The aim of this investigation is to check the impact of digitalization and trade openness on economic growth for top ten richest Asian countries. Static Gravity Model and Generalized Method of Moments Model were estimated. We found that digitalization and trade openness have a significant positive effect on economic growth. These results prove that trade openness and digitalization is a source of economic growth for richest Asian countries. Due to the magnitude of the positive externalities attached to the trade openness and digitalisation, in terms of technology transfer bias, financial capacities, economic policies, human expertise, plenty of natural resources, large markets size, and spillover effect added to the domestic capacities and the national investment, the pace of the phenomenal economic performance of the Asian economies is very well marked.

The study assessed the hedge or safe-haven property of five cryptocurrencies for stocks of three COVID- 19 worst-hit African countries. We address two main concerns bordering on the predictive capacity of African stocks for cryptocurrency returns and the safe-haven property that cryptocurrencies could offer to African stocks. A distributed lag model, with explicitly incorporated salient statistical features, was adopted based on its efficient management of parameter proliferation and estimation biases. We ascertained the model’s in-sample predictability and evaluate its out-of-sample forecasts performance in comparison with the historical average model, using Clark and West statistics. While African stocks significantly predicted cryptocurrency returns, the cryptocurrency-stocks nexus revealed the diversifier and safe-haven property of cryptocurrencies for African stocks in periods of normalcy and crisis/pandemic, respectively. Our predictive model outperformed the historical average model in the out-of- sample. Our results may be sensitive to cryptocurrency-stocks nexus and sample periods but not the out-of-sample forecast horizons.

Lack of access to finance constitutes a major setback to the development of the micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector in the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). MSMEs are confronted with stringent funding constraints in traditional lending and capital markets, in particular at the early stages of their activity. Demand and supply of capital to MSMEs thus entails more complex issues compared to the larger firms. This paper presents a number of policy actions that have the potential to mitigate the financing challenges faced by MSMEs in ASEAN at the start-up stage by enhancing the potential of alternative funding sources such as business angel investment, crowdfunding, venture capital investment and SME stock markets.

In this paper, we use the ARDL method to find the Impact of institutional quality on economic growth in Tanzania from 1990 to 2021. The ARDL technique frees variables from residual correlation as all variables are assumed to be endogenous. They distinguish between dependent and explanatory variables in any long-run relationship, identify the co-integrating vectors with multiple co-integrating vectors, and derive the Error Correction Model (ECM) or Error Correction Model (ECM) Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) by integrating short-run adjustments with long-run equilibrium without losing extended-run information. Our results show all adjustment terms in the respective models that have a long-run relationship have correct (negative) signs and are more than one, implying there is convergence in the long run; that is, the models returned to their long-run equilibrium; the rate (or speed) at which this happened ranged between $15 \%$ to $106.6 \%$ annually. Institutional quality has a significant affirmative (0.047) causal long-run effect on economic growth.

The progress of a society depends on and can only be sustained through permanent education, which implies the acquisition of new knowledge, and in this way human capital can be exploited to the maximum. Through education, any individual acquires the ability to develop his potential, and in order to do this, he must undertake a process of education through which he accumulates knowledge and skills, harmoniously develops his personality, as well as shapes his character. Through education and culture, creativity, adaptability, but also other necessary qualities are developed, and as the finality of education, insertion and social integration are of particular importance for any graduate, contributing to his fulfilment from several points of view, material, spiritual, moral.

The article analyses the participation in education of the Romanian population, the evolution of the teaching staff and the general expenses for education in the period 2010-2021.

This paper is the second part of the attempt to examine the governance, efficiency, and development of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) in Bulgaria. In the years of EU membership, the expenditures for AR&D significantly decreased absolutely and relatively as a share in the total expenditures for R&D, which indicates diminishing importance and deteriorating financial, personnel, and material potential of the agrarian knowledge and innovation sector.

The research continues the first part already published in the previous issue with the third point of view related to the governance of agrarian research in Bulgaria is unpacked; forth, the state of the system of education and training of agricultural producers in the country is analysed.