Market crises amplify fear, disrupting rational decision-making of stock investment. This study examines the relationship between investors’ information priorities—such as intuition, company performance, technical analysis, and other factors—and their fear responses (freeze, flight, and hiding) during market crashes. Using the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) to analyze data from 1,526 investors in China and Vietnam, the findings reveal complex dynamics. We found positive associations between investors’ prioritization of social influence and intuition for investment decision-making with being freeze (i.e., not knowing what (...) to do with the owned stock), between prioritization of professionals’ evaluation and intuition with fleeing (i.e. giving up stock investment permanently), and between prioritization of professionals’ evaluation and social influence with hiding (i.e., stopping investing in stock for a while). In contrast, prioritization of companies’ performance metrics (e.g., net profit, debt, etc.) was negatively associated with being freeze, fleeing, and hiding. Meanwhile, prioritization of professionals’ evaluation, technical analysis, and liquidity was negatively associated with being freeze, fleeing, and hiding, respectively. The study highlights the importance of disseminating transparent, accurate information through government and media channels, along with implementing financial education programs, to promote rational investment decisions and reduce fear-driven behaviors. (shrink)

The identity and institutional capabilities of the European Union (EU) have changed over the years. As a global player in international politics, the EU has recognized the need to develop a comprehensive space policy perspective. This perspective is shaped by changes in the dynamics of the space ecosystem, the "New Space", and this phenomenon consists of new business models, new technologies, new markets, new value chains and new actors. New space actors (private investors) have fundamentally changed the dynamics of space (...) activities. The subject of the research is the peculiarities of the influence of investment processes of the EU and Ukraine on the development of space industries. The methodological basis consisted of general scientific and special methods of knowledge, based on a systematic approach to the consideration of economic processes. The article aims to examine investment in the context of space management in the EU and Ukraine, and to examine in detail the trends in such funding of space companies. In order to better understand the European space system. The article concludes that, recognizing the indisputable importance of space applications and safety of space systems, the EU attaches great importance to taking into account the trend of "New Space" in its governance structure and stimulating changes in this sector. Unfortunately, Ukraine lags far behind in this respect. In the EU, in the initial stages of space research and use, space programs are financed from the general budget, and as individual activities reach a level of profitability, their public funding is reduced. Therefore, the sphere of commercial space activities and the share of private investments in their total financing are rapidly growing. The reduction of state expenditures is compensated by investments of private business in commercial projects. Thus, the article emphasizes the particular importance of private investments in the development of the Ukrainian space industry and points to the need to develop the commercialization of space activities, especially given the potential in the absence of budget financing. It is impossible to compare the sufficiently powerful and effective investment system of the EU and the lack of even state financing of the space industry in Ukraine. Against the backdrop of hostilities in Ukraine, there is a significant need to reconsider investments in this area on the basis of public-private and international partnerships. Conclusion. The main tasks for Ukraine are revision and change of the state policy, right accents on investments into the space industry, qualitative overcoming of bureaucratic obstacles, approval of a new Strategy of Space Industry Development. As an example, one could use the experience of the EU and refer to its previous experience in this sphere to have an opportunity to stay among the world space powers. (shrink)

Agriculture stands at a pivotal moment. To sustain a growing global population while mitigating environmental impact, agricultural productivity must increase. However, this challenge is compounded by climate change, which threatens to erode past gains. Investing in agricultural research and development (R&D) is essential to counteract productivity declines and enhance resilience to climate stressors.

Vietnam has changed in the last thirty years from an agrarian country to a service and manufacture country leader in the world in growth and economic activity. The country has a communist system legally but, in the practice, the country has a liberal policy in the economy signing the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement but maintaining the political control under the rule of one party. The country offers opportunities and risks for individual and corporation with the intention to invest.

Critics of investment citizenship often appeal to the idea that citizenship should not be commodified. This chapter clarifies how the different arguments in support of this Commodification Objection are best understood as versions of wider claims in the literature on the moral limits of markets (MLM). Through an analysis of the three main objections – The Wrong Distribution Argument, The Value Degradation Argument, and the Motivational Corruption Argument – it claims that these objections rely on flawed and partial interpretations of (...) the broader debates. As such, they do not in fact support the conclusions critics of investment citizenship wish to draw from them. The paper concludes that the commodification objection to investment citizenship should therefore be abandoned, and that normative resistance to the practice should be made on other grounds. (shrink)

Vietnam has changed in the last thirty years from an agrarian country to a service and manufacture country leader in the world in growth and economic activity. The country has a communist system legally but, in the practice, the country has a liberal policy in the economy signing the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement but maintaining the political control under the rule of one party. The country offers opportunities and risks for individual and corporation with the intention to invest.

While many argue investment-based criteria for immigration are wrong or at least problematic, skill-based criteria remain relatively uncontroversial. This is normatively inconsistent. This article assesses three prominent normative objections to investment-based selection criteria for immigrants: that they wrongfully discriminate between prospective immigrants that they are unfair, and that they undermine political equality among citizens. It argues that either skill-based criteria are equally susceptible to these objections, or that investment-based criteria are equally shielded from them. Indeed, in some ways investment-based criteria (...) are less normatively problematic than skill-based criteria. Given this analysis, the resistance to investment-based migration criteria, but not to skill-based criteria, is inconsistent. (shrink)

This paper examines ethics in finance, specifically related to responsible investment. In recent years, socially responsible principles are becoming the de facto standard not only for socially responsible but also for profitable investing. For instance, the United Nations developed the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006, which require institutional investors to incorporate ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. This raises the following question: can responsible investments be justified from an ethical point of (...) view? In this paper I first explain responsible investments. Then, I turn to the ethical foundation of responsible investments. There are two arguments for responsible investments. I argue that both fail. Therefore, my conclusion is that the ethical foundation of responsible investments is not firm. (shrink)

[First paragraph]: On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, UK’s The Guardian reported that numerous US universities including Harvard and Vanderbilt were invested in companies that were buying large tracts of African farmland and kicking off the indigenous farmers in order for their employees (mostly non-Africans) to grow cash crops to sell to Europe.1 Harms associated with this land-grabbing include, in addition to the evictions themselves, corruption among African governments and among absentee African land owners, increased food prices, and accelerated climate change.

This research paper delves into the realm of Financial Network Analytics, unraveling the opportunities and challenges it presents in the domains of systemic risk management and investment analysis. The study navigates the intricate web of interconnected financial entities, employing advanced analytics techniques to uncover meaningful insights. Through a comprehensive exploration, the paper identifies opportunities for leveraging financial network data to enhance systemic risk detection mechanisms and refine investment strategies. Simultaneously, it addresses the inherent challenges, such as data complexity and dynamic (...) network structures, offering nuanced perspectives on their implications. The findings contribute to the evolving landscape of financial analytics, providing a foundation for the development of robust tools and methodologies that can aid financial institutions and investors in navigating the complexities of modern financial networks. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to think about the various methods of attempting to make money in the capital markets (“investing”). I suggest that though running a betting system on a Roulette wheel is silly, running a betting system on the capital markets may be a good idea.

This paper focuses on the novel and leading innovations and investments into the new energy technologies. Energy issues, including sustainability, energy security and energy dependency are probably one of the most crucial and critical issues that humanity must face at the moment. Recent global challenges, such as climate change and the rise of the “green” energy (represented by the increasing deployment of the renewable energy sources (RES)), as well as distributed energy generation and platform energy markets (e.g. peer-to-peer (P2P) markets (...) for electricity) that were made possible thanks to the rise of Internet, social networks and sharing economy, all create a demand for the new energy technologies. The leaders in energy innovations, such as Tesla are becoming the true trendsetters who are marking the way for the humankind to go forward.We provide an overview of the innovative energy technologies that might change the energy market as we know it and discuss their outcomes and possible implications. Moreover, we contemplate the changes that might be caused by the ongoing transition from the fossil fuels to RES. Our results might be of some interests to researchers and stakeholders dealing with energy economics and policy. (shrink)

Guardians of companion animals killed wrongfully in the U.S. historically receive compensatory judgments reflecting the animal’s economic value. As animals are property in torts law, this value typically is the animal’s fair market value—which is often zero. But this is only the animal’s value, as it were, to a stranger and, in light of the fact that many guardians value their animals at rates far in excess of fair market value, legislatures and courts have begun to recognize a second value, (...) the animal’s value to her guardian. What is this noneconomic value, and how should guardians be compensated for it? In Part 1, I propose a novel method to answer this question. My method includes a third, even more controversial, value: the animal’s value to herself. The idea that an animal could invest in herself faces many criticisms. In Part 2, I defend the claim by examining the mental capacities of dogs (Canis familiaris). I rebut the central objection—that dogs lack the psychological capacities required for self-investment—by showing that dogs are autonomous, think about their futures, and inhibit their desires in light of their goals. I close by suggesting that whereas the approach has conservative implications for the valuation of companion animals, it has radical implications for the valuation of agricultural animals. -/- Keywords: companion animals, animal law, legal theory, value theory, practical ethics, economic value, noneconomic value, intrinsic value, instrumental value, animal welfare, dogs, animal rights, capital value, self-investment value, autonomy, wrongful death, philosophy of animal law, animal minds, moral standing of animals, legal standing of animals, agency, prospection, canine neurobiology, bereavement, replaceability, non-ideal ethics . (shrink)

An updated excerpt from the larger paper AI Human Impact. Excerpt explains why ESG investing requires Updating for the AI economy.

Research article title: Private Sector Eyes Investment Funds Author: Vuong Quan Hoang Outlet: Vietnam Investment Review (pg. 17) Published on: 15 - 21 June 1998.

The available resources for global health assistance are far outstripped by need. In the face of such scarcity, many people endorse a principle according to which highest priority should be given to the worst off. However, in order for this prioritarian principle to be useful for allocation decisions, policy-makers need to know what it means to be badly off. In this article, we outline a conception of disadvantage suitable for identifying the worst off for the purpose of making health resource (...) allocation decisions. According to our total advantage view: the worst off are those who have the greatest total lifetime disadvantage; advantage foregone due to premature death should be treated in the same way as other ways of being disadvantaged at a time; how badly off someone is depends on the actual outcomes that will befall her without intervention, not her prospects at a time; and all significant forms of disadvantage count for determining who is worst off, not just disadvantage relating to health. We conclude by noting two important implications of the total advantage view: first, that those who die young are among the globally worst off, and second, that the epidemiological shift in the global burden of disease from communicable to non-communicable diseases should not lead to a corresponding shift in global health spending priorities. (shrink)

Risk Management Strategies and Investment Behaviors are considered important factors in the investing activities of the retail investors. This study seeks to determine the relationship between Risk Management Strategies and Investment Behavior of Generation Z retail investors. The study is a correlational research and purposive sampling was used to select the respondents for this study. Cochran’s formula was utilized to determine the total sample size or total number of respondents. Spearman’s Rank-Order Correlation was employed to assess the significant relationship (...) of Risk Management Strategies and Investment Behaviors. Based on the results, it showed that risk management strategies have a significant relationship with one or more of the investment behaviors. Risk avoidance has a significant relationship with confirmation bias. Risk reduction has a significant relationship with all of the investment behaviors such as overconfidence, loss-aversion, recency bias, and confirmation bias. Risk transfer shows a significant relationship with only loss-aversion and confirmation bias. And lastly, risk acceptance also has a significant relationship with all of the investment behaviors. This study recommends exploring other types of behavioral biases under cognitive bias and emotional bias to determine their correlation with risk management strategies. Also, broadening the sample size, demographic scope, and geographic scope of the study can improve the generalizability of the study and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between investment behavior and risk management strategies. The researchers also recommend to utilize interviews and focus group discussions to gain an in-depth understanding of the underlying values and attitudes concerning investment behavior. (shrink)

But, a cost or an investment, without sciences and scientific advancement, humankind has no future, or at least, no human future, while the animal future remains to be seen.

Does AI conform to humans, or will we conform to AI? An ethical evaluation of AI-intensive companies will allow investors to knowledgeably participate in the decision. The evaluation is built from nine performance indicators that can be analyzed and scored to reflect a technology’s human-centering. When summed, the scores convert into objective investment guidance. The strategy of incorporating ethics into financial decisions will be recognizable to participants in environmental, social, and governance investing, however, this paper argues that conventional ESG (...) frameworks are inadequate for AI-intensive companies. To fully account for contemporary technology, the following categories of evaluation will be developed and featured as vital investing criteria: autonomy, dignity, privacy, performance. With these priorities established, the larger goal is a model for humanitarian investing in AI-intensive companies that is intellectually robust, manageable for analysts, useful for portfolio managers, and credible for investors. (shrink)

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Provisions in the Philippines 1. Constitutional Framework: Limitations on FDI The 1987 Philippine Constitution imposes restrictions on foreign ownership in specific sectors: - Land ownership: Limited to Filipino citizens or 60% Filipino-owned corporations. - Public utilities, educational institutions, mass media, and advertising: Must be at least 60% Filipino-owned. - Natural resources: Foreigners can develop only through joint ventures (60% Filipino-owned) or Technical or Financial Assistance Agreements (TFAAs). These limitations can discourage foreign investment in infrastructure, education, and (...) agriculture. 2. Legislative Framework: Major Laws Favoring FDI A. RA 11647 (Amended Foreign Investments Act) Signed in 2022, RA 11647 eases restrictions on foreign ownership: - Allows 100% foreign ownership in small enterprises with advanced technology or without Filipino investors. - Creates the Inter-Agency Investment Promotion Coordination Committee (IPCC). - Aims to attract innovation and tech transfer. B. RA 11595 (Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2021) - Lowers the minimum paid-up capital from $2.5 million to $500,000. - For luxury goods: minimum capital of $250,000. - Simplifies procedures to encourage more foreign retailers. C. RA 11659 (Amended Public Service Act) - Redefines 'public utilities' to exclude telecom, shipping, and transport. - Allows 100% foreign ownership in redefined sectors. - Core utilities like water and electricity remain limited to 40%. D. CREATE Law (RA 11534) - Reduces corporate income tax from 30% to 25%, and to 20% for SMEs. - Offers tailored incentives to attract both foreign and local investors. 3. Sector-Specific Policies Affecting FDI - Agriculture and Natural Resources: 40% cap on foreign ownership; TFAAs allowed. - Real Estate: No land ownership, but building ownership and land lease allowed (50 + 25 years). - Banking and Finance: Up to 100% foreign ownership under RA 10641. - Education: Requires 60% Filipino ownership (still restricted). 4. Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) The FINL details sectors closed or limited to foreign investors: - List A: Constitutionally and legally restricted sectors (e.g., mass media, small-scale mining). - List B: Restricted for national security, health, or moral reasons. 5. Comparison with ASEAN Countries Here is a summary comparison of FDI-related policies across ASEAN: -/- Philippines: No land ownership, 100% in telecom, 25% tax, ranked 95th in ease of doing business. Vietnam: Lease land only, 100% telecom, 20% tax, ranked 70th. Indonesia: Lease land only, 100% telecom (some restrictions), 22% tax, ranked 73rd. Malaysia: Lease land only, 100% across sectors, 24% tax, ranked 12th. Thailand: Lease land only, 49%-100% in telecom, 20% tax, ranked 21st. Singapore: Land ownership allowed with approval, 100% in all sectors, 17% tax, ranked 2nd. 6. Future Reforms (Under Debate) - Proposals exist to amend the Constitution's economic provisions to allow: • Foreign land ownership • Foreign control of schools and services - These reforms are essential but face political resistance. Conclusion RA 11647 is the most significant legal provision liberalizing FDI in the Philippines. It, along with other reforms such as RA 11659 and CREATE, makes the Philippines more attractive to investors. However, full potential will only be achieved if constitutional limits on land, education, and utilities are lifted. References - 1987 Philippine Constitution - Republic Act No. 11647 (Foreign Investments Act of 1991, as amended) - Republic Act No. 11595 (Retail Trade Liberalization Act) - Republic Act No. 11659 (Public Service Act) - Republic Act No. 11534 (CREATE Law) - Philippine Statistics Authority and DTI Reports - World Bank Ease of Doing Business Reports (2019) - ASEAN Investment Reports Best FDI Provisions for the Philippines The following are considered the best and most strategic provisions that enhance the Philippines' FDI environment: 1. RA 11647 – Amended Foreign Investments Act (2022) - Allows 100% foreign ownership in enterprises with advanced technology or where no Filipino investors are involved. - Establishes the Inter-Agency Investment Promotion Coordination Committee (IPCC) to streamline promotion efforts. - Encourages innovation and the entry of high-value investments. 2. RA 11659 – Amended Public Service Act (2022) - Reclassifies telecoms, airlines, and railways as public services, not public utilities. - Enables 100% foreign ownership in these key sectors, expanding access to capital and technology. 3. RA 11595 – Retail Trade Liberalization Act (2021) - Reduces minimum capital requirements from $2.5 million to $500,000. - Simplifies requirements and procedures for foreign retailers. - Enhances competition and consumer access to quality goods. 4. RA 11534 – CREATE Law (2021) - Cuts corporate income tax to 25% for large firms and 20% for small businesses. - Offers performance-based, time-bound, and transparent fiscal incentives. - Enhances investor confidence and reduces cost of doing business. 5. Special Economic Zones (PEZA & BOI Incentives) - Offer income tax holidays, duty-free importation of capital equipment, and simplified import/export procedures. - Provide world-class infrastructure and one-stop shop services for investors. These provisions collectively represent the strongest legal and economic foundations for attracting and retaining foreign investment in the Philippines. -/- . (shrink)

Abstract: In developing societies, foreign direct investment is an invaluable tool for achieving economic growth by enhancing competitiveness through offering employment, transferring sophisticated technologies, boosting productivity and promoting infrastructure. The main objective of the paper is to examine the trends of foreign direct investment and economic growth in Africa, with specific reference to Nigeria’s experience in pre-recession period. The paper notes that foreign direct investment provides capital for investment, it enhances job creation and managerial skills, and possibly technology transfer. The (...) paper observe that prior to the economic recession, Nigeria experienced continued increased in foreign direct investment. The study is an empirical investigation, using a time series data between 1999-2014. The data collected was analyzed using table of frequency distribution, bar chart, graph and correlation analysis. The analysis shows that there is a high positive correlation relationship between FDI and economic growth in Nigeria during the period under study. Based on the results and findings, the paper recommend among others that for Nigeria to optimize the potential benefits of FDI, it is important that the government exercise fiscal discipline and control measures in its pattern of borrowing and spending. (shrink)

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial technology (FinTech) sector has created unprecedented opportunities for automating and enhancing financial advisory systems. This research focuses on the application of generative AI to develop automated financial advisory platforms, integrating natural language processing (NLP) and reinforcement learning (RL) for the formulation of personalized investment strategies. Traditional financial advisory models, often characterized by manual processes, human bias, and limited scalability, are increasingly unable to meet the demands of a fast-paced and diverse (...) investment landscape. In response, AI-driven systems present a transformative approach, leveraging the power of generative models to process vast amounts of data and provide real-time, tailored financial recommendations to both retail and institutional investors. This study delves into the technical mechanisms underpinning the integration of generative models with NLP and RL frameworks. Generative models, including variational autoencoders (VAEs) and generative adversarial networks (GANs), play a critical role in simulating complex financial scenarios and generating investment strategies that reflect dynamic market conditions. By synthesizing vast amounts of historical market data, these models create high-dimensional representations of financial environments, which are then used to train reinforcement learning agents. The RL agents learn optimal investment strategies through continuous interaction with these simulated environments, dynamically adjusting to new market information and user preferences. This ability to simulate and optimize investment decisions allows for more sophisticated, personalized strategies, as compared to conventional rule-based systems. Natural language processing enhances the system by enabling it to process unstructured data from various sources, including financial news, reports, and social media, which can significantly impact market trends. NLP models, particularly transformer-based architectures like BERT and GPT, are employed to extract, interpret, and summarize relevant textual information in real-time, feeding it into the generative and RL models. This integration allows the financial advisory system to understand and respond to both quantitative and qualitative factors affecting financial markets. Moreover, the NLP component supports direct interaction between the AI-driven system and users, facilitating personalized communication and user-specific strategy recommendations. This two-way communication is pivotal in enhancing customer engagement, as users can input preferences, risk tolerance, and financial goals, which the system continuously refines and incorporates into its investment strategy formulation. Reinforcement learning plays a pivotal role in the adaptive learning process, allowing the system to improve its decision-making over time by receiving feedback from the environment, such as market performance and user satisfaction. Specifically, model-free RL approaches like Q-learning and policy gradient methods are applied to optimize investment strategies. These approaches enable the system to evaluate multiple potential actions in real-time and select those with the highest expected return, given the current market state and individual user profile. Over time, the RL agent learns to maximize cumulative returns by balancing exploration of new strategies with the exploitation of known profitable actions. By leveraging RL in tandem with generative models, the system can autonomously adjust its strategy in response to changing market conditions and user requirements, thereby delivering a highly customized investment plan that evolves with the investor’s financial landscape. The potential of these AI-driven advisory systems lies not only in their technical sophistication but also in their ability to democratize financial planning. Traditionally, high-quality financial advisory services have been accessible primarily to affluent individuals or large institutions due to the high cost of personalized financial advice. By automating the advisory process through AI, these systems can provide personalized financial planning at scale, making high-quality investment strategies accessible to a broader range of users, including those with limited financial literacy or smaller investment portfolios. This democratization of financial services is particularly significant in the context of retail investors, who can now access sophisticated financial insights and recommendations that were previously reserved for institutional clients. Furthermore, this paper explores the broader implications of AI-driven financial advisory systems on investor behavior and decision-making. By providing real-time, data-driven insights and personalized investment strategies, these systems have the potential to mitigate common cognitive biases in financial decision-making, such as overconfidence, loss aversion, and herd behavior. Through continuous learning and adaptation, AI-driven systems can guide users towards more rational, objective investment decisions, potentially improving overall financial outcomes for both retail and institutional investors. However, the paper also addresses the challenges associated with the deployment of AI in financial advisory systems, including issues of data privacy, algorithmic transparency, and the need for robust regulatory frameworks to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI in financial decision-making. (shrink)

China has overtaken Japan as the world's second-biggest economy. In a remarkably short span– less than fifteen years– the United States economy has experienced a relatively huge decline vis-à-vis China on a nominal GDP basis.

Green New Deal policies are proposed to tackle the climate emergency. These policies focus on driving climate innovation through unprecedented financial policy levers. However, while the macro-level financing dynamics are clear, the influence of niche level dynamics of sustainable innovation financing remain unexplored within these policy settings. Through the context of the European Green Deal and a focus on the agri-tech start-up sector in the Netherlands, we identify factors likely to reduce the efficacy of these policies from an innovation management (...) perspective—such as project matching issues, socio-ethical factors or the characteristics of agri-food climate innovations. We go on to conceptualise that these challenges represent a range of asymmetries—from classic information asymmetries to less common value and objective asymmetries—between climate innovators and private investors and financers. Many remedies for asymmetries involve costs, likely to further inhibit the efficacy of the European Green Deal and similar policies. A partnering approach is proposed, where the non-financial resources of incumbent actors are harnessed and leveraged to enhance climate innovation performance. (shrink)

The current study is conducted to examine how investors’ information priorities for investment decision-making influence their fear during the crisis.

The problem of supporting scientific and educational institutions is considered. A method of selective financing of scientific and educational institutions that create innovative technologies taking into account their investment in innovative developments is proposed. On the basis of statistical data on the indicators for assessing the activities of scientific and educational institutions and the indicator of the innovative potential of a scientific and educational institution from the production of innovations (PNn), their rating was calculated. The essence of PNn is to (...) compare the indicators of the volumes of income of the special fund Dsfn and the volume of expenditures of the scientific and educational institution Vn. -/- In order to stimulate scientific and educational institutions to create innovative technologies, it was proposed to introduce targeted investments. The problem of quantifying the rate of premium on the basis of an integrated approach in terms of indicators of innovative potential from the production of innovations and the rating of a scientific and educational institution for 2 institutions (namely: K and H) has been solved. Institution K will receive a large increase, and institution N will receive a smaller increase, the value of which will be 56.23 % and 43.76 %, respectively. The results showed the independence of the indicator of the innovative potential of a scientific and educational institution from the production of innovations from the previous rating of a scientific and educational institution, or vice versa. The proposed methodology has been tested by an experimental method, targeted investments have been determined based on an integrated approach in terms of indicators of innovative potential and the rating of a scientific and educational institution. -/- This study is of practical interest to government authorities and grantors when allocating funds according to the vector of selective financing of scientific and educational institutions through targeted investments in the development of innovative technologies, and theoretically – to researchers dealing with issues of financial security, protectionism and public administration. (shrink)

The question of when to stop an unsuccessful experiment can be difficult to answer from an individual perspective. To help to guide these decisions, we turn to the social epistemology of science and investigate knowledge inquisition within a group. We focused on the expensive and lengthy experiments in high energy physics, which were suitable for citation-based analysis because of the relatively quick and reliable consensus about the importance of results in the field. In particular, we tested whether the time spent (...) on a scientific project correlates with the project output. Our results are based on data from the high energy physics laboratory Fermilab. They point out that there is an epistemic saturation point in experimenting, after which the likelihood of obtaining major results drops. With time the number of less significant publications does increase, but highly cited ones do not get published. Since many projects continue to run after the epistemic saturation point, it becomes clearer that decisions made about continuing them are not always rational. (shrink)

Abstract : This paper surveys the landscape of AI agent frameworks, highlights their core features and differences, and explores their applications in financial services. We synthesize insights from recent industry reports, academic research, and technical blog posts, focusing on frameworks such as CrewAI, LangGraph, LlamaIndex, and others. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities of deploying agentic AI in production environments, with an emphasis on financial trading, investment analysis, and decision support. We analyze the rapidly evolving landscape of agentic AI (...) systems, focusing on their architecture, capabilities, and practical implementations in banking, trading, and risk management. The study examines prominent frameworks including LangGraph for stateful agent orchestration, CrewAI for collaborative multi-agent workflows, and AutoGen for conversational agent systems, alongside industry platforms like IBM watsonx and NVIDIA NIM. The study examines both technical frameworks (LangGraph, CrewAI, AutoGen, etc.) and practical implementations in financial institutions. We highlight productivity gains (up to 80% time reduction in data tasks), risk management improvements, and workforce transformation challenges. The paper concludes with recommendations for financial institutions adopting agentic AI solutions. Our analysis reveals three key findings: (1) specialized agent frameworks achieve 50-80% productivity gains in financial data tasks compared to traditional approaches, (2) multi-agent systems demonstrate particular promise in complex domains like algorithmic trading and fraud detection, and (3) successful deployment requires addressing critical challenges in workforce upskilling, risk alignment, and regulatory compliance. The paper provides a theoretical foundation for agentic AI in finance, introducing formal models for agent design patterns, multimodal fusion, and market microfoundations. We further present a summary of several evaluation frameworks for assessing agent performance across financial use cases, including portfolio optimization and AML compliance. The study concludes with recommendations for financial institutions adopting agentic AI, emphasizing the need for standardized architectures, robust testing protocols, and hybrid human-AI workflows. (shrink)

Tech companies have eagerly utilised mindfulness techniques in order to increase both creativity and productivity among their managers and employees. However, while a growing number of studies within fields of clinical psychology and psychiatry suggest that mindfulness provides myriad health benefits, such literature does not critically evaluate the societal and affective influences of mindfulness and other wellness practices on working bodies. By focusing on discourses related to mindfulness training, this paper explores the conception of ‘being present’. Drawing on the phenomenology (...) of the body, affect theory, and critical mindfulness studies, we develop a new theoretical framework for analysing mindfulness as a somatic and social force in technology-driven business contexts. Using research material drawn from the online advertising of mindfulness programmes for managers, this paper describes ‘presence’ as a new labour concept associated with the cultivated performance skill of the managerial body in the era of late capitalism. We conclude that mindfulness training – transforming the somatic into an affective investment – has transformed Buddhist meditation into capital that can be bought and consumed. (shrink)

Can environmental investments fuel business innovation? A recent study from Germany suggests they can—but the relationship is more nuanced than it seems. Using data from more than 63,000 firms across Germany between 2009 and 2017, Temouri et al. (2025) explore how regional environmental protection investments (EPIs) and the presence of business clusters shape firm-level innovation. Their analysis centers on two critical drivers: public investment in environmental initiatives at the regional level and business clusters—geographically concentrated networks of interconnected firms within related (...) industries. These clusters are widely recognized for promoting innovation by enabling knowledge sharing, collaboration, and access to shared resources and infrastructure. (shrink)

The global race for scientific supremacy is more than a geopolitical contest; it is a test of humanity’s ability to use finite resources wisely. Europe’s FP10, Asia’s rapid R&D growth, and the shifting priorities of the United States each offer lessons in both opportunities and pitfalls. As emerging economies navigate this complex landscape, the focus must remain on maximizing effectiveness and efficiency in science investments. Ultimately, the question is not only about how much we invest in science but also how (...) intelligently we do so. Science must lead by example, proving its capacity to innovate its own processes while addressing humanity’s most pressing challenges. Only then can we ensure that finite resources yield infinite possibilities. (shrink)

As biodiversity continues to decline across the globe, Europe faces a pressing question: can private finance help close the yawning gap in conservation funding? A recent study by zu Ermgassen et al. (2025) examines the state of biodiversity finance in Europe, revealing both promise and peril in efforts to mobilize private investment.

Abstract: For the last two decades, land and land-related problems are more complicated ever before. Especially the proliferation of large-scale rural land investments and the vulnerability of the local communities in land abundant developing countries instigated researchers, human right activists, and international and regional organizations to proposed governance guidelines, principles, and codes of conduct for large-scale land investments. To identify policy flaws on the protection of local community rights under the governance process of large-scale rural land investment in Amhara National (...) Regional State Ethiopia the commonalities of those international and regional accepted governance guiding lines and principles are taken as a point of reference to examine the land governance policies of the region through the approach of document analysis. The result shows all legislation with regard to the governance of large-scale rural land investment is flawed throughout the land policy reform processes and identified five ways in which the de jure land-related rights of the local communities are compromised and exacerbated the vulnerability of their livelihoods. (shrink)

Scientific sources demonstrate different attitudes of researchers to cryptocurrencies because they treat them as a category of currency, virtual money, commodity, etc. Accordingly, the relation to the valuation and risk of cryptocurrency as an investment object is different. The purpose of the article is to identify cryptocurrency value formation factors and determine the risks of investing in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is simultaneously considered a currency, an asset with uncertain income, and a specific product, the price of which is determined by (...) the energy costs for mining new cryptocurrency blocks. Thus, the paper examines the risks of investing in cryptocurrency from several positions. First, the study identifies the factors of formation of the value and risk of cryptocurrency as ordinary money based on comparing cryptocurrency with traditional money. Unlike traditional money, cryptocurrency is not tied to the economic performance of a particular country; also, central banks do not control or regulate their mining. Instead, the cryptocurrency emissions depend on the computational capacity of the equipment used for their mining. As a financial asset, cryptocurrency can be a “financial bubble” because their value increasing often exceeds the cost of mining. On the other hand, given the emergence of cryptocurrency as a phenomenon of the information economy, the paper analyses the impact of specific technical features (cryptographic hashing algorithm, the complexity of creating new blocks, the technology of verification of mining operations, etc.) on the risk of investing in cryptocurrency assets. (shrink)

This study examined the determinants of trust in artificial intelligence (AI) in the area of asset management. Many studies of risk perception have found that value similarity determines trust in risk managers. Some studies have demonstrated that value similarity also influences trust in AI. AI is currently employed in a diverse range of domains, including asset management. However, little is known about the factors that influence trust in asset management-related AI. We developed an investment game and examined whether shared (...) class='Hi'>investing strategy with an AI advisor increased the participants’ trust in the AI. In this study, questionnaire data were analyzed (n=101), and it was revealed that shared investing strategy had no significant effect on the participants’ trust in AI. In addition, it had no effect on behavioral trust. Perceived ability had significantly positive effects on both subjective and behavioral trust. This paper also discusses the empirical implications of the findings. (shrink)

Concern about the ethics of clinical drug trials research on patients and healthy volunteers has been the subject of significant ethical analysis and policy development—protocols are reviewed by Research Ethics Committees and subjects are protected by informed consent procedures. More recently attention has begun to be focused on DNA banking for clinical and pharmacogenetics research. It is, however, surprising how little attention has been paid to the commercial nature of such research, or the unique issues that present when subjects are (...) asked to consent to the storage of biological samples. Our contention is that in the context of pharmacogenetic add-on studies to clinical drug trials, the doctrine of informed consent fails to cover the broader range of social and ethical issues. Applying a sociological perspective, we foreground issues of patient/subject participation or ‘work’, the ambiguity of research subject altruism, and the divided loyalties facing many physicians conducting clinical research. By demonstrating the complexity of patient and physician involvement in clinical drug trials, we argue for more comprehensive ethical review and oversight that moves beyond reliance on informed consent to incorporate understandings of the social, political and cultural elements that underpin the diversity of ethical issues arising in the research context. (shrink)

There is a need to rapidly assess the impact of new technology initiatives on the Counter Improvised Explosive Device battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. The immediate challenge is the need for rapid decisions, and a lack of engineering test data to support the assessment. The rapid assessment methodology exploits available information to build a probabilistic model that provides an explicit executable representation of the initiative’s likely impact. The model is used to provide a consistent, explicit, explanation to decision makers on (...) the likely impact of the initiative. Sensitivity analysis on the model provides analytic information to support development of informative test plans. (shrink)

Understanding where companies operate is fundamental to evaluating how they both affect and rely on nature. In a recent review, Christiaen et al. (2025) shed light on a frequently overlooked yet critical element of sustainability reporting: asset location data. Because biodiversity and ecosystem services are inherently location-specific, financial institutions must employ geospatial data to assess nature-related financial risks accurately.

In markets globalization and increasing competition context, governments of the world’s leading countries are forced to use complex organizational and economic instruments to support the countries’ economy. One of such instruments is creation of Free Economic Zones (FEZ) with favorable conditions for doing business. Over the last decade activation process of Free Economic Zones mechanism disposal for the economy of a particular country development has been possible to observe. If in 1995 there were approximately 500 zones in the world, now (...) there are more than 4,300 zones in more than 130 countries which employ more than 68 thousand workers. In addition, global practice has shown that FEZ activities effective organization is efficient not only in giving impetus to the country’s economy development, but in bringing it into the world leaders as well. (shrink)

When a company wishes to enter new country, the three major issues can be seen like marketing, sourcing and investment.

This article discusses moral issues raised by defined contribution retirement plans, specifically 401(k) plans in the United States. The primary aim is to defend the claim that the federal government ought to require 401(k) plans to include a range of socially responsible investment (SRI) options. The analysis begins with the minimal assumption that corporations engage in behavior that imposes morally impermissible harms on others with sufficient regularity to warrant attention. After motivating this assumption, I argue that individual investors typically share (...) in the responsibility for the harms imposed by corporations in which they invest, and that they therefore have a moral obligation to incorporate considerations of social responsibility into their investment decisions, when possible, to avoid being complicit in morally impermissible corporate behavior. I further argue that individuals are subject to substantial institutional and structural pressures that create a powerful incentive to invest in 401(k) plans, even though such plans typically lack any SRI options. To eliminate this pressure to commit indirect harm in the process of saving for retirement, I recommend that the federal government requires 401(k) plans to incorporate a range of SRI options, and I defend this proposal from several possible objections. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to point the way to the money tree. Currently, almost all investment professionals think that outperformance requires an “edge,” that is, the ability to predict the future to some degree. In this paper, I suggest that money can be made in a 0, or even slightly negative, expected value environment by carefully choosing investment/bet sizes. Philosophical considerations are found mainly in Section 4.

The article develops a general theory of the goals of free moral commitment. The theoretical hook is the discussion of the strict efficiency striving as demanded by the movement and theory of effective altruism. A detailed example shows prima facie counterintuitive consequences of this efficiency striving, the analysis of which reveals various problems such as: merely point-like but not structural commitment; radical universalism; violation of established moral standards and institutions. The article takes these problems as an occasion to develop a (...) general theory of moral investment with moral guidelines and planning instruments of its implementation such as: efficiency; preservation of existing moral standards and obligations, especially also towards those close to one; rooted universalism with adequate consideration of all beneficiaries of one's moral concern through allocation of separate budgets; real efficiency also through inclusion of strategic and organic investments. (shrink)

In the recent past, Vietnam has dramatically increased its investment relationship and trade with the United States. At the same time, United States foreign direct investment and trade with China has been decreasing. This is even more significant when we are in a period of internal growth within the United States. Using comparative business system analysis theory and a mixed method approach we conclude that Vietnam is turning into the new China for United States firms due to the fewer differences (...) that exist between their business systems. The Chinese business system has major differences when compared with the economic system of the United States, whereas the Vietnam system has closer resemblance to the United States system. We have laid out inferences of our arguments for future research, particularly in the area of institutional comparative advantage. (shrink)

Abstract. In this article we developed scientific and applied foundations of commercialization of the nature-resource potential of anthropogenic objects, on the example of exhausted mines. It is determined that the category of “anthropogenic object” can be considered in a narrow-applied sense, as specific anthropogenic objects to ensure the target needs, and in a broad theoretical sense, meaning everything that is created and changed by human influence, that is the objects of both artificial and natural origin. It was determined that problems (...) of commercialization of the natural-resource potential of anthropogenic objects are most often considered by researchers for specific objects, without having complex methodological coverage from the point of view of combining environmental, technical, economic and managerial components. When studying the substantiation of the scientific base, the authors confirmed the feasibility of the commercialization of natural-resource potential of anthropogenic objects on the example of a number of theoretical scientific studies in reclamation, reconstruction, recreation, remediation, restoration of biological productivity and economic value of land disturbed by economic activity. The considered examples of exhausted mines in the 21st century in the USA, Canada, Germany, Romania, and Poland indicate a wide range of opportunities for their commercialization. The study of the potential for commercialization of exhausted mines in the post-Soviet countries testified to the underused reserves for the commercialization of their nature-resource potential and their high potential for further development. The authors proposed the identification of anthropogenic objects on the basic livelihood spheres of society. There were identified the main system (natural, biological, technical, economic, social, managerial) and structural (subjects, trends, threats, risks, problems, challenges) factors of diagnosing the state of an anthropogenic object. A set of measures has been developed for commercialization of an anthropogenic object in functional and production activities, product policy, financial and investment spheres, pricing and sales policies, promotion, management and determination of property rights. Recommendations were provided on optimizing the management decision-making process based on a set of positivistic development principles, methods, and management functions. The study allows international organizations, state and local authorities, territorial communities, owners and potential investors to see new opportunities and make mutually beneficial decisions on the rational use of the nature-resource potential of anthropogenic objects. (shrink)

The danger of deflation has been rather frequently mentioned recently among nu-merous concerns over the European and partly American economies. Analysts cite the Japanese economy which has been suffering from deflation for the last two decades despite the large investments in economy and the government's efforts to increase inflation. Similarly, notwithstanding many trillions of dollars, euro, pounds and yen that were invested in economies over the past few years, the infla-tion in the Western countries still remains low. On the whole, (...) there are reasons to maintain that European countries suffer from ‘the Japanese disease’, and this disease can progress or even become chron-ic. The USA, although to a lesser extent, has the signs of the disease as well. As a result, the financial infusions can become permanent, as it happened in Japan. The present paper defines the reasons of the problem, explains the irregularity of the inflation-deflation processes in the world and also offers some forecasts. (shrink)