Applied Economic Research and Trends – Aspasia

Overview

Applied Economic Research and Trends is an edited conference proceedings volume in Springer’s Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics series. It gathers peer-reviewed contributions presented at the 2023 International Conference on Applied Economics (ICOAE), held in Brno, Czech Republic, from 29 June to 1 July 2023. The volume is edited by Nicholas Tsounis, a professor of economics in the Department of International Trade at the University of Western Macedonia (Greece), and Aspasia Vlachvei, a professor of marketing at the same university; both are co-founders of the ICOAE conference series.

As the title indicates, the book is not a single sustained monograph or argument but a collection of separate research papers united by a common emphasis on applied economics: empirical work, quantitative methods, and policy-relevant analysis rather than purely theoretical exposition. The editors’ stated aim is to present new research and emerging trends across a broad range of subfields, with particular attention to methodological advances and to country-specific case studies. According to the volume’s own description, the contributions include studies drawn from some forty different countries, giving the collection an intentionally international and comparative character.

Thematic Organisation

The contents are grouped by subfield, and the volume’s table of contents lists the following thematic areas:

• New methods and applications in macroeconomics
• New methods and applications in microeconomics
• New methods and applications in international economics
• New methods and applications in agricultural economics
• New methods and applications in financial economics
• New methods and applications in marketing and management
• New methods and applications in labour and demographic economics
• New methods and applications in health economics, including analyses of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on various economies
• New methods and applications in education economics

This arrangement reflects the conference’s broad disciplinary reach: the volume moves from core macro- and microeconomic analysis through trade and finance to applied business fields such as marketing and management, and then to policy-oriented areas — labour and demography, health, and education — where economic methods are brought to bear on social questions. The explicit inclusion of pandemic-related analyses in the health economics grouping signals the collection’s engagement with a major recent shock to economies worldwide, while the education economics grouping extends the applied focus to human capital and schooling.

Methodological Character

Because the volume is a proceedings collection, its unity lies in approach rather than in a single thesis. The recurring emphasis is on empirical method: estimation, modelling, and quantitative analysis applied to real-world data, with results framed in terms of implications for policy. The volume is illustrated throughout, and the presence of numerous figures and tables is consistent with the empirical, data-driven character of the individual papers. Many of the contributions are country-specific studies, which the editors present as a distinctive feature of the collection, allowing comparisons of economic phenomena and policy responses across a wide range of national contexts.

Intended Readership

The editors position the volume for researchers, scholars, academics, and policymakers working within applied economics. This framing is consistent with the book’s dual purpose: as a record of current conference work and as a reference point for methodological developments and empirical findings across the subfields it covers. Its breadth makes it a survey of contemporary applied work rather than a specialised treatment of any single topic; readers are likely to consult the sections or individual papers corresponding to their own field.

Scope and Limitations of This Overview

The volume comprises a large number of individually authored papers, and its full detail lies in those separate contributions rather than in any overarching narrative supplied by the editors. Its scope, structure, and thematic coverage can be described with confidence from the book’s own contents listing, but individual chapter arguments, datasets, and conclusions are the work of the respective contributing authors and vary from paper to paper.

The book’s thematic breadth further extends to encompass emerging trends and challenges within these diverse economic fields. For instance, within financial economics, papers explore contemporary market dynamics, risk assessment, and the impact of regulatory changes. In marketing and management, the focus shifts to consumer behavior, strategic decision-making, and the economic implications of technological advancements. The sections on labour and demographic economics delve into issues such as employment trends, migration patterns, and the economic effects of an aging population. Across all these areas, the collection consistently emphasizes the application of rigorous economic methodologies to understand and address real-world problems. The significance of the volume, therefore, lies in its comprehensive snapshot of current applied economic research, offering insights into both established and evolving areas of inquiry.