significant role in the development of a tourist destination, but they are increasingly facing a labor force crisis. Data envelopment analysis is used to rank hotels by efficiency coefficient. The aim of the paper is to investigate the efficiency of the hotel by taking certain inputs and outputs, which are explained in detail in the paper. The paper uses the CCR (Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes) and BCC (Banker, Charnes, and Cooper) models to calculate hotel scale efficiency and also presents an overview of previous research around the world.