To fight inflation, European Central Bank (ECB) announced 10 successive interest rate hikes, starting on 27 July 2022, igniting an unprecedented widening of interest rate spreads in the euro area (ΕΑ). Greek banks, however, recorded among the highest interest rate spreads, far exceeding ΕΑ median and weighted average. Indeed, we document a strong asymmetric response of Greek banks to ECB interest rate hikes, with loan interest rates rising immediately, whilst deposit interest rates remained initially unchanged and then rose sluggishly. As a result, the interest rate spread hit one historical record after another. Greek systemic banks, probably taking advantage of the high concentration and low competition in the domestic sector benefited from key ECB interest rate hikes, recording gigantic increases in net interest income (NII), and consequently, substantial profits (almost €7.4 billion in the 2022–2023 biennium). Such excessive accumulation of profits (that deteriorates the living conditions of consumers) by the banking system could be called the inflation of “banking greed”, or bankflation. This new source of inflation created by the oligopolistic structure of the Greek banking sector counterworks the very reason for ECB interest rate increases and requires certain policy analysis recommendations in coping with it.
The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of infrastructure financing on economic growth in emerging markets through the application of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. In this study, the research will employ both primary and secondary data to investigate the impact of different structures of infrastructure financing on the performance of the economy through interviews with the stakeholders and policy documents alongside quantitative data from the World Bank and the IMF. The quantitative analysis employs the econometric models to establish the effect of infrastructure investment on the GDP growth of the selected countries, India, China, Brazil, and Nigeria. Additional secondary qualitative data obtained from interviews with policymakers and financial specialists from Brazil, India, and South Africa offer more practical information regarding the efficiency of the discussed financing approaches. This paper is therefore able to conclude that appropriate management of infrastructure investments, particularly those that involve the PPP, are central to the development of the economy. However, certain drawbacks such as the lack of regularity of data and the disparity in the effectiveness of financing instruments by the regions are pointed out. The research provides policy implications to policymakers and investors who wish to finance infrastructure in the emerging economy to enhance economic growth in the long run.
Color visually communicates the product’s flavors to consumers and further influences their taste perception. This study explores the perceived taste of tea beverages caused by the logo’s principal colors, using hand-shaken tea beverages in Taiwan as an example. To identify the linkage between the logo color and tea tastes, this study divides the taste of tea beverages into four categories: sweetness, freshness, bitterness, and astringency. Then, the 69 tea beverage logos are allocated into the 14 color sections in the CIELAB color space according to their primary colors. The Correspondence Analysis method is employed to visualize the relationships between the logos and the perceived tastes. The tea tastes are then mapped into the color sections in the CIELAB color space. The analysis results reveal that the sweetness links to logos in the Warm Scheme colors (hue angle from 0 to 59 degrees). The fresh taste is bound with the logo with the Cool White Scheme colors (hue angle from 90 to 149 degrees and brightness >80). Finally, the bitter and astringent tastes link to the logo colors in the Cold Black Scheme colors (hue angle from 60 to 89 degrees, 150 to 329 degrees, and brightness <25). This study expands the color and taste association literature from general food to tea beverages. Our obtained empirical results can be applied to hand-shaken beverage companies to select principal colors for designing logos and packages that align with tea beverages’ perceived tastes to convey brand recognition accurately.
Purpose: Religiosity as an intrinsic principle affects the sustainable behavior of consumers. Studies have been undertaken to discover the impact of religiosity on sustainable consumer behavior in various contexts, cultures, and countries. The current bibliometric study focused on religiosity and sustainable consumer behavior in Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries who has similar religions and cultures so that the research trend, contribution, and gap through thematic and content analysis could be investigated and future direction could be suggested. The literature for this study was solicited from 2016 to June 2024. Methodology: Bibliometrics and content analysis were used to study the existing literature on religiosity and sustainable consumption behavior in GCC countries. The VOS viewer was used to visualize literature and understand the network landscape of the research topic and their interconnectivity. Additionally, Scopus analytics and Microsoft Excel were used to review and analyze the religiosity of consumers regarding the sustainable consumption of products and services. Finding: The descriptive analysis revealed trends, prolific countries, and researchers in this area along with their affiliation. The co-occurrence analysis showed 3 main clusters of co-occurrences with various link strengths. The content analysis looked at the 6 clusters depicted by the coupling function and compared them against co-occurrence analysis to uncover related themes. This analysis produced 4 related themes for content analysis. Contribution: This research contributed to understanding the current themes, challenges, and the need for marketing strategies and action so that sustainable consumption could be encouraged. As such this research will fill the void in the current literature left in this research area. This research has practical and policy implications for businesses, organizations, and policymakers as they try to capture consumers for sustainable products and services in GCC countries.
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