University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics

About: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Productivity & Tourism. The organization has 251 authors who have published 533 publications receiving 16109 citations.

The Evolving Landscape of Banking

Abstract: The structure of the financial services industry is in flux. Liberalization, deregulation and advances in information technology have changed the financial landscape dramatically. Interbank competition has heated up and banks face increasing competition from non-banking financial institutions and the financial markets. The predictability of the industry with low levels of financial innovation, little innovation in distribution channels and well defined and rigid institutional structures is gone. Product innovations, new distribution channels and emerging new competitors are in abundance. This paper emphasizes the importance of understanding the economics of banking for assessing the changes in the industry. In particular, we point at relationship banking as a prime source of the banks' comparative advantage. The proliferation of transaction-oriented banking (trading and financial market activities) does however seriously challenge relationship banking. In order to focus on these issues in a rigorous way, we will evaluate the key insights from the relationship banking literature, including the potential complementarities and conflicts of interest between intermediated relationship banking activities and financial market (underwriting, securitization, etc.) activities. We also address the issue of the optimal conglomeration of bank activities, including the empirical evidence on scope and scale economies. We analyze the strategic positioning of banks in the currently highly uncertain competitive arena, and link this to the theory of the firm and particularly firm boundaries and learning.

Generational Wealth Accounts: Did Public and Private Inter-Generational Transfers Offset Each Other Over the Financial Crisis?

Abstract: Intergenerational economics is characterised by three central questions: how much living generations transfer to or from future ones, how these transfers are made, and whether these transfers are sufficient to support sustainable levels of consumption for future generations. Up to now, economists have focused on particular elements (e.g. either public transfers or bequests) and not the combined amounts. To provide a comprehensive view, we develop and present Generational Wealth Accounts (GWA) for the UK. These accounts are based around a private sector intertemporal budget as well as a public one, and so extend the public sector Generational Accounts (GA) of Auerbach, Kotlikoff and Gohkale (1991) to the whole economy. Thus, the accounts provide an integrated view of how much current generations are likely to leave future generations; through both the public-sector and the private-sector. We calculate these GWA accounts for the UK from 2005-2015; a period spanning the financial crisis. Critically, this integrated view gives the following findings. First, private-sector inter-generational transfers are of equal magnitude to public-sector ones. Second, we confirm previous work showing that the public sector in the UK faces serious fiscal challenges but, in contrast, we show that the UK private sector is close to balance. Further, though the public sector finances worsened significantly over the crisis, the private sector balance improved, more than fully offsetting this deterioration. Third, we confirm that the implied proportion of wealth held by generations to support their own consumption (life-cycle purposes) is roughly 70%, with the other 30% being bequeathed to younger ones. Further, we also estimate that older generations, who benefited from rising assets prices over this period, are set to consume around 40% of this appreciation, bequeathing the remaining 60%. We subject our findings to strenuous sensitivity analyses.

A Green Tourism Barometer in the Time of Economic Crisis - The Concept and Case of Slovenia

Abstract: This paper, first, defines responsible versus sustainable tourism and, second, develops a tool to measure a destination’s transition toward more sustainable and responsible tourism. The proposed conceptual measurement model is based on Frey's classification of environmental social stages and presents destination stages from i) ignorance regarding sustainability, ii) to awareness, iii) to sustainability-based strategic thinking and iv) responsibility. The model is tested on the case of the Slovenian accommodation sector. The results are analysed and discussed considering the impact of a great financial and economic crisis (GFEC). The proposed model (the green barometer) proved to be a useful tool in the case of Slovene tourism. The model showed that Slovene tourism has not finished its transition into a sustainable and responsible tourism destination. The stakeholders in Slovene tourism re well-aware of environmental problems and their impacts on business, but more action towards the implementation of sustainability, as well as more efforts in tourism strategy development, planning and responsibility, will be needed. However, and despite the economic crises that started in Slovenia in 2009, the sustainability of Slovene tourism has improved during the 2009-2012 period. At the destination level, economic factors appear to be of less concern for the destination public stakeholders compared to the industry level. However, the GFEC might have forced the tourism stakeholders to redesign their business model and intensify efforts in terms of their product quality and differentiation and to choose a more sustainable development path.

Dimensions of Bank Capital Regulation: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract: This paper identifies the main dimensions of capital regulation. We use survey data from 142 countries from the World Bank’s (2013) database covering various aspects of bank regulation. Using multiple explorative factor analysis, we identify two main dimensions of capital regulation: complexity of capital regulation and stringency of capital regulation. We show that even countries with a common legal and regulatory framework differ substantially in terms of capital regulation. For example, the level of stringency of capital regulation varies substantially across the EU countries, potentially distorting the level playing field.

The influence of ten different motivational factors on academic entrepreneurial intentions

Abstract: Understanding what motivates academics to be involved in entrepreneurial activities could be crucial in technology transfer from academic organizations to industry. Using a data set of 547 academics employed at two different universities (University of Cambridge and University of Ljubljana), this study investigates (using multi-sample analysis and structural equation modeling) the impact of ten different motivational factors as predictors of academic entrepreneurial intentions. The following ten motivational factors were studied: (1) dissatisfaction with the academic environment, (2) desire for independence, (3) desire for safe and permanent employment, (4) desire for taking on and meeting broader responsibilities, (5) desire for wealth, (6) desire to bring technology into practice, (7) desire to disseminate findings through the scientific literature, (8) desire to do something others could not, (9) desire to pursue technological perfection, and (10) desire to secure additional research funding. The study's results show that desire for safe and permanent employment and desire to disseminate findings through the scientific literature have a negative significant influence on academic entrepreneurial intentions, while desire for independence, desire for taking on and meeting broader responsibilities, desire for wealth, and desire to bring technology to practice have a positive significant influence on academic entrepreneurial intentions.