Table 1
Description of variables.
| Variable type | Abbreviation | Indicator name | Definition | Source | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent | NewBus | New Business Density | New registrations per 1,000 people ages 15–64 | World Bank | 2006–2024 |
| Independent | Edu | Tertiary Education | School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) | World Bank | 2006–2024 |
| Independent | Dig | Digitalization | Individuals using the Internet (% of population) | World Bank/Eurostat | 2006–2024 |
| Control | GDP | Economic Development | GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) | World Bank | 2006–2024 |
Source: Eurostat and World Bank.
Table 2
Panel unit root test.
| Series/variable | Method | Statistic | Prob. | Statistic | Prob. | Integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Level) | (1st diff.) | |||||
| New business density (NewBus) | Levin, Lin & Chu t* | −0.201 | 0.4203 | −6.8983 | 0.000* | I(1) |
| Im, Pesaran and Shin W-stat | 0.5737 | 0.7169 | −6.2947 | 0.000* | ||
| ADF – Fisher Chi-square | 17.7783 | 0.719 | 79.953 | 0.000* | ||
| PP – Fisher Chi-square | 19.4536 | 0.6172 | 168.751 | 0.000* | ||
| Tertiary education (Edu) | Levin, Lin & Chu t* | −1.925 | 0.027* | — | — | I(0) |
| Im, Pesaran and Shin W-stat | −1.2973 | 0.0973 | — | — | ||
| ADF – Fisher Chi-square | 33.2604 | 0.0583 | — | — | ||
| PP – Fisher Chi-square | 29.5995 | 0.1285 | — | — | ||
| Digitalization (Dig) | Levin, Lin & Chu t* | −4.3019 | 0.0000* | — | — | I(0) |
| Im, Pesaran and Shin W-stat | −1.3552 | 0.0877 | — | — | ||
| ADF – Fisher Chi-square | 33.1059 | 0.0604 | — | — | ||
| PP – Fisher Chi-square | 75.0604 | 0.0000* | — | — | ||
| GDP per capita (GDP) | Levin, Lin & Chu t* | 3.1596 | 0.9992 | −9.4617 | 0.0000* | I(1) |
| Im, Pesaran and Shin W-stat | 6.0438 | 1 | −7.5605 | 0.0000* | ||
| ADF – Fisher Chi-square | 1.2226 | 1 | 95.436 | 0.0000* | ||
| PP – Fisher Chi-square | 2.5496 | 1 | 362.116 | 0.0000* | ||
Note: Statistical significance at the ***1% level, **5%, and *10%. Probabilities for Fisher tests are computed using an asymptotic Chi-square distribution. For Education and Digitalization, mixed results were obtained, but LLC and PP tests (for Digitalization) suggest stationarity at level.
Source: Authors’ calculations using EViews 13.
Table 3
Hausman test results.
| Test summary | Chi-square statistic | Prob. | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-section random | 5.6427 | 0.1303 | RE selected |
Source: Authors’ calculations using EViews 13.
Table 4
RE regression results.
| Independent variable | Coefficient | Std. error | t-Statistic | Prob. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tertiary education (Edu it ) | 0.010674 | 0.002511 | 4.2502 | 0.0000*** |
| Digitalization (Dig it ) | 0.010785 | 0.001896 | 5.6873 | 0.0000*** |
| GDP per capita (ΔGDP it ) | 0.054376 | 0.114765 | 0.4738 | 0.6361 |
| Constant (C) | −0.531586 | 1.180256 | −0.4504 | 0.6529 |
| R 2 | 0.3188 | |||
| F-statistic | 31.9883 | (Prob: 0.0000) | ||
| Total observations | 209 | (11 countries × 19 years) | ||
Note: Dependent variable: ΔNewBus. ***Significance at 1%.
Source: Authors’ calculations using EViews 13.