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Abstract: Executive summary: As to the alignment of “Horizon 2020”, ir is a more integrated approach to European science policy than expressed in the proposals previously drafted, and specifically considers: (i) promoting excellence in Science, (ii) establishing a sound industrial leadership and (iii) expressing an ambition to address current and future societal challenges. In this respect, the quest for a knowledge-based economy in Europe should result in proposals for industrial and employment policies that will consolidate the major European advantages in the biomedical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. Horizon 2020 also provides the possibility of adopting a more flexible and simplified management route to drive European research through innovation, research and development. What should be additionally considered? Unmet medical needs, under pressure from demographic changes, await the generation of new medicines and health technologies which will evolve into a driver for a unified European policy. We believe that this should be focused on harnessing pharmaceutical knowledge for clinical use, as part of a response to accommodate patient needs and economic growth based on a robust, scientific approach. The bolder ambition for European research is to unlock key bottlenecks currently undermining European competitiveness. The historical lack of an appropriate business/innovation environment with reduced access to adequate risk finance instruments has severed the path for economic growth and industrial development. These issues are of critical importance and a solution is urgently needed to foster translation from the university to the healthcare sector through the generation and support of start-ups, spin-offs, university-industry consortia, and other platforms, which support translational research. The ultimate goal is implementation of holistic programmes: the ‘bench to bedside’ paradigm of medicines and other healthcare products. The European Research Council supports the basic biomedical research programmes of long term importance for development of medicines; however, fundamental research initiatives on medicines development will not be competitive in such an environment. In order to strengthen the long term outlook, we must foster innovative research within the university sector, EUFEPS proposes that a fund for such research be set up within Horizon 2020, which would be open for individual research groups and which would include Public–Public Partnerships (complementing already existing Public–Private Partnerships). How do we look for implementation? There is an established research agenda for medicines research that is globally focused, and which incorporates a cooperative model between universities and industry, facilitating integration of complex technologies. Regulatory Science will play an important role in this integration. This agenda uses tools arising from systems approaches (including discovery with systems biology and also systems pharmacology) and has the potential for providing better knowledge management, as well as technological innovation (including manufacturing). It also addresses the drive towards personalised medicines and can, with support from both public and private sectors, foster translation of knowledge to new technologies and from that, to new medicinal products and complex integrated systems. This is a part of a strategy capable of solving unmet medical needs, which would increase the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic and debilitating diseases. The instruments to allow the development of a research agenda should strengthen existing partnerships such as the IMI-JU model; allow for the creation of European-network infrastructures that can bring together existing competences with adequate European coordination, thus promoting advanced training and continuous professional development for the pharmaceutical sciences. This will be the cornerstone of a knowledge management strategy, providing education and training for healthcare professionals and scientists. A key role for EUFEPS is to help the research community to embrace these new holistic policies applied to the spectrum of pharmaceutical, medical and cognate sciences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The EU has committed to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Reaching this objective requires massive changes in the region. The biggest challenge is that the green transition happens without sacrificing economic progress and guaranteeing justice and inclusiveness. This pledge implies that every country be capable of addressing the trade-offs between targets while remaining committed towards the common decarbonisation goal. Our paper analyses the success with which countries are carrying out the energy transition. We propose an enhanced hyperbolic distance function and a stochastic frontier analysis approach to model the joint attainment of economic development, environmental sustainability, and energy equity. We apply our model to an unbalanced panel dataset of 29 European countries for the period 2005–2018. Our estimates show that the average performance of the economies has improved over time. The results also highlight the pivotal role of a sustainable economic development with clean energies for both slashing CO 2 emissions and fostering energy equity. Moreover, we find convergence in countries' performance, being this convergence slightly higher for the EU-15 countries compared to the rest. Finally, we show that a higher share of renewable energy sources helps countries that are lagging behind to reach their optimal performance level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although countries in South-East Europe (SEE) traditionally use less pesticide in agricultural production than more developed countries in Europe, primarily due to the extensive character of their agriculture production, it is important to find the level of pesticide use because their usage can have a significant negative impact on the environment, health and social costs. The main objective of this paper is to find the correlation between pesticide use and economic development in SEE countries. In that context, the model for determining economic factors that can influence pesticide use is constructed and estimated. The results show that gross domestic product and precipitation had a positive impact on pesticide use, while farm size, trade openness, and membership in the European Union (EU) had a negative impact. This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature of pesticide use in SEE countries and answers questions which are significant for determining economic factors. This is important for policymakers, especially in countries that are candidates for EU membership, countries that should adopt EU legislation of pesticide use and establish new agri-ecological measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European policy makers have shown a keen interest in the success of 5G because ubiquitous and high capacity electronic communication infrastructure is recognized as a cornerstone of economic development and productivity growth. The second generation, GSM, is considered the leading example, reaching its peak of deployment in 2015 with 3.83 billion subscribers served by over 700 operators in 219 countries and territories. With 5G rapidly shaping up in the R&D and standardization environments, and a call for leadership with 5G in Europe by policy makers, it is timely to investigate what lessons can be learned from the success of 2G that can be applied to 5G. More broadly, this calls for research into the commonalities and differences between successive generations of mobile technology, their introduction and the market adoption that followed. This also calls for an investigation into the possibility of multiple futures of 5G and how that impacts the opportunity for leadership. As one future may be more desirable than the other, depending on the perspective of the actor involved, a policy debate will be required to determine the most desirable future. As well as a discussion of the policy and regulatory actions required to enable a particular future. Hence, the two-part research question being addressed in this paper is: What explains the success of 2G-GSM and how can it be applied to create success with 5G in the European Union ? To respond to the research question this paper first identifies the leadership lessons to be drawn from the success of 2G-GSM in relation to its successors 3G and 4G. Secondly, the contribution describes two stylized images of possible futures of 5G, called “Evolution” and “Revolution”, as input to the policy debate on the options for leadership with 5G. These images reflect two extremes in terms of possible futures of 5G. “Evolution” follows the pattern of previous generations and current trends. “Revolution” represents a clear break with these trends and a path towards leadership with 5G, as it exploits the opportunities of standardized APIs for service creation, being enabled by network virtualization as an architectural foundation of 5G. These open and uniformly applied APIs allow the market entry of a multitude of virtual mobile network operators (VMNOs) serving particular industry verticals or economic sectors with tailored feature sets and qualities of services. They allow a market momentum to be built that constitutes leadership with 5G in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was intended to create jobs and boost the economies on both sides of the Atlantic. However, constituency support was difficult to garnish, and negotiations were frozen in late 2016, leaving their conclusion in doubt. What led to this stage? Why has an agreement been elusive? Using an array of indicators this paper argues that a major reason was the extensive and professionally structured public mobilisation campaign conducted by European civil society organisations. This shifted public opinion across Europe, which in turn impacted policy. Our research contributes to the literatures on trade, lobbying, and transatlantic relations, with relevance beyond TTIP. The paper discusses how generalised and diffused interests and public opinion are impacting an area of public policy (trade) traditionally influenced predominantly by lobbying from narrowly focused interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is an attempt to address the advantages and risks connected with the wave of financial globalisation, with a focus on its impact on financial policy in European agriculture. The aim of the paper is to identify the basic conditions of the functioning and change of the financial system of agriculture under the conditions of the globalisation of financial markets. Financial globalisation, also referred to as financial integration or openness, is understood as an increase in global ties and interdependences caused by capital flows. Potentially, globalisation can bring a lot of benefits, which are manifested in an acceleration of economic growth and decreased fluctuation in consumption, which should further improve the level of overall prosperity. On the other hand, however, internationalisation of financial flows entails a range of threats, including the possibility of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the transition to the market economy the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries were concerned with the creation of the legal and institutional framework for environmental preservation as an important component of sustainable development strategy, in line with the EU accession requirements. Nevertheless, without denying the efforts to create a real environmental culture, the economic and social problems like production decline and growing unemployment made public concern shift away to more immediately stressful issues such as real wages or job insecurity. Later on, in the post-accession period the Cohesion Policy created a more stimulating framework for dealing with the sustainable development objectives. In the current programme period, 2014–2020, in accordance with the “Europe 2020” Strategy, the sustainable growth is closely related to smart and inclusive growth within the strategic objective of the Cohesion Policy, offering each member state multiple instruments and funding opportunities for complying with sustainability criteria. They are particularly supportive for CEE countries, whose internal resources are below the required levels in this respect. This paper proposes a spotlight on the sustainability issues in CEE cities, considered development vehicles for the regions they belong to, and thus major participants in the efforts to promote economic growth and diminish interregional disparities. An evolutionary perspective is applied, aiming to reveal how these cities responded to sustainability requirements in both pre- and post-accession periods. In addition, we test the variance of green performance between different groups of CEE cities (Baltic, Central or East European cities; large, medium and small cities; growing, stagnating and declining cities). In the final part of the paper, a special emphasis is placed on the policies able to create synergies between smart specialization and sustainable development approaches. To this end, the paper investigates how sustainable and smart growth policies complement each other in supporting eco-innovation, eco-system services and resource efficiency at the city level in CEE countries. Meanwhile, the paper looks for those smart policy mixes that rationally combine knowledge-based investments in areas with competitive advantages and coherent support measures for a greener economy, as a pre-requisite for territorial cohesion and competitiveness in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the competitiveness of public transport plays an important role because through public transport, the transport of passengers to schools, public healthcare establishments and work is ensured. In addition, transportation for vulnerable groups of passengers (students, seniors) is provided. On the other hand, public transport constitutes a financial burden on public budgets. The aim of this paper is to point out that public transport does not have an equal status in the transport market within the European Union. In the states of Central and Eastern Europe, public transport had a dominant position in the transport market in the 90s. Nowadays, the market share is declining, particularly in the bus transport, with the rising costs for public budgets regarding an increase in individual motoring. The aim of this paper is to highlight the possibilities of increasing the competitiveness of public transport by integrating different components of public transport. Another aim is to define the possibilities of financing public transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a widely employed instrument of regional innovation policy: the innovation incubator. It proposes that incubation approaches are moving away from a 'traditional' approach strongly premised on physical infrastructure and high-technology, to a more interactive, participatory and social mode of innovation, in line with broader developments in innovation policy and theory. To practically illustrate this shift, we take two cases: a 'traditional' style of incubation in Wales, UK, and a 'next generation' incubation programme in Finland. This paper reflects on incubators as a mode of regional innovation policy, both past developments and future trends, to ensure that new policies and programmes learn from best (and indeed, worst) practice and build on, rather than replicate, past approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades many cities have experienced growing pressure to produce and stage cultural events of different sorts to promote themselves and improve economic development. Culture-led development often relies on significant public investment and major private-sector sponsoring. In the context of strained public finances and profound economic crisis in European peripheral countries, local community low-budget events that manage to create significant fluxes of visitors and visibility assume a particular relevance. This paper looks at the four editions (2011–2014) of Noc-Noc, an arts festival organized by a local association in the city of Guimarães, Portugal, which is based on creating transient spaces of culture by transforming numerous homes, commercial outlets and other buildings into ephemeral convivial and playful ‘public’ environments. By interviewing a sample of people who have hosted (sometimes doubling as artists) these transitory art performances and exhibitions, artists and the events’ organizers and by experiencing the four editions of the event and engaging in multiple informal conversations with the public, this paper attempts to discuss how urban citizens may disrupt the cleavages between public and private space permitting various transgressions, and unsettling the hegemonic condition of the city council as the patron of the large majority of events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a large number of railway development projects in Europe and worldwide, which once completed will be serving rail passengers of the future, this paper aims to take a step back and evaluate current railway systems performance. The objectives are to compare statistical data on various passenger-related parameters of the railway system in a number of selected European countries and draw conclusions on the level of their performance when compared to the European average. Analyses of publically available statistical data, extracted from the Eurostat service at a European level will allow for a comparison of various indicators which influence the performance of the railway systems from an infrastructure and operational perspectives. The analyses will also allow identifying key performance indicators for the accurate assessment of the rail systems. The paper will highlight case studies for various parameters which are important to stakeholders of the railways, including infrastructure managers, rail operators, policy makers and the end users. This knowledge will be to the benefit of today’s railway industry as well as the rail systems of the future, as it will show trends drew upon existing data which might continue in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The impact of economic growth on health outcomes has generated various conflicting results in recent years, particularly with the emergence of cardiovascular disease as one of the most salient global health issues. This paper looks at the relationship between economic development and health outcomes. We first estimate an empirical model using data on annual cardiovascular disease mortality in a panel of 27 European countries, over the period 2003 to 2014, together with per capita GDP levels in each country. We also include a number of additional determinants of health outcomes as prescribed by the literature, including various socio-economic, lifestyle and contextual variables. The results show that there is a statistically-significant inverted U-shaped relationship, whereby as income increases mortality rates first rise, before declining at subsequent levels of development. This trajectory persists even after the inclusion of the other determinants of health, as well as other robustness checks. We then seek to explain the persistence of the inverted U-shaped income-mortality relationship using a microeconomic model of consumer choice, with our findings suggesting that this relationship is consistent with a scenario of increasing returns to scale from healthcare investment. The results emphasise the importance of investment in the latest healthcare technologies and continued improvements to public healthcare systems, particularly within developing countries, in conjunction with efforts to boost economic growth. Highlights • Inverted U-shaped relationship between cardiovascular mortality and GDP per capita. • Results robust to inclusion of various control variables and confounders. • Relationship consistent with increasing returns from healthcare spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic developments experienced within the countries of European Union (EU) in the recent years have reported impacts on road safety levels, especially in serious injuries and traffic fatalities. In order to support the road safety strategies of the EU countries, it is essential to investigate the association of road safety levels with economic, social and demographic factors and finally comparatively evaluate the performance of each country. This paper aims at analyzing the road safety performance of EU-23 countries over a decade (2005–2014) considering their socio-economic and demographic background. For doing so, two distinctive models were applied, in particular, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and DEA-Cross Efficiency Model (DEA-CEM), both suitably adapted to the road safety particularities. Moreover, the concept of road safety evaluation is performed by using comparable road safety indicators, namely, mortality rate and fatality risk. The results of this study contribute to the decision/policy making agenda from the perspective of evaluating road safety performance levels by using short-term and long-term road safety targets. Additionally, an unbiased ‘picture’ of the countries’ road safety performance over a period of 10 years is provided, accompanied with information on the intra-period countries’ efficiency of their road safety targets. The proposed intra-period analysis has useful practical and methodological implications since it is able to expose the evolution of road safety levels among the countries, besides a static overall picture. Finally, this study offers valuable insights on the cross-evaluation of road safety levels among the EU countries by considering a target-setting approach for each of them before and during a turbulent financial period for Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current dynamics in the Western European urban system are in marked contrast with the bourgeoning literature stressing the importance of agglomeration for economic growth. This paper explores whether this is due to the rise of 'city network economies', leading to processes of borrowed size as well as the rise of agglomeration shadows in networks of cities. The spread of metropolitan functions over Western European cities is analysed. It is found that network connectivity positively enhances the presence of metropolitan functions, but local size remains the most significant determinant for most types of functions. The importance of size and network connectivity differs across metropolitan functions and across cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the economic crisis that started in the United States in 2007, economic growth has become of great importance for the countries affected by the crisis further to their confrontation with lower growth rates of GDP per capita. At national level, governments are searching for that mix of optimal economic policies that would revive economies on the upward and also sustainable trend. One of the key policies in this regard, especially for the countries in Central and Eastern Europe which intend to adopt the euro currency, is the tax policy. Its main instruments are taxes. In this paper, we pay special attention to these instruments and to the connection that they have with the economic growth. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part presents a few ideas related to the importance of taxes at national level, the second part is an analysis in terms of taxation of the Central and Eastern Europe countries, while the third part consists of a panel-type assessment of the relation between economic growth and taxation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2020 Europe has to increase its energy efficiency and share of renewables in 20%. However, even accomplishing these challenging objectives Europe will be effectively wasting energy as we demonstrate in this paper. In our way towards a fully renewable scenario, we need at least to stop wasting energy in order to guarantee the energy supply needed for growth and comfort. We waste energy when we employ more primary energy than the final energy we ultimately use and this excess cannot be reutilized. In this paper we propose the WE (wasted energy) as a novel metric to measure the performance of energy systems and set up appropriate targets. The WE incorporates information about energy efficiency and renewable sources. Unlike European legislation, the WE considers them in an integrated way. This approach will help Member States to exploit their intrinsic capabilities and design their optimum strategy to reach their objectives. Using the information in Eurostat, we calculate the WE of Member States in EU-28 and their evolution. We also analyze illustrative examples to highlight strategies to reduce the WE, study the connection between economic development and WE, and provide a tool to diagnose the potential of improvement of an energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regeneration of brownfields gradually becomes an important challenge for regional and local development across the East-Central European countries. Due to the recent huge economic transition and global societal changes thousands of abandoned sites (brownfields) sprang up across the landscape after various economic activities, the Czech Republic included. This paper evaluates the perception of brownfields along with their individual reuse options by local population in one of the city districts of Ostrava which was heavily influenced by industrialisation during the last 150 years (Svinov city district, city of Ostrava, eastern part of the Czech Republic). The first part of the paper is devoted to brief theoretical aspects of brownfields regeneration and its perception. The second part of the paper presents us with the results of the questionnaire survey which was carried out among local population of Svinov (n=163) focusing on the perception of five selected local brownfield sites. It was found out that the issue of brownfields rouses huge discussions among public of the model area of Svinov. Among the most supported re-use options of local brownfields greenery and cultural facilities were identified. Brownfield sites located outside the settled area of the city quarter are almost disregarded while the re-use of centrally located sites for greenery is strongly supported. In the final part of the paper, the findings are synthesized and recommendations for public administration and potential investors are formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of the fifth generation of mobile technology (5G) is expected to bring disruptive changes. These changes will be much more pervasive than any previous introduction of new mobile 'generations' and they are expected to influence the whole economy. For this reason, the global rush for 5G technology is not only considered crucial in economic or technological terms, but also for its implications in terms of geopolitics, international policy and national security. This paper presents an analysis of the patents in the most relevant fields of specialization connected to the 5G development. The period under investigation is from 2010 to 2019, and the data are extracted from the European Patent Office (EPO) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. The analysis shows how the technologies and the specialisations needed to develop 5G are in the hands of a few countries around the globe, and how single European countries, taken in isolation, are not among those leading players. However, Europe, considered as a whole, competes well with the US and Asia in terms of patented innovations, suggesting the economic and strategic relevance of strengthening cooperation within the EU. • The debate regarding the 5G development, implementation and disruptiveness is gathering growing attention. • The paper present an analysis of the patents in the most relevant fields of specialization connected to the 5G development. • We study the technological complexity of the 5G ecosystem and the related implications for competition and innovation. • There are few countries at the frontier of the technological development of 5G and lagging countries will face many difficulties to cover the gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been argued that the concept of “borrowed size” is essential to understanding urban patterns and dynamics in North-West Europe. This paper conceptualizes this idea and provides an empirical exploration of it. A place borrows size when it hosts more urban functions than its own size could normally support. A borrowed size for one place means that other places face an “agglomeration shadow” because they host fewer urban functions than they would normally support. This paper explores the extent to which size and function are related for places in North-West Europe and tries to explain why one place borrows size while the other faces an agglomeration shadow by examining the position of places within the regional urban system. The presence of urban functions was approximated using high-end cultural amenities. We conclude that the largest places in their functional urban area (FUA) are better able to exploit their own mass. The largest place in a FUA is also better able to borrow size from nearby places and from (inter)national urban networks than the lower-ranked places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics and implications of internationalization vary quite considerably among different regions and countries, depending on the history and structure of their Higher Education systems. With a target to become the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world, Europe has scaled academic mobility, partnerships between the European Research Area and the world's top universities. The aim of this paper is to present some considerations regarding the internationalization of academic space in emerging European countries; more specifically it is an analytical review of the opinions on the phenomenon of internationalization in diachronic perspective of its development, in order to distinguish the structural problems at the level of interference, of the internationalization strategies before the economic crisis in the academic phenomenon. It can be a point of view in order to prove (argued by some causal relationship) that the academic Emergent Europe manifest itself in a differentiated manner, even if the strategies are common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, most European countries have experienced substantial demographic changes and rising cultural diversity. Understanding the social and economic impacts of these shifts is a major challenge for policymakers. Richard Florida’s ideas have provided a popular – and pervasive – framework for doing so. This paper assess Florida’s legacy and sets out a ‘post-Florida’ framework for ‘technology, talent and tolerance’ research. The paper first traces the development of Florida’s ideas. ‘Florida 1.0’, encapsulated by the Three Ts framework, has performed badly in practice. There are problems in bringing causality to the fundamental relationships, and in consistently replicating the results in other countries. ‘Florida 2.0’, though suggests that Creative Class metrics have value as alternative measures of human capital. This create space for a post-Florida agenda based on economic micro-foundations. I argue that the growing body of ‘economics of diversity’ research meets these conditions, and review theory and empirics. Urban ‘diversity shocks’ shift the size and composition of populations and workforces, with impacts operating via labour markets, and through wider production and consumption networks. While short-term labour market effects are small, over time low-value industrial sectors may become migrant-dependent. Diversity may help raise productivity and wages through innovation, entrepreneurship, market access and trade channels. Bigger, more diverse cities help generate hybridised goods and services, but may also raise local costs through crowding. All of this presents new challenges for policymakers, who need to manage diversity’s net effects, and address both economic costs and benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the impact of domestic and international tourism on the economic growth process for 179 European regions. The econometric analysis is based on a spatial growth regression framework where the rate of GDP per capita growth at the regional level for the period 1999-2009 depends on tourism flows, in addition to the traditional growth variables. Besides controlling for initial conditions, we also include a wide set of covariates to account for the endowment of human and technological capital and for the geographical, social and institutional features of the regions. The results, confirmed by several robustness checks, demonstrate that regional growth is positively affected by domestic and international tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response by regional and national economies to exogenous impulses has a well-established literature in both spatial econometrics and in mainstream econometrics and is of considerable importance given the post-2007 economic crisis, which is characterized by a period of severe global instability resulting from unprecedented economic shocks. This paper focuses on dynamic counterfactual predictions and impulse-response functions derived from appropriate econometric models. These provide insight regarding the question of whether responses to economic shocks are transitory or whether they have a permanent effect. Analysis shows that output shocks have had permanent effects on productivity so that economies have tended not to return to the pre-shock path but rather adjust to new levels. This suggests that the current recession will be embodied permanently within the memory of some of Europe's leading economies as a hysteretic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results of an international comparative research project ‘Smart governance of shrinking cities in a European context’. In recent years, many European cities have experienced urban shrinkage (population decline). Whereas there has been a wealth of research into the governance of growing cities, little consideration has been given to the governance of and policy responses to shrinking cities, particularly in relation to the declining cities of post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe. The aim of this paper is to compare the governance responses to shrinkage in different national contexts and assess the policy responses applied. This is done through the comparison of case studies examining the governance of shrinkage in Leipzig (Germany), Bytom (Poland), Ostrava (Czechia) and Timisoara (Romania). Two different strategies have been identified. First, Leipzig – due to its inclusion in the (former Western) German welfare state – followed a reasonably holistic strategy implemented by strong public actors focused not only on economic growth, but also on tackling issues of falling housing demand and the need to strengthen the attractivity of city centre. Second, in Ostrava, Bytom and Timisoara strategies have been inspired by neoliberal thinking, denying the important role of public sector city planning and ignoring the fact of shrinkage. In these cities, the main reply to shrinkage has been to seek economic development through the attraction of private investment (especially FDI) into the cities and using pragmatically any EU structural funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy use has gained increasing attention when assessing economic growth and convergence of countries. Indeed, recent policy and regulatory implementations require a reduction of non-renewable energy use (to decrease greenhouse gas emissions) and a rise in renewable energy use. As such, many studies have tried to understand the contribution of energy on growth and convergence. In this paper, we propose to use a production-frontier approach to tackle this question. The distinguishing features of our methodology are: no assumptions about the growth process are required, and it isolates the impact of non-renewable and renewable energy. We apply our methodology to the case of the European countries from 1995 to 2015. We find that renewable energy changes cause a divergence, while non-renewable energy changes cause a convergence. We also find that the impact of both types of energy on economic growth, while small, is not negligible and increases with time. Next, we identify two groups: Eastern and central Europe and EU12, and show that the impact of both types of energy is different for each group. Finally, we relate our findings to several variables. This last part reveals important patterns and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent contribution, Redding and Schott [2003. "Distance, Skill Deepening and Development: Will Peripheral Countries Ever Get Rich?" Journal of Development Economics 72 (2): 515-541. doi:10.1016/S0304- 3878(03)00118-4] add human capital to a two sector NEG model, highlighting that remoteness represents a penalty that gives disincentives to invest in human capital. But is this hypothesis consistent with long-term evidence? We test the persistence of this effect at the regional level in an historical setting. The results show that market access has a significant positive influence on human capital in OLS, Tobit and IV regression models. Thus, the paper confirms the 'penalty of remoteness' hypothesis for Europe in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we argue that Ireland’s post-crisis economic recovery in Europe was driven by foreign direct investment (FDI) from Silicon Valley, and while this growth model was made possible by Ireland’s low-corporate tax rates, it was also a result of these firms using Ireland to directly access the European labour market. We evidence this contention via sectoral and geographic analyses while simultaneously showing that Irish fiscal policies have not redistributed gains from the recovery to the broader population. As a result, the economic recovery has been most actively felt by those in the FDI sectors, including workers from the EU and beyond. Building on theories from the study of comparative capitalism, we suggest that this experience indicates that Ireland’s FDI-led growth model has created clear winners and losers, with significant distributional implications. The FDI growth regime been made possible by inward migration and European integration, but given the unequal distribution of the economic benefits that this generates, it is unlikely to be politically, or electorally, sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

World trade suddenly plummeted in the last quarter of 2008 after the bankruptcy of Lehman brothers and the subsequent meltdown in financial markets. Even if the following recovery was impressive, trade growth is now noticeably below trend. The anaemic momentum in global export volume questionswhether the financial crisis has permanently changed the trade landscape. In this paper, we address trade elasticities in some Central and Eastern European economies by estimating a standard import function equation. We employ a dynamic panel Auto Regressive Distributed Lagmodel with the Common Correlated EffectsMean Group estimator to cope with cross-sectional dependence. Themodel is fit on a sample of eight countries over the period 1995:q1-2017:q1. First, we estimate long-run import elasticities with respect to gdp and the relative import price. Then, we discriminate between booms and slowdowns. Results confirm imports respond differently over the business cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to analyse regional growth factors in Central and Eastern European Countries in the pre- and post-crisis era. The comparison is focused on core (metropolitan) and non-core (non-metropolitan) regions. The study found that the development processes of the analysed groups of regions were in many respects similar. Achieving a high level of development in the context of post-socialist transformation was possible mainly owing to exogenous factors such as the influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) and multimodal transport accessibility. In the case of endogenous factors, the number of small- and medium-sized enterprises per capita was of cardinal importance for a high level of development, but it was no guarantee of fast growth dynamics in non-core regions. The main differences between the core and non-core regions included the role of human capital and migrations as metropolitan regions represented growth poles which trained qualified specialists and served as destinations for migrants from non-core regions. However, the share of people with tertiary education played an important role in the development process of non-core regions. The crisis strengthened the role of exogenous growth factors, that is, the role of FDI inflow as well as the role of EU funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an overarching review of national municipal waste management systems and waste-to-energy as an important part of it in the context of circular economy in the selected countries in Europe. The growth of population and rising standards of living means that the consumption of goods and energy is increasing. On the one hand, consumption leads to an increase in the generation of waste. On the other hand, the correlation between increased wealth and increased energy consumption is very strong as well. Given that the average heating value of municipal solid waste (MSW) is approximately 10 MJ/kg, it seems logical to use waste as a source of energy. Traditionally, waste-to-energy (WtE) has been associated with incineration. Yet, the term is much broader, embracing various waste treatment processes generating energy (for instance, in the form of electricity and/or heat or producing a waste-derived fuel). Turning waste into energy can be one key to a circular economy enabling the value of products, materials, and resources to be maintained on the market for as long as possible, minimising waste and resource use. As the circular economy is at the top of the EU agenda, all Member States of the EU (including the EEA countries) should move away from the old-fashioned disposal of waste to a more intelligent waste treatment encompassing the circular economy approach in their waste policies. Therefore, the article examines how these EU policies are implemented in practice. Given that WtE traditionally is attached to the MSW management and organisation, the focus of this article is twofold. Firstly, it aims to identify the different practices of municipal waste management employed in selected countries and their approaches in embracing the circular economy and, secondly, the extent to which WtE technologies play any role in this context. The following countries, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK were chosen to depict a broad European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how spinoffs in peripheral regions can profit from the work experience of their founders. More specifically, it discusses which firm routines and business contacts entrepreneurs gather through their prior work experience, and how this experience influences the organizational structure and orientation of the newly founded firm. The transfer of capabilities from parent firm to spinoff has been identified as important aspect of industrial clustering, but empirical evidence from peripheral areas is still sparse. It compares 22 semi-structured interviews with founders of manufacturing firms from different peripheral regions in Switzerland to investigate whether routine and network transfer differs in varying peripheral contexts. The results show that not only inherited routines are important, but also inherited business contacts. Further, instead of simply reproducing acquired routines and networks, founders employ a mixture of continuity and change to find a good trade-off between relying on well-proven practices and introducing novelty. Finally, the geographical proximity of inherited business contacts seems to have an influence on the implementation strategy founders choose. Entrepreneurs with strong inherited local business contacts do not have to invest as much in building up new business contacts as those entrepreneurs in more isolated locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the period of nearly three decades of post-socialist transition in the countries of Southeastern Europe (SEE), there were numerous synergistic, destructive and anti-developmental hindering institutional factors that directly caused the creation of social and economic insecurity. Many developmental problems, as well as social, economic and institutional deformations, have generated a lasting and deep crisis. This paper analyzes the basic deformations of public sector management, which has emerged as a driving force for all development problems in the SEE countries. It starts with two assumptions: first, weak and slow institutional changes were deliberately programmed by the nomenclature of government, in order to eliminate institutional competition and affirmation of the quasi-institutional monism of neoliberal type, which have enabled the substitutive development of the so-called alternative institutions; and second, highly interest-oriented motives of the government nomenclature have been the main cause of ignoring rational recommendations by representatives of non-institutional economic theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses how the European Commission employs cultural policy to facilitate EU enlargement processes. Since 1989 the European Commission has funded cultural programs in accession states as a ‘soft’ complement to its ‘hard’ conditionality. It reflects a more general trend in which the EU employs alternative modes of governance to deal with resistance against EU interference in national affairs. By investing in culture, the EU hopes to stimulate transnational cooperation, economic growth, social cohesion and identification with the EU. However, the outcomes of these investments cannot be predicted. Characteristic for soft policy programs is that participating states are responsible for their eventual interpretation and implementation. By comparing the policies and practices of EU cultural investments in accession states Southeast Europe, and particularly in Serbia, this paper discusses the limits and possibilities of EU funded initiatives to enlargement revealing an increasing governing through soft conditionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the literature on sustainable communities and compact cities calls for higher density housing including multifamily dwellings. Some researchers suggest problems with such dwellings. However, rigorous comparative research on this topic has not been conducted to date. This paper draws on a high quality, comparative data-set, the European Social Survey, to analyse (a) the quality of multifamily dwellings in European urban areas, (b) the characteristics of residents, (c) their life satisfaction compared with those living in detached housing and (d) the relative importance of built form in explaining life satisfaction. One of the main findings from the multivariate analyses is that residing in multifamily housing is not a statistically significant predictor of life satisfaction when you control for standard predictors of life satisfaction and housing and neighbourhood quality. Overall, the findings provide support for both place-based and peoplebased responses to urban regeneration. Both physical and social regeneration are required, addressing the education/training needs of residents and economic development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the production function of firms based on the use of intellectual capital. The authors come up with this problem since believe that the new economy conditions require an adjustment and a development of classical firm theory. Design/methodology/approach – The research question addressed in this study is mainly related to the empirical validation of the function based on companies' intangibles in the Cobb-Douglas framework. This model enables the authors to advocate the idea of the complementarity of intellectual resources as well as simplifies the analysis of intellectual capital features. To accomplish the purpose of the research, the authors design a log-linear model and estimate it on a sample of more than 400 European and American companies. Findings – Application of Cobb-Douglas framework allowed designing a production function based on intellectual capital. The complementarity of intellectual capital components is justified on the empirical results obtained in this research. The increasing return to scale for intellectual capital was established for the sample examined in this study. Research limitations/implications – The main shortcoming of the approach implemented in this study is related to the proxy indicators of intellectual capital. Nevertheless, the authors statistically validate the chosen indicators applying hedonic approach. Practical implications – Practical accomplishment of this research is mainly associated with the conclusion about an increasing return to scale of intellectual capital. This phenomenon appears to be of a particular importance for investment decisions. Originality/value – The findings of this paper provide a new insight into intellectual resources interrelation that enhances companies' value creation. The authors also hope to assist future research attempts in application of the theory of company's growth driven by its intangible capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to establish the future intervention priorities in building a new programme that would target the economic development in the research area. The used methodology included an adapted A'WOT analysis - an initial SWOT analysis and a prioritization of the items through an expert questionnaire. In the present paper we analyze the experts' opinions and the areas where intervention is needed for the optimum strategies for the 2014-2020 financial frame. These should rely on the strengths in the Guidelines for Applicants, the rules for projects implementation and the institutional system, it should consider changes on the weak points concerning the programme objectives, the Guidelines for Applicants and the beneficiaries consultations, it should make use of opportunities coming from the crossborder status, European Union frame and economic opportunities and overcome the differences coming from crossborder status, membership of two different supranational structures and the economic gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]