SMART CITY INITIATIVES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN INDIA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

In developing countries, cities are vying with each other to improve their infrastructure to attract business activities and become more efficient, effective, and sustainable. Against this backdrop, the 'Smart City Mission' is one of the flagship Indian government initiatives started in 2015. In order to provide people with a high-quality living, smart cities are the latest urban conceptions. It is the idea of combining different technologies to create sustainable and intelligent practices. However, the quantitative assessment of this initiative on urbanization in India is very limited. In this study, we assess the impact of smart city projects on urbanization, which is measured by city population size and city gross domestic product. The results show that the mission has a mixed effect on urbanization. Though it increases the size of the city's population, it does not promote city income. Therefore, implementing a smart city mission has to be done in the hinterland area along with the core area of a city. Finally, it discusses the challenges faced and their potential solutions. The results suggest several policies for making urbanization a success and making India a developed country.

Arshima KHAN - Symbiosis School of Economics, SB Road, Pune – 411004, Email: arshima.khan.2022@sse.ac.in

Sabyasachi TRIPATHI - Associate Professor, Symbiosis School of Economics, SB Road, Pune – 411004, Email: sabyasachi.tripathi@sse.ac.in

Jyoti CHANDIRAMANI - Professor and Director, Symbiosis School of Economics, SB Road, Pune – 411004, Email: jyoti.chandiramani@sse.ac.in

C10, I31, R11

THE EFFICACY OF TECHNICAL ANALYSIS IN THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET: A CASE STUDY OF THE USD/JPY PAIR

Financial markets, known for their unpredictability (Lee, 2020), present significant challenges for researchers. Technical analysis, rooted in the principle of market efficiency, focuses on price movements to predict future trends (Fang & Jacobsen, 2024). Originating in the 17th century, technical analysis has gained prominence in modern financial markets (Dongrey, 2022). Technical analysts rely on historical forex data (Garza Sepúlveda et al., 2023) and employ various tools, including candlestick patterns, moving averages, trendlines, resistance levels, and indicators like Bollinger Bands, MACD, RSI, and moving averages, to forecast price movements (Oktaba & Grzywińska-Rąpca, 2024). This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of technical analysis in the foreign exchange market by analyzing historical USD/JPY data from 2019, a period unaffected by major global events. The USD/JPY pair was chosen due to its high volatility and economic significance (Fiszeder, 2018 and Peng et al., 2021). Our analysis involved identifying support and resistance levels, trends, and applying various technical indicators to assess their effectiveness in predicting market movements (Mate & Jimeńez, 2021). The findings validate the use of technical analysis tools, demonstrating their ability to identify potential reversal and continuation zones.

Fernando TEIXEIRA - Professor Assistant, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Portugal Smart Cities Research Center fernando.teixeira@ipbeja.pt

Susana Soares Pinheiro Vieira PESCADA - Professor Assistant, Faculty of Economy, University of Algarve, Portugal Cin Turs - Research Center for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being spescada@ualg.pt

Filipos RUXHO - Professor Assistant, Faculty of Agribusiness, University Haxhi Zeka of Preja, Kosovo Filipos.ruxho@unhz.eu

G10, G14, G15

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT DECISIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT. THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS

Emerging markets have grown in importance as investment and corporate objectives because of globalization. Multinational corporations use foreign direct investment (FDI) as a strategical investment decision to gain a competitive advantage. The purpose of the study is to investigate the role of formal and informal institutional determinants of FDI and how multinational Companies (MNCs) base their strategic investment concerning the institutional environment of emerging and developing markets. Consulting the existing literature in relation to the quality of institutions and their relevance and impact on foreign direct investment strategies and investment decision process this study includes and analyze all institutions (Political, Regulatory, Economic and Cultural) that have an impact on the FDI management strategic investment decision. Herewith the study came with concrete findings and recommendations for potential international investors, local institutions but also organization involved with investment promotion. Based on the relevant theory and primary research findings five research questions and hypotheses were developed to address the research problem “Does institutional and economic determinants impact the strategic investment decision? The study results found that institution environment role on the FDI exist, and these effects include not only countries and regions but also the sector specific industries. When considering from strategic management perspective they are significant enough to dictate investment decision choice and strategies for selecting the country market that offers institutional and economic context that is in the best interest of the foreign investors. The results obtained are specific for a particular case and limited in the scope, so they cannot be applied to some other countries and regions. However, these results yield important theoretical and practical implications for international companies and policymakers throughout the region. For this purpose, interviews have been conducted including four experts representing

Ligita Å ARKUTÄ– - Associate Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania, ligita.sarkute@vdu.lt

Darjel SINA - Associate Professor, Faculty of Law European University of Tirana, Republic of Albania. darjel.sina@uet.edu.al, (Corresponding Author)

Kreshnik BELLO - Professor, Faculty of Economics, European University of Tirana, Albania. kreshnik.bello@uet.edu.al

Arben VERCUNI - Professor, Faculty of Economics, Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania avercuni@ubt.edu.al

F21, F30, G20

PUBLIC DEBT AS A DETERMINANT OF THE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN KOSOVO

This article investigates the impact of public debt on economic growth in Kosovo. By analyzing secondary data, we aim to determine whether increasing public debt levels have stimulated or hindered economic growth. The study employs an econometric model to quantify this relationship, providing valuable insights for policymakers and economists. The findings suggest a nuanced impact of public debt on economic growth, with implications for fiscal policy and sustainable development strategies in Kosovo. Empirical results suggest negative relationship between public debt and economic growth controlling for other determinants of growth trade openness, total investment, current account balance and primary balance. The results also confirmed the existence of a “U inverted” relationship between public debt and economic growth.

Filipos RUXHO - Professor Assistant, Faculty of Agribusiness, Haxhi Zeka University, Peja, Republic of Kosovo. filipos.ruxho@unhz.eu

Dimitrios P. PETROPOULOS - Professor, Dean of the School of Agriculture and Food University of Peloponnese, Greece. d.petropoulos@uop.gr

Dimas Angga NEGORO - Profesor Assistant Esa Unggul University, Indonesia. dimas.angga@esaunggul.ac.id

H63, E60, O10, O40