Search results

This paper aims to assess the short- and long-run effects of the interaction between institutional quality and financial development (FD) on the competitiveness of the WAEMU economy over the period 2007–2018.

The methodology consisted of cross-referencing a synthetic indicator of FD with indicators of institutional quality and then estimating an auto regressive distributed lag model.

The results of the pooled mean group and dynamic fixed effect estimation show a positive and significant impact of this interaction on the competitiveness of the economy in the long run. In the short run, the results are quite similar to those in the long run for the direct effects but different for the crosses. Also, the analysis of country specificity shows that the results are similar to those in the short run since the interaction between FD and institutional quality (political stability and government effectiveness) negatively affects the competitiveness of Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali, and positively affects the competitiveness of Benin and Senegal.

These results suggest the need for effective policies to improve the quality of institutions to enhance the mobilization of financial resources through FD to ensure the competitiveness of economies. Improving the quality of the political and institutional environment is a prerequisite for economic competitiveness.

The paper is in line with the New Institutional Economics that developed in the 1970s. This referential framework is a heterogeneous body of work that encompasses works whose common point is the determination of the role of institutions in economic coordination. Unlike previous studies, which have focused on the contribution of the interaction between institutional quality variables and FD on economic growth, this paper analyzes the effects of this interaction on economic competitiveness. It, therefore, constitutes a contribution to this literature and aims primarily to fill this gap.

Wars all over the world have changed the course of history, affected communities and ways of life, and caused much pain, sadness, and destruction. Today, these areas are seen as tourist attractions and are visited by many people with different motivations every year. In these travels, which are described as battlefield tourism, intermediary institutions serve as a bridge between the consumer and the producer, in other words, between the tourist and the touristic product. In this section, first the factors that have led people to travel throughout history are discussed, and then the history, purposes, activities, and importance and contributions of intermediary institutions within the tourism industry are explained. Afterward, battlefield tourism, a relatively new concept, was mentioned, and the importance of intermediary institutions in travels to battlefields was explained. Finally, intermediary institutions that organize tours to various major battlefields in the world are listed, and brief descriptive information is given about the wars in question and the tours organized to these areas.