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This paper assesses the extent of structural or sectoral change and its importance for aggregate productivity growth during times of boom, bust and recovery. The analysis covers 10 EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe over the years 2001-2012. The reallocation of labour across sectors was substantial during the boom, very extensive in 2009 at the depth of the crisis and modest in the subsequent recovery period. The contribution of sectoral change to aggregate productivity growth is computed using various decomposition methods. Changes in labour productivity within sectors play the dominant role for aggregate productivity growth, while reallocation of labour between sectors is less important. This pattern is found through most of the sample period despite large differences in the extent of sectoral change during the boom, crisis and recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have shown that childhood circumstances can have long term consequences that persist until old age. To better understand the transmission of early life circumstances, this paper analyses the effects of health and financial situation during childhood on quality of life after retirement as well as the mediating role of later life health, educational level, and income in this association. Moreover, this study is the first to compare these pathways across European regions. The analyses are based on data of 13,092 retirees aged ≥ 60 and ≤ 85 years from the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) with full information on childhood and later life measures of health, educational level, financial situation, and quality of life as well as relevant covariates. Five European regions are studied: Central-Western Europe (Austria, Germany), Central-Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia), Northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden), Southern Europe (Italy, Spain), and Western Europe (Belgium, France, The Netherlands). Path analysis is used to identify the direct and indirect effects of childhood measures on quality of life. We find retirees’ quality of life to be associated with childhood finances and health in all five European regions. While both the direct and indirect effects of childhood health are rather moderate and homogeneous across regions, especially the direct effects of childhood finances on quality of life after retirement display a distinct North-South gradient being strongest in Southern Europe. Potential explanations for the regional variations are differences in the countries’ welfare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the guest editors discuss research study carried out on accounting research development and practice in Eastern and Central Europe.

This report presents the proceedings of a workshop held in Constanta, Romania on 22 May 2014. During the workshop, representatives from 18 Central and Eastern European countries gave oral presentations on the current oral health of children and young adults aged 16 years and younger. The aim of the workshop was to collect and present data relating to the oral health of children from Central and Eastern European countries and to discuss them in the context of the political changes that have taken place over the last two decades and the recent economic crisis. The presenters had previously completed a series of questions on oral epidemiological studies, prevention of oral disease, treatment and payment, dental personnel, uptake of oral health care and other considerations and structured their presentations on these topics plus the influence of the economic crisis on oral health. It should be remembered that this paper is a report of the proceedings of a workshop and not a study. Ethics approval is not required for workshops. After the 18 oral presentations a 90 min discussion took place during which further points were raised. The presentations, the discussion and the conclusions which were reached are reported in this manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past years, new patt erns of regional disparities between metropolised core regions and the remaining parts of Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) have emerged. Such spatial disparities have lately fuelled concerns about further regional polarisation and the peripheralisation of non-metropolitan regions in particular. This is the case although balancing spatial development has been a major goal of European Regional Policy. The paper argues that there is a clear need to bett er understand the social, economic, discursive and political processes constituting regional polarisation and to conduct further research on approaches to deal with and respond to peripheralisation. The proposed research agenda focuses on a multi-scalar relation between core and peripheral regions and applies a process based dynamic understanding of peripherality and centrality. Following this, peripheralised regions bear agency capacities and cannot be seen as powerless victims of some overarching processes associated with the globalising economy. Applying the notions of polarisation and peripheralisation to guide further research, off ers multi-dimensional, multi-scalar and process based conceptualisations of regional development research. With the proposed research agenda, I would like to open up the discussion on new interpretations of the terms peripherality and centrality, rurality and urbanity, border and rural areas, core and peripheral regions, and contribute to the development of new approaches in multi-level governance and ultimately in regional policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper begins with a summary of the concept, emphasizing that sustainable development is a strongly supported policy around the world. The case study examines specific aspects of sustainable development in Coca-Cola HBC Romania. Finally it presents the main obstacles and opportunities identified for adoption by Romanian companies in their business of sustainable competitiveness strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability manifested locally expanded to national, outlining the context of Romanian tourism industry under guidance protection, conservation and regeneration of environmental resources. The paper analyzes the evolution over time of the number, and surface of protected natural areas, being a reference point in the direction of strategic management thinking of tourism in the protected areas in Romania under the spectrum of sustainability, leading to a quantitative development and qualitative at high levels. The analysis of the number and surface of protected natural areas is through the data retrieved from the database Tempo-one line from the NIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to analyze how European integration and, especially, changes in ownership, has affected banking efficiency in Central and Eastern European countries which have recently experimented this process more intensely. Using a stochastic frontier approach, applied to panel data, we have estimated bank efficiency levels in a sample of 189 banks from 12 countries during the period 2000 to 2008 and we have analyzed the influence of some bank characteristics on these efficiency levels. The results show that European integration has significantly improved the cost efficiency of banks in these countries, but profit efficiency has significantly decreased. We have found very small differences between different ownership types and only a very small impact of foreign ownership on cost efficiency, showing that the entry of foreign ownership is not enough to explain the significant variations in banking efficiency after the accession. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research quality dictates the reputation of faculty, colleges, and universities, regardless of their location. In order to shed some light on the quality construct, this research reports on the scholarly impact of economics and finance (E&F) journals published in countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). A comparison of coverage by Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and Cabell's, three scholarly databases, reveals the lesser coverage of CEE journals within WoS and Scopus. Examination of E&F journals published in Poland, Romania, and the remainder of CEE, as defined by the Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research, discloses that the level of quality varies by nation. There are variations across the popular CiteScore, SJR, SNIP, and percentage of articles cited bibliometric measures. Furthermore, this research documents the existence of impact variation between journals focused on Eastern Europe published in Eastern Europe and published elsewhere in the world. Insights regarding both journal characteristics and review procedures will be of great value in assessing the impact of E&F performance of research of scholars, whether or not they reside in Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on the trends of world politics and international relations in Central and Eastern Europe. It highlights the impact of human interventions on international cooperation. It discusses the complex relationship between small states and international institutions, political economy and the shifting dynamics of international order, as of December 2020.

Background The aim of the study is 2-fold. Firstly, it attempts to investigate the potential impact of major political and economic changes on inequalities in all-cause mortality among men and women with different levels of education in three Eastern European countries. Secondly, to identify changes in contribution of smoking and drinking to educational differences in all-cause mortality. Study covers the period from 1982 to 2013. Methods Data were collected in 2013–14 as a part of the PrivMort retrospective cohort study. Participants in Russia, Belarus and Hungary provided information on their educational attainment, health-related behaviors and vital statistics of their close relatives (N = 179 691). Odds ratios for mortality and relative indices of inequality (RII) were estimated for individuals aged 20–65 years, stratifying by three levels of educational attainment: higher, secondary and less than secondary education. Results Those in lower educational groups were significantly more likely to die, through most time periods and sub-groups. The RII increased over time in all countries and both genders, except for Hungarian men. Alcohol consumption and smoking have increasingly contributed to educational inequalities in mortality during this period. Conclusion Educational inequalities in mortality in these Eastern European countries have increased during recent decades. Smoking and alcohol consumption, two major health-related behaviors, made a significant contribution to these increases in inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background While some WHO European Region countries are global tobacco control leaders, the South Eastern region of Europe has the highest tobacco smoking prevalence globally and a relatively low level of overall implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). An abridged version of SimSmoke has been developed to project the health impact of implementing tobacco control policies in line with the WHO FCTC. Methods Data on population size, smoking prevalence, policy-specific effect sizes and formulas were applied in 11 South Eastern WHO European Region countries [Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska), Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia] to project the relative reduction in smoking prevalence, number of smokers and number of smoking-attributable deaths resulting from implementing individual and/or combined six WHO FCTC measures. Results For all countries, an increase in excise cigarette taxes to 75% of price yields the largest relative reduction in smoking prevalence (range 8–28%). The projections show that within 15 years smoking prevalence can be reduced by at least 30% in all countries when all six tobacco control measures are fully implemented in line with the WHO FCTC. Conclusion The projections show that large health effects can be achieved and the results can be used as an advocacy tool towards acceleration of the enforcement of tobacco control laws in WHO European Region countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reconsiders the relative growth performance of centrally planned economies in the broader context of postwar growth in Europe. It reports a new dataset of revised estimates for investment rates in eastern European countries between 1950 and 1989. Complemented with data on other growth determinants, this evidence is used to re-evaluate the socialist growth record in a conditional convergence framework with a panel of 24 European countries. After controlling for relative backwardness, investment rates, and improvements in human capital, the findings show that centrally planned economies underperformed due to their relative inefficiency only after the postwar golden age. In the 1950s and 1960s, eastern Europe was falling behind mainly due to relatively low levels of investment and weak reconstruction dynamics. Both are explained, in part, by the lack of labour-supply flexibility that, in turn, resulted from the comparatively much larger negative impact of the war on population growth in eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In case of orphan drugs applicability of the standard health technology assessment (HTA) process is limited due to scarcity of good clinical and health economic evidence. Financing these premium priced drugs is more controversial in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region where the public funding resources are more restricted, and health economic justification should be an even more important aspect of policy decisions than in higher income European countries.Objectives: To explore and summarize the recent scientific evidence on value drivers related to the health technology assessment of ODs with a special focus on the perspective of third party payers in CEE countries. The review aims to list all potentially relevant value drivers in the reimbursement process of orphan drugs.Methods: A systematic literature review was performed; PubMed and Scopus databases were systematically searched for relevant publications until April 2015. Extracted data were summarized along key HTA elements.Results: From the 2664 identified publications, 87 contained relevant information on the evaluation criteria of orphan drugs, but only 5 had direct information from the CEE region. The presentation of good clinical evidence seems to play a key role especially since this should be the basis of cost-effectiveness analyses, which have more importance in resource-constrained economies. Due to external price referencing of pharmaceuticals, the relative budget impact of orphan drugs is expected to be higher in CEE than in Western European (WE) countries unless accessibility of patients remains more limited in poorer European regions. Equity principles based on disease prevalence and non-availability of alternative treatment options may increase the price premium, however, societies must have some control on prices and a rationale based on multiple criteria in reimbursement decisions.Conclusions: The evaluation of orphan medicines should include multiple criteria to appropriately measure the clinical added value of orphan drugs. The search found only a small number of studies coming from CEE, therefore European policies on orphan drugs may be based largely on experiences in WE countries. More research should be done in the future in CEE because financing high-priced orphan drugs involves a greater burden for these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent changes in the security environment of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus have been reshaping the strategies of the six small countries in the proximity of both the EU and Russia. Their attempts to take upon themselves their Soviet heritage and their sensitive geographical position were reflected by a mix of East-West orientations. Some of them chose to create stronger economic bonds with the EU members while others decided to anticipate Russian discontent in separatist areas they shelter and became members of the EEU. Regardless of their option, the Eastern Partnership members embarked? on a long road of political, social and economic changes, so that their stability and growth would become pillars of a stronger role on the regional and international arena in the future. The EU, in turn, has been supporting its partners to the East according to their level of commitment to reform and approximation, although the economic benefits of this relation are imperceptible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After the fall of communism, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe started the process of political, economic, and social transformation. In health system the reform directions were often similar, despite differences in transition dynamics and the degree of government determination to implement reforms. Nonetheless, for most post-communist countries, there is a gap in evidence regarding the effectiveness of implemented reforms and their impact on health system performance. The presented study attempts to analyse and evaluate the results of health reforms in CEE countries with regard to their influence on health system outcomes. We also analysed the external and internal health system environments during the transition period to determine the factors affecting the effectiveness of health reforms.Methods: We compared the indicators of population health status, lifestyle, occupational safety issues and health system resources in 21 post-communist countries between sub-periods across the entire transition period at the aggregate level. The dynamics of change in health system outcomes in individual countries, as well as between countries, was also compared. Finally, we analysed the correlations between health system outcomes gathered into one synthetic measure and factors considered as potential determinants affecting the effectiveness of health reforms. The analyses were performed based on one-dimensional, two-dimensional and multidimensional statistical methods. The data were retrieved from the international databases, such as WHO, World Bank, International Labour Organization, World Value Survey and the European Social Survey.Results: Among the factors positively stimulating improvements in health system outcomes were the total expenditure on health and a lower financial burden on patients, but primarily they were determined by the broader economic context of the country. Another finding was that better initial position positively determined health system outcomes at later stages, but did not affect the degree of improvements. Countries that embarked on comprehensive reforms early on tended to achieve the greatest improvements in health system outcomes.Conclusions: Poorer countries may have only limited ability to improve health system outcomes by committing more financial resources to the health system. Progress can still be made in terms of health behaviours, since policies to address these have so far been insufficient or ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]