Eastern Journal of European Studies

Authors: Csilla HERENDY, Marton DEMETER, Sara SIMON, Manuel GOYANES 

While there is extensive literature that discusses the historical and institutional background of the relative underdevelopment of Central and Eastern European (CEE) academia in social sciences, we have a limited knowledge on how academics of the region perceive the culture of their scholarly fields. Building upon survey data from 481 social scientists from 16 CEE countries, this paper analyses the perceived meritocracy of the academic system. We found significant positive associations between meritocracy, publication requirements for promotions and international publication records. Moreover, results show that academic capital is typically accumulated though informal networks and even from the family, while the role of formal education is less important. Our findings suggest that raising the level of meritocracy in promotion and recruitment processes might help increase the international visibility of CEE social sciences through a growth in international publications, but also indicated that research institutions should motivate CEE scholars with both financial rewards and a reduction in teaching duties.

Keywords: Central and Eastern Europe, tertial education, career development, internationalization, meritocracy,

Pages: 5-25 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0101

Authors: Marta SIMOES, Joao Sousa ANDRADE, Adelaide DUARTE 

Abstract: This study examines the link between human capital and labour market resilience in the seven Portuguese NUTS-2 regions over the period 1995-2018. We use the Local Projection methodology (LPM) to estimate a SVAR model with three variables (employment, human capital, output) conditioning the response of the labour market to two scenarios depending on whether a shock to GDP occurs during recessions or during expansions, with output gap as the switching variable for the identification of recession and expansion regimes. The comparison of the employment responses to GDP shocks between the two regimes is informative about the degree of resilience of the labour market. We find evidence of: (i) distinct effects in terms of the sign and amplitude of GDP shocks on regional employment according to the level of educational attainment of employees; (ii) labour market resilience but jobless recoveries in several regions; and (iii) different regional reactions of human capital to GDP shocks depending on the regime.

Keywords: employment resilience, GDP shocks, local projections, structural VARs, NUTS-2, Portugal,

Pages: 26-59 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0102

Author: Andrej KINER, Radoslav STEFANCIK

Abstract: This paper presents findings on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on unemployment growth in the Slovak Republic. Based on the time series methodology, we analyse unemployment in the period from February 2020 to February 2021, taking into account several variable factors, such as gender, level of education and employment sector. Based on the results, we can state that female migrants are more resilient to the negative impacts of the pandemic. In addition, we have observed that education plays an important role and can be considered a significant factor that reduces the likelihood of losing one's job. The most significant decrease occurred among migrants with little or no education. The least vulnerable group consisted of tertiary-educated foreigners. In terms of occupation, the most vulnerable group were assemblers, plant operators, craft related workers and support staff. On the other hand, some professionals and technicians have weathered the negative aspects of the pandemic relatively well.   

Keywords: Slovakia, gender, migration, resilience, vulnerability, occupation, employment, COVID‑19 pandemic ,   

Pages: 60-80 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0103

Authors: Kateřina GAWTHORPE 

Abstract: The substantial ageing impact projected by the Eurostat motivates this research for the case of the Czech Republic. The study assists policymakers by analysing fiscal-policy measures to stabilize ageing impact on the income and the well-being; and motivates fiscal authorities to utilize an extended version of the Czech Ministry of Finance model for the demographic agenda. The examined fiscal measures consist of postponing retirement, increasing pensions, and reducing social-security payments. The simulation outcome reveals reducing social-security payments as the only fiscal policy that would maintain both labour income and well-being unaltered in the presence of ageing. The study continues by proposing a policy mix to mitigate the subsequent government deficit. The policy mix consists of increasing the VAT tax rate and decreasing pensions and other transfers. In conclusion, the reduction of the social security payments financed by the suggested policy mix would support individuals' responsibility for their future income while motivating them towards higher productivity during their younger years.

Keywords: ageing, DSGE, well-being, Czech Republic,

Pages: 81-105 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0104

Authors: Istvan TARROSY , Daniel SOLYMARI  

Abstract: The paper provides an analysis of certain key notions, such as solidarity and pragmatic solidarism in Hungarian foreign policy especially towards Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular during Communist times, as well as pragmatism as such, both during the Soviet period and in the post-Communist era. This will be contextualized in the gradual build-up of the Global South since the Bandung Conference of 1955. Special attention is provided to underscore the importance of education and government scholarships - as successful soft power tools - in fostering long-term relations with an enhanced interest in deepening economic cooperation. The article offers an analysis of the unfolding of the Hungarian Africa policies/strategies as a case study, but in the broader regional context of the Visegrad Four. The contribution of this paper to the field is that it broadens the relatively scarce literature on CEE foreign policies, in general, and on the Africa-policies, in particular, and offers a documented overview to better understand the Hungarian case, which has normative relevance for EU policies and geopolitics.    

Keywords: Hungary-Africa relations, pragmatism, university scholarships, V4, EU geopolitics 

Pages: 106-122 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0105

Authors: Nikolay PEYKOV

Abstract: This paper investigates the impulse reaction of five economic sectors to various monetary policy shocks under the currency board regime in Bulgaria. For that purpose, we have estimated five reduced form VAR models with quarterly data over the period 2001Q1 to 2019Q4 for the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing; construction; real estate, and trade, transport and accommodation activities. The relevant impulse response functions represent three monetary transmission channels, in particular via the overnight interbank market rate, the consumer price index and the real effective exchange rate. We found that there is strong heterogeneity between sectors response to the different monetary policy shocks even under a currency board regime. The differences in the reaction are both in terms of depth, direction and duration. The monetary policy has strong positive impact on construction, and to a lesser extent on manufacturing. The response of the agriculture; trade, transport and accommodation activities is rather negative especially in the long term.

Keywords: monetary policy, sectoral production, vector auto regression, impulse response ,

Pages: 123-147 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0106

Authors: Viktoria ENDRODI-KOVACS, Oleg TANKOVSKY

Abstract: Montenegro and Serbia are on track to join the EU, followed by other Western Balkan countries. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate these countries' economic integration maturity. The analysis covers the period between 2006 and 2019. The main questions concern the evolution of Western Balkan countries during the last 15 years, the results that have already been achieved, and the weakest points of their potential accession. The paper suggests that, although these countries are about to fulfil the economic criteria, they are not fully prepared to join the EU from an economic perspective as they face significant challenges in terms of integration maturity. To endorse this suggestion, the paper forms a new composite indicator to provide a comprehensive understanding of the recent development of these countries' functioning market economy, competitiveness, macroeconomic stability, convergence, and financing ability. Results can contribute to the integration theory and enlargement decision-making. . 

Keywords: economic integration maturity, Western Balkans, composite indicator creation ,

Pages: 148-166 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0107

Author: Maria Corina BARBAROS 

Abstract: The aim of this article is to investigate the crisis communication narratives and how the European authorities approached the task of communicating uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Using the critical discourse analysis approach, the study explores how the legitimization of the EU's response was discursively built and if there was a distinction between uncertainty information and uncertainty experience in terms of crisis communication. To answer the question: what are the best ways for institutions to communicate uncertainties to public audiences in order to benefit from legitimization and trust for their actions? We analysed the official communication of the EU, namely the discourses and press statements by the President of the European Commission. The data were processed with Atlas.ti 8 and generated the points under discussion - correlations, narratives, linguistic recurrences, dynamics of main themes, and deconstruction of uncertainty. The study's findings support the importance of separating between uncertainty information and uncertainty experience and the continuity of message lines.   

Keywords: European institutional communication, crisis communication, COVID-19

Pages: 167-184 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0108

Author: Csaba G. TOTH

Abstract: In the first year and a half of the pandemic, the excess mortality in Hungary was 28,400, which was 1,700 lower than the official statistics on COVID-19 deaths. This discrepancy can be partly explained by the protective measures instated during the COVID-19 pandemic which decreased the intensity of the seasonal flu outbreak, which caused on average 3,000 deaths per year. Compared to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the third wave showed a reduction in the differences in excess mortality between age groups and regions. The excess mortality rate for people aged 75+ fell significantly in the third wave, presumably partly due to the vaccination schedule and the absence of a normal flu season. For people aged 40-74, the excess mortality rate rose slightly in the third wave. Between regions, excess mortality was highest in Northern Hungary and Western Transdanubia, and much lower in Central Hungary, where the capital is located. The excess mortality rate for men was almost twice as high as that for women in almost all age groups.  

Keywords: excess mortality, COVID-19, pandemic, Lee-Carter, mortality, NUTS-2,

Pages: 185-207 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0109

Authors: Adrienne CSIZMADY, Agnes GYORI, Lea KOSZEGHY

Abstract: The article reviews current housing mobility patterns in Hungary, with specific regard to relocations within the rental sector and mobility from the owner occupied to the rental sector. By doing this, it intends to gain a more profound insight into housing mobility within or into less secure positions in the housing system. The analysis explores the role of factors beyond basic socioeconomic variables, such as access to different sources of housing finance, to housing mobility, through multivariable analysis of representative survey data. It points out how the lack of access to intergenerational transfers, savings, and mortgage leads to the inability of households to exit the rental sector. Besides, it draws attention to formerly mortgaged households moving from homeownership to the rental sector. It discusses the results in the context of Hungary's super-homeownership tenure structure, the highly ownership-oriented public policies, the lack of effective measures to tackle housing unaffordability and the loosely regulated rental sector. The analysis is based on data from a large sample personal survey conducted in 2018 (N=2650).       

Keywords: housing mobility, intergenerational transfers, housing finance, housing policy, Hungary,

Pages: 208-227 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0110

Authors: Mohamed CHIKHI , Claude DIEBOLT

Abstract: The present research aims to test the weak-form efficiency of the French ETF market through a LSTAR model with ANSTGARCH errors, by using semiparametric maximum likelihood where the innovation distribution is replaced by a nonparametric estimate based on the kernel density function. In this paper, we consider the daily Xtrackers CAC 40 UCITS from 2009 to 2020 for the analysis as it is supposed to capture more information compared to other French stock markets. After application of different statistical tests, we show that the price fluctuations appear as the result of transitory shocks and the predictions provided by the LSTAR-ANLSTGARCH model are better than those of other models for some time horizons. The predictions from this model are also better than those of the random walk model; accordingly, the XCAC 40 price is a not weak form of an efficient market for the entire period because its successive return is nonlinearly dependent and does not generate randomly.

Keywords: LSTAR-ANLSTGARCH model, semiparametric maximum likelihood, nonlinearity, market efficiency, kernel density,

Pages: 228-253 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0111

Author: Mirko KRUSE, Jan WEDEMEIER

Abstract: The concept of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) is one of the key policy instruments for Europe's regional development. The strategy considers the regional sectoral diversity to build a competitive advantage and increase the position in the knowledge economy. Particularly less-developed regions can benefit in this context when Smart Specialisation is promoted as the primary instrument of European Cohesion Policy. One strategy to develop the competitive advantage of moderate innovator regions is to develop a common, collaborative strategy to overcome regional disparities by leveraging regional growth potential. A methodology is presented by the authors, which is suggested to be accompanied for the identification of Smart Specialisation Strategies in an interregional context. The objective of this is to supply a novel method for interregional Smart Specialisation development and to improve its outward-looking orientation .

Keywords: smart specialisation, S3, regional disparities, policy, innovation policy,

Pages: 254-270 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0112

Author: Gungor KARAKAS

Abstract: Every year in the world, a significant amount of food is wasted at the consumption stage. Since food waste awareness is the determinant of food waste behaviours, the aim of this paper is to determine the effect of materialist values, personality, religious norm, food choice, food expenditure, recycling and environmental awareness on food waste awareness. Survey data were obtained from consumers in urban areas of Corum in March, April and May 2019. Structural Equation Model was conducted to determine the factors affecting food waste awareness of consumers. According to the results of the path analysis, religious norms were influenced only by personality, while environmental awareness was influenced by food expenditure and recycling. Although recycling was positively affected by environmental awareness, food expenditure and food choice, it was negatively affected by materialist values. The most important way to reduce food waste is to raise environmental awareness. Consumers should be informed about the impact of recycling, food expenditures, materialistic values and food choice on the environment in order to increase environmental awareness of consumers.      

Keywords: environmental awareness, food waste, materialist values, religious norm, recycling, Turkey,

Pages: 271-289 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0113

Author: Tamara TODOROVA, Aleksandar VASILEV

Abstract: The paper analyses the transaction cost of economizing and efficiency-enhancing effects of the Soviet-type economy. The last 30 years of transition have seen the failure of market reforms in many industries in what are traditionally non-market economies. We argue that centralized, command-and-control systems are wealth maximizing in the conditions of persistent transactional and behavioural failures. With its centralism, strict hierarchy, and monopoly over information, the Soviet-type economy was able to produce significant output. We emphasize the role of centralism in coordinating economic activities, curbing opportunism, and facilitating information flow. In highly opportunistic societies where the transaction costs of market operation are significant, centralized systems are more efficient than decentralized, democratic systems based on free-market rules.      

Keywords: Soviet-type economies, transaction costs, opportunism, coordination, welfare,

Pages: 290-308 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0114

Authors: Vytautas VALENTINAVIČIUS

Abstract: The annexation of Crimea in 2014 struck the world suddenly and unexpectedly, so unexpectedly that the world could only watch the occupation unfold. Neither politicians nor society had an opportunity to prepare deterrence efforts. Through the overview of the literature, analysis of various documents, including the work programmes of the Seimas 2013-2015 sessions, presidential reports (annual addresses) from 2013 to 2015 presented at the Parliament, and a case study of the return of the conscript army, the paper aims to determine whether the annexation of Crimea satisfied the requirement of the focusing event concept and whether it could prompt changes in Lithuania's national security agenda. Realising that focusing events have the power to attract the attention of the policymakers and engender alterations in agenda-setting processes, the paper employs the agenda-setting theory and focusing events approach in order to assess if the annexation of Crimea may have caused changes in the Lithuanian public policy agenda, namely its security policy dimension. The research revealed that the annexation of Crimea meets the criteria of a focusing event since it was sudden and unpredictable for political players and society as well as it has consolidated the focus into one place simultaneously. As a focusing event, it opened a window of opportunity to mobilise the nation and political efforts for changes to the security policy agenda.      

Keywords: focusing events, agenda-setting, annexation of Crimea, framing, conscript army,

Pages: 309-329 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0115

Authors: Mete Kaan NAMAL, Aynur YUMURTACI, Bulent ARPAT

Abstract: This study was carried out in the first six months of the Covid-19 to investigate the Turkish citizens' thoughts about government-based public social assistance provided by Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations (SASFs) in Turkey. This research is conducted by 401 people covering a total of 1.344 household members. According to the main results, nearly 75 per cent of those who applied for social assistance belong to low income (unemployed and insufficient income). In addition, 56 per cent of first-time beneficiaries and 71 per cent of pre-pandemic social assistance recipients are satisfied with social assistance during the pandemic process. Without any gender and education differences, public social assistance demand is found at the highest level between the ages of 29-40, and the lowest level is at the age of 65+. Interestingly, satisfaction from public social assistance was differentiated according to the marital status of the beneficiaries receiving social assistance before Covid-19. Further from these, SASFs have caught a self-assessment opportunity to correct their deficiency for future similar situations. .

Keywords: citizen, COVID-19, pandemic, public social assistance, Turkey,

Pages: 330-350 | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0116

Author: Carmen MOLDOVAN  

Pages: 351-353  | Full text (PDF)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/ejes-2022-0117