Search

The extent of demographic changes in Europe is much more drastic than in the United States. This paper studies the effects of population aging on the interactions between economic growth and living standards in Europe with labor market and pension reform, behavioral adaptations, and international capital flows. Our analysis is based on an overlapping generations model with behavioral reactions to reform which is extended to the multi-country situation typical for Europe. While the negative effects of population aging on growth in Europe can in principle be compensated by reforms and economic adaptation mechanisms, they may be partially offset by behavioral reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition of economic growth can be analyzed in two different ways. In the ‘traditional method’ for the decomposition of GDP growth, total imports are deducted from exports. This approach underestimates the importance of exports for the growth in GDP, and overestimates the importance of domestic expenditure categories. In the alternative methodology proposed in this paper, imports are allocated to all expenditure categories. Although this ‘import-adjusted method’ is more complex than the ‘traditional method’, it has the considerable advantage that the contributions of the expenditure categories to GDP growth provide a better understanding of why GDP growth decelerates or accelerates. The methodology and data requirements for calculating the import content of final demand, and the implications for the decomposition of real GDP growth, are discussed. For six European countries and the United States, the paper shows that applying the alternative methodology provides rather a different economic story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers in Regional Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper, based on recent EU-SILC data, investigates the patterns of income inequalities in "old" and "new" EU member states. We describe income inequality within countries as well as income differences between states and test our results using different methodological assumptions. Our results show that the group of new member states was no less heterogeneous in terms of inequality and poverty than the EU15 at the time of EU enlargement. The most important difference between the two country groups is found in their GDP levels and in some measures that are directly related to economic development. We observed that sensitivity to changes in the equivalence scales is not systematically related to membership status; thus for overall inequality comparisons of countries, a standard scale seems appropriate. The possibility of a difference between "old" and "new" EU member states in the role of incomes in generating overall welfare of households calls, however, for caution in interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic literature and related specialty practice, the development of the European Economic Community along with the factors determining them (such investments and staff) represents a topic that is of great notoriety. This paper shows the role and influence that direct investment in the economy and employment ratio can propagate in the growth of gross domestic product per capita to ensure increased economic sustainability of countries in the European Community. The most important economic effects of FDI on the host economy can be represented by labor productivity growth through knowledge transfer (know-how) technology, management skills and marketing term in countries emerging favor progress technological and economic growth. To determine this goal, in the context of economic logic, this research shows the importance of gross domestic product, total and per capita, as a macroeconomic indicator synthetic, and encouraging and using the action of factors that can also provide political steps, organizational and financial, achieving levels attesting social progress and prosperity. The study highlights a Custom Analysis on gross domestic product per capita, direct investment and the proportion of people employed in total for 24 European Union countries in 2014 and also develop an econometric model multifactorial based on system statistics. Research shows utility in making decisions about investment growth in the European Community by attracting a workforce that is in full compliance with state investment policies and by providing a high living standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes the analysis of the main drivers of the economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe, in three emerging countries: Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, with a development stage similar with that of Romania. Given the vulnerabilities of the Central and Eastern Europe region at the beginning and during the recent global economic and financial crisis, there is an increased interest to identify the models that can describe the principalcharacteristics of the Central and Eastern Europe macroeconomic variables: gross domestic product, investment, wages and salaries, inflation, hours worked, consumption and themonetary variable- interest rate. Moreover, another scope is to analyze the frictions that describe the evolution of the seven data series, as the stochastic dynamic of the macroeconomic model is driven by orthogonal structural shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper was aimed at understanding the importance of SMEs in the market economy as the economic engine continues to be the factor that motivates both business and human existence. The yield and quality of the results of a national economy depend largely on the ability to determine the creation and operation of a large number of businesses which provide products and services of quality, cost and reduced prices and quantities and of appropriate requirements domestic and foreign market. The article deals with the content and structure, activities that are specific to SMEs and how they operate in the market, and how these types of companies influence the economy of the European Union and Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary geo-economic development is characterised by global transformation from the EU and Western countries, in general, towards the Asia-Pacific and East Asian concept, which will result in further evolution of the World System determined by the economies of the new industrial and post-industrial countries. The objective of this article is to investigate the role of economies of East Asian countries in global economic development. Particularly this paper analyses the situation in the textile industry, as exemplified by China, in the world market to identify prospects for its sustainable and competitive development. During the progress of this work, it was determined that the textile industry in China is currently under the influence of delayed adverse effects of the global financial and economic crisis of 2008-2010, which can further lead to systemic risk emergence in the Chinese economy, as the textile industry plays a leading role in its economic development. Analytical procedures performed in this study clearly showed the urgency of implementing technological and managerial innovations in order to increase the competitiveness of the Chinese textile industry. The government also needs to revise its measures of support to the sector. Improving competitiveness and providing sustainable growth and development of the textile industry in China allows to create a new margin of safety for the Chinese economy and secure unconditional long term leadership for the textile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The innovation and new information technologies have become crucial determinants to encourage competitiveness in all sectors of economy. This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth and digital skills. The analysis of the economic growth will be carried out with the help of the most representative indicator of results, respectively the gross domestic product (GDP). The starting point of the study is the analysis of the level recorded by GDP/capita and the level of digital skills for each EU member state, continuing with the perspective of the evolution of the link between the two indicators and the grouping of countries according to it. The results show similarities and dissimilarities between the EU countries and help us understand the progress of the EU28 countries towards a digital society and economy. Also, the study can be a necessary tool for decision makers, focusing on the important aspects whose evolution depends on the development of the Digital Single Market for Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth is a key concept in developing countries and in designing growth models becoming more efficient. This paper begins by defining the concept of growth, identifying and presenting the factors that contribute to achieving it, and finally the European growth model is outlined for attaining this objective. Given the global financial crisis started in 2008, were analyzed performance of growth models used in Central and Eastern Europe, an attempt to identify causes and effects. Thus, we have outlined three growth models: robust, moderate and a model with economic contraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we empirically investigate the causal nexus between economic growth (GDP), CO2 emissions (environmental degradation), financial development, and trade openness using the ordinary least squares technique for a yearly panel data of 40 European economies, during the period of study from 1985 to 2014. To examine this causal link, we utilize the Cobb–Douglas production function. The empirical findings point to a bidirectional Granger causal linkage among GDP and pollution, GDP and financial sector development, GDP and trade openness, financial sector development and trade openness, and trade openness and pollution in the case of European economies. From the causal link between GDP and environmental pollutants, we validate the existence/confirm the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Also, we confirm/bear out the feedback suggestion of the bidirectional causality among trade openness and financial sector development. Besides, we find the neutrality hypothesis linking carbon emissions and financial sector development inflows. We find the presence of the bidirectional nexus between GDP and financial sector development and among GDP and trade openness in the European economies. Finally, panel causality verifies that bidirectional causal connection is found between economic growth, environmental degradation (CO2), financial development, and trade openness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis of state aid policy and its role in ensuring economic development in the EU. Based on theoretical approaches and empirical evidence, it is assumed that an efficient state aid policy should support the macroeconomic stabilization and the economic development. Therefore an econometric model is proposed to evaluate and quantify the relation between the level of horizontal aid and the value of GDP per capita at purchasing power parity standard. According to the results of the analysis, important disparities can be identified in analyzing the correlation between the two indicators mentioned above, deficitary to several EU member states, suggesting the necessity of a better coordination in the economic policies. Thus, one of the most relevant conclusions is that while the general objective of reducing state aid level is mainly achieved since the early 1990s, a redirection of state aid towards horizontal objectives can be observed beginning with 2000 and is still ongoing at present with important consequences for the general economic development of the EU member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Regional Science / Revue Canadienne des Sciences Régionales is the property of Canadian Regional Science Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Evidence for nation-states suggests that the long-standing negative relationship between fertility and economic development might turn positive at high levels of development. The robustness of the reversal continues to be debated. We add to this discussion from a novel angle by considering whether such a reversal could also occur at the sub-national level within highly developed countries. Our contributions are both theoretical and empirical. We first discuss important trends which might foster the emergence of a positive fertility–development relationship across regions of highly developed countries. These include shifts in family policies, changes in the spatial organisation of the economic sphere, and selective international and internal migration processes. In order to explore whether we observe tendencies towards a reversal, we investigate data covering 20 European countries subdivided in 256 regions between 1990 and 2012. We document a weakening of the negative relationship between fertility and economic development within many countries, and among some countries the emergence of a positive relationship. These findings do not seem to be driven by postponement effects alone. However, there is substantial variation in the fertility and the economic development levels at which such tendencies towards a reversal are observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comparative Economic Research is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We present new evidence about the long-run relationship between state capacity - the fiscal and administrative power of states - and economic performance. Our database is novel and spans 11 European countries and four centuries from the Old Regime to World War I. We argue that national governments undertook two political transformations over this period: fiscal centralisation and limited government. We find a significant direct relationship between fiscal centralisation and economic growth. Furthermore, we find that an increase in the state's capacity to extract greater tax revenues was one mechanism through which both political transformations improved economic performance. Our analysis shows systematic evidence that state capacity is an important determinant of long-run economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the aggregate-level analyses of the relationship between objective and subjective measures for well-being have limited themselves to the measures of national gross domestic product (GDP) and mean life satisfaction. We develop this line of research by embedding the analysis into the context of 289 NUTS (Nomenclature des Unités Territoriales Statistiques) regions in Europe and replacing the simple life satisfaction measure with measures of active human functioning. We suggest that the measures of personal and social well-being, as they are operationalized in the 6th Round of the European Social Survey (ESS) questionnaire, can be treated as subjective indicators for social and human capital and, thereby, can be associated with the regional level GDP in cross-sectional analysis. The empirical analysis shows that the indicator for 'social trust' appears to have a positive and significant correlation with regional GDP. The analysis also distinguishes another form of social capital; 'social contact and support', reflecting the relative frequency and quantity of social support, which also shows a positive relationship with regional GDP. Concerning subjective human capital, the strongest predictor for regional GDP appears to be the aggregated sense of 'competence and meaning' in the regions. These effects proved robust after including the objective control variables (population density, intramural research and development (R&D) expenditure, share of tertiary-educated population and employment). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the potential decrease of the economy in the Euro Area. It highlights the shrinking of the economy in Euro Area by 1.6 percent on quarterly basis. It noted the decrease of economic activity in the first quarter of 2009. It emphasizes that the forecast on the decline of economy came from both public and private sectors. The article also presents various charts and diagrams depicting the economic activity in the Euro Area including the contribution of stockbuilding to the growth of gross domestic product (GPD), inflation expectation and the prospects for the European Union.