The autumn 2014 brings widespread fear that the crisis in the eurozone may reescalate. A truism is to say that its main drawbacks have not been solved. The problems with the banking sector in the EU are far from solved and the need to clean up bank balance sheets. The necessary process of private sector deleveraging will continue to have an adverse effect on economic activity. The public finances of several eurozone economies are in poor condition. In three out of four of the largest eurozone economies, the general government gross debt-to-GDP ratio is increasing. Several Member States still face considerable structural challenges and the sustainability of economic models will have to be reconsidered, not only in countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Italy or France but also in Finland. After Standard & Poor’s stripped Finland of its triple “A” rating in October 2014, the only members of this exclusive club in the eurozone remained Germany and Luxembourg.
The appellation “macroeconomic conditionality” itself did not make the final legal texts, as the rules now refer to “sound economic governance.” Nonetheless, the content of expanded macroeconomic conditionality remains. In contrast to previous rules, macroeconomic conditionality now applies to all cohesion policy funds and even to agriculture and fishery funds, i.e., all the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds). In addition, conditionality applies to all economic governance procedures. To appease the European Parliament, the Commission’s original proposal was nonetheless substantially amended. The result is a form of conditionality with a great deal of caps and safeguards. Due to the large opposition to macroeconomic conditionality, the relation between cohesion policy and sound economic governance got off to a rocky start. This article aims to evaluate these expanded macroeconomic conditionality rules. First, the article describes the functioning of macroeconomic conditionality, both its sanctioning part (the stick) and incentive part (the carrot). Subsequently, the potential impact of these new rules is assessed.
This paper studies the link between innovative development, institutional arrangements and economic performance in Ukraine. The research investigates whether, and to what extent, institutional arrangements in Ukraine influence its innovation-driven economic development, and how this impact can be measured for the whole economy and for a specific sector (IT). The research aims to discover how the pillars of the National Innovation System (NIS) and their interactions in the dynamic perspective influence the innovative development of Ukraine in general, and of the IT sector in particular. Mixed method research is applied in the paper. Empirical research is employed to test the causative effect of the pillars of Ukraine’s NIS on innovative development and to model the relationship between the explanatory and response variables. Qualitative research is then presented, in the form of responses to in-depth interviews with the personnel of IT companies, to support or contradict the results of empirical research.
In Albania legislation on competition was developed only after the 90s and this is natural depending on the economic development and market model, which before the 90s had spaces of a free and competitive development. Competition is an economic phenomenon that refers to such a state of a free market economy, where companies compete independently in order to benefit as many buyers so as to meet the objectives to increase profits and expansion of markets. In this way free competition is both beneficial for business development and profitable for consumers themselves, who should benefit from the prices set based on the demand–offer ratio. Competition should be perceived as a necessary mechanism that promotes increase of welfare in general, by providing enterprises with greater opportunities for profit and therefore better quality for consumers, a major benefit in the range of choices lower prices. Encouraged by the existence of competition, enterprises as market players should be motivated to be always on the alert and perhaps in uncertainty in order to be as much active in the way they compete with their competitors by providing investments and aggressive strategies as a reply to their, but also potential rivals. In competitive markets, the companies are motivated to gain market power in order to strengthen their positions in the markets where they operate and thereby they have an impact in the fulfillment of the growing needs of the consumer, which brings increase of welfare. Nevertheless, quite often companies have such an attitude that they may cause limitation of competition, such as the agreements, whose object or consequence is price fixing, market shares or the establishment of a market structure where competitors join (in case of concentrations). Price fixing is a classic element to all cases of cartels. By means of such behavior competitors try to avoid price competition between them to the detriment of the consumer, by applying higher prices. This may happen at horizontal level, but also at vertical level. What do we perceive with prohibited agreements under Albanian law of competition? What are the forms of agreements that are prohibited and which are excluded? These are some of the questions that this article adresses.
The paper describes the level of sustainable development in Poland’s regions/provinces on the basis of various indicators that influence economic, social and environmental systems. Generally, sustainable regional development is the application of sustainable development at a regional, rather than local, national or global, level. It differs from regional development per se because the latter term is used more generally to describe economic development that emphasizes the alleviation of regional disparities. While regional development has an economic and equity emphasis, sustainable regional development seeks to incorporate environmental concerns. Sustainable regional development is economic development that can be sustained over time because it is aimed not only at building wealth but also at creating opportunities to contribute to and participate in the benefits of economic growth. The author formulates a hypothesis that the level of sustainable development varies from one province to another and has a different structure in each region. Korol evaluates the level and structure of sustainable development with the use of 35 indicators. The research applies to the years 1998 and 2005 and seeks to determine the changes that took place in individual areas of sustainable development in the intervening period. The research has confirmed a rule that a generally higher level of economic development is accompanied by higher social and environmental development levels, the author says.
The present article is an attempt to present John Paul II’s opinions on the role of culture in the life of a man and nations, especially the Polish nation, which - deprived of its sovereign state - survived 123 years of national bondage retaining its language and identity. The author tries to show the Pope’s stand on culture in a broad sense and its position in the history of Europe and the processes of its economic, political and social integration. In the article the author proposes many interesting theses and hypotheses on John Paul II’s opinions on culture and his stand on culture creation processes as well as the influence of Christianity, especially the Catholic Church, on the Polish culture and European culture. Echoing John Paul II, she proves that culture is one of the most important elements of national ties that are essential for the existence of nations.
The paper discusses the evolution of regional policy in Poland from 1990 to 2010 and examines guidelines for modifying this policy in 2010-2020. Poland’s entry to the European Union in 2004 and European cohesion policy have had a substantial impact on regional policy in Poland. In recent years new important theoretical inspirations have appeared for regional policymakers, including new economic geography and the economics of location. International organizations such as the OECD, the World Bank and the EU are formulating proposals for a major modification of regional policy in the world. The research method is based on a benchmarking analysis and qualitative assessment of program documents. The results obtained by the researchers point to a shortage of theoretical foundations and the growing importance of regional policy to Poland’s socioeconomic development. Szlachta and Zaleski identify various risks connected with the implementation of a modern regional policy in Poland and formulate a set of questions about the theory of regional policymaking. In the first part of the paper, the authors discuss the experience of regional development programming in Poland since 1990. The next part focuses on the financial and institutional dilemmas of regional policymaking in Poland in the coming years. Later on the authors propose benchmarks for a National Regional Development Strategy until 2020. The paper ends with the formulation of key conclusions, recommendations and questions about the theory of regional policymaking.
Global economic recession which started in 2008 significantly contributed to revealing China’s growing potential on the international arena. For the Beijing administration this means a necessity to develop and implement an optimal strategy of “going outside the region” paying attention to the priority of internal development of the PRC and a non-confrontational course in policy toward other regional and world powers. However, expectations of the West concerning the international engagement of the Country of the Middle do not conform to the Chinese vision of a future global order. Strengthening its economic leadership in its immediate surroundings and maintaining stable relations within the triangle of Washington – Moscow – Beijing, China seeks the ultimate answer to the more and more frequent question on the character and scale of its “international responsibility” both in a political and economic dimension.
Business, economy and finance are very popular subject-matters in the contemporary world. This is why it is important to introduce them, step by step, from an early age. “Pocket money”, as well as allowing a child to be involved in the family’s financial affairs, seems to be necessary for preparing children to develop their management skills which will be useful in their future, adult life. A child ought to know the value of money and possess some ability to apply it. Children gain such rudimentary knowledge on the basis of interaction with the social environment and everyday experience, through participating in economic exchange purchase-sale, witnessing the withdrawal of money from a cash machine by relatives, using the post office, etc. However, it is a teacher’s duty to help children increase and systematize this knowledge in a process of early childhood education. The skills gained by children during the schooling will help them in the future. They will become responsible participants in economic life, making both rational choices and decisions which will affect positively their chance to gain success in personal and professional life.
The purpose of this paper is to compare the financial and economic efficiency of a wind farm and a photovoltaic farm in order to support the decision on the most effective investment in renewable energy sources aimed at providing energy to the economic zone in southern Poland. The paper presents the application of financial-economic analyses of selected renewable energy sources (RES). The ax-ante analysis of RES was carried out based on the projected data from the sites, such as determination of wind energy potential (speed, terrain roughness) and insolation. Net present value and internal rate of return were calculated based on assumptions made about energy prices, capital expenditures and operating costs, and environmental effects in the form of avoided emissions. The results show that the profitability of RES investments depends on several factors, which are analysed in the paper in relation to the case study. Therefore, the results presented should especially inform the decision maker about the costs and benefits of both financial and economic RES installations.
PL
Celem artykułu jest porównanie efektywności finansowej i ekonomicznej farmy wiatrowej i farmy fotowoltaicznej w celu wsparcia decyzji o najbardziej efektywnej inwestycji w odnawialne źródła energii, mającej na celu dostarczenie energii do strefy ekonomicznej na południu Polski. W artykule przedstawiono zastosowanie analiz finansowo-ekonomicznych wybranych odnawialnych źródeł energii (OZE). Analizę ax-ante OZE przeprowadzono w oparciu o prognozowane dane z terenów, takie jak określenie potencjału energetycznego wiatrów (prędkość, chropowatość terenu) i nasłonecznienie. Na podstawie przyjętych założeń dotyczących cen energii, nakładów inwestycyjnych oraz kosztów operacyjnych, jak i efektów środowiskowych w postaci unikniętych emisji substancji szkodliwych obliczono zaktualizowaną wartość netto oraz wewnętrzną stopę zwrotu. Wyniki pokazują, że opłacalność inwestycji w OZE zależy od kilku czynników, które są analizowane w pracy w odniesieniu do danego studium przypadku. Dlatego przedstawione wyniki powinny w szczególności informować decydenta o kosztach i korzyściach zarówno finansowych jak i ekonomicznych instalacji OZE
The article looks at the evolution and institutional characteristics of Polish trade unions after 1989 in a pre-1989 historical context. It highlights the role of path-dependency in assessing labour's capacity to adapt to the new economic, political and social environment which emerged following the radical institutional change. Based on field work conducted in 2009 and 2010, the paper focuses on the dynamics in organisational structure of the three nation-wide trade union organisations (Solidarity, OPZZ and FZZ), and adds a concise description of national industrial relations, emphasizing their hybrid and foggy nature.
The precarious and decisive dy namics concerning the health of the populat ion of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries has called for further inquiry into the determinants of life expectancy (LE) in this region. Hence, the current paper employs the panel data estimation methods to analyse the economic, social, demographic, environmental, and technological factors influencing LE in five SAARC countries. These countries (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) are selected as they are favoured by the country similarity theory and other identical contexts. Available secondary data from 2000 to 2016 were obtained from the World Bank and UNDP databases for the specfic countries. The results reveal that the mean year of schooling and sanitation services are significant positive predictors of life expectancy at birth (LEAB). However, the total fertility rate, urban population, and CO2 emissions negatively influence life expectancy. Furthermore, the impact of health expenditure on life expectancy is significant but negative, which is unconventional. On the other hand, other independent variables, such as GDP, gross capital formation, internet usage, and mobile cellular subscription turn out to be insignificant predictors of LEAB. Our aggregate findings reveal some common factors on which the governments of SAARC countries can colla borate to improve the LEAB of the region while identifying some idiosyncratic factors that require tailored attention of the governments and policymakers of the respective nations.
The very tough fight for customers in the retail trade is reflected by the strong growth in the number of products sold under private labels that are currently becoming an important factor in business competitiveness. These are brands that are produced and offered by retailers under their own name or brand. The range of retail brands is very extensive. While in the past, they were offered primarily as a low cost alternative to national and international brands, nowadays, these products have been competing with them at a higher price level as a so-called standard or premium private label. The aim of this paper is to analyze and discuss the relationship of Czech consumers to these private brands.
The aim of the article is to analyze and evaluate Germany’s policy toward the 2022 war in Ukraine from the standpoint of the United States, anti-Russian coalition leader. The main research problem is the question: Does Germany’s policy of supporting Ukraine and sanctioning Russia meet US expectations? The main hypothesis is that after Germany’s disgrace in the first months of the war, its reputation as a reliable ally of the United States in Europe was gradually restored as a result of its successively increasing support for Ukraine and breaking off cooperation with Russia. Germany saw significant revaluations in consequence of the war in Ukraine, especially in the military and energy sectors. Regardless of the outcome of the war, a return to „business as usual” in terms of economic and energy cooperation with Russia is very unlikely. In turn, the military improvements that have been announced, including a major boost in the combat potential of the Bundeswehr, will probably only partially be carried out. Germany will continue to be one of US key allies in Europe during the coming years, but it is likely that Washington will tighten cooperation with the countries of NATO’s eastern flank, to some extent at Germany’s expense. Interviews with American scientists and analysts specializing in international politics were conducted as part of the research.
The article analyses scientific conferences as an instrument of international cooperation. The aim is to identify the characteristics and factors influencing the growth of the international scientific conferences. Specifically, it presents the concept and model of the Economic and Social Development (ESD) conference and examines scientific cooperation within this conference between 2012 and 2022. The article draws on data sourced from the ESD conference organiser and the Web of Science database. Between 2012 and 2022, a total of 92 conferences were held across six continents in 26 countries. The WoS database indexed 1,465 articles authored by individuals from 91 countries. The lengthy waiting times for conferences to be indexed in the WoS database have led organisers to seek out additional benefits for participants.
Wskaźniki ekonomiczne nowych państw członkowskich UE, które przystąpiły do UE po 2004 roku, są generalnie pozytywne. W niniejszym artykule przeanalizowano i zinterpretowano wyniki rozwoju gospodarczego 11 nowych państw członkowskich z byłego bloku wschodniego. Zestaw poszczególnych wskaźników ekonomicznych daje stosunkowo realistyczny obraz różnic rozwojowych między poszczególnymi krajami postkomunistycznymi. W artykule wskazano na kilka czynników, które tworzą dwie zasadnicze grupy krajów różniące się pod względem kształtowania się wskaźników ekonomicznych: bardziej zaawansowana grupa krajów, które w większości wykazują postęp w procesie osiągania średniej unijnej, oraz mniej zaawansowaną grupę, której tempo konwergencji jest znacznie wolniejsze.
EN
The economic indicators of the new member states of the EU that joined after 2004 have been generally positive. In this paper, we analyse and interpret the economic development results of the 11 new Member States from the Eastern bloc. The set of individual economic indicators gives us a relatively realistic picture of the differences in development in individual post‑communist countries. The paper points out several factors which, in principle, create two groups of countries for us in terms of the development of economic indicators: A more progressive group of countries, which for the most part is showing progress towards catching up with the EU average, and a less progressive group, whose pace of convergence is significantly slower.
The article demonstrates how different conceptualizations of modernization can lead to very different explanations and conclusions about both the dynamics of democratization and political change in post-communist world. The postwar experience of the communist East has constituted an attempt to overcome un derdevelopment and establish economic and political progress. The specific characteristics of the post-communist transition consist in the fact that we are witnessing not only a political transformation from a totalitarian regime to a pluralistic democracy, but at the same time an economic transformation from a planned command economy to a free market economy in Central and Eastern Europe and a transformation towards a civil society with free associations. In 1995 A. Przeworski noted that the fall of communism in Eastern Europe has been widely interpreted as a triumph of democracy and of capitalism. The new post-communist countries have chosen a strategy of adopting political, economic, and cultural organization already existing elsewhere – democracy, markets, and an individualistic, consumption-oriented culture that dominates the advanced capitalist world. The school of transitology, which was very influential at the time, may have had low expectations concerning the spread of democracy at heart but it also stressed that in the heat of the transition from authoritarianism it was only the political actors’ choices that were of vital importance. Staunchly opposed to this view, the opponents of the transitology approaches argued that the history of the post-communist countries, and the communist legacy, in particular, more or less ruled out a steady movement toward liberal democracy. They claimed, in particular, that a fundamental gap separated at least half of the former communist countries from the West and, by extension, from democracy. In this strategy, modernization becomes synonymous with internationalization: integration into the world economy, combined with an imitation of economic, political, and cul tural patterns prevalent in the advanced capitalist countries. However few politicians fully realized that both democratic institutions and capitalist economies differ in significant ways even among the developed democratic countries. Moreover, those who seek to imitate these countries often forget that there are many cases in which capitalism has failed in generating either prosperity or democracy.
Celem artykułu jest analiza idei społeczno-gospodarczych reprezentowanych w pierwszych latach po odzyskaniu przez Polskę niepodległości. Koncepcje, tendencje i plany gospodarcze zmierzały wtedy do zmiany istniejącego układu stosunków społeczno-gospodarczych. Oceniając dorobek gospodarczy II Rzeczypospolitej w pierwszych latach po odzyskaniu niepodległości, uwzględniono trzy elementy mające decydujący wpływ na tę ocenę. Po pierwsze, stan w jakim znalazła się Polska w dniu 11 listopada 1918 r. po blisko półtora wiekowej niewoli i zniszczeniach wojennych lat 1914-1918. Po drugie, czas w jakim zmiany zostały dokonane. Po trzecie, środki materialne, jakie Polska miała do dyspozycji, a w szczególności czy wchodziła w grę i w jakiej wysokości pomoc z zewnątrz, w tym w postaci pożyczek zagranicznych.
EN
The goal of this thesis was to synthetically present social and economic ideas in the first years after regaining independence by Poland. Economic concepts, tendencies and plans treated in general lines undoubtedly aimed at changing existing social and economic relations. Three elements must be taken into consideration while assessing economic achievements of the Second Polish Republic in the first years after regaining independence: firstly, the condition of Poland on November 11, 1918, after one hundred and twenty-three years of bondage and damage caused by the First World War; secondly, the time in which changes were made, and thirdly, financial means that Poland possessed, particularly external aid – especially in a form of foreign loans.
Concept oftown areas revitalisation isn’t homogeneous. Depending on transformations city structures we can talk about urban-spatial revitalisation, demographic revitalisation, cultural revitalisation or economic revitalisation. In most practical caseswe deal with series of goals. The author focuses on economic aspects revitalisation processes and aims their importance to durability of achieved effects. In the next part, he points reąuirements ofrevitalisation program which are making it a effective tool of economic development creation. The article is concluded by observations about economic revitalisation planning in Poland.
PL
Zakres pojęcia rewitalizacji obszarów miejskich nie jestjednorodny. W zależności od tego, jakie przekształcenia struktury miejskiej są celemjej podmiotu, możemy mówić np. o rewitalizacji urbanistyczno-przestrzennej, demograficznej, kulturowej czy gospodarczej. Wzdecydowanej większości w praktyce mamy do czynienia ze splotem owych celów. Autor skupił się na gospodarczych aspektach procesów rewitalizacyjnych, wskazując na ich znaczenie w zapewnieniu trwałości osiągniętych skutków. W dalszej kolejności przedstawił wymogi, jakie powinien spełnić program rewitalizacji, aby mógł stanowić skuteczne narzędzie kreowania rozwoju gospodarczego. Całość kończą spostrzeżenia na temat rozwoju progospodarczego planowania rewitalizacyjnego w naszym kraju.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.