Serhiy Lyeonov
57889766600
Publications - 10
Emotion-based insights into pro-environmental video campaigns: A study on waste sorting behavior in Ukraine
Publication Name: Environmental Economics
Publication Date: 2025-01-01
Volume: 16
Issue: 2
Page Range: 50-72
Description:
This study aims to examine how different types of pro-environmental video content (featuring humans versus AI-generated characters) influence household waste sorting attitudes and behaviors among Ukrainian residents. The research was conducted in two stages using a mixed-method approach. In the first stage, 102 individuals aged 18-45 watched two videos on waste sorting and completed an online questionnaire. Cluster and variance analyses were performed using Statistica software. In the second stage, 35 participants underwent a laboratory-based emotion analysis using iMotions software, heart rate monitors, and galvanic skin response sensors at the Behavioral Lab of Sumy State University (Ukraine) from May to July 2024. The results revealed that videos featuring real people were more effective in generating interest (average rating: 3.5 vs. 3.2) and emotional engagement, particularly joy and contempt, which were the most frequently expressed emotions. Cluster analysis identified four distinct respondent groups. Cluster 1 (39.2%) - primarily young women - responded positively to human-led videos but showed limited behavioral change. Cluster 2 (19.6%) - women aged 26-35 - reacted positively to both videos and were most willing to adopt waste sorting behavior. Cluster 3 (23.5%) - primarily men - showed moderate engagement and sorted waste occasionally. Cluster 4 (17.6%) - highly educated women - exhibited the least positive responses and were least likely to change their behavior. The emotion analysis confirmed that videos featuring real people elicited stronger emotional responses across all categories, whereas AI-generated videos prompted higher levels of anger but generally weaker engagement.
Open Access: Yes
Quality at the Core: A Multifaceted Analysis of Higher Education’s Impact on the Knowledge Economy
Publication Name: Journal of the Knowledge Economy
Publication Date: 2025-11-01
Volume: 16
Issue: 5
Page Range: 16637-16669
Description:
In a globalized, knowledge-driven economy, the quality of higher education is a pivotal contributor to socio-economic advancement, yet its assessment remains complex due to its inherent subjectivity and multifaceted nature. This study presents an innovative methodological approach for evaluating the quality of higher education within the knowledge economy framework, utilizing the context-input-process-output (CIPO) model, exploratory factor analysis, and stochastic frontier analysis. The input indicators include financial resources (government spending per student, direct public funding for a student, share of capital/current expenditures, compensation to the teaching/nonteaching staff), human resources (student–teacher ratio, share of enrollment in higher education, number of teachers), and expected duration of higher education. The output indicators include the general level of graduation from first-degree programs and level of education, at least completed short-cycle higher education. Indicators of economic (GDP per capita) and social (employment rate and Gini index) development of the country were chosen as context parameters. Conducting a comparative analysis across 36 European countries from 2001 to 2017 available data, the authors identified integrated factors for input and output parameters, as well as context parameters characterizing the quality of higher education. Then we categorize national higher education systems into five distinct quality levels: very low, low, satisfactory, high, and very high. This classification enables us to dissect and understand the challenges faced by countries at the lower end of the quality spectrum and propose strategic solutions informed by the best practices of the leading nations. Our findings offer critical insights into optimizing higher education quality to enhance competitive advantages for educational institutions, improve employment prospects and living standards for students, secure a more qualified workforce for employers, and spur economic growth and productivity at the national level. This comprehensive assessment underscores the role of quality education as a cornerstone of the knowledge economy, driving innovation, economic development, and societal progress.
Open Access: Yes
Inclusive growth: Literature review
Publication Name: Journal of International Studies
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Page Range: 205-232
Description:
The paper presents a comprehensive analysis of scholarly literature within the domain of inclusive growth. It meticulously categorises diverse approaches aimed at delineating the essence of inclusive growth, encompassing the articulation of principal objectives, and identifying challenges that inclusive growth endeavours to address. Furthermore, to enhance the organization of research and attain a nuanced understanding of prevalent, well-explored, and under-researched themes, the study advocates for a supplementary bibliometric analysis of publications on inclusive growth. Utilizing data extracted from the Scopus and Web of Science databases from 1995 to 2022, this research discerns notable scholarly interest in inclusive growth, particularly among academic communities in the United States, India, and Great Britain. The findings delineate several focal points within the realm of inclusive growth, including the determinants of developmental trajectories, the constituents and metrics of economic expansion, as well as the evaluation and prognostication of its outcomes. Moreover, the study underscores the significance, characteristics, and potential avenues of inclusive growth, alongside the imperative of financial inclusivity and its role in fostering equitable economic development. Additionally, it identifies key components essential for achieving sustainable development objectives, elucidating how inclusive growth initiatives are intricately linked to the mitigation of pervasive societal challenges such as poverty, inequality, and unemployment. By identifying prominent clusters of scholarly discourse, this research facilitates a nuanced comprehension of the most salient themes and issues animating the discourse on inclusive growth, thus providing a valuable foundation for future scholars and policymakers in this crucial area.
Open Access: Yes
DETERMINANTS OF GLOBAL MIGRATION: THE IMPACT OF ESG INVESTMENTS AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Publication Name: Economics and Sociology
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Page Range: 215-235
Description:
In response to global economic, social, and environmental problems, ESG investment principles have changed the approach to directing and structuring foreign direct investment. Additionally, they are becoming an essential factor in attracting migrants. This article aims to determine the impact of foreign direct investment on global migration trends and their peculiarities with the introduction of ESG investment principles. For this purpose, global foreign direct investment flows, global ESG investment flows, and global migration trends have been analyzed from 1995 to 2022. Pairwise correlation calculation was used as the primary analysis method through R-Studio software with integrated R programming language. The results indicated a 35% correlation between the volume of global ESG investment flows and the number of international migrants (as a percentage of the total population, which varies between 3.2% and 3.6%) for 2010-2022. Subsequently, regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between critical variables: investment flows and the level of migration in four European countries (France, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany). It was determined that investment inflows led to new jobs, accelerated economic growth, and improved business climate, thus encouraging reduced outflow and increased inflow of migrants. Investments based on ESG principles also reduce emigration as they enhance the quality of life in the host country, provide better environmental protection, and promote more transparent corporate management. However, it should be noted that investments have no apparent impact on migration caused by external factors such as wars or political conflicts, so such analysis should not include periods of global economic and political unrest.
Open Access: Yes
UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION IN R&D TO REDUCE THE INFORMAL ECONOMY AND STRENGTHEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Publication Name: Economics and Sociology
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 16
Issue: 3
Page Range: 339-353
Description:
University-industry collaboration in R&D has great potential as a partnership that promotes sustainable development. This article aims to confirm that university-industry collaboration in R&D contributes to reducing the size of informal economy and strengthening sustainable development. Correlation and causal analysis are applied to achieve this goal: Shapiro-Wilk test, Pearson’s and Spearman correlation methods, vector autoregression and Granger causality test are used on the basis of STATA software for a cross-country sample of 10 countries with the highest Sustainable Development Index over 2011-2018. Research results show that stronger university-industry R&D collaboration contributes to more robust sustainable development in 6 out of 10 sample countries and shrinking informal economy in 4 out of 10 countries. In turn, growth of the informal economy leads to a decrease in university-industry R&D collaboration in 5 out of 10 countries and inhibits sustainable development in 7 out of 10 countries. In conclusion, policymakers should transform the national policy and strategy to emphasize and strengthen R&D cooperation between the universities and the industry.
Open Access: Yes
Strategic management, scenario analysis and competitive advantage analysis: New opportunities for anti-money laundering system reform
Publication Name: E A M Ekonomie A Management
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 26
Issue: 2
Page Range: 140-157
Description:
The article identifies and mathematically substantiates vectors of reforming the financial monitoring system based on the synergistic approach in the cross-country context by developing scenarios by selecting internal and external factors that stimulate money laundering. The key external and internal factors of the money laundering process intensification are indicated. Competitive advantages of the anti-money laundering processes, the achievement of which is possible in terms of key external and internal factors for activation of money laundering process are formed. The relationship between the key internal and external factors of money laundering intensification and competitive advantages by building a binary characteristic matrix is formed. The synergy effect made by the mutual influence of simultaneously acting internal and external factors – a quantitative feature of the further strategy of the financial monitoring system reforming in terms of cross-country analysis is calculated. An economic-mathematical model for evaluating and interpreting strategy for improving the financial monitoring system in terms of cross-country context based on integer optimization is developed. In the article, there is calculation of the number of competitive advantages received by each observed country, without considering the possible synergy effect of mutual influence of simultaneously acting internal and external factors on each other. Moreover, there is quantitative assessment of the synergy effect made by the emergence of additional competitive advantages due to a certain combination of simultaneous influence made by external and internal factors of the money laundering intensification. The “ideal” situation of the possibility of gaining all possible competitive advantages in reforming the financial monitoring system in terms of cross-country context by overcoming internal and external factors stimulating the money laundering is studied. The results of the cross-country analysis form a basis for the further formalization of the limits for quantitative evaluation of the developed strategies through a uniform distribution.
Open Access: Yes
QUALITY OF SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY AS A DETERMINANT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Publication Name: Economics and Sociology
Publication Date: 2022-01-01
Volume: 15
Issue: 3
Page Range: 301-318
Description:
The purpose of this work is to identify the functional links between key indicators of scientific activity and socio-economic development and to check whether the quality of scientific activity and the dynamics of innovative development are the key determinants of socio-economic progress. Following the chosen methodology, the paper forms an array of input data that characterizes the level of scientific and innovative activity, economic and social development. The principal component method is used to identify the most relevant indicators from each group and to introduce three latent variables that denote each group separately. A system of simultaneous structural equations is obtained as a result of establishing functional relationships between manifest and latent variables and building a structural model. In addition, the paper determines two clusters of the studied countries to confirm the obtained results through structural modelling. The study is conducted for 35 European countries based on 33 indicators, which characterize the quality of scientific activity, economic and social development during 2014-2020. The obtained system of structural equations confirms the hypothesis regarding the importance of scientific activity quality in terms of ensuring the socio-economic development of the country.
Open Access: Yes
The triple threat: Understanding the effects of cyber threats, corruption, and money laundering on the business environment
Publication Name: Equilibrium Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy
Publication Date: 2025-01-01
Volume: 20
Issue: 3
Page Range: 1087-1129
Description:
Research background:Cyber threats, corruption and money laundering are interconnected factors that pose significant challenges to the business environment. Their impact varies based on a country's economic development and the effectiveness of countermeasures. Despite global and national efforts to combat these threats, their combined influence on business conditions requires further examination. Purpose of the article: This study aims to analyse the impact of cyber threats, corruption, and money laundering on the business environment across different country groups. It identifies the most vulnerable aspects of business to triple threats and highlights countries exhibiting anomalies in their ability to counter these illegal practices. Methods: The research utilises data from 125 countries, incorporating the Basel Anti-Money Laundering Index, the National Cyber Security Index, and the Corruption Perceptions Index. Correlation analysis established statistically significant relationships between these threats and business conditions. Cluster analysis identified three country groups based on GDP, ease of doing business, and countermeasure effectiveness. Canonical analysis determined the most affected business sectors, while neural network modelling revealed countries with exceptionally high or low effectiveness in combating these threats. Findings & value added: The most affected areas include tax payments, international trade, contract enforcement, electricity access, and insolvency procedures. Among developed countries, Denmark, Finland, and Norway demonstrate high effectiveness in countering these threats, whereas Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Greece show lower efficiency. In developing nations, China, Thailand, and Kazakhstan exhibit strong countermeasures, while Egypt, Ghana, and Grenada lag behind. Among the least developed countries, Mozambique and Nicaragua show high effectiveness, while Venezuela and Yemen fall into the low-performance category. These findings provide a foundation for enhancing national policies and strategies to strengthen economic security and resilience against financial crimes and cyber threats.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.24136/eq.3846
E-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT AND BUSINESS TRANSACTIONAL EXPENDITURE: CROSS-COUNTRY EVIDENCE ON INTEREST RATE SPREAD DISTORTIONS, LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE, AND SERVICES TRADE RESTRICTIVENESS
Publication Name: Economics and Sociology
Publication Date: 2026-01-01
Volume: 19
Issue: 1
Page Range: 195-223
Description:
Digital transformation of the public sector is increasingly relevant because it can reshape the costs firms face in finance, logistics, and cross-border service provision. This study investigates how e-government development and its human-capital, online-service, and telecommunication components influence interest rate spread distortions, logistics performance, and services trade restrictiveness across countries, and whether these effects are linear or non-linear. The analysis uses three unbalanced country panels covering 1,299 observations for 130 countries, 906 observations for 163 countries, and 306 observations for 51 countries, estimated with two-way fixed-effects models and Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, with robustness checks and quadratic specifications implemented in R. The results show that a 0.1-point increase in EGDI is associated with an approximately 0.45-point reduction in the absolute interest rate spread, while the robustness coefficient remains negative at-0.677. Human capital and telecommunication infrastructure are especially important in this dimension, with baseline coefficients of-3.921 and-1.910, respectively. In the logistics specification, aggregate EGDI is insignificant, but HCI is positive and significant (β = 0.372), and a 0.1-point increase in HCI raises the Logistics Performance Index by about 0.037 points. In the services-trade specification, EGDI reduces STRI by-0.095. At the same time, HCI shows a U-shaped effect with a turning point at 0.975, indicating that digital human capital lowers restrictiveness up to very high levels before the relationship turns upward.
Open Access: Yes
E-government development, armed conflict, and government revenue: A cross-country panel analysis
Publication Name: Journal of International Studies
Publication Date: 2026-01-01
Volume: 19
Issue: 1
Page Range: 160-184
Description:
The growing digitalisation of public administration and the increasing number of countries affected by armed conflicts raise important questions about the role of e-government in sustaining government revenue mobilisation under institutional stress. This study examines how the development of digital government influences different sources of public revenue and whether armed conflict moderates this relationship across countries. The analysis uses cross-country panel data for 2003–2024, combining indicators of e-government development from the UN EGDI database, fiscal indicators from the World Bank Open Data, and conflict information from the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset, estimated using two-way fixed effects models with robust clustered standard errors. The results show that economic development is the strongest determinant of revenue mobilisation, with GDP per capita coefficients ranging from 0.95 to 1.22 across models. The overall EGDI does not demonstrate a statistically significant direct effect on tax revenue or revenue excluding grants, although weak interaction effects suggest that armed conflict may reduce the fiscal effectiveness of digital governance (−0.238; p ≈ 0.10). A significant negative relationship is observed for the telecommunications infrastructure component with tax revenue (−0.362; p = 0.005) and revenue excluding grants (−0.349; p = 0.011). For customs duties and social contributions, the results indicate no systematic relationship between e-government development and revenue performance, highlighting the dominant role of macroeconomic conditions in shaping fiscal capacity.
Open Access: Yes
