Anna Matysek-Jędrych

Competitiveness and crisis - the case of the Baltic States economies

The paper focuses on the relation between economic crisis and competitiveness of the economy. The Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) experienced the biggest GDP contraction during the global crisis. Since then, identifying and assessing changes in the relative competitiveness as a consequence of the economic downturn has sparked many interests. The selection of competitiveness measuring tools, which provide the basis for analysis, is of key importance to the conclusions formed. Employing single macroeconomic variables suggests a much stronger influence of the crisis on competitiveness in comparison to the overall measures (Global Competitiveness Index or IMD Index). However, it is likely that the influence of recession on competitiveness – though certainly present and quite strong – was too short-lived to considerably affect the measures of competitiveness, which were constructed mainly on the basis of the perceptions and opinions of various social and business groups. The main channel through which the crisis undermined competitiveness was macroeconomic situation. It may be generally concluded that a short-term crisis, even if severe, does not have a negative influence on economic competitiveness as long as proper anti-crisis policy is implemented.

Instytucjonalne rozwiązania w polityce makroostrożnościowej – analiza porównawcza w krajach Unii Europejskiej

Abstract There is a growing consensus among both economists-academics and policymakers that there was at least one missing element of the financial safety net during the Global Financial Crisis. This element, which will probably improve financial stability (or protect against financial instability), is the macroprudential orientation in regulatory and supervisory frameworks. The main scope of the paper is the institutional dimensions of macroprudential policy. The principal purpose of the paper is to identify and assess, on a comparative, cross-EU-country basis, existing practices and developments in structuring a new dimension of the financial stability policy, i.e., a macroprudential one. The paper builds on existing theoretical considerations and the author’s own empirical survey of country practices in applying a macroprudential framework. A comparative, cross-country analysis and a comparison of different sub-indices and overall index values are the basis for verifying hypotheses and empirically disentangling the institutional differences between macroprudential policy regimes in European Union countries. The paper sheds light on recent trends in macroprudential policy governance and qualitative aspects (democratic accountability and transparency), with special attention to the position of a central bank across the European Union countries. The conducted research is a basis for constructing ratings of macroprudential authority accountability and transparency across the EU countries, which gives an indication of the overall quality of the institutional arrangements.

Efficiency of National Innovation Systems – Poland and Bulgaria in The Context of the Global Innovation Index

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explain how national innovation systems may transform innovation input into innovation output in different counties. Using the Global Innovation Index (GII) we discuss what can be understood by the term ‘innovation’ and how it is translated into the national level. The research question is founded on the assumption that the higher the innovation input, the higher the innovation output attained by a country. We use cluster analysis to verify our assumption, referring to a total of 228 countries. Afterwards we conduct a more in‑depth analysis of two cases (Poland and Bulgaria), where the research question does not find confirmation. Using the cross‑comparison method we aim to verify how and why national innovation systems failed (or succeeded) in creating innovations.

Post-Crisis Regulatory and Supervisory Arrangements – The New ‘Old’ Central Banking

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) exposed clear gaps in the pre-crisis regulatory and supervisory framework in most of financial systems worldwide, but not in all financial systems. Optimal design of supervisory and regulatory arrangements in the post-crisis perspective requires identifying elements that failed in helping predicting current slowdown, and those that directly or indirectly affected vulnerability of financial markets. Both tasks appear to be as challenging as twelve labors of Hercules: demanding, covering wide aspects of financial and macroeconomic environment, requiring cooperation of many key agents in all markets; hence truly virtually impossible. Instead of identifying ‘failed’ elements, we propose the positive approach to the post-crisis regulatory and supervisory framework, which is proving that some institutional arrangements and basic elements of financial safety net helped some countries avoid the crisis. There are many important questions, which should be treated as a starting point for discussing changes in supervisory and regulatory framework, especially in relation to the central banking. Should central banks become less powerful and be made more subject to political control, or be given more tools to achieve financial stability? Should the trend of removing central banks from direct supervisory responsibilities be reversed? Is the period of ‘central banks’ triumph’, a period in which their independence and autonomy was widely accepted, now over?

Competitiveness Versus Stability of the Financial Sector: The Case of the Polish Financial Sector

In highly globalized, integrated and complex financial world it is crucial to create both stable and competitive financial sector. However, there is still no agreement and no precision in defining the concept of financial stability and financial sector competitiveness. The aim of this paper is to analyze and assess the relationship between these two important features of each financial sector: its competitiveness and its stability. In can be treat as an introduction to some deeper, empirical research.