Eastern Journal of European Studies

Assessment of EU member states' positions in Global Value Chains

Authors: Ines KERSAN-SKABIĆ

Abstract: The participation of countries in GVCs can be measured in different ways; most commonly by using the GVC participation index and the GVC position index. The research is focused on the analysis of GVC participation of EU member states applying different indicators and comparing the characteristics of three groups of EU member states (EU core members, EU Southern members and EU new member states). We have applied statistical analysis on the TiVA database. The results indicate a high level of participation of EU member states in GVCs with a predominance of backward linkages. Luxembourg, Slovakia and Hungary have the highest levels of participation while Croatia has the lowest participation. EU member states are very integrated and intra-regional, so about 80% of value added in their gross export or final demand originates from the EU (domestic value added or value added from other member states).

Keywords: GVC, EU, trade, forward and backward participation

Pages: 5-24 | Full text (PDF)

Innovation investment decisions: are post(transition) economies different from the rest of the EU?

Authors: Ljiljana BOZIĆ, Valerija BOTRIĆ

Abstract: The slow progress of innovation in transition economies is not related just to firms' decision to invest in innovation activities. Rather, it is worth distinguishing between their decision to increase investment, reduce it, keep their investments at the same level or not invest in innovation activities at all. To understand these decisions we develop and estimate models for post-transition and developed European countries employing multinomial probit. The analysis relies on responses of 2580 firms from 11 post-transition countries and 4058 firms from 18 European countries collected by the Flash Eurobarometer 433 - Innobarometer 2016 survey. We have established that the firms' decision making process in general is mostly related to previous innovation investment experience. In transition countries, the higher the percent of turnover invested in innovation, the lower the probability of an increase in the future. In the firms operating in developed economies, lower turnover from new products is related to the decision to decrease innovation investment in the future.

Keywords: innovation investment, (post)transition economies, developed economies, multinomial probit

Pages: 25-43 | Full text (PDF)

Urban transitions and resilience of Eastern European Union cities

Authors: Alexandru BĂNICĂ, Ionel MUNTELE

Abstract: Urban resilience is related to the capacity of cities to recover from disruptions, to maintain their functions and thrive after a sudden shock or a long-term stress, from economic crisis, from natural and technological disasters or climate change. The present study refers to former communist countries in Eastern Europe which are now integrated in the European Union (including Greece, by reasons of spatial coherence), namely the cities and agglomerations that have more than 500,000 inhabitants. The analysis focuses on the post-communist transitions of these cities reflected in certain socio-demographic, morphological and functional urban transformations, highlighted by indicators obtained by integrating data from different evaluations already carried out at the EU level. The results of multi-criterial statistical analysis reveal the identity of the analysed urban areas and the diffusion processes in resilience approaches from Western EU to Eastern countries and cities by adaptation practices implemented at different rhythms and to different degrees.

Keywords: urban transition, post-communist city, resilience capacity, multi-criteria analysis, clusters

Pages: 45-69 | Full text (PDF)

Did the economic crisis change V4 trade patterns? The case of intra-industry trade

Authors: Patryk Emanuel TOPOROWSKI

Abstract: This study revisits knowledge about the post-EU accession intra-industry trade development in the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic). These countries-through trade liberalisation, European integration and EU accession-strengthened their position in the global value chains, part of which were located in Western Europe. This paper points out that during the global financial crisis, the changes in intra-industry specialisation were not coherent in the Visegrad countries. Moreover, in some cases, the specialisation even intensified. This paper also applies the Arellano-Bover/Blundell-Bond estimator to assess whether EU accession and the later global financial crisis were driving forces of the changing trade patterns of these countries. The results of the estimation proved the positive effect of European integration (before and after EU enlargement) and the negative effect of the crisis.

Keywords: intra industry trade, European integration, Visegrad countries, financial crisis

Pages: 71-93 | Full text (PDF)

Characteristics of recovery and resilience in the Romanian regions

Authors: Jozsef BENEDEK, Alexander C. LEMBCKE

Abstract: Differences in regional economic growth trajectories and the multiple regional effects of the economic crisis have revived studies dedicated to the subject of resilience. The main goal of this paper is to measure the resilience of the Romanian regions, seeking to answer two basic questions: What was the regional impact of the global crisis from 2008 onwards? How have the Romanian regions recovered following the crisis? We focus our analysis on the region with the highest economic growth in the post-crisis period (South-East) in order to understand the main drivers of economic recovery. The methodology of the study involves a multi-dimensional understanding of resilience. This means that we have extended our focus from economic indicators towards a more inclusive methodology related to the measurement of regional well-being. Our main finding is that productivity growth was a critical driver of economic recovery, having a significant impact on income and jobs, as well as influencing non-material elements of well-being.

Keywords: regional economic development, recovery, crisis, resilience, Romania

Pages: 95-126 | Full text (PDF)

Exploring regional economic convergence in Romania. A spatial modeling approach

Authors: Zizi GOSCHIN

Abstract: This paper explores spatial economic convergence in Romania, from the perspective of real GDP/capita, and examines how the shock of the recent economic crisis has affected the convergence process. Given the presence of spatial autocorrelation in the values of GDP per capita, we address the question of convergence in terms of both classic and spatial regression models, thus filling a gap in the Romanian literature on this topic. The empirical results seem to provide support for both absolute and relative beta divergence in GDP/capita, as well as sigma divergence among Romanian counties on the long run. This is the consequence of the two-speed regional development, with the capital region and some large cities thriving by attracting human capital and FDIs, while the lagging regions are systematically left behind. Failing to validate the neoclassical approach on convergence, our results rather support the new divergence theory based on polarization and centre-periphery inequality.

Keywords: sigma and beta convergence, GDP per capita, county, economic crisis, Romania

Pages: 127-146 | Full text (PDF)

The impact of Foreign Direct Investments on employment: the case of the Macedonian manufacturing sector

Author: Dimitar NIKOLOSKI

Abstract: As a less developed post-transition country, Macedonia has marked a moderate growing economic performance coupled with high and sustained unemployment during the past decade. In this context, fostering FDI has been promoted by the Macedonian government as one of the main instruments for generating employment and providing further economic development. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of FDI on employment in Macedonian manufacturing sectors, which has been assessed by applying a single equation error correction model. The results indicate that FDI and personnel costs are statistically significant factors that positively affect employment in the manufacturing sub-sectors which, due to their interaction, might indicate higher productivity in the companies with FDI. In addition, the negative impact of the relative personnel cost per employee vis-a-vis Serbia in the short-run reaffirms the assertion that FDI in the Macedonian manufacturing sectors is mainly driven by efficiency seeking motives.

Keywords: FDI, employment, manufacturing

Pages: 147-165 | Full text (PDF)

Croatia's police and security community building in the Western Balkans

Author: Sandro KNEZOVIĆ, Vlatko CVRTILA, Zrinka VUČINOVIĆ

Abstract: The article examines the eventual existence of a security community within the Western Balkans region by exploring the contribution of police as a profession/epistemic community in Croatia to the security community building process. In order to do so, two theoretical concepts have been applied: first, the one of security community which, according to Deutsch, as well as Adler and Barnett, is something that is leading IR and humanity out of the era of nation-state; secondly, the one of professions as exclusive occupational groups in Abbott's interpretation (wherein the police is considered to be a profession). Our approach builds on a combination of the aforementioned theories, while the study itself has been based on the developments in the field of policing in Croatia since 1990 and its implications for the creation of a security community in the region.

Keywords: police, professions, regional cooperation, security community, Western Balkans

Pages: 167-184 | Full text (PDF)

The EU vs. Russia in the foreign policy discourse of Armenia: the fragility of normative power or the power of Russian coercion?

Author: Aram TERZYAN

Abstract: Constructivist-driven conventional wisdom posits that ideas and beliefs are pivotal to shaping foreign policy trajectories. Thus, the explanatory power ascribed to material forces falls back on ideas and cultural practices (Wendt, 1999). Whereas the case of Armenia, characterized by the co-existence of European foreign policy identity with Russia-led foreign policy preferences suggests that identity and beliefs may well be outweighed by material forces. This paper seeks to explain the evolution of how the European Union (EU) and Russia have been conceptualised within the foreign policy discourse of Armenia. The study relies on the critical discourse analysis of relevant speeches and statements of Armenia's foreign policy-makers and, particularly, on those of the President. It scrutinizes the core notions and discursive structures, employed in the Armenian foreign policy discourse for justifying the choice of the Russia-led path. It suggests that Armenia's deviation from the identity driven path towards the EU has been broadly justified in terms of the country's economic and, particularly, security needs, which prompted to treat Russia as an indispensable ally. Yet, a closer scrutiny of external constraints indicates that Russian coercive policy left little room for Armenia to achieve a Russian-European balance.

Keywords: Armenia, EU, Russia, Eurasian Economic Union, security ally

Pages: 185-203 | Full text (PDF)

BOOK REVIEW:

Gabriela Carmen Pascariu and Maria Adelaide Pedrosa da Silva Duarte (eds.), Core-Periphery Patterns across the European Union. Case Studies and Lessons from Eastern and Southern Europe

Author: Gabriela PRELIPCEAN

Pages: 205-209 | Full text (PDF)