Companies' productivity, investments and export competitiveness
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Overview
The line of research pursues micro-level or regional comparative empirical studies. The mainresearch focuses are related to capital and labour productivity, innovation, investments andcompetitiveness for explaining the economicgrowth in small, open and export-oriented economies. The aim is to investigate the drivers andobstacles of companies’ productivity enhancinginvestments into adoption of new technologiesand production processes, training of employees,R&D and innovation.The line of investigation seeks for a betterunderstanding on regional convergence issueswhile integrating the spatial aspects and institutional factors into the research framework.The research aims at new evidence on digital innovation and digital empowerment and ontheir effect on productivity growth and economic welfare. The research employs advancedeconometric techniques and contributes to policymaking while providing evidence based quantitative estimations on the impact of macro- andbusiness-environmental factors and individuals’and companies’ decisions and incentives thathave an effect on productivity, innovation andexport competitiveness.
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Publications related to the research group
- Männasoo, K. Working hours and gender wage differentials : evidence from the American working conditions survey // Labour Economics (2022) vol. 76, art. 102148.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102148 - Saia, A., Neshumayev, D., Hazak, A., Sander, P., Järvik, O., Konist, A. Techno-economic assessment of CO2 capture possibilities for oil shale power plants // Renewable and sustainable energy reviews (2022) vol. 169, art. 112938, 11 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112938 - Cuestas, J. C., Monfort, M., Shimbov. B. Has the relationship between the real exchange rate and its fundamentals changed over time? // Baltic journal of economics (2022) vol. 22, 2, p. 68-89.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1406099X.2022.2096732 - Coleman, S., Cuestas, J.C. Panel cointegration, quantile regressions, asymmetric adjustments and crises: The case of EU current accounts // Economic systems (2021) vol. 45, 4, art. 100870 ; 20 p.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2021.100870 - Ferraro, S., Agasisti, T., Porcelli, F., Soncin, M. Local governments' efficiency and educational results : empirical evidence from Italian primary schools // Applied economics (2021) vol. 53, 35, p. 4017-4039 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2021.1896672 - Kepp, K., Männasoo, K. Investment irreversibility and cyclical adversity : implications for the financial performance of European manufacturing companies // Managerial and decision economics (2021) vol. 42, 7, p. 1665-1678.
https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.3334 - Nilavongse, R., Rubaszek, M., Uddin, G.S. Economic policy uncertainty shocks, economic activity, and exchange rate adjustments // Economics letters (2020) vol. 186, art. 108765, 4 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108765 - Cuestas, J., Lucotte, Y., Reigl, N. Banking sector concentration, competition and financial stability : the case of the Baltic countries // Post-communist economies (2020) vol. 32, 2, p. 215-249 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14631377.2019.1640981 - Väljataga, T., Poom-Valickis, K., Rumma, K., Aus, K. Transforming higher education learning ecosystem: Teachers’ perspective // Interaction design and architecture(s) (2020) vol. 46, p. 47-69.
"Transforming higher education learning ecosystem: Teachers’ perspective" - Männasoo, K., Meriküll, J. Credit constraints and RD over the boom and bust: Firm-level evidence from Central and Eastern Europe // Economic systems (2020) vol. 44, 2, art. 100747, 14 p..
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2020.100747 - Cuestas, J.C., Mourelle, E., Regis, P.J. Real exchange rate misalignments in CEECs : Have they hindered growth? // Empirica (2020) vol. 47, 4, p. 733–756.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-019-09454-5 - Cuestas, J.C., Kukk, M. The interaction between housing prices and housing credit: evidence from a country with rapid credit accumulation // Journal of economic studies (2021) vol. 48, 1, p. 191-209.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-11-2019-0519 - Cuestas, J.C., Tang, B. A Markov Switching SVAR analysis on the relationship between exchange rate changes and stock returns in China // International journal of emerging markets (2020) vol. 16, 3, p. 625-642 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-06-2019-0463 - Talpsepp, T., Liivamägi, K., Vaarmets, T. Academic abilities, education and performance in the stock market // Journal of Banking & Finance (2020) vol. 117, art. 105848.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2020.105848 - Bekiros, S., Nilavongse, R., Uddin, G.S. Expectation-driven house prices and debt defaults : the effectiveness of monetary and macroprudential policies // Journal of Financial Stability (2020) Vol. 49, Art. 100760.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfs.2020.100760 - Bakkar, Y., Nilavongse, R., Saha, A.K. Spillovers of the US real and financial uncertainty on the Euro area // Applied economics letters (2021) vol. 28, 15, p. 1249-1258 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2020.1808166 - Nilavongse, R., Rubaszek, M., Staehr, K., Uddin, G.S. Foreign and domestic uncertainty shocks in four open economies // Open economies review (2021) vol. 32, 5, p. 933–954 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11079-021-09656-0 - Cho, H.-j., Lehner, O.M., Nilavongse, R. Combining financial and ecological sustainability in bank capital regulations // Journal of applied accounting research (2021) vol. 22, 3, p. 423-435.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-10-2020-0221 - Cuestas, J., Kukk, M. The Spanish housing market : is it fundamentally broken? // Working Papers (2019) vol. 4, 11 p.
https://ideas.repec.org/p/jau/wpaper/2019-04.html https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2019.1677844 - Cuadros, A., Cuestas, J. C., Martin-Montaner, J. Self-employment convergence in Europe: The role of migration // PLoS ONE (2021) vol. 16, 4, art. e0250182, 14 p.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250182 - Talpsepp, T., Tänav, A.-L. Do gender, age and education affect herding in the real estate market? // Journal of behavioral and experimental finance (2021) vol. 32, art. 100571 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2021.100571 - Cuestas, J. C., Monfort, M., Ordonez, J. The education pillar of the Europe 2020 strategy : a convergence analysis // Empirica (2021) vol. 48, p. 1113-1129.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-021-09504-x - Faria, J.R., Cuestas, J.C., Gil-Alana, L., Mourelle, E. Self-employment by gender in the EU: convergence and clusters // Empirica (2021) vol. 48, p. 717-741.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-020-09494-2 - Abu Asab, N., Cuestas, J. C. Towards adopting inflation targeting : The credibility and limitations of monetary policy under the fixed exchange system - the case of Jordan // The World economy (2021) vol. 44, 1, p. 262-285.
https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.12964 - Cuestas, J.C., Monfort, M., Ordonez, J. Stochastic convergence in real personal disposable income in the EU : a note // International journal of finance & economics (2021) vol. 26, 4, p. 6390-6394.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2125 - Cuestas, J. C.s, Monfort, M. Co-movement between residential and commercial housing prices: Evidence from a new database // Applied economics letters (2020) vol. 28, 5, p. 402-407.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2020.1757609 - Cuestas, J. Changes in sovereign debt dynamics in Central and Eastern Europe // International journal of finance & economics (2020) vol. 25, 1, p. 63-71 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1728 - Cuestas, J.C., Lucotte, Y., Reigl, N.A. The evolution and heterogeneity of credit procyclicality in Central and Eastern Europe : [journal article] // International journal of finance & economics (2022) vol. 27, 1, p. 911-942.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2183 - Hazak, A., Sõõru, E., Hein, H., Männasoo, K. Effects of work arrangements on the sleep regimen of creative R&D employees // International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics (2020) vol. 26, 4, p. 728-739.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2018.1504854 - Cuestas, J.C., Ordóñez, J., Monfort, M. Measuring the cost of Covid-19 in terms of the rise in the unemployment rate : the case of Spain // Economics (2021) Vol. 15, 1, p. 112-114 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1515/econ-2021-0009 - Cuestas, J., Monfort, M. Current account sustainability in Central and Eastern Europe : structural change and crisis // Empirica (2021) vol. 48, p. 141–153.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-020-09473-7 - Ridala, S., Toomet, O. Wage gap in an ethnically segmented labor market : the role of cognitive skills // Eastern European economics (2019) vol. 57, 1, p. 20-30 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00128775.2018.1524713 - Fischer, D.-H., Ferraro, S. A proposal for a simple average-based progressive taxation system // Public sector economics (2019) vol. 43, 2, p. 141 - 165.
https://doi.org/10.3326/pse.43.2.2 - Männasoo,K., Rungi, M., Hein, H., Tasane, H. Value chain from good to great : multiple-case study of Estonian companies // 2018 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM 2018) : Bangkok, Thailand, 16-19 December 2018. Red Hook : IEEE, 2018. p. 1274-1278 : ill.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IEEM.2018.8607437 - Gurvitš, N., Strouhal, J., Saia, A., Sidorova, I. Financial variables influencing the performance of refined crude oil products at North-West European cargo markets // Journal of international studies (2018) vol. 11, 2, p. 250-266 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-8330.2018/11-2/17 - Berber, H., Tamm, K., Leinus, M.-L., Kuusik, R., Uibu, M. Aggregate production from burnt oil shale and CO2 - an Estonian perspective // Oil Shale (2019) vol. 36, 3, p. 431-447 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.3176/oil.2019.3.05 http://www.kirj.ee/32493/?tpl=1061&c_tpl=1064 - Bormann, S-K., Ridala, S., Toomet, O-S. Language skills in an ethnically segmented labour market : Estonia 1989–2012 // International journal of manpower (2019) vol. 40, 2, p. 304–327 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-06-2017-0115 - Cuestas, J.C., Ordonez J., Staehr, K. Unit Labour Costs and the Dynamics of Output and Unemployment in the South European Crisis Countries // Empirica (2019) vol. 46, 3, p. 597−616 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-018-9410-1 - Liivamägi, K., Vaarmets, T., Talpsepp, T. Investor education and IPO participation // Emerging markets finance and trade (2019) vol.55, 3, p. 545-561 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2018.1443806 - Dutt, P., Ferraro, S., Chochia, A., Muljar, R. Using patent development, education policy and research and development expenditure policy to understand differences between countries : the case of Estonia and Finland // Baltic journal of European studies (2018) vol. 8, 1, p. 123-153 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2018-0008 - Abu Asab, N., Cuestas, J., Montagnoli, A. Inflation targeting or exchange rate targeting: Which framework supports the goal of price stability in emerging market economies? // PLoS ONE (2018) vol. 13, 8, 21 p.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201798 - Ferraro, S., Hänilane, B., Staehr, K. Minimum wages and employment retention : a microeconometric study for Estonia // Baltic journal of economics (2018) vol. 18, 1, p. 51-67 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1406099X.2018.1485422 - Talpsepp, T., Vaarmets, T. The disposition effect, performance, stop loss orders and education // Journal of behavioral and experimental finance (2019) vol. 24, art. 100240, 6 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2019.100240 - Cuestas, J.C., Huang, Y.S., Tang, B. Does internationalisation increase exchange rate exposure? -Evidence from Chinese financial firms // International Review of Financial Analysis (2018) Vol. 56, p. 253 - 263.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2018.01.013 - Ferraro, S., Põder, K. School-level policies and the efficiency and equity trade-off in education // Journal of policy modeling (2018) vol. 40, 5, 16 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2017.11.001 - Muhl, S., Talpsepp, T. Faster learning in troubled times : how market conditions affect the disposition effect // The quarterly review of economics and finance (2018) vol. 68, p. 226-236 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2017.08.002 - Vaarmets, T., Liivamägi, K., Talpsepp, T. From academic abilities to occupation : What drives stock market participation? // Emerging markets review (2019) vol. 39, p. 83-100 : tab.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2019.04.004 - Ferraro, S., Meriküll, J., Staehr, K. Minimum wages and the wage distribution in Estonia // Applied economics letters (2018) vol. 50, 49, p. 5253-5268 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2018.1486017 - Männasoo, K., Maripuu, P., Hazak, A. Investments, credit, and corporate financial distress: evidence from Central and Eastern Europe // Emerging markets finance and trade (2018) vol. 54, 3, p. 677-689 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2017.1300092 - Cuestas, J.C., Regis, P.J. On the dynamics of sovereign debt in China : sustainability and structural change // Economic modelling (2018) vol. 68, p. 356-359 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2017.08.003 - Dzielinski, M., Rieger, M. O., Talpsepp, T. Asymmetric attention and volatility asymmetry // Journal of empirical finance (2018) vol. 45, p. 59-67 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jempfin.2017.09.010 - Cuestas, J. C., Ordóñez, J. Oil prices and unemployment in the UK before and after the crisis : a Bayesian VAR approach. A note // Physica A : statistical mechanics and its applications (2018) vol. 510, p. 200-207 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2018.06.114 - Vaarmets, T., Liivamägi, K., Talpsepp, T. How does learning and education help to overcome the disposition effect? // Review of finance (2019) Vol. 23, Issue 4, p. 801-830 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfy006 - Ordonez, J., Monfort, M., Cuestas, J. Oil prices, unemployment and the financial crisis in oil-importing countries : The case of Spain // Energy (2019) vol. 181, p. 625-634.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.05.209 - Ferraro, S. Is information and communication technology satisfying educational needs at school? // Computers & Education (2018) vol. 122, p. 194-204 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.04.002 - Männasoo, K., Rein, H., Ruubel, R. The contributions of human capital, R&D spending and convergence to total factor productivity growth // Regional studies (2018) vol. 52, 12, p. 1598-1611 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2018.1445848 - Cuestas, J.C., Gil-Alana, L.A. Oil price shocks and unemployment in Central and Eastern Europe // Economic Systems (2018) Vol. 42, 1, p. 164 - 173.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2017.05.005 - Cuestas, J.C., Ordóñez, J. Fiscal consolidation in Europe : has it worked? // Applied Economics Letters (2018) vol. 25, 16, p. 1179 - 1182.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2017.1406650 - Cuestas, J.C., Gil-Alana, L.A., Sauci, L. Public finances in the EU-27 : are they sustainable? // Empirica (2020) Vol. 47, 1, p. 181 - 204.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-018-9411-0 - Saia, A. Digitalization and CO2 emissions : dynamics under R&D and technology innovation regimes // Technology in society (2023) vol. 74, art. 102323.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102323 - Cuestas, J. C., Kukk, M., Levenko, N. Misalignments in house prices and economic growth in Europe // Applied economics (2023) vol. 55, 28, p. 3215-3237.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2022.2110212 - Cuestas, J. C., Gil-Alana, L. A., Malmierca, M. Credit-to-GDP ratios – non-linear trends and persistence: evidence from 44 OECD economies // Journal of economic studies (2023) vol.50, 3, p. 448-463.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-12-2021-0637 - Männasoo, K., Pareliussen, J. K., Saia, A. Digital capacity and employment outcomes : microdata evidence from pre- and post-COVID-19 Europe // Telematics and informatics (2023) vol. 83, art. 102024.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2023.102024 - Cuestas, J. C., Gil-Alana, L. Unemployment hysteresis by sex and education attainment in the EU // Journal of the knowledge economy (2024) vol. 15, p. 801-827.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01106-1 - Jõeveer, K., Kepp, K. What drives drivers? Switching, learning, and the impact of claims in car insurance // Journal of behavioral and experimental economics (2023) vol. 103, art. 101993, 11 p.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.101993 - Coleman, S., Cuestas, J. C. Has the Current Account Broken Up With its Fundamentals in Central and Eastern Europe? // International journal of finance & economics (2023) Vol. 28, 1, p. 962-980.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2458 - Cuadros, A., Cuestas, J. C., Mourelle, E. Clusters in foreign-born vs. native self-employment in Europe : do we look alike? // Applied economics letters (2023) vol. 30, 1, p. 92-96.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2022.2130861 - Ferraro, S., Männasoo, K., Tasane, H. How the EU Cohesion Policy targeted at R&D and innovation impacts the productivity, employment and exports of SMEs in Estonia // Evaluation and Program Planning (2023) vol. 97, art. 102221, 19 p. : ill, map.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2022.102221 - Cuestas, J. C., Monfort, M. Fiscal consumption and private consumption in Europe: what have we learned? // Applied economics letters (2023) vol. 30, 14, p. 1930-1935.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2022.2083765 - Cuestas, J. C., Gil-Alana, L. The Euribor rate : a forecasting exercise based on fractional integration // Applied economics letters (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2023.2259592 - Tasane, H., Srun, S. The institutional environment, human capital development, and productivity-enhancing factors : evidence from ASEAN countries // TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia (2023) vol. 11, 2, p. 159-174 : ill., map.
https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2022.13 - Tasane, H., Ashyrov, G., Srun, S. Institutions and R&D engagement of SMEs in Laos // Post-communist economies (2023) vol. 35, 4, p. 384-402 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14631377.2023.2188687