This paper aims to investigate the impact of water use efficiency on income inequality in European countries, exploring how financial development moderates this relationship and controlling for economic, institutional and infrastructural control variables. This study uses Method of Moments Quantile Regression on a panel data set including 32 European countries from 2000 to 2021. The analysis uses the GINI coefficient as a measure of income inequality and assesses its relationship with water use efficiency, financial development and control variables. Water use efficiency has a statistically significant negative impact on income inequality across all quantiles, suggesting that more efficient water use contributes to reducing income disparities. This effect is stronger in countries with already lower levels of inequality. Financial development unexpectedly shows a positive relationship with income inequality, potentially indicating a misallocation of financial resources across income level categories. Government efficiency and inland waterways infrastructure have inequality-reducing effects, while the rule of law augments income inequality in the European Union. This study is limited by the lack of comparable research to benchmark findings against and by potential country-specific institutional, cultural and political factors not fully captured in the model. Future research could explore the role of water efficiency technologies, the impact of climate change on water accessibility and sustainable manufacturing practices in relation to income inequality. This research addresses a significant gap in the literature by examining the impact of water use efficiency on income inequality, presenting novel insights into how water resource management affects socioeconomic disparities in European countries.

Abstract Due to an ongoing energy crisis and fluctuating energy prices, the prerequisites for maintaining optimal indoor environmental quality (IEQ), a critical determinant of productivity, cognitive performance, and overall well-being, have been significantly disrupted. This study focuses on examining determinants of thermal comfort, a subjective evaluation of the thermal environment and a key component of IEQ. Through a survey of employees and users of public buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the research employs a four-stage regression analysis to identify the main predictors of thermal comfort. Although 71.33% of respondents report satisfaction with the heating system, only 43.13% find the heating to be adequate, with the optimal perceived temperature averaging 21.66°C. The results show that key factors influencing thermal comfort include thermal sensation, thermal memory, gender, and respondent type (employee versus user). These seminal results could offer valuable productivity and financial implications for energy savings, especially for budgetary policymakers aiming to reduce energy consumption as well as for public sector management and public institutions seeking to improve well-being and productivity.

As urbanization increases, cities face challenges related to sustainability and mobility. This study, conducted through interviews in March and April 2023, investigates the implementation of smart mobility solutions in German-speaking cities (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland) and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, through a comparative analysis of stakeholder perspectives. Using semi-structured interviews with 25 experts, we explored the opportunities and challenges associated with smart mobility in these distinct socio-economic contexts. The findings reveal significant differences in technological advancement, infrastructural support, and financial resources, providing valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners. This study contributes to the existing literature by bridging the gap between developed and developing regions, offering practical recommendations for achieving sustainable urban transportation systems.

A theoretical perspective on grandiose narcissism suggests four forms of it (sanctity, admiration, heroism, rivalry) and states that these forms conduce to different ways of thinking and acting. Guided by this perspective, we examined in a multinational and multicultural study (61 countries; N = 15,039) how narcissism forms are linked to cognitions and behaviors prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As expected, differences in cognitions and behaviors across narcissism forms emerged. For example, higher narcissistic rivalry predicted lower likelihood of enactment of COVID-19 prevention behaviors, but higher narcissistic sanctity predicted higher likelihood of enactment of COVID-19 prevention behaviors. Further, whereas the heroism, admiration, and rivalry narcissism forms acted in a typically antisocial manner, with high narcissism predicting greater endorsement of unfounded health beliefs, the sanctity form acted in a prosocial manner, with higher narcissism being linked to lower endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 health beliefs. Thus, the findings (a) support the idea of four narcissism forms acting differently, and (b) show that these differences reflect a double-edged sword, sometimes linking to an anti-social orientation, and sometimes linking to a pro-social orientation.

<p style="text-align: justify;">Gazelles represent fast-growing companies that significantly contribute to company growth and creation of new jobs. Different definitions of gazelles and criteria for their categorization are mentioned in the literature. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that definitional differences and conceptual understanding of gazelles, as well as the criteria for classifying them, significantly affect the number of companies that can be categorized as "fast-growing". This paper analyses companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina and reveals significant deviations in the number and sector of companies that may be considered fast-growing. The deviations depend on the period of company observation (three-year vs. five-year period), as well as the applied criteria (income growth vs. increase in the number of employees). Likewise, the application of different definitions of growth, different criteria for measuring company growth, different indicators (relative vs. absolute) as well as different time frames significantly affect the interpretation of growth. The argument argues that such instances significantly affect the categorization and registration of companies that may or may not be considered fast-growing. Our research also confirms that workplace generators are precisely those firms whose expansive growth lasts beyond the initial three years but once they operate beyond four or more years, their power to generate jobs decreases significantly. The results of this analysis also indicate that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, fast-growing companies are, to a certain extent, new job generators.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>JEL:</strong> M13, M21, L25</p>

Abstract This paper studies the extent individuals are willing to undertake energy efficiency measures, with evidence coming from a developing country (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The goal of this paper is to analyze energy-savings behaviors, aiming to understand what is typically meant under the term energy efficiency, who is more likely to know the meaning, and the extent individuals are willing to undertake some energy efficiency measures. The sample size used in this paper is a random stratified sample of 1,415 individuals coming from various backgrounds. Our logistic regression models found no statistically significant predictor across all ten measures used in the study. However, past experience, age, and being married are relatively common across these ten energy-saving behaviors. These results might be beneficial in defining policies in order to promote energy-saving behaviors.

In this paper, we analyze the impact of the marketing authorization of EMA-approved vaccines on the returns of equity funds in the EU. Using the event study methodology, we report that the introduction of all vaccines had a positive impact on the funds' returns. Higher abnormal returns were associated with the earlier vaccines, indicating the first-mover advantage and the abnormal returns were persistent across several event windows. The findings imply that equity markets welcomed the vaccine administration as an important pharmaceutical intervention to support the quasi-revival of business activities. Consequently, there was a significant uplift in the economic bottom line.