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Abstract: This paper explores the broader setting of urban and economic development that links ports and cities in Europe and aims at enhancing our understanding of the port‐city interface. A relational view is taken for linking local developments and policies with overarching, more remote spheres of influence and impact, which can be considered both beneficial and critical for the port and the city. In order to illustrate the argument, a framework of three issues is applied to discuss the port‐city interface: first, the role of ports as economic engines of their wider region; second, the cruise ship industry as a market segment that re‐connects port and city; third, semi‐political bodies and institutions that play key roles as intermediaries and knowledge brokers. The paper finally discusses the implications of relationality for governing the port‐city interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last year, a central issue in regional economic growth debate has been represented by the empirical analysis of Verdoorn's law related to the long-term dynamic relationship between the rate of growth in output and the productivity growth due to increasing returns. Several papers have tested Verdoorn's law on European countries as well as many other world economies. Recently, attempts have been made to provide foundations for a spatial version of the original law specification. The main contributions were dedicated to the inclusion of spatial dependence in the economic model. Surprisingly, in the literature on Verdoom's law the analysis of the spatial heterogeneity is not often considered. The aim of this paper is the regional analysis of the spatial dependence and heterogeneity in Verdoorn's law, identifying spatial regimes that can be interpreted as clusters of productivity growth in European regions at NUTS 2 level. To pursue this objective, an optimization algorithm for the identification of groups is used. This constitutes a modified version of Simulated Annealing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between trust and economic growth. Taking panel data and using a fixed-effects estimation for a 41-country sample over the time period from 1980 to 2004 and with a total of 129 observations, the paper points out that economic growth is negatively related to an increase in trust. This negative finding is in contrast to most empirical findings using a cross-sectional design. The common knowledge which has governed the nature of discussions in social science and economics for the last ten years, that trust is generally positively related to economic performance, must be seriously questioned. From a policy point of view an increase in trust is crucial for countries with low levels of trust, but can likely be neglected by countries with sufficient levels of trust and may even hamper economic performance in countries with high levels of trust. The relationship is tested in the context of EU countries, OECD countries and developing countries. Interpersonal trust and systemic trust is differentiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the impact on Foreign Direct Investment inflows of a series of institutional and regulatory adjustments that were implemented by or imposed upon countries in the European Union (EU) following the start of the financial crisis. The study of 28 EU members over a period that includes the economic crisis era (1995–2015) provides evidence that these adjustments (government efficiency, quality of regulation, cost competitiveness, and reduction of corruption) matter only for the countries that are more financially robust but have no influence for the countries that received aid, and macroeconomic factors such as market size and trade openness are important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to make a contribution to the study of personhood in EU free movement law by linking a historical and doctrinal analysis with the internal transformation of the homo economicus in economic liberalism. It is argued that a shift can be observed in the government of mobility from 'freeing up' the ability of the worker as a relatively passive subject tied to external economic mechanisms to the targeting of the individual him/herself as a responsible, active bearer of economic capability or 'human capital', whereby past socio-economic conduct and prospective economic activity serve as the thresholds for the entitlement to rights. The essence of the 'new' homo economicus of EU free movement law is situated at the intersection of the social and economic, serving as a rational frame for the government of the European mover on the basis of a mutual responsibility between the Union citizen and his/her host Member State towards social and economic activity, self-sufficiency and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a decade of a successful peg to the euro, the authorities of Cape Verde are considering the official euroisation of the country. For an ex ante economic evaluation of such a move, this paper assesses whether Cape Verde fulfills key economic criteria devised by the optimum currency areas literature, using as benchmark the comparable records of the 27 European Union (EU) countries. The answer is positive. Overall, we find that Cape Verde is not less suited for euroisation than some of the current euro area members and most of the remaining members of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last two decades many European governments have pursued ambitious research and development (R&D) policies with the aim of fostering innovation and economic growth in peripheral regions of Europe. The question is whether these policies are paying off. Arguments such as the need to reach a minimum threshold of research, the existence of important distance decay effects in the diffusion of technological spillovers, the presence of increasing returns to scale in R&D investments, or the unavailability of the necessary socio-economic conditions in these regions to generate innovation seem to cast doubts about the possible returns of these sort of policies. This paper addresses this question. A two-step analysis is used in order to first identify the impact of R&D investment of the private, public, and higher education sectors on innovation (measured as the number of patent applications per million population). The influence of innovation and innovation growth on economic growth is then addressed. The results indicate that R&D investment, as a whole, and higher education R&D investment in peripheral regions of the EU, in particular, are positively associated with innovation. The existence and strength of this association are, however, contingent upon region-specific socio-economic characteristics, which affect the capacity of each region to transform R&D investment into innovation and, eventually, innovation into economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to study selected aspects of Turkish accession to the EU. Joining the EU will require that Turkey attains macroeconomic stability, adopts the Common Agricultural Policy, and liberalizes its services and network industries. Furthermore, joining the EU will require Turkey to adopt and implement the whole body of EU legislation and standards – the acquis communautaire. According to the EU membership criteria, new members must be able to demonstrate the ‘ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union’. Thus Turkey will be expected to adopt the euro when it is ready to do so, but not immediately upon accession. Integration will boost allocative efficiency in the Turkish economy which in turn will make the country a better place to invest. Furthermore, Turkey will reap the benefits from monetary integration and from migration of labour to the EU. But the welfare gains will have a price, and the price will be the adjustment costs associated with the adoption of the acquis communautaire. The final section of the paper considers the effects of accession on the EU in terms of migration and budgetary effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kyklos 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.)

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.)

This paper develops multi-dimensional analyses of socio-spatial relations. Building on previous research, we identify some tensions associated with different dimensions of socio-spatiality and introduce the theme of compossible and, more importantly, incompossible socio-spatial configurations. Two short studies are deployed to highlight the socio-spatial implications of the principle that not everything that is possible is compossible. The first shows the power of thinking varieties of capitalism compossibly (via the concept of variegated capitalism) and then examines the successive strategies adopted by the European Communities and European Union to address the significance of changing patterns of variegation for approaches to European integration, spatial strategies, and economic and social policies. The second case discusses some related problems for state spatial projects, starting in the 1980s with spatial planning, promotion of a Europe of the Regions and/or of Europe and the regions, and then turns to examine city-regional development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inherent tension between regional equality and economic growth (efficiency) is recently much debated in the context of place based development policy and agglomeration in the European Union. A general conclusion reached in the literature is that a policy targeted at regional equality may be harmful for economic growth. Such policy therefore should be transformed in such a way that it also promotes the mobility of both people and firms and hence facilitates the possibilities of increased agglomeration. Recent insights from economic theories suggest that agglomeration externalities are not taken into account in the migration decision of firms and people, causing the dynamic urbanisation processes to not necessarily result in a (social) welfare optimum. This is even more so if other welfare effects than GDP and product variety are taken into account. Regional economic development is not sustainable if the dynamic urbanisation processes stemming from agglomeration economies do not lead to a welfare optimum. In this paper we assess the possibility of a non-sustainable regional development path. We conclude that strong additional negative externalities of growing large agglomerations are harder to prove than negative externalities of small agglomerations becoming smaller. Moreover, the size of short run negative effects that will stimulate the migration of people has not been adequately assessed. The European Union should therefore be careful in interpreting place-based costs and benefits of growing, large agglomerations at the detriment of small regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – join the European Union in 2004. This paper examines pension reform in the three countries over the past decade in the light of the “European social model” and the “World Bank model”. Part one seeks to define these two models. It shows how the former emphasizes income adequacy and solidarity while the latter stresses fiscal sustainability, savings and economic growth. Part two looks at reforms made and proposed. Initial reforms involved raising the retirement age and relating benefits more closely to earnings and service. This resulted in the establishment of pension systems similar to those in many European countries. Subsequent reforms involved attempts to shift from a publicly financed, purely “pay-as-you-go” system to one based upon “funding” and private, individual accounts. Such systems have been promoted by the World Bank. The appropriateness of this approach – its high transition costs, potentially high administration costs, and longer-term implications for the relative income status of retired people – is questioned. Part three draws conclusions. In the short and medium term, policymaker should safeguard income adequacy rather than seek the doubtful advantages of funding – in other words, look more to “Europe” than to “the world”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union entered a new phase of integration in 2002. The single currency, the European Convention, and enlargement signalled progress. The conflict over the Stability and Growth Pact, the tensions between the member states, and the political turmoil in a number of core countries suggested retreat. This paper examines the resulting pattern of integration. It argues that the European Union is becoming more legalistic than leader-oriented, and that it rests on common principles rather than accepting the imposition of some grand design. Such a European Union cannot challenge the United States for global leadership. But it is likely to prove stable nonetheless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eurozone crisis represents one of the greatest economic tragedies of the past century. It has caused immense human suffering, which continues to this day. The standard view attributes the economic crisis to an earlier buildup of public and private debt that was augmented by the imposition of austerity during the crisis. Although evidence exists of a relationship between the debt buildup, austerity measures, and economic growth during the crisis, that same evidence, on closer examination, points to eurozone countries' common monetary policy as the real culprit behind the area's sharp decline in economic activity. In particular, it seems that the European Central Bank's tightening of monetary policy in 2008 and again in 2010-2011 not only caused two recessions but also sparked the sovereign debt crisis and gave teeth to the austerity programs. Such findings point to the need for a new monetary policy regime in the eurozone. The case is made for the new regime to be a targeted growth path for total money spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reassesses the impact of inflation on long-term growth for a panel of 14 European Union countries in the years prior to monetary unification. While previous research mostly focuses on a linear nexus or allows for a piecewise linear relationship with a single threshold, this study takes account of a more complex relationship. The empirical estimates for the full EU sample confirm the hypothesis that the relationship between inflation and growth is positive for very low inflation rates (that is, below an estimate of 1.6 per cent), insignificant thereafter and negative for high, two-digit inflation levels. The estimate of the inflation level that divides the insignificant from the negative effect is found to be higher in the group of traditional cohesion countries than for the rest of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoclassical theory assumes diminishing returns to capital and spatially constant exogenously-determined technological progress, although it is questionable whether these are realistic assumptions for modeling manufacturing productivity growth variations across European Union (E.U.) regions. In contrast, the model developed in this paper assumes increasing returns and spatially varying technical progress, and is linked to endogenous growth theory and particularly to 'new economic geography' theory. Simulations, involving 178 E.U.regions, show that productivity levels and growth rates are higher in all E.U. regions when the financially assisted (Objective 1) regions have faster output growth. This also reduces inequalities in levels of technology. Allowing the core regions to grow faster has a similar effect of raising productivity growth rates across the E.U., although inequality increases. Thus, the simulations are seen as an attempt to develop a type of 'computable geographical equilibrium' model which, as suggested by Fujita, Krugman, and Venables (1999), is the way theoretical economic geography needs to evolve in order to become a predictive discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Existing empirical evidence suggests that the Uncovered Interest Rate Parity condition may not hold due to an exchange risk premium. For a panel dataset of eleven emerging European economies we decompose this exchange risk premium into an idiosyncratic (country-specific) element and a common factor using a principal components approach. We present evidence of stationary idiosyncratic and common factors. This result leads to the conclusion of a stationary risk premium for these countries, which is consistent with previous studies often documenting a stationary premium in advanced countries. Furthermore, we report that the variation in the premium is largely attributable to a common factor influenced by economic developments in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper links data on continuous training from the EU Labour Force Survey (LFS) to information on skill levels and earnings from the EU KLEMS growth and productivity accounts, to examine the relative magnitudes of continuous workforce training versus human capital formation through the general education system in the European Union. The measurement methodology draws from the literature on measuring intangible investments by firms and sources of growth in an accounting framework. The results suggest that in the EU15 group of countries, intangible investments in continuous training represent just under 2 percent of GDP or about 35 percent of expenditure on general education. The share of GDP accounted for by training is less than a third as large in the new member states. A growth accounting method is employed to show that failure to account for continuous training leads to an underestimate of the impact of human capital on output growth in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EU Commission forecasts are used as a benchmark within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact, aimed at providing a prudential view of economic outlook, especially for member states in an Excessive Deficit Procedure. Following Elliott et al. (2005), we assess whether there exist asymmetries in the loss preference of the Commission's GDP growth forecasts from 1969 to 2004. Our empirical evidence is robust across information sets and reveals that the loss preferences tend to show some variation in terms of asymmetry across member states. Given certain conditions concerning the time horizon of forecasts and the functional form of the loss preferences, the evidence further reveals that the Commission forecasting exercise could be subject to caveats. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the role of monetary policy in fostering economic growth in the European Union area. Link between inflation and growth theory; Broader framework between inflation and growth; Small-scale benefit of inflation; Empirical evidence for the link between money and economic growth; Growth performance in the euro area.

Discusses the issues to be tackled at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, Washington, in late 1999. Analyses of Europe's agricultural policies within the context of `Millennium Round;' Implications of regional trade agreements; Challenge raised by metropolization and fiscal competition in economic development.

The ambition of this article is twofold. First, it argues that, in order to enhance respect for the rule of law by its Member States, the EU has launched a new strategy albeit essentially based on mechanisms which were not specifically designed to protect the rule of law. Second, the article aims to clarify the notion of rule of law resulting from this strategy and to subsequently analyse its consequences. In doing so, this article will thereby demonstrate that the instruments used by the new strategy promote a notion of the EU rule of law which implies a constant arbitrage between the rule of law and the economic objectives pursued by the EU. The risk may be, however, that it would subjugate fundamental values (as defined in Article 2 TEU) to the logic of European economic integration, thus inverting the hierarchy between protection for the rule of law and economic values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the number of different HS8 products in the EU countries' exports in 1995–2015. We review what share, or coverage, of the total possible number of these products the countries have exported each year. The EU15 countries have typically witnessed a slow rise in this coverage rate, that is, a widening of their extensive margins. The exception is Finland where the share has declined considerably. On the other hand, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and the new member countries have seen a dramatic increase in their export product coverage. We analyse how the development in the coverage rate and, as a comparison, the diversification of exports as measured by the Herfindahl–Hirschman index are associated with GDP per capita growth. We find that changes in the former measure are positively associated with economic growth after we have controlled for GDP per capita catching‐up as well as investment and export activity. We also find that smaller EU economies do not specialise more than large ones in their exports as could perhaps be assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern European countries have traditionally been perceived as weak immigration countries with inefficient legal entry avenues for foreign workers, high irregular migration rates and poor integration policies. In recent years, however, the adoption of more efficient control policies, new recruitment strategies and embryonic integration plans throughout the region has led to a change of paradigm in the governance of migration. And yet policy reforms do not seem to have produced the same results everywhere. The aim of this article is to enquire into possible explanations for the divergent paths of labour migration governance in Southern Europe, using Italy and Spain as comparative cases. As it will emerge, policy efficacy in the field of labour migration relates not only to the quality and consistency of policy design and implementation but also to factors that escape direct political control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, we examine member state approaches to European development cooperation through the lens of collective action. We observe that successful collective action requires a combination of both culture and calculus. We suggest that the European debate sometimes suffers from an excess of one and a shortfall in the other - and vice-versa. We note that different perspectives can be explained by different geopolitical realities. We conclude that it is better to walk on two legs than hop along on one - and that judicious application of collective action theory can help this happen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of environmental taxation policies had reached most European countries by the late 1990s. The pricing of activities considered harmful to the environment has given rise to the design of various economic instruments, such as environmental taxes, aimed at promoting environmental responsibility and at enabling the Kyoto Protocol targets to be met, and at the same time generating a marked increase in tax revenues. The aim of this article is to examine whether convergence in environmental taxation has taken place among 27 EU countries, doing so by analyzing time series and applying unit root tests. Our findings show there has been no such convergence, overall, despite the existence of groups of countries with common patterns of behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the resilience of a group of 20 Western economies after the financial crisis of the late 2000s. We measure resilience by the growth of real GDP between 2007, the previous peak level, and 2015. The countries exhibit a broad range of experience, from a rise in GDP of 18 per cent in Australia to a fall of 26 per cent in Greece. A substantial proportion of the differences in growth rates can be accounted for by just two variables: the perceived level of corruption and membership of the Eurozone. The euro did have a negative impact on the recovery paths of the Mediterranean economies ( Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain), but their perceived corruption scores in 2007 had a bigger impact, especially on the first three of these economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses international policy discussions on migration and development (M&D) and contrasts these with the actual M&D policies and practices of 11 European countries who were among the main proponents of this international discourse. Desk research of public documents and accompanying information sought from these 11 governments as well as in the European Commission (EC) provide the basis for a comparative analysis of their overall M&D policies and strategies, and institutional settings for formulating and implementing these. The comparison shows that M&D policy and practice remains in a tentative and experimental phase, and that countries experience difficulties reflecting their international positions in their own policies, as well as in learning from their own efforts and those of others. While stressing the developmental potential of migration in international discussions, most of the countries' policies still reflect an understanding of migration as a problem and a preoccupation with short-term domestic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent cross-national comparative studies have found no effect of countries' macroeconomic performances on trust in national political institutions, once political explanations (most notably corruption) are taken into account. Although political trust is not determined by the comparison of national economic performance to other countries, it is argued in this article that it is affected by comparisons to their own past performance. In a multilevel, fixed effects analysis of Eurobarometer data (21 waves in 15 European Union Member States between 1999 and 2011) the extent to which within-country variations in economic performance affect political trust longitudinally is tested. Three major conclusions are reached. First, within-country, longitudinal changes in performance (growth, deficits, unemployment and inflation) affect political trust. Second, the impact of macroeconomic performance is stronger among the lower educated. Third, even in times of economic duress, budgetary deficits tend to undermine political trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses economic growth and unemployment in Europe. Topics discussed include economic condition of Euro zone countries, European Central Bank and investment in the region. Other topics which includes de industrialization, private investment and macroeconomics are also discussed. In addition, economic stagnation of the country is also mentioned.

The gradual drop in public confidence in the EU since the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis indicates an erosion of the long-held belief among citizens and elites alike that European integration is the best option to secure a better future. But is it EU democracy that is being challenged here, or is democracy itself challenging the prospects for EU integration? To answer this question, this article briefly reviews first-hand evidence of the basis of trust and the loss of it in European institutions. The evidence is dealt with at a national rather than individual level, and comprises mostly survey data and primary facts that can inform a policy argument. This article does not offer a full explanation of populism nor of attitudes to democracy or globalization, each of which clearly deserve an article in their own right. Instead, it uses data to deconstruct the myths of the EU loss of confidence and its connection with democracy. The two main factors found to decrease trust in the EU are economic growth and confidence in national governments' performance in terms of controlling corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is indeed a complex phenomena, thus making the comparison and valuation of advances of EU-member states in the implementation of its objectives specifically difficult. The authors attempted to establish a synthetic measure of the level of sustainable development taking into account simultaneously three components: economic, social and environmental. It was aimed to compare particular countries by the mentioned measure and then grouping them. Relying on basis of content aspects the basics of research were 'headline indicators' of sustainable development, sourced from the 2005-2012 research period formed the premise of the study. The study results demonstrate ongoing gradual advances being made in the implementation of concepts of sustainable development in EU-member states. Although there can be visible a gradual convergence of EU-member states in respect of their levels of sustainable development, nonetheless majority of countries still post indicators of sustainable development below the EU average, especially those which recently became members of the European Union. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 2003 Sapir Report on the entire system of European Union (EU) economic policies. Topics included are the identification of gaps in institutional and economic achievements highlighted by disparity with U.S. economic performance, the commitment to the Lisbon Agenda of building cohesive knowledge-based economies under a macroeconomic framework of economic and monetary union, and the failure to restructure the EU budget and set up a banking union like the Federal Reserve.

This article explores some lessons of the gold standard for the eurozone crisis with specific focus on the interwar period. Resurrected in the 1920s, the interwar gold standard malfunctioned from the onset, contributing to the Great Depression's quick propagation and severity, and its abandonment between 1929 and 1936 was a critical factor in ending the Great Depression, with countries devaluing earlier and more sizeably recovering more quickly. The intricate combination of similarities and differences with the present situation makes one of two outcomes likely: either some countries will eventually leave the eurozone to boost their growth prospects; or, the eurozone will remain intact as a result of stronger political co-operation today, but a poorly working internal adjustment mechanism could result in low growth rates for the foreseeable future, similar to the experience of the gold bloc countries in the 1930s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyse the European Parliament's ( EP) position in the reform of the European economic governance, in particular after the adoption of the 'six-pack,' the 'two-pack' and the 'fiscal compact.' References are made to the involvement of the EP in the decision-making process that led to the adoption of the new measures as well as to the substantive role assigned to this institution in the new regulatory framework. The article argues that the new provisions, which undermine the budgetary authority of national parliaments while, at the same time, designing a limited role for the EP-though strengthened compared to the previous version of the Stability and Growth Pact-can jeopardise the effectiveness of the landmark principle of 'no taxation without parliamentary representation' in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of EuroChoices 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 article focuses on Turkey, the diversification effort of European Union (EU) countries for the supply of natural gas and crude oil. It says that Turkey is located in or adjacent to regions and produces about one billion cubic meters (m(4)) of natural gas per year. It mentions that the country is important in the transit of natural gas to the European markets and it should also consider the long-term potential economic development.

. 'Natural rate theory', the Efficient Market Hypothesis and its labour market application dominated interpretations of economic trends and policy prescriptions from the 1970s onwards, with their views of public policy and regulation as distorting otherwise well-functioning free markets. The upheaval of the current crisis is shaking these theories to the core. In this context, Schettkat examines European experience from the 1990s onwards and shows the theories to be unsubstantiated: high unemployment persisted post-recession despite structural reforms to labour market institutions, and the resumption of economic growth was hindered by then-dominant deflationary monetary and fiscal policies inspired by these theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the politics of the 2005 reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). It distinguishes between two stages in the reform process. The first stage delimited the negotiation space – confining reform into an interpretation of the formal clauses that prescribe SGP functioning – and set the reform agenda. In the second, decision-making stage, Member States engaged in high politics bargaining, more sensitive to their short-term (fiscal deficit) and long-term (fiscal sustainability) macroeconomic conditions, attempting to upload country-specific ‘expenditure exceptionalism’. The authors of this article find a crucial disjunction in some Member States between positions held across the two stages. Strategic considerations, comprising the broader constitutional/political game and the need to demonstrate national macroeconomic credibility, account for such discrepancy in the two negotiation stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the economic developments of European Union (EU) member states outside the euro area in 2006. The real world trade growth of member states was 9 percent and world real gross domestic product (GDP) grew an estimated 5.1 percent. The world economy remained strong despite high oil prices. The U.S. economy which is one of the main drivers of the world economy remained strong, although growth slowed towards the end of 2006 as the housing market cooled along with consumer spending.

Euro area countries suspended the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) of the Stability and Growth Pact in November 2003. Surprisingly perhaps, long-term European government bond-holders did not react: yields barely moved. Owing to its political nature, the EDP does not matter for investors. What matters is the implicit economic pact that investors have made with Member State governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the economics of eastern enlargement of the European Union. Outline of the economic benefits and cost on prospective enlargement of the central and eastern Europe; Emphasis on the self-sufficiency on the structure of economic activity and employment; Efficacy of the European Union policy towards regional economic disparities.

The rapid development of justice and home affairs into a major field of EU policy-making since the beginning of the 1990s can be explained by a combination of specific ‘laboratories’ — which helped pave the way — and ‘driving factors’ which triggered development and expansion. Whereas the Council of Europe, Trevi and Schengen have served as effective laboratories, new or increasing transnational challenges to internal security, Member States' interests in a ‘Europeanization’ of certain national problems and the dynamic of its own generated by the launching of the ‘area of freedom, security and justice’ as a major political project have all acted as major driving forces. Yet the rapid development has also had its price in terms of deficits in parliamentary and judicial control, complexity and fragmentation, an uneven development of the main justice and home affairs policy areas and a tendency towards restriction and exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the Liaisons Entre Actions de Développement de l'Economie Rurale (LEADER) program of the European Union and the rise of rural development in Spain. The progress of LEADER has allegedly been refracted through the institutional conditions of the politico-administrative system. The program has been used as a political power tool by the various levels, leading to confrontations in order to gain control over the program. Awareness and acceptance of the deeper philosophy behind LEADER has been gaining ground so that it is increasingly acknowledged as a powerful tool for the promotion of rural development in general and for the animation of local, collective action. As measured by statistics, Spain has participated enthusiastically in the program. During LEADER I, a total of 52 lags were established in Spain, with an average area of 1,575 kilometer and a density of 22.6 inhabitants per kilometer. LEADER I accounted for 16 per cent of the territory and 5 per cent of the population of Spain. During LEADER II, the number of lags rose to 132 groups, the average surface area to 1,700 kilometer and the average density to 23 inhabitants per kilometer. LEADER II areas account for 45 per cent of the Spanish territory and some 13 per cent of its population.

The above article, published online on 4 December 2015 in Wiley Online Library (), has been retracted by agreement between the author, the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Roberta Capello, and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to overlap between this article and the following article published in Belgeo, 'Paradigm change in regional policy : towards smart specialisation? Lessons from Flanders (Belgium)' by Ties Vanthillo and Ann Verhetsel. Belgeo [Online], 1-2 | 2012, Online since 04 December 2012, connection on 29 January 2016. URL: . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]