January 2018 Volume 18 Issue 1

    1. INVESTIGATING YOUTH PERCEPTION TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE NORTH-WEST PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

    Authors: MR. GARG
    Abstract

    Entrepreneurship among the youth can be linked to the pursuit of eradicating poverty by creating employment opportunities to reduce youth unemployment and advocate for social change through entrepreneurship. This study investigates the perceptions of the youth regarding entrepreneurship in South Africa. In an area with distinct socio-economic dynamics and obstacles, it is critical to comprehend how the youth see entrepreneurship and its potential as a career route. This study aimed to determine the elements that influence young people's views on entrepreneurship, as well as the obstacles they face and the potential role that they can play in effecting social change through entrepreneurship. A purposive sampling technique was applied for the selection of a maximum of twenty young adults from a township to participate in focus group interviews to ascertain the perceptions of entrepreneurship among the youth. The transcriptions of the data recordings were verbatim, and thematic data analysis was performed following the coding of the data. Findings indicated that there are barriers to entry perceived as obstacles to pursuing entrepreneurship, which include the lack of mentorship, financial resources, and educational opportunities focused on entrepreneurship. Notwithstanding, the findings also reveal that the youth have a positive perception of entrepreneurship and show a strong willingness to pursue it as a career path.

    Read Article

    Keywords: The North-west Pervince, South Africa

    2. INFLATION PERSISTENCE AND UNIT ROOT TESTS IN THE EURO AREA COUNTRIES

    Authors: MR. KETAIN KUMAR
    Abstract

    Persistence is one of the main characteristics of inflation. One of the definitions of persistent inflation is, that it is the rate at which inflation reaches equilibrium after a certain macroeconomic shock. If the inflation persistence is high, the response to inflation shocks is longlasting and difficult for the central bank to control. Conversely, if the country’s inflation persistence is low, the central bank can keep the inflation rate in line with the inflation target. The recent economic crisis made central banks adopt several unconventional monetary policy instruments to boost economic recovery and preserve price stability. Many authors note that data on stationary inflation in the euro area countries is a precondition for joining the European Union. As far as the functioning of the European Union is concerned, it is desirable to take the necessary decisions. The primary objective of the paper is to test the inflation rate data in the euro area countries to verify the existence of a unit root considering that central banks design their monetary policy frameworks under the assumption that inflation is a stationary process. The verification of the stationarity of the inflation data is divided into two sections. In the first section, the monthly data panel of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for euro-zone countries is used. The second section uses a panel of monthly data the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices for each category of Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose for euro area countries. Our results indicate that time series for inflation in 11 of 19 euro area member countries are non-stationary and have a unit root. Considering our results we propose the creation of a two-speed euro area and the adjustment of the monetary policy framework in the euro area countries.

    Keywords: Inflation persistence, unit root tests, euro area countries
Fegmont