Profitability determinants of the natural stone industry: Evidence from Spain and Italy.

The natural stone sector is an important driver of the Spanish and Italian economies, which underwent internationalization after the financial crisis of 2008 as part of a survival and development strategy. This article aims to study the financial and economic profitability of this sector in the two leading European production countries, as well as its determinants. For this purpose, the economic-financial data of a sample composed of 453 companies (203 Spanish and 250 Italian) from 2015-2019 were analyzed using the multiple linear regression methodology. To address the problems of possible endogeneity and omission of variables in the model, the dependent variable was used as a regressor with one and two lags, and panel data with fixed effects were considered after performing the Hausman test. The results show significant differences between the two countries, with higher profitability in Italy. Company size, company growth (measured as the change in assets), and the variation in the country's GDP all positively affected profitability. At the same time, the level of indebtedness showed a negative relationship. The country's inflation rate and gender diversity in top management were shown to be non-relevant variables. The research conducted indicates that, to increase profitability, Spanish and Italian companies in the natural stone sector should undergo mergers in order to grow in size, increase efficiency in the use of assets, reduce their dependence on external financing, and promote equity capital. In addition, Italian companies should reduce the average period of payment to suppliers to lower deferral costs, and boost exports to become less dependent on the country's domestic economy.

The Relative Importance of Globalization and Public Expenditure on Life Expectancy in Europe: An Approach Based on MARS Methodology.

BACKGROUND: There has been a widespread debate about the overall impact of globalization on population, not just economically, but also in terms of health status. Moreover, the current health crisis is going to force governments to review the structure of the public budget to most effectively alleviate the negative economic and health effects on the population. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to analyze the relative importance of globalization and the public budget composition-specifically the participation of public expenditure on healthcare, social services and environment in gross domestic product (GDP)-on life expectancy at birth in European countries during the period 1995-2017. METHODS: The Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) methodology was applied to analyze the socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy at birth. RESULTS: Our findings show that globalization has no relative importance as an explanatory variable of life expectancy in European countries, while government expenditure on social protection is the most relevant followed by public expenditure on health, gross national income per capita, education level of the population and public expenditure on environmental protection. CONCLUSION: European strategies intended to impact on health outcome should spend more attention to the composition of public budget.

An empirical approach to the "Trump Effect" on US financial markets with causal-impact Bayesian analysis.

In this paper, we have tested the existence of a causal relationship between the arrival of the 45th presidency of United States and the performance of American stock markets by using a relatively novel methodology, namely the causal-impact Bayesian approach. In effect, we have found strong causal relationships which, in addition to satisfying the classical Granger Causality linear test, have been quantified in absolute and relative terms. Our findings should be included in the context of one of the main markets anomalies, the so-called "calendar effects". More specifically, when distinguishing between the subperiods of pre- and post-intervention, data confirm that the "US presidential cycle" represents a process of high uncertainty and volatility in which the behavior of the prices of financial assets refutes the Efficient-Market Hypothesis.

A Causal Analysis of Life Expectancy at Birth. Evidence from Spain.

BACKGROUND: From a causal point of view, there exists a set of socioeconomic indicators concerning life expectancy. The objective of this paper is to determine the indicators which exhibit a relation of causality with life expectancy at birth. METHODS: Our analysis applies the Granger causality test, more specifically its version by Dumitrescu-Hurlin, starting from the information concerning life expectancy at birth and a set of socioeconomic variables corresponding to 17 Spanish regions, throughout the period 2006-2016. To do this, we used the panel data involving the information provided by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare (MHCSW) and the National Institute of Statistics (NIS). RESULTS: Per capita income, and the rate of hospital beds, medical staff and nurses Granger-cause the variable "life expectancy at birth", according to the Granger causality test applied to panel data (Dumitrescu-Hurlin's version). CONCLUSIONS: Life expectancy at birth has become one of the main indicators able to measure the performance of a country's health system. This analysis facilitates the identification of those factors which exhibit a unidirectional Granger-causality relationship with life expectancy at birth. Therefore, this paper provides useful information for the management of public health resources from the point of view of the maximization of social benefits.