Artan Qineti

Economic analysis of the link between diet quality and health: Evidence from Kosovo

HighlightsA theoretically motivated two‐stage estimation strategy is employed to analyse diet diversity and its impact on BMI.Economic and demographic factors drive the choice of balanced diets in a sample of Kosovar adults.Diet diversity has a significant non‐linear impact on underweight and obesity leading to healthier status.Diverse, better quality diet should serve as a cornerstone for public health policy. ABSTRACT We analyse the link between diet diversity, (which is a proxy of diet quality) and health outcomes measured by body‐mass index (BMI) in a representative sample of Kosovar adults using household expenditure micro‐data. Building on a household model of health production we devise a two‐stage empirical strategy to estimate the determinants of diet diversity and its effect on BMI. Economic factors and demographic characteristics play an important role in the choice of balanced diets. Results from the BMI analysis support the hypothesis that diet diversity is associated with optimal BMI. One standard deviation increase in diet diversity leads to 2.3% increase in BMI of the underweight individuals and to 1.5% reduction in BMI of the obese individuals. The findings have important implications for food security policies aiming at enhancing the public health in Kosovo.

Status quo bias of agrarian land structures in rural Albania

This article provides a micro-analysis of land market development after two decades of Albanian transition. We use data from a survey conducted in four Albanian villages during May 2013. The results indicate that land markets are highly rigid with almost no structural changes occurring over the last two decades. Sale markets are almost non-existent owing to formal and informal regulations and prevalence of subsistence farming in rural Albania. The status quo established by the 1991 land reform determines the present ownership structure. Rental markets are more sizable but, owing to property rights insecurity and monitoring problems of absentee landowners, the vast majority of rental arrangements are between family relatives.

Innovation And Economic Growth: The Case Of Slovakia

Abstract The role of innovation in the economic growth is becoming a crucial aspect of the future economic development. Building of the innovative-driven economy requires establishment of supportive macroeconomic environment. It involves interplay among three main factors of innovation: education system, entrepreneurship and governmental institutions. Establishment of the integrated national innovation system is a key priority that assures sustainable economic growth. Slovakia is mobilizing its resources in order to shift its economic growth from efficiency-driven to innovation-driven economic growth. The inflow of the foreign investments and attractive entrepreneurial environment are identified as the main resources of economic growth during the observed period. Additional input in accelerating economic growth brought the accession of the country into the EU. On the other hand, R & D activities remain weakly supported by the public and private funding. As the result, productivity of the Slovak innovators remains low as well. Over the last decade, only 70 patents annually were granted to the Slovak innovators. Despite the significant improvement of the innovative environment, there is a low share of enterprises applying innovation in their business activities.

Demand for food diversity in the case of Kosovo

Food nutrition security (FNS) is a multidisciplinary term that encompasses a set of the complex economic and social determinants. Recent food spikes were raising concerns on the food and nutrition security at all its levels (global, national, household and individual). In this paper we estimate demand for food diversity in Kosovo. Theoretical framework suggests that food diversity serves as a proxy for food and nutritional status at the household level. Here we employ standard OLS in order to estimate the impact of income (and other determinants) on the demand for the food diversity. Further, we compute relevant anthropometric indicator (Body Mass Index) in order to access the state of the FNS at the individual level. For the purpose of empirical estimation we use the HBS data on Kosovo covering the period 2005-2012. The main findings suggest that food diversity in Kosovo marked important improvement over the time period observed, reflecting the impact of rising income as a key determinant of the food diet. The pattern of the household food consumption remained diversified over the time period observed, but restricted by the low level of income. Food diversity in the urban households is significantly higher than in rural areas. Individual variables in the most of the cases were determined as significant. Anthropometric estimates were evidencing that prevalence of undernourishment is particularly critical in the case of school-age children, while the main nutritional problem among the adults is overweight.

European Integration: Estimation of Agricultural Supply Response of Central and East European Countries

Agriculture represents one of the hottest issues in the enlargement negotiations between EU and CEEC (Central and East European Countries). This is because of certain specifics of CEEC agriculture sector and also there is uncertainty about future development of CEEC agriculture after joining EU. Such uncertainty is coming from several differences between CEEC and EU agriculture sector. Generally, the support given to farmers is much lower in CEEC than in EU. Furthermore, the share of agriculture in the GDP of CEEC is quite significant relative to other sectors in those economies. Also farmgate product prices are lower in CEE countries then in EU. As the agriculture recently absorbs about half of the EU budget, the integration of large CEEC agricultural sector may cause significant changes in the budgetary expenditures. Also there are concerns about prospective market implications, especially changes in production, which can cause overproduction in CEEC and consequently flood the markets in Western Europe.