scholarly journals Development in regions lagging behind – the case of coal and post-coal regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (20) ◽  
pp. 20-37
Author(s):  
Adam Drobniak
Keyword(s):  
Economic Transition ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Job Growth ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Territorial Approach ◽  
Desk Research ◽  
Analysis Of Time Series

The main topic of the paper refers to the issues of economic transition in regions. The research question is to determine the nature of current development processes in regions lagging behind, in coal regions in particular. The main goal of the article is to present selected modern concepts indicating the paths of the effective reorientation of development processes of such regions, along with their application into the policy framework for the coal regions’ transition. Methodically, the paper is based on a desk research and statistical analysis of time series covering GDP dynamics and job growth for NUTS3 regions in the European Union (EU). The main findings of the research indicate the significant scale of the economic challenges of coal regions in terms of their low productivity measured by the trade-off between the growth of GDP and the increase in the number of jobs, as well as the need to define a complex policy framework which ‘mixes’ a sectoral and territorial approach to achieve an effective coal regions’ transition

The promotion of security sector reform strategies: Comparing the roles of the European Union and Canada

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Vandemoorteele
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Security Sector Reform ◽  
Security Sector ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Common Policy

This article analyzes the role of the European Union (EU) and Canada in the promotion of Security Sector Reforms (SSR) activities in two regional organizations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The concept of SSR seeks to address the effective governance of security in post-conflict environment by transforming the security institutions within a country in order for them to have more efficient, legitimate and democratic role in implementing security. Recent debates within the EU have led to the adoption of an SSR concept from the Council and a new strategy from the European Commission on the SSR activities. Within the framework of the ESDP, the EU has positioned itself as a leading actor, in this domain, including in its crisis management operations. On the other hand, Canada, through its whole-of government and human security programs has also been an important actor in the promotion of SSR activities. Yet, even though several international organizations (including the United Nations, the OSCE and NATO) are effectively doing SSR activities on the ground, there does not exist a common framework within any of these organizations despite the role of the EU and Canada. As such, it is surprising to found no global common policy for SSR while this approach is precisely holistic in its foundations. Taking these elements into consideration, this paper analyzes two specific aspects : a) the absence of a common policy framework within international organizations and b) the major differences between the approaches of the OSCE and NATO in the domain of SSR and the implications for the EU and Canada’ roles.   Full extt available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v3i2.186

scholarly journals Global online platforms, COVID-19, and culture: The global pandemic, an accelerator towards which direction?

2021 ◽  
pp. 016344372199453
Author(s):  
Antonios Vlassis
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Major Development ◽  
The Us ◽  
Media Platform

The article proposes to consider the COVID-19 global pandemic as new major development for cultural industries and policies and to highlight timely and crucial trends due to the lockdown measures. Thus, it attempts to stimulate the scholarship debate regarding the consequences of the pandemic to the action of global online platforms, as well as to policy and economic aspects of cultural sectors. Taking as case study the audio-visual sector, the article explores whether the US global streaming platforms are the winning players of the lockdown measures and emphasizes the multifaceted strategies developed by US-based platforms in order to strengthen their soft power. Focusing on China and the European Union, the article also argues that the overwhelming action of US-based online platforms triggers the potential emergence of media platform regionalization in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, it highlights the regulatory challenges and how the new empirical trends are expected to shape the current audio-visual policy framework. The analysis focuses on the period between the beginning of global pandemic in Asia-Pacific in January 2020 and the progressive easing of lockdown measures in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific in July 2020.

scholarly journals The Digital Post Ecosystem—Example of Poland in the Context of Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2550
Author(s):  
Anna Drab-Kurowska ◽  
Agnieszka Budziewicz-Guźlecka
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Postal Service ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Telecommunications Infrastructure ◽  
Digital Ecosystem ◽  
New Business ◽  
Postal Services ◽  
Telecommunications Market ◽  
Services Innovation

Rapid technological changes have forced postal operators to adapt their services to the needs of the information society, exploit new business opportunities, and pay more attention to emerging and rapidly growing direct and indirect competition. The main goal of the article is to provide an answer to the question Do we have to digitalize postal services? The objectives of the article are as follows: defining of the postal ecosystem concept; defining of postal e-services; developing an action proposal approach for the operator designated to create a digital ecosystem of the postal service. Therefore, it is necessary to survey postal operators regarding the digitalization of the economy and postal e-services. The survey should focus on individual customers, businesses and telecommunications market experts. The survey covered postal e-services supplied by the designated operator in Poland. Its assessment has been based on variables which have major impact on the perception of postal e-services. These variables include: scope of e-services, regulatory framework (security), competitiveness, telecommunications infrastructure, advancement of e-services, innovation level, and digital awareness and digital skills in the society. In order to meet these objectives, the article refers to the essence of the ecosystem as a solution to the research problem. Additionally, studies on postal e-services have been presented, which enable to develop an action proposal to strengthen the position of the postal operator in the postal ecosystem. The article is based on studies that use various research methods, such as critical analysis of scientific literature, synthesis and generalization, Delphi method, versatile benchmarking and graphic visualization. Additionally, findings of studies on e-services have been presented to cover the European Union, as well as solicit opinions of individual and business clients and telecommunications market experts in Poland. This enables to develop an action proposal designed to strengthen the position of the postal operator in the postal ecosystem. The study has delivered an answer to the research question. Thus, the authors can confirm that it is necessary to digitalize postal services.

scholarly journals Financing Responsible Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: An International Overview of Policies and Support Programmes

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Susanne Durst ◽  
Wolfgang Gerstlberger
Keyword(s):  
Regional Differences ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Support Policy ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Support Programmes ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Desk Research

In the last few years, the financing of responsibly operating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become the focus of attention of several national and international bodies. Consequently, a number of policies and support programmes have been established aimed at supporting SMEs that take a responsible approach concerning the company and its operations. Against this background, this article presents a comprehensive international overview of support programmes for financing responsible SMEs. Based on systematic desk research, documents of national governments as well as supranational and international organisations have been investigated. The findings reveal that there are strong regional differences in terms of support policy approaches, intensity, and criteria. The largest part of the identified programmes has been launched by the European Union and/or its member states. Additionally, the findings clarify that the primary focus of extant programmes is on the environmental dimension of sustainability, mainly energy-related questions. The social dimension has been neglected so far in the programmes.

scholarly journals Explaining participation in undeclared work in France: lessons for policy evaluation

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Windebank ◽  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
Keyword(s):  
Policy Framework ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
French Population ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Tax Morale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Undeclared Work

Purpose France is a model of best practice in the European Union as regards policy to combat undeclared work. The purpose of this paper is to take the country as a case study to evaluate the competing explanations of why people engage in undeclared work which underpin such policy, namely, the dominant rational-economic-actor approach and the more recent social-actor approach. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate these approaches, the results of 1,027 interviews undertaken in 2013 with a representative sample of the French population are analysed. Findings The finding is that higher perceived penalties and risks of detection have no significant impact on the likelihood of conducting undeclared work in France. In contrast, the level of tax morale has a significant impact on engagement in the activity: the higher the tax morale, the lower is the likelihood of participation in the undeclared economy. Higher penalties and risks of detection only decrease the likelihood of participation in undeclared work amongst the small minority of the French population with very low tax morale. Practical implications Current policy in France to counter undeclared work is informed principally by the rational-economic-actor approach based on a highly developed infrastructure for detection and significant penalties alongside incentives to declare small-scale own-account work. The present analysis suggests that this approach needs to be supplemented with measures to improve citizens’ commitment to compliance by enhancing tax morale. Originality/value This case study of a country with a well-developed policy framework to combat undeclared work provides evidence to support the social-actor approach for informing policy change.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF LABOUR RESOURCES IN ROMANIA, BEFORE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CRISIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciprian Iftimoaei ◽  
Cristian-Ionuţ Baciu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Linear Regression ◽  
Unemployment Rate ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Simple Linear Regression

In the three decades since the collapse of communism in Romania (1989), human resources have gone through several distinct moments in the process of social and economic transition, from the state economy to the market economy: (1) the period 1990-2007 characterized by declining employment, rising unemployment, low wages, employee poverty, labour migration to developed countries; (2) the period 2007-2019 in which Romanian employees experienced the benefits of the European integration process, which meant economic macrostability, increased foreign investment, projects financed by European operational programs that led to increased living standards, increased employment, labour crisis; (3) the period beginning with the 2020 pandemic year and the economic and social crisis, the effects of which are already quantified by official statistics. This paper proposes a retrospective analysis of the evolution of labour resources in Romania, after joining the European Union. The methodology used combines descriptive statistical analysis (labour resources, activity rate, employment rate, unemployment rate, average net earnings), hierarchical cluster analysis to compare the employment situation in Romania in the year of accession to the European Union (2007) versus the year before the onset of the pandemic crisis (2019) and the simple linear regression analysis, having as an independent variable the „unemployment rate” and as a dependent variable „the number of employees”. Simple linear regression is used not only for teaching purposes, but in addition to testing the link between variables, we wanted to find out how much the number of employees decreases if the unemployment rate increases by one percentage point nationwide. The data used come from the TEMPO Online database of the National Institute of Statistics and were processed with the SPSS.

scholarly journals An Influence of Group Purchasing Organizations on Financial Security of SMEs Operating in the Renewable Energy Sector—Case for Poland

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Zimon ◽  
Marek Sobolewski ◽  
Grzegorz Lew
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Operating Cycle ◽  
Cash Conversion Cycle ◽  
Energy Companies ◽  
Renewable Energy Industry

European countries are increasingly using renewable energy. Poland is an outsider of such solutions. The Polish energy sector is primarily based on energy produced from coal. However, environmental changes and regulations of the European Union are forcing the increased use of energy from renewable sources. Renewable energy is an industry that is still developing in Poland. At the same time, Poland is a country where the political decisions of the government over the last few years have resulted in a significant limitation of the possibilities of renewable energy development. These actions have also resulted in lowering the profitability of the currently operating renewable energy enterprises, especially those from the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises. An opportunity for SMEs operating in the renewable energy sector is to merge into industry purchasing groups. The aim of the article—and at the same time the research question—is: Is it financially safer for renewable energy companies to operate within purchasing groups compared to companies operating independently in this industry? Traditional ways of purchasing can be transferred to integrated purchasing systems, which will be created by purchasing groups associating renewable energy companies. For this purpose, the financial effects of the implementation and functioning of the purchasing groups in the renewable energy sector in relation to entities operating independently were examined. In the research of renewable energy SMEs, a comparative analysis of key indicators determining the possibility of continuing the activity of these entities was made. The following indicators were examined: current financial liquidity ratio, return on sales, operating cycle, cash conversion cycle, share of receivables in current assets, share of inventory in current assets, turnover ratios, level of receivables, liabilities and profitability. The scientific literature is dominated by studies on purchasing groups in the pharmaceutical and construction industries. Thanks to the research conducted, it has been indicated that the renewable energy industry can also improve its profitability, and thus the possibility of safe continuation of operations by extending the business model to inter-entity cooperation within purchasing groups. Increasing the efficiency of individual entities of the renewable energy industry within purchasing groups becomes particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistical analyses and their graphic presentation present the significant impact on the safety and profitability of renewable energy entities in the form of purchasing groups.

Water policy differences between a western democracy and a country in economic transition

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 125-128
Author(s):  
H.E. Valdas Adamkus
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Western Democracy ◽  
Substantial Investment ◽  
The Baltic

Where environmental policy is concerned Western democracies and transition economies share more similarities than differences. Sound environmental policies require substantial investment. Public-private cooperation can play a major role in the search for solutions, but politicians, environmentalists and academics must act vigorously to ensure that big business does not acquire a final say in the implementation of environmental policy. Lithuania as a transition economy faces major environmental challenges, but international collaboration, including working with the European Union and cross-border cooperation with neighbouring states, is bringing good results. A major unifying factor for the Baltic Sea states is the continuing struggle to purify and protect the Baltic Sea.

scholarly journals THE SYRIAN IMPASS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SECURITY IN THE REGION – THE PROBLEMS OF REFUGEES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-156
Author(s):  
<i>Suhel MOUSSA</i> ◽  
<i>Małgorzata PACER</i>
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Desk Research

<i>Migracja i uchodźstwo nie są nowymi zjawiskami we współczesnym świecie. Jednak ich skala, a także dynamika wzrosły na przestrzeni ostatnich lat. Kryzys migracyjny przybrał na sile w roku 2015 i stał się przedmiotem większego zainteresowania badaczy z różnych dyscyplin naukowych. Od tego czasu media nieustannie informują o fali „uchodźców” przybywających do brzegów Europy, a w szczególności do Włoch czy przedostających się z Turcji do Grecji i zmierzających w głąb Europy. Ukazują przymusową wędrówkę ludności w poszukiwaniu schronienia przed wojnami czy prześladowaniami na różnym tle. Do tego dochodzą nieporozumienia związane z przyjęciem uchodźców na teren krajów Unii Europejskiej oraz konflikty w krajach sąsiednich wywołane napływem ludności syryjskiej. Celem artykułu jest ocena wpływu sytuacji w Syrii na bezpieczeństwo regionu Bliskiego Wschodu i Europy. W artykule została zastosowana metoda analiza danych zastanych (desk research). Analizie poddane zostały publikacje ekspertów oraz strony internetowe, zarówno w języku arabskim, jak i polskim.</i>

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