This paper analyses the concentration of the banking system in Croatia and the impact of concentration on stability of the economic system as a whole over the period since 2002 to 2017. The level of ...concentration is usually related to the competitiveness of a particular sector, in this case the banking system, which affects the development and health of the country's entire economic system. The banking system, as the basis for the development of all other sectors of the economy, has been analysed here in the context of the concentration trend and efficiency in the selected time period using selected concentration indices: Concentration Ratio, Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, the Gini coefficient and the entropy measure using the variables of total assets of banks, loans granted, and received deposits. This research concludes that in the considered period of nearly 20 years, Croatia was among the EU countries with increased concentration level of the banking system.
Abstract Background: Cryptocurrencies represent a specific technological innovation in financial markets that keeps getting more and more popular among investors around the world. Given the specific ...characteristics of the cryptocurrencies, this paper examines the possibility of their use as a diversification instrument. Objectives: This paper examines the direction and strength of the relationship between the selected cryptocurrencies and important financial indicators on the European Union market. Since cryptocurrencies are a novelty in the financial system, the empirical literature in this area is rather scarce. Methods/Approach: In order to assess diversification properties of cryptocurrencies for European traders, a comprehensive econometric analysis was carried out. The first part of the analysis refers to the estimation of the multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model, whereas the second part focuses on wavelet transforms. Results: Bitcoin and Ripple proved as a possible diversification instrument on most of the observed European markets since corresponding coefficients of unconditional correlation are negative. Conclusions: The relationship between the value of the cryptocurrencies and selected indices is generally very weak and slightly negative, indicating that some cryptocurrencies can serve as a means of diversification. However, investors need to take into account the extreme volatility, exhibited in all existing cryptocurrencies.
Mirovinska pismenost predstavlja skup znanja, stavova, ponašanja i vještina vezanih uz mirovine i mirovinski sustav koje su pojedincu neophodne kako bi donio optimalnu odluku o vlastitom ...umirovljenju. Cilj ovog rada je proučiti mirovinsku pismenost studenata Sveučilišta u Zagrebu te, analizirajući znanje, ponašanje i stavove studenata o mirovinama i mirovinskom sustavu, identificirati najveće slabosti studenata u ovom području i prostor za daljnje opismenjivanje. U okviru rada provedeno je anketno istraživanje na uzorku od 2.100 studenata te intervju dviju fokus grupa koje su činili ekonomisti i neekonomisti. Rezultati intervjua fokus grupa ukazuju na znatnu divergenciju u stavovima i znanju između studenata Ekonomskog fakulteta i ostalih studenata, pri čemu su neekonomisti pokazali i mali interes za ovom tematikom. Nalazi anketnog istraživanja potvrđuju zaključak o relativno niskoj razini znanja i praktičnog znanja o mirovinama.
This paper reports findings from a study that has collected data on the expectations of Croatian stock market participants regarding the future level of the Croatian equity index CROBEX. The data are ...described and analyzed as a three-dimensional panel with multiple individual forecasters, target years, and forecast horizons. The results suggest that the panel under study has not been rational in predicting the index values. Forecasters tend to be biased, with a general tendency to overpredict the real index values in the sampled period. Some forecasters fail the test of efficiency by having a correlation between the forecast error and the past CROBEX value or Croatia’s industrial production which was known to the forecaster at the time the forecast was made. Also, there is considerable individual heterogeneity. The framework used for analyzing the panel data also provided the means to distinguish between shocks and anticipated changes and to calculate them, as well as to calculate the implied volatility measures.
Defining and properly measuring financial literacy of students is a prerequisite for proposing education policy solutions. The main objective of this paper is to present a procedure of financial ...literacy assessment. The measure is based on the results of the survey conducted on a suitable sample of students at the University of Zagreb. It is developed using confirmatory factor analysis, which involves testing the validity of a measurement model. This model consists of four manifest variables: Knowledge, Attitudes, Behavior and Practical Knowledge, which are used to estimate a composite measure of financial literacy. The results of factor analysis were later used for obtaining the corresponding weights of indicators of financial literacy. The estimated measure indicates great heterogeneity in the level of financial literacy among students from different constituent units of the University of Zagreb.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the development of sustainable investments in the Asian region and identify the role of individual Asian countries in promoting the development of sustainable ...investments. Secondary data from relevant domestic and foreign literature sources, including scientific articles, expert reports, and relevant websites, are used in this study. The analysis confirms that Asian investors are increasingly interested in integrating ESG factors into investment decisions and recognize the positive impact of sustainable investments on environmental protection, societal advancement, and the overall financial sector. Contribution of this study lies in its comprehensive analysis of sustainable investment trends in the Asian region, shedding light on the evolving landscape of responsible investment practices. However, it is important to note that this study has certain limitations, such as the reliance on secondary data and the scope of available literature. Additionally, while there is a growing body of research on sustainable investments, there is still room for further exploration and empirical studies, particularly in the context of Asian countries. The study emphasizes the potential of sustainable investments to promote financial sustainability and economic stability, while also supporting positive global changes.
This paper investigates the extent of gross premium distributions inequality for life and non-life insurance in Croatia in the period 2000-2012. The number of companies for life insurance was the ...same in 2000 and 2012, at 17. The number of non-life insurance companies varied between 16 and 24, and was 20 at the end of 2012. The Lorenz curve and nine numerical concentration measures applied mostly show a slight decrease of a moderate concentration for both types of insurance over time, with only the Rosenbluth index being an exception, showing a mild increase of concentration. The concentration of gross premium is slightly stronger for non-life then for life insurance.
The standard errors of the trend models for the entropy indexes are smaller, and coefficients of determination are higher for the quadratic compared to the linear trend models for both types of insurances, life and non-life. Since the forecasts' quality measures for both types of insurance show that the quadratic trend is superior compared to the simple linear trend model, it was used for short-term forecasting of the entropy indexes. The quadratic trend model gave forecasts showing digressive-progressive dynamics for non-life, and progressive-digressive for life insurance entropy indexes.
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