Title: Socio-Cacophony: A Walk Down the Social Issues Lane
Series: Ecofunomics
Issue: December 2023
Edited By: Research & Publishing Department, Ecofunomics LLP
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Edition Details: 1st Edition
ISSN (Online): 2583-780X (Online)
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Year – 2023 | Volume 6 | Issue 1
| Paper 1 | WE NEED TO IMPORT IN ORDER TO EXPORT Prof. Sajal Lahiri, Vandeveer Chair Professor and Distinguished Scholar, Department of Economics, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, U.S.A. lahiri@siu.edu During economic crises, governments often implement trade barriers to protect domestic industries and employment. This essay challenges the common belief that imports hurt local jobs by presenting two case studies from India. The first case study focuses on India’s software industry, which initially heavily relied on imported computer hardware. In the pursuit of self-reliance, India imposed high import tariffs, causing IBM to leave. This led to a stagnation in software production. However, when tariffs were reduced in 1991, software production and exports soared. The second case centres on India’s pharmaceutical industry, now a major producer of generic medicines. Importing low-cost chemical intermediate inputs, particularly from China, played a pivotal role in this sector’s growth. Recent trade policy changes, which include restrictions on imports, pose potential challenges to the pharmaceutical industry’s export potential. The essay concludes by referencing studies that support the idea that imports can enhance exports, emphasizing the critical role of imports in fostering productivity and economic growth. Keywords: Trade, Export, Import JEL Classifications: F1, F100, F130 |
| Paper 2 | A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL FACTORS ON VIOLENCE ACROSS VARIED INCOME ECONOMIES Ms. Shreya Roy, Founder & Director, Ecofunomics LLP shreya@ecofunomics.com & Ms. Jyoti Agarwal, Research Associate, Ecofunomics LLP jyoti@ecofunomics.com Violence and criminal activities have long persisted as significant phenomena shaping human history. This study delves into the complex inquiry regarding the influence of social factors on violence, specifically within diverse income economies. The research scrutinizes the intricate interplay between violence and socioeconomic elements across a spectrum of income-based classifications. A noteworthy observation emerges in the behaviour of middle-income economies, deviating from established global norms. While a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) typically aligns with reduced violence, upper-middle income countries challenge this trend by exhibiting elevated violence despite experiencing economic growth. This intriguing pattern may be attributed to nuanced interactions between GDP and GDP per capita, leading to exacerbated inequality and the attenuation of social services. Furthermore, lower middle-income economies manifest a noteworthy departure from the expected correlation between social protection and violence, thereby suggesting intricate distribution dynamics warranting deeper exploration. Key Words: Violence, diverse income economies, Panel Data JEL: E000, O570, C500 |
| Paper 3 | AI GENERATED ART AND ARTISTS Ms. Sneha Roy, Lead Data Scientist, McKinsey & Company, Boston, U.S.A. sneha_roy@mckinsey.com GenAI or Generative AI is a groundbreaking development in the world of artificial intelligence. It defies the traditional distinction between machine and human creativity. GenAI boasts applications across text, images, audio, video, animation, music, code, and beyond, promising limitless possibilities. Text generation, exemplified by ChatGPT’s rapid adoption, represents one of the most advanced and widely used domains. However, GenAI isn’t without its challenges, including the phenomenon of “hallucinations” where it fabricates seemingly realistic but false information when data is lacking. Image generation, though less professionally employed than text generation, is gaining traction in graphic design, advertising, and personal creativity. These models are trained on extensive datasets, allowing them to produce images based on textual prompts. Nevertheless, they have high error rates, particularly in rendering human anatomy. The usage of AI-generated art is a complex and ethically intricate terrain, raising questions about inspiration, plagiarism, and ethical considerations. GenAI’s evolution poses a range of challenges, from ethical concerns to addressing its limitations, and it remains distinct from human creativity, serving as a creative tool with immense potential and ethical complexities. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Art, GenAI JEL Classifications: O330, A120, 031 |
| Paper 4 | CAN FINTECH BE THE FUTURE OF FINANCE SCOPE AND REVOLUTION? Ms. Prerna Pardasani, Masters in Economics, TERI SAS ppardasani7011@gmail.com This article explores the risks associated with online modes of transactions in the context of Fintech development. While Fintech offers numerous benefits, such as increased competition, efficiency, and improved financial inclusion, it also introduces new vulnerabilities, including the lack of safety nets, misuse of personal data, difficulties in customer identification, and electronic fraud. The study examines descriptively the impact of digital innovation on risk assessment and credit allocation, highlighting the higher riskiness of Fintech borrowers compared to traditional ones. Additionally, the article presents findings from a primary survey, indicating that while people trust online transactions for small activities, they still prefer physical banks for major transactions and lending/borrowing purposes. The discussion also touches upon the importance of regulatory measures and the potential for Fintech to complement traditional banking services rather than replace them. Keywords: Fintech, Cryptocurrencies, Credit Markets JEL Classifications: O330, O300, G000 |
| Paper 5 | DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF MSMEs IN INDIA Ms. Aaroohi Dudeja, Data Scientist, American Express aaroohidudeja10@gmail.com spanning automation and cloud networking. This transformative wave is reshaping Indian businesses, unlocking vast opportunities for tech startups, and revolutionizing commerce as we know it. The government has been instrumental in this digital transformation, laying the groundwork with infrastructure like Aadhaar and UPI, fostering innovation, and promoting inclusivity. In this article, we delve conceptually and descriptively into the profound impact of the digital revolution on Indian businesses. It empowers firms to reach global markets, streamline operations, and enhance profitability. India is poised for a century of unparalleled economic growth and prosperity, all thanks to this remarkable digital transformation. Keywords: Digitalization, MSME, Indian Economy JEL Classifications: O33, M200, O1 |
| Paper 6 | FUNDS ALLOCATION UNDER MID-DAY MEAL PROGRAM: A STATE-LEVEL ANALYSIS Ms. Rituparna Dey, Research Associate, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade rituparnadey508@gmail.com With the twin objective of improving the health of poor children and imparting formal education to these children, the Government of India started the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in the government primary schools. The purpose of the government to a great extent has been an initiative to increase the attendance rate and also promote socialization values. Despite all achievements, many problems have been encountered in the implementation of this scheme. Some major drawbacks have also been identified. This paper attempts to analyse the results and factors that are highly responsible for creating discrepancies in its process of attaining the major objectives and goals and tries to identify the sole factors that are responsible for the allocation of funds in the top five and bottom five major Indian states. Keywords: Mid-Day Meal, Primary school children, Funds allocation. JEL Classifications: O1, O100, O120 |
| Paper 7 | IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE: AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR OECD COUNTRIES Mr. Manash Roy Pradhani, PhD Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade manash_phd2020@iift.edu getting integrated with each other. Social and ethnic network have reduced transaction cost very drastically. Moreover, migration has contributed to the increase in the international trade. Also, theory has proved that migration has more impact on intra-industry trade (export and import from the same industry) than inter industry trade (export and import from different industry) so it becomes very important to study the relationship between the two variables. In this study we have tried to find out the relationship between immigration and Intra-Industry trade for 25 OECD countries. Data has been collected from the year 1999-2017 based on the availability of the data. Balanced panel data model has been used in the study to establish the relationship between Intra-Industry trade and Immigration. The study found that there exists no significant relationship between immigration and Intra-Industry trade and thereby it contradicts the other studies. However, the study supports the theory that immigration helps trade by reducing the trade transaction cost. Moreover, the study found that there exists negative relationship between capital labour ratio and Intra-Industry trade. Keywords: Intra-Industry trade, Immigration, OECD, Capital Labour ratio JEL Classifications: F10, J15, O0, E44 |
| Paper 8 | SOCIO-ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN INDIA ACROSS GENDER- ANALYZING INCOME INEQUALITY FROM A GENDER LENS Ms. Anwesha Podder, Visiting Lecturer, Sivanath Sastri College anwesha25podder@gmail.com India has gone through a series of transitions since industrialization. The advancement of the socio-economic situation increased awareness, and education attainment has attributed to increased acceptability of women’s labour force participation. The accelerating growth of female participation can be a driving force of development. Gender equality serves as a bridge to make the Indian economy more competitive. Countries overshadowed by discrimination and backwardness consider women to be less efficient. Analysis reveals that increased workforce participation in the female population can accelerate the economic growth rate of our country. As of today, India has extreme wealth and income inequality in the world. The scenario for women is highly discriminating since a substantial proportion of the feminine population suffers from poverty. The climb for gender parity is quite rough for India. Keywords: Socio-Economic Inequality, Indian Economy, Heckman JEL Classifications: J70, O100, C01 |
| Paper 9 | THE AMELIORATION OF AI IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM: SCOUTING THE IMPACT ON STOCK MARKETS AND HUMAN LABOUR IN FINANCIAL MARKETS Mr. Sumon Banerjee, Chief Operating Officer, Ecofunomics LLP sumon@ecofunomics.com The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the financial sector, particularly in stock markets, is transforming the industry. AI’s ability to swiftly analyse vast datasets, detect trends, and make data-driven decisions is replacing human labour in various financial functions. This article explores AI’s potential to revolutionize stock markets and its real-world impact on jobs and the overall efficiency of the financial system. While AI offers enhanced efficiency and accuracy, concerns about job displacement and overreliance on algorithms exist. Striking a balance between AI-driven automation and human expertise is crucial. Collaboration among regulators, policymakers, and market participants is essential to establish transparent, accountable, and fair AI practices. The future of the financial system involves increased AI integration for improved decision-making, risk management, and market efficiency while addressing associated challenges. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Financial Markets, Risk Management JEL Classifications: D83, G10, G32 |
| Paper 10 | THE IMPACT OF COVID ON MACROECONOMIC FACTORS: A GLOBAL STUDY Ms. Ankita Singh, State Aided College Teacher-II, Sivanath Sastri College (Calcutta University) ankita.singh.snsc2021@gmail.com In 2019, COVID-19, a global threat, exploited international travel and economic links. Declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, governments implemented impactful measures. This paper tries to analyze the effect of the macroeconomic factors such as Foreign Direct Investment, Population Growth, Oil rents (% of GDP), Total Reserves (includes gold, current US$), Official Exchange Rate (LCU), Total Unemployment (% of total labor force) (national estimate), Net Trade in Goods (BoP, current US$), Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP), and Real Interest Rate (%), on the GDP per capita, globally in the pre- COVID-19 and during COVID-19 periods. The results were derived for a total of 207 countries for a substantial amount of time period, i.e., 2008-2018 as a pre- COVID-19 era and the complete time period of COVID-19’s existence affecting the economies worldwide from 2019-2022. With such substantial data, some interesting results has been found, showing that the same factors which were significant in the pre- COVID-19 period were mostly not so influential on the people’s income generating capacity during the covid times. The study empirically explores potential explanations for these changes and proposes avenues for future research. Keywords: Covid (population health), Economic development, Panel data JEL Classifications: I150, O100, C100 |
| Paper 11 | THE OUTPUT ORIENTED TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF INDIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN THE POST-REFORM ERA Prof. Sanchita De, Associate Professor, Dept. of Basic Science and Humanities, University of Engineering & Management, Kolkata desanchita90@@ecofunomics The study evaluates Output Oriented Technical Efficiency (OTE) of Indian manufacturing firms across industries using Non-parametric DEA on the CMIE Prowess Database from March-1995 to March-2016. Result indicates the rise in OTE from 0.852 to 0.874 over the study-period. Sample firms have the potential of 10.3% increase in output with efficient input utilization. Leather achieved the highest mean OTE of 0.954, while chemicals had the lowest at 0.835. Around 31% of firms demonstrated output efficiency with a score of one. A simultaneous panel regression analysed OTE alongside advertising intensity (ADV), marketing intensity (MKT), R&D intensity (RD), and net exports intensity (NX), revealing these factors significantly impacting firms’ OTE. Notably, OTE also influenced these strategic variables significantly across industries. Recommendations for enhancing OTE involve strategic enhancements in advertising, marketing, R&D, and net exports, aimed at improving firms’ overall performance. Keywords: Total factor productivity growth, Manufacturing Sector, Indian Economy JEL Classifications: D24, L60, O530 |