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Aim This study examined the outputs of research papers in diabetes from 31 European countries between 2002 and 2013, and their funding. Methods Diabetes research papers in the Web of Science were identified by means of a filter based on journals and title words. For 2009-2013 papers, the funders were coded to show their sector and nationality. Results Europe published 40 547 diabetes papers in the 12 years between 2002 and 2013. Denmark, Sweden and Finland published the most relative to their wealth, but the UK published the most absolutely despite an apparently low burden (as measured by disability-adjusted life years). The largest source of funding was government (30%), followed by the non-profit sector (18%) and industry (13%). The European Commission supported 2.7% of papers, but more in Latvia (33%) and Estonia (16%). Based on an estimated cost per paper of €260 000, the annual research expenditure in Europe was approximately €986 million in 2013. Conclusions The European diabetes burden in disability-adjusted life years increased by one third between 2002 and 2012, but its output of research papers has decreased from 44% to 36% of the world total. This decrease needs to be reviewed in the context of European non-communicable disease research policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe mental health care needs and challenges across the WHO European region of 51 nations. Method: Based on morbidity and mortality data from HFA Statistical Database and Health21, the policy framework of WHO Europe, major trends in mental health care needs, psychiatric reform and mental health promotion are discussed. Results: There is a mortality crisis related to mental ill health in Eastern European populations of transition. Destigmatization is required to improve early intervention and humanization of services, and national mental health audits are needed to create the basis for national mental health planning, implementation and monitoring. There are both problems and advances in service restructuring, and comprehensive mental health promotion programmes, preventive and monitoring strategies are required. Conclusion: Partnerships between national and international organizations, especially WHO and the European Union, have to be strengthened to make progress on the way to integrated community mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the institutional architecture of the euro area. Topics include elections that took place in 2017 such as the fear in France with many wondering whether politician Marine Le Pen of the Front National could sway a sufficient number of people to defeat contenders, and the German federal election, a discussion of the White Paper on the Future of Europe that came out in March 2017 and a discussion of the May 2017 Reflection Paper on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), despite the salience of Brexit on the European Union agenda, the institutional architecture of the euro area remains an important item.

Presents information on current developments towards international insolvencies in Europe. Components of the legal framework for dealing with cross-border insolvency proceedings; Information on the European Union Insolvency Regulation; Challenges in cross-border insolvency proceedings.

The paper explores the evolution of private powers in the digital landscape, developing a quadrangular systematisation of such a phenomenon based on four main aspects: space, values, (private) actors, and (digital) constitutional remedies. Taking a trans‐Atlantic approach, the paper shows how these categories, typical of constitutionalism, apply to the context of the Internet and of new digital technologies both in the United States and in Europe. On the one hand, the United States has up to now maintained the supremacy of the notorious Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. On the other hand, European legislation has undergone a significant change, moving from a phase of digital liberalism, of which the 2000 E‐Commerce Directive is the emblem, towards a new era of digital constitutionalism, passing through the age of judicial activism of European courts. In this sense, Europe has increasingly attempted to introduce limits to private (digital) powers, with a view to better protect and enforce (also horizontally) users' fundamental rights. Additionally, the evolution of digital constitutionalism, from a vertical‐sectoral approach to a horizontal and procedure‐based one, significantly showcased by the recent Digital Services Package, is underscored, signalling the recent movement of the EU into its second phase of digital constitutionalism. In this respect, the paper argues that the great benefit of stressing the procedural dimension, which may be defined as a European application of "due (data) process" to the relationship between individuals and private powers, is that it is potentially able to help consolidate a (necessary) trans‐Atlantic bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice 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.)

Political debates about immigration provoke strong nationalistic pushback from citizens, constraining the policymaking capacity of states. This paper investigates to what extent labour market policies shape economically motivated preferential divides among European citizens. On the one hand, I concentrate on prospective job loss threats indicative of economic grievances and assess the impact of unemployment risk exposure on immigration policy attitudes. On the other hand, as the original contribution of the paper, I contend that, if such an economically motivated explanation holds, this relationship should vary based on the labour market institutions in each country. Multi‐level analyses of 16 European countries over a decade since 2002 reveal a remarkably robust relationship between unemployment risks and more restrictive immigration policy attitudes. Importantly, more protective employment regulations seem to have a dampening effect on the impact of job loss threats on immigration policy attitudes. Conversely, there are larger attitudinal divides between the risk‐exposed and the more secure workers in countries with generous and expansive unemployment compensation policies. Overall, the paper helps explain the cross‐national variation in economically motivated cleavages about immigration policy attitudes in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Points out that the papers that appear in this issue of the "European Financial Management" journal have the common goal of shedding light on the sources of value creation in European corporate restructuring. Provision of empirical evidence; Corporate takeovers in Great Britain and Germany; Analysis of firm survival and employment adjustment; In depth study of the banking and finance sectors; Overall view of the key drivers of value creation and merger and acquisition activity within the European Union.

The effective collection and management of personal data of rapidly migrating populations is important for ensuring adequate healthcare and monitoring of a displaced peoples' health status. With developments in ICT data sharing capabilities, electronic personal health records (ePHRs) are increasingly replacing less transportable paper records. ePHRs offer further advantages of improving accuracy and completeness of information and seem tailored for rapidly displaced and mobile populations. Various emerging initiatives in Europe are seeking to develop migrant-centric ePHR responses. This paper highlights their importance and benefits, but also identifies a number of significant ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) and challenges to their design and implementation, regarding (1) the kind of information that should be stored, (2) who should have access to information, and (3) potential misuse of information. These challenges need to be urgently addressed to make possible the beneficial use of ePHRs for vulnerable migrants in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new evidence on the interaction between demographic and occupational change in Europe over the last 25 years. We use data from the European Union Labour Force Survey covering six European countries. The analysis is based on a cross‐sectional comparison between the population and employment distributions in 1995 and 2019. This strategy allows us to study the changing demographic dynamics, which have brought a more feminized, aged, and educated working population, in a context of structural employment change, where higher job polarization or occupational upgrading are the main patterns. The results indicate that the increasing female participation has been associated with a strong general process of occupational upgrading that particularly benefited women. Still, the occupational profile of women is polarized relative to men. Although the process of educational upgrading was also stronger for women and overall they improved their occupational profile more than that of men, we find declining occupational returns to higher education for female workers in two countries. Finally, while European labor markets could accommodate the large increase in older workers, their occupational profile suffered some downgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brown algae are becoming increasingly popular as a food source and dietary supplement in Europe and other Western countries. As they are highly rich in iodine, they represent a potential new dietary iodine source. Iodine deficiency has been re‐emerging in Europe, and it is important to ensure adequate intake through one's diet. However, macroalgae, and especially brown algae, may contain very high amounts of iodine, and both iodine deficiency and excessive iodine may increase the risk of negative health effects. The iodine content of algae or foods containing algae is currently not regulated in the European Union. The aim of this paper is to review the literature to determine the chemical species of iodine in brown algae, the loss of iodine during processing, and the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of iodine. A systematic search of the literature was performed in April 2021, via the databases Web of Science and PubMed. The review includes studies of iodine in brown macroalgae in relation to bioavailability, bioaccessibility, processing and speciation. A meta‐analysis was conducted in relation to the following topics: (i) the correlation between total iodine and iodide (I–) content in brown algae; (ii) the correlation between the loss of iodine during processing and the I– content; and (iii) the correlation between bioavailability and the I– content. The bioavailability of iodine from brown algae was generally high, with in vivo bioavailability ranging from 31% to 90%. The in vitro bioavailability of iodine (2%–28%) was systematically lower than in vivo bioavailability (31%–90%), indicating an inadequate in vitro methodology. Processing may reduce the iodine content of brown algae, and a higher I– content was positively correlated with increased iodine loss during processing. Although processing strategies may reduce the iodine content of brown algae significantly, the iodine content may still be high after processing. These findings may be used in food safety evaluations of brown algae as well as in the development of macroalgae‐containing foods with iodine contents suitable for human consumption. Further research on processing techniques to reduce the iodine content in brown macroalgae are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does Europe's transnational party system contribute to EU democracy? Existing debates on this issue have conventionally revolved around conflicting assumptions on the feasibility of supranational democracy in general, rather than examining the party system's structure as it is set up and regulated. In this paper we evaluate to what extent the transnational party system contributes to the democratic qualities of the EU by studying the regulatory framework for European political parties. We establish an analytical framework based on studies of party system governance, and focus on two specific characteristics: the contestability of the Europarty system and the extent to which it promotes citizen participation in European political parties. Our analysis demonstrates that the governance structure impedes rather than bolsters the democratic potential of Europarties, since the rules work to prevent new parties from entering the party system, and fail to provide incentives for a more active political participation of European citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European regions experience accelerating ageing, but the process has substantial regional variation. This paper examines the effect of this variation on regional economic cohesion in Europe. We measure the effect of convergence or divergence in the share of the working age population on convergence or divergence in economies of NUTS 2 regions. The effect of convergence or divergence in ageing on economic convergence or divergence is quite substantial and, in some cases, is bigger than the effect of changes in productivity and labour force participation. Convergence of ageing leads to economic convergence only when the share of the working age population in rich regions exceeds that in poor regions and the former regions experience a substantial decline in the share of the working age population, or the latter regions experience an increase. During 2003–12, an inverse relationship between convergence in ageing and economic convergence was the rule rather than the exception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice 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.)

Rail links between China and Europe are typically analysed in the context of China's Belt and Road Initiative, focusing on China's economic rise and the implications for international relations. This paper argues that establishment of the China–Europe Landbridge predated the BRI and has been market‐driven, as service providers identified and responded to demand for efficient freight services along pre‐existing railway lines. Governments' role was trade facilitating, that is reducing delays and costs at border‐crossing points, rather than investing in hard infrastructure. Service providers responded by linking European and Asian value chains (e.g., in automobiles and electronic goods) and reducing costs for traders shipping between China and Europe. The Eurasian Landbridge provides a case study of servicification as a component of increased trade in the twenty‐first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Antipode 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 2014 European elections led to a sharp rise in the electoral consensus of parties and independent parliament members perceived as eurosceptic. This paper analyzes the interconnections between distressed economies and the electoral success of hard-line eurosceptic parties. On a panel of 108 elections between 2008 and 2015, the random-effects model shows the relative effect of long- and short-term political trust, economic performance indicators, and institutional variables in determining the rise of hard-line eurosceptic parties. In contrast with previous studies, which have tended to de-emphasize the effect of economic performance in determining the success of eurosceptic forces, the results of this paper detect both a direct and a mediated effect of the economic crisis on the electoral success of hard-line eurosceptic parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks what explains the creation and comparative features of national Investment Screening Mechanisms (ISMs) in Europe. After providing a brief history and definition of ISMs, we provide descriptive patterns about the similarities and differences in the investment screening features of national ISMs in EU member states. We then explain differences in national screening policies by focusing on the role of public debt, Chinese investment, R&D expenditures and various geographic groupings. Finally, we make three policy arguments about the rise of ISMs in Europe: (1) ISMs have not been designed as protectionist instruments, (2) the politics of inward investment screening reflects a shift from economic to security logic in addressing the fundamental tension between the benefits and vulnerabilities of open markets and (3) the EU can use the 'commercialisation' of security to extend its own competence in the security sphere. We conclude by considering how the rapid expansion of investment screening in Europe could affect economic openness, as well as the role of the EU as a global actor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now that it is widely accepted that the European Union (EU) constitutes a system of governance, analysts need actively to explore precisely how it may affect the continuing struggle better to coordinate national and European administrations. In its 2001 White Paper on governance, the European Commission interpreted governance to mean less central control and more network-led steering. Its interpretation of such networks is that they are self-organizing. Drawing upon an empirical study of environmental policy integration (EPI) in the EU, this article shows that this vision may not adequately fit the multi-actor, multi-level coordination challenges associated with some EU problems. By studying the administrative capacities that the European Commission and three member states have created to achieve better environmental coordination, this article shows significant administrative weaknesses. It concludes that the coordination challenges now troubling the EU require a more thoughtful discussion of network management than the White Paper suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys carried out by the Eurobarometer survey series show a sharp increase in the negative attitudes of European citizens towards foreigners between 1988 and 2003, but a noticeable reversal of this trend between 2003 and 2008. This paper provides a statistical analysis of the determinants of attitudes towards foreigners and analyzes the factors associated with changes in anti-foreigner sentiment among European citizens. The paper concludes that while rising racial prejudice accounts for a substantial portion of the trend in anti-foreigner sentiment, economic conditions also matter, with economic strain leading to more negative attitudes. At the same time, educational attainment is shown to be a strong antidote to anti-foreigner attitudes. Both rising average schooling and more positive attitudes towards foreigners by the highly educated have led to a reversal of the climbing anti-immigrant sentiments in Europe. The paper discusses policy implications and the potential effects of the European economic collapse since 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborations are particularly important for the development and deployment of technology. We analyse the influence of organizational, technological and geographical proximity on European nanotechnology collaborations with the help of a publication dataset and additional geographical information. While organizational proximity influences the output of collaborations only indirectly, geographical and technological proximity do so directly. Geographical proximity is most significant in statistical terms and technological proximity has the highest magnitude of effect. Consequently, the latter lends itself most for management and policy interventions, for example, by providing information on technological specialization of potential partners. Resumen Las colaboraciones son especialmente importantes para el desarrollo y el despliegue tecnológico. Se analiza la influencia de la proximidad organizacional, tecnológica y geográfica en colaboraciones europeas en nanotecnología, con la ayuda de un conjunto de datos publicados e información geográfica adicional. Si bien la proximidad organizacional influye en el resultado de las colaboraciones solo de manera indirecta, las proximidades geográfica y tecnológica influyen directamente. La proximidad geográfica es la más significativa en términos estadísticos y la proximidad tecnológica tiene la magnitud del efecto más elevada. Consecuentemente, esta última se presta más a las intervenciones de gestión y de políticas, por ejemplo, facilitando información sobre la especialización tecnológica de socios potenciales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The word 'governance' has become an increasingly central policy motif in the European Union and elsewhere yet its meanings are ambiguous and often poorly understood. This article examines the genealogy of that concept focusing in particular on the European Commission's claim to have developed a new, more open and progressive model of 'European governance'. The paper is set out in four steps. The first analyses the European Commission's claims for 'governance' as a concept integral to its new vision for Europe. The second interrogates some of the conflicting definitions and meanings inherent in the term and examines the highly selective paradigm of governance that has been developed in official Commission discourse. The third addresses two specific areas where the Commission's governance model has been applied: the Green paper on The Future of Parliamentary Democracy and the Open Method of Coordination. The fourth turns to analyse these findings using critical social theory. I conclude that far from laying the grounds for a more inclusive, participatory and democratic political order, the Commission's model to governance represents a form of neoliberal governmentality that is actually undermining democratic government and promoting a politics of exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic diseases represent a major health problem in Europe. They are increasing in prevalence, severity and costs. The Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN), a Sixth EU Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP6) Network of Excellence, was created in 2005 as a vehicle to ensure excellence in research bringing together research and clinical institutions to combat fragmentation in the European research area and to tackle Allergy in its globality. The Global Allergy and Asthma European Network has benefited greatly from the voluntary efforts of researchers who are strongly committed to this model of pan-European collaboration. The network was organized in order to increase networking for scientific projects in allergy and asthma around Europe and to make GA2LEN the world leader in the field. Besides these activities, research has also been carried out and the first papers are being published. Achievements of the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network can be grouped as follows: (i) those for a durable infrastructure built up during the project phase, (ii) those which are project-related and based on these novel infrastructures, and (iii) the development and implementation of guidelines. The major achievements of GA2LEN are reported in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the evolution of Plaid Cymru's attitude towards Europe. It does so by focusing in turn on: the place of Europe in the ideas of Saunders Lewis, the dominant figure in the party between its foundation in 1924/25 and 1945; the more ‘northern’ or Nordic vision of Europe that gripped the party in the post -World War II era; and the waxing and waning of the party's most EU-enthusiastic phase between the mid -1980s and the present day. By adopting a longer timeframe than is normally the case, the paper argues that Europe has played a wider role in the thinking of the party than is often conceded; a role that was not at all or only tangentially related to actually existing institutions. The paper goes on to argue that it was in part the chastening impact of Plaid Cymru's eventual exposure to actually existing European institutions that led the party in 2003 to abandon its utopian commitment to a post-sovereign Europe in favour of an explicit commitment to ‘independence’ as its long-term aim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several theoretical arguments for why the adoption of a common currency (either a currency union or a currency board) may reduce the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) to domestic consumer prices. This paper examines a broad panel of 101 countries over the period 1976–2006, using two-stage instrumental-variable estimation techniques in order to resolve the potential endogeneity problem. The main result is that ERPT indeed tends to decline in countries participating in a common currency arrangement. In particular, there has been a strong reduction in pass-through in the member countries of the European Monetary Union (EMU) since the launch of the euro. Currency boards do not appear to be different from currency unions – both reduce the pass-through from depreciation to inflation. Furthermore, the negative impact of common currencies on ERPT is at work in both high-income and low-income countries. Finally, most of the reduction in pass-through to consumer prices under common currency arrangements happens somewhere along the pricing chain between the border and the supermarket shelf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on lobbying as a political activity and the emergence of lobbying regulation in 10 new member states of the European Union (EU). The analysis begins with general observations about lobbying in post-communist states and on the development of lobbying in three of the larger new member states: Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Key to how lobbying will continue to develop in the future in these 10 countries is how it will be regulated and controlled. Therefore, the paper examines this in some detail. The analysis concludes with some recommendations on the role that could be played by professional bodies, which represent lobbyists in gaining more acceptance for interest groups in these new member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the end of the Cold War the concepts of the geopolitical order of Europe have changed. Within this process the European Union plays a significant role. When the Iron Curtain came down, negotiations about the potential enlargement to the East started and the EU positioned itself differently regarding worldwide conflicts and wars. The influence of the new geopolitical situation on national long-term orientations and changes in the representations of the national representatives is the focal point of this paper. It analyses the current discourses on Europe, the European Union and its global role based on selected interviews with high ranking politicians. The main issues are: how far does Europe extend and which part of Europe will form the EU? And which internal power relations will the EU develop in the future. A discourse analysis shows how the current problems are verbalised within the geopolitical representations and how they affect the political arena. In this paper the word discourse is used to describe a social process which can be called ‘inclination of sense’ or, in a more sophisticated manner, ‘genesis of meaning’. This meaning refers to (a) the processual character of political, social and territorial organisation, (b) its reflection in the mass media and its construction of what can be called ‘European’ or ‘familiar with Europe’ and (c) the influence of the semantic order on political decisions, which impose a specific structural order and social organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the audit report of 147 firms from the European Union that prepare their financial statements in compliance with the standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board. Bearing in mind that the consolidated accounts of listed companies will follow IAS from 2005 onwards, the purpose of this paper is to provide some insight into the current outcome of the statutory audit on this information. Interesting conclusions are drawn from this empirical study with regard to the auditing standards applied, the wording used and the differences observed between reports produced by auditors from the big firms and reports from different European countries. The need to harmonise the auditing field is discussed under the results obtained, with the final aim to contribute to the standard-setting debate on the creation of a high quality financial reporting system in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an analysis of the policy innovations of the European Union's Water Framework Directive and their relationship to a range of economic and geographical interests. It follows a previous paper describing the process of the making of the WFD in relation to the new EU co-decision process. This paper argues that the innovative aspects of the policy reflect a context in which the broader governance arrangements for water management in Europe are shifting in dramatic ways. The paper identifies the aspects of the WFD that are innovative by comparing it with previous European directives related to water management legislation. The paper then describes the state of Europe's freshwater resources as a basis for understanding the regional geography of interests in the policy-making process and examines the contrasting interests of state, market and civil society institutions and their impact on the final draft. The paper ends by bringing the history of the WFD up to date by looking at the initial responses of the key actors to the final WFD and at recent developments in relation to implementation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional identity has become an important category in the ‘Europe of regions’, and one that is often taken as self-evident in the relations between a group of people and a bounded region. The movement of people, capital and information across spatial boundaries that takes place in the contemporary world challenges the supposed harmonious link between regions and people on all spatial scales. This paper analyses the meanings of region and identity, and the links between them. Regions are understood as historically contingent structures whose institutionalisation is based on their territorial, symbolic and institutional shaping. Regional identity is understood as an abstraction that can be used to analyse the links between social actors and the institutionalisation process. This paper suggests that an analytical distinction between the identity of a region and the regional identity of its inhabitants, i.e. regional consciousness, is useful for problematising these links. The conceptual arguments will be illustrated with analyses of identity discourses related to Finnish regions and of the mobility of the Finns between regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In recent years, new technologies and new approaches to scale up HIV testing have emerged. The objective of this paper was to synthesize the body of recent evidence on strategies aimed at increasing the uptake and coverage of HIV testing outside of health care settings in the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA). Methods: Systematic searches to identify studies describing effective HIV testing interventions and barriers to testing were run in five databases (2010–2017) with no language restrictions; the grey literature was searched for similar unpublished studies (2014–2017). Study selection, data extraction and critical appraisal were performed by two independent reviewers following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: Eighty studies on HIV testing in non‐health care settings were identified, the majority set in Northern Europe. Testing was implemented in 65 studies, with men who have sex with men the risk group most often targeted. Testing coverage and positivity/reactivity rates varied widely by setting and population group. However, testing in community and outreach settings was effective at reaching people who had never previously been tested and acceptability of HIV testing, particularly rapid testing, outside of health care settings was found to be high. Other interventions aimed to increase HIV testing identified were: campaigns (n = 8), communication technologies (n = 2), education (n = 3) and community networking (n = 1). Conclusions: This review has identified several strategies with potential to achieve high HIV testing coverage outside of health care settings. However, the geographical spread of studies was limited, and few intervention studies reported before and after data, making it difficult to evaluate the impact of interventions on test coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we investigate the comovements between the R&D intensity of private investment and GDP growth in different European Union (EU) areas over the period 1999–2014. Our empirical analysis shows that only core countries display a common countercyclical mechanism leading to an increased intensity of R&D over prolonged downturns. The lack of an effective countercyclical pattern of R&D intensity over the evolution of GDP growth in periphery countries makes this area highly vulnerable to persistent recessions, with potentially harmful consequences for long‐term growth. For recent EU members the evidence of acyclicality should be evaluated in the light of the catching‐up process still at work in this area. Our analysis suggests that any successful EU innovation policy should not disregard the potential divergence in R&D performance due to the dispersion of the countercyclical properties of the investment intensity in productivity enhancing activities in the different EU areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the strategic challenges for the European banking industry, arising from the process of European Monetary Union (EMU). The adoption of the euro will have profound impacts on the structure, conduct and performance of all players in the market. Strategic responses will have to focus on how to secure new profit streams in the context of both national and pan-European banking. This paper represents a timely contribution to the strategic development of banking in this final, most critical, stage of the EMU project. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses to what extent differences in the characteristics of individuals (micro-level perspective) and country-specific factors (macro-level perspective) can explain country differences with respect to material deprivation levels. Thus, our work aims to simultaneously consider the macro dimension and the predominantly individually-oriented study field of material deprivation using multilevel techniques. We make use of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. Our results show that country-specific factors seem to be much more relevant than individual effects in explaining country differences in material deprivation. We estimate that the introduction of country-specific factors reduces the proportion of total variance due to between-country differences in deprivation by 72.7 percent, while individual-level variables reduce this proportion by only 9.4 percent. We also show, through interaction variables, that the effect of sociodemographic characteristics can be shaped by institutional and structural factors, especially by the level of GDP. [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 positive effect of information and communication technologies (ICT) on trade between countries has been widely studied in the literature, but how ICT impacts regional trade is limited due to the lack of regional trade data. In this paper, we test whether broadband, as a proxy for ICT, increases bilateral trade at the regional level in Europe. We use a novel regional trade database of European Union regions and estimate an origin–destination flow gravity model for 2007 and 2010, accounting for spatial dependence among trade flows. Our results indicate that broadband is positive and significant in explaining trade patterns between European regions during both time periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the legal and practical implementation of the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD), subnational implementing agents experience how this policy works in practice. The feedback, or reloading, of these experiences is an important contribution to create resilient EU water governance and to further elaborate the flexible requirements of this framework directive. However, a gap exists concerning our knowledge on the strategies that implementing actors use to mobilize experiential knowledge. Our objective is therefore to understand the reloading of implementation experiences in the WFD's policy process, by studying the conditions that affect strategic mobilization behavior of implementing agents. We build upon existing studies to explore which mobilization strategies are used in WFD reloading cases, and assess which conditions contribute to the identified strategic agency choices. The main finding of this study is that the mobilizing agents often use a smart combination of framing, coalition‐building, venue shopping and timing strategies for reloading implementation experiences as policy‐relevant knowledge. The choice of such combinations is affected by agency and institutional structure‐related conditions, that is, a mobilizing agent's interests, resources and capacities plus the existing EU water governance network contribute to strategic mobilization behavior. Our study is a first exploration of the topic. We therefore conclude this paper with some suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present debate on regional policy design to fit the Europe 2020 Agenda calls for additional reflections on the way sectoral policies, like innovation policies, can be translated appropriately into a regional setting. The paper enters the debate on smart specialization strategies by stressing the need to overcome the simplistic dichotomy between core and periphery in the Union and between an advanced 'research area' (the core) and a 'co-application area' of general purpose technologies to local technological specificities (the periphery). The geography of innovation is much more complex than a simple core-periphery model, and the logical pathway toward innovation is much more complex than the linear model of research and development-invention-innovation direct link: the innovation patterns are differentiated among regions according to their regional context conditions. The identification of specific 'innovation patterns' is necessary to design 'smart innovation' policies. The paper presents a critique to the smart specialization debate, suggests a new taxonomy of European innovative regions based on their innovation patterns, and proposes innovation policies for each regional mode of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented which discusses the development of mental health services in Europe, the role of European Union in formulating European Service Mapping Schedule (ESMS) and the use of ESMS in Spain.

Initial literature on the 'European refugee crisis' discerned intergovernmental tendencies in its management. This paper examines whether neofunctionalism may be able to explain a major case of 'European refugee crisis' policy-making, the negotiations on the European Border and Coast Guard regulation. We argue, somewhat counterintuitively, that the theory considerably furthers our respective understanding. The crisis acted as a catalyst exposing the weaknesses of a system that pitted a supranational Schengen against a largely intergovernmental external border regime, notwithstanding a developing Frontex. These dysfunctionalities have been widely fostered by both national and supranational decision-makers shrinking from the significant economic, political and sunk costs of Schengen disintegration, thus ruling out the possibility for spillback. Additionally, further integration was substantially nurtured by supranational agency, 'socialized' national civil servants, transnational NGOs and European business associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions of transit migration in Europe and its peripheries are not simply descriptions of an existing reality, but to some extent also a part of the process of constructing that reality in such a way that discursive practices enable policy statements to conceptualise and talk about this phenomenon. The main goal of this paper is to explore this process through the politicisation of transit migration in Europe, with a particular focus on Turkey. The essay first documents the irregular and transit migration experience of Turkey in the last thirty years with the help of several data sets. It particularly emphasises that there is a reality of transit migration in Turkey, but that there also exists other forms of irregular labour migration. The paper focuses on transit migration in Europe in the next section. It draws attention to the rather ironic fact that, while most European countries have adopted a range of restrictive control systems against incoming migrant flows, especially in the wake of September 11, their economies have been able to absorb thousands of irregular migrants. An important consequence of the economisation and securitisation of the European international migratory regime has been the politicisation of transit migration, precipitating an obsession with transit migration on the peripheries of the continent. Drawing on the insights from this discussion on politicisation of transit migration, in the following section, the paper examines the way in which transit migration in Turkey has been approached in Europe in the context of the country's accession negotiation process with the European Union. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a selective survey of the recent literature on labour market institutions and offers new empirical EU-based evidence on the impact of labour market reforms on employment and labour market adjustment. Although the literature traditionally treats labour market institutions as exogenous, attention shifted recently towards understanding the underlying causes of specific institutional arrangements. As a consequence, the literature highlights the great importance of an efficient policy design exploiting these interactions wisely and identifies general principles for achieving an efficient policy design at both macro and micro levels. Although empirical evidence does not show a major change in terms of intensity of labour market reform after the setting of the Economic and Monetary Union and the creation of the euro, the reforms aiming at strengthening the labour market attachment of vulnerable groups tend to have been successful both in raising their employment and increasing labour market adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1995 ruling of the European Court of Justice in Bosman was a pivotal point in the relationship between the European Union and sport. It has had an immense impact upon professional team sports, most notably football, in terms of liberalising the transfer system and abolishing player quotas. This paper will chart the development of a European sports law policy generally and will specifically discuss two current proposals concerning the reintroduction of playing quotas in football. We will examine the legality of these proposals with reference to Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and will evaluate the political context within which these proposals have been promulgated. It will be suggested that a possible solution, which should end legal uncertainty, could be the adoption of a collective agreement or directive based on the methodology of reflexive labour law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Inadequate and inconsistent data are a common and persistent problem in the field of migration. Deficiencies in migration statistics may be tackled using modelling techniques, which has recently been recognised by the European Union (EU) policymakers. The new Regulation on Community statistics on international migration, which obliges countries to supply harmonised statistics, provides for the possibility of using estimation methods to adapt statistics based on national definitions to comply with the required 1-year duration of stay definition. The main objective of this paper is to provide a theoretical probabilistic framework to capture various migration flow statistics that are available. It is a crucial step towards better understanding and then harmonising the data. Different migration measures represent the same continuous data-generating process. They differ depending on how the data happened to be collected and how the statistics happened to be produced. We introduce the key concepts of migration statistics using a simple duration model, namely an exponential distribution. While more complex models can better reflect the reality, they do not fundamentally modify the framework presented. The main focus is put on the time criterion used in the migration definition. It refers to the duration of stay following relocation, which is specified very differently among countries and constitutes the main source of discrepancies in operationalisation of the migration concept in the EU member states. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to examine why European Union cultural policy does not address the issue of migration of people from non-European countries to Europe with sufficient recognition of the major impact it has on European cultural identity, and what are some of the advantages of doing so. It is important to note that a strong cultural policy common to all members of the European Union does not exist and may be said not to be in the interest of European nation states. Nevertheless, the impact of European Union cultural policy on various aspects of cultural and social life in Europe is growing and is therefore assessed both in terms of its official description as stated by Article 151 of the Treaty of European Union and with regard to the variety of programmes it establishes. The remit and implementation of cultural policy are found to be constricted by various supranational and national issues, and their relation to the impact of migration, while in existence, is limited. Cultural initiatives already being run within the framework of European Union cultural policy and which address issues related to migrant cultures and European citizenry are assessed. This analysis leads to suggestions and recommendations, the aim of which is to foster a greater recognition of the importance of the value of cultural difference due to the influence of migration on European social settings, and to encourage the formulation of European cultural policies that aim at more reciprocity and mutuality. This paper joins a growing number of calls for a change in the perspective of policy-making to reflect the transnational reality of migration and its impact on and contribution to culture in Europe. It does this while at the same time acknowledging the fact that nation states play a largely determining role in the ideation and implementation of European Union cultural policy. This research is based on a theoretical framework that provides the discussion with a foundation from which to assess contemporary models of multiculturalism and integration as well as grapple with the implications of cultural policy on European self-identification and representation. This analysis roots its critical perspective in a close reading of Ziauddin Sardar's propositions of 'mutually assured diversity' and 'transmodernism' which are applied to the context of cultural policy. This paper is based on research carried out through the collection of secondary data, with resources that provide information which is recent and relevant to current issues of migration, social integration and European culture and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the discussion about Corporate social responsibility (CSR), competitiveness and trade policies, and how trade barriers emerge between countries already committed to CSR and those for whom CSR is still gaining ground. The authors describe the development of CSR within Europe and explain its role in shaping trade relationships. Gaining access to the European market, and obtaining the 'licence to operate' in light of strengthening commitment to CSR, is an issue for many companies. For countries outside the EU it is important to understand what CSR means in the European context and to recognize its implications for conducting business in the region. Further, through its economic power and resources, the EU sets standards and influences international trade norms. The authors conclude that the EU establishes CSR as a trade barrier for non-complying companies in the terms of organizational culture, communication, capabilities and compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the important changes to the European Union (EU) policy-making process within the UK core executive introduced by the Blair government between 1997 and 2007. Employing a strategic-relational network framework, it sets out to map the changing face of policy-making within the Whitehall EU network, and to evaluate and explain the impact of adaptation. The article argues that Labour's reform strategy has been double-edged: day-to-day coordination of EU policy has become increasingly informal, ad hoc and delegated downwards to departmental players while the role of the centre has been greatly strengthened in order to provide more effective strategic direction and political leadership. Despite these seemingly coherent reforms, however, many critical features of the process have been potentially detrimental to the projection of a more constructive European policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the second half of the 1990s, cross-sectoral, sectoral and company-level bargaining has developed into a key movement in transnational industrial relations in the European Union. Originally stimulated by EU institutions, these forms of bargaining have since progressed autonomously. At present, it is difficult to say exactly what effect, if any, they can have on individual working conditions. Based on a 2005 report to the European Commission, this paper argues for EU legislative action to create an optional framework for transnational collective bargaining, in the form of a Council regulation to be adopted under the social and economic cohesion chapters of the EU Treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the neighboring effects of Internet adoption as measured by the percentage of firms with their own website in the European regions. This is the first study that explicitly analyzes the role played by spatial effects to explain website adoption for the European case. A set of instruments and techniques commonly used in the spatial econometrics framework is employed to test the hypothesis that proximity matters when explaining Internet adoption by firms. Results show that firms in physically adjacent regions register a similar degree of Internet adoption, confirming the presence in this context of positive spatial dependence. Nevertheless, the spatial effects detected are mainly constrained by national borders. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, population density, sectoral composition, and education are positively related to geographic distribution of Internet adoption in the enlarged European Union. In addition, regional disparities in Internet adoption were found to be less important than territorial inequalities in GDP per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the arguments for and against the “Stability and Growth Pact.” We find the theoretical debate to be inconclusive, as both externality and credibility arguments can be used to yield opposite and plausible conclusions. Empirical evidence in favor of a Pact-like rule is also scant. We therefore suggest the view that the Stability Pact is a public social norm, that countries obey in order to preserve reputation among the other members of the European Union. Using this extreme—but not implausible—hypothesis, we build a simple model similar in spirit to Akerlof's (1980) seminal work on social norms, and we show that reputation issues may cause the emergence of a stable but inferior equilibrium. Increased heterogenity generally has the effect of further reducing aggregate welfare; we conclude that the problems posed by the Pact/social norm are likely to increase following the enlargement, when a number of countries anxious to prove their “soundness” joined the club. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]