Assessment of EU member states'
positions in Global Value Chains
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Authors: Ines KERSAN-SKABIĆ
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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).
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Keywords: GVC, EU, trade, forward and
backward participation
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Pages: 5-24 |
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Innovation investment decisions: are
post(transition) economies different from the rest of the EU?
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Authors: Ljiljana BOZIĆ, Valerija
BOTRIĆ
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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.
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Keywords: innovation investment,
(post)transition economies, developed economies,
multinomial probit
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Pages: 25-43 |
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Urban transitions and resilience of
Eastern European Union cities
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Authors: Alexandru BĂNICĂ, Ionel
MUNTELE
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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.
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Keywords: urban transition,
post-communist city, resilience capacity, multi-criteria
analysis, clusters
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Pages: 45-69 |
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Did the economic crisis change V4 trade
patterns? The case of intra-industry trade
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Authors: Patryk Emanuel TOPOROWSKI
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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.
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Keywords: intra industry trade,
European integration, Visegrad countries, financial
crisis
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Pages: 71-93 |
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Characteristics of recovery and
resilience in the Romanian regions
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Authors: Jozsef BENEDEK, Alexander C.
LEMBCKE
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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.
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Keywords: regional economic
development, recovery, crisis, resilience, Romania
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Pages: 95-126 | Full text (PDF)
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Exploring regional economic convergence
in Romania. A spatial modeling approach
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Authors: Zizi GOSCHIN
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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.
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Keywords: sigma and beta convergence,
GDP per capita, county, economic crisis, Romania
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Pages: 127-146 |
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The impact of Foreign Direct
Investments on employment: the case of the Macedonian
manufacturing sector
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Author: Dimitar NIKOLOSKI
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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.
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Keywords: FDI, employment,
manufacturing
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Pages: 147-165 |
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Croatia's police and security
community building in the Western Balkans
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Author: Sandro KNEZOVIĆ, Vlatko
CVRTILA, Zrinka VUČINOVIĆ
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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.
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Keywords: police, professions, regional
cooperation, security community, Western Balkans
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Pages: 167-184 |
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The EU vs.
Russia in the foreign policy discourse of Armenia: the fragility
of normative power or the power of Russian coercion?
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Author: Aram TERZYAN
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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.
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Keywords: Armenia, EU, Russia, Eurasian
Economic Union, security ally
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Pages: 185-203 |
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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
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Author: Gabriela PRELIPCEAN
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Pages: 205-209 |
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