This study empirically documents that inflation is significantly more persistent when it is below the Central Bank's target than otherwise, in five inflation targeting countries (Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, United States and the Euro-Area). We use a threshold autoregressive model to test for this asymmetry in inflation persistence; above and below some estimated threshold. We find that the threshold estimates are reasonable in light of a central bank's announced inflation target. Theoretically, we postulate that this phenomenon occurs because while forming their expectations, agents pay attention to recent observations asymmetrically along the business cycle. It is shown that a New Keynesian model with adaptive learning and an adaptive gain can explain the asymmetry in inflation persistence. Due to relatively larger forecasting errors, agents tend to put more weight on recent events in periods of high inflation, forcing inflation persistence to deteriorate. Our empirical evidence supports the theoretical findings that inflationary periods are associated with larger forecasting errors.

Although the impact of micro-credit and direct cash transfers on women's economic empowerment has been extensively studied, the impact of having access to a bank account remains relatively understudied. This paper uses a detailed national representative dataset of female household heads in Ghana to analyze the relation between access to formal and informal financial accounts and women's economic empowerment. Using propensity score matching, our results elicit that women who have a financial account are more likely to be employed and tend to have higher income. The results are mainly driven by ownership of a formal account (i.e., in a commercial bank) while the impact of informal account ownership is not statistically significant. Thus, our findings call for higher promotion of formal banking, particularly among women in rural and poorer areas where financial inclusion is lower.

The profound implications that digital technologies have for business dynamism and the competitive environment have raised the attention of policymakers and scholars. This paper examines the link between digitalisation and firm growth and investigates whether high-growth enterprises (HGEs) invest and adopt digital technologies differently than non-HGEs. Using the European Investment Bank Investment Survey and Generalised Least Squares as well as random-effects probit models, we find strong complementarities between different digitalisation indicators. Furthermore, firms investing in digitalisation are more likely to exhibit rapid employment, sales and labour productivity growth. Our results also highlight the heterogeneous nature of the digitalisation process and its relationship with firm performance.

This paper uses Mercantile Register data to analyse the location decisions of firms in Catalan municipalities (between 2010 and 2019). Using count data panel estimations, we focus on local sustainability characteristics. The identification of the location patterns and the effects of local environmental policies on firms belonging to different sustainability industries constitute a contribution to the empirical location literature.

The article explores the location dynamics of coworking spaces in Beijing, China, answering three key questions: Where are these spaces located, what determines their location, and what role do creative industry specialization, variety, and government incentives play? Using a count data model applied to data collected in 2022, the findings reveal that most coworking spaces, largely promoted by public authorities, cluster in the city center where knowledge-intensive and creative industries are highly diverse. Beijing's semi-polycentric urban structure shapes coworking location dynamics by forming local hubs of activity. Additionally, the study finds that creative industry specialization and diversity are crucial factors, while government facilities and incentives also play a significant role in determining the locations of these coworking spaces.