Peter Havlik

A comparison of purchasing power parity and consumption levels in Austria and Czechoslovakia

Abstract An attempt is made to estimate purchasing-power parity (Par) for a comparison of Czechoslovakias consumption level with Austrias in 1980. The Par calculation is based on modified official consumer baskets of both countries and the authors own assessment of quality and structural differences. The main conclusion is that economic development in Czechoslovakia was significantly slower than in Austria. A comparison with results of a methodologically similar study of 1964 implies a significant worsening of Czechoslovakias relative living conditions.

Trade and cost competitiveness in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia

This study attempts to evaluate various aspects of international competitiveness of the four more developed transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe--the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia (CEECs)--both at the macroeconomic and the industrial branch levels. The cross-country analysis focuses on the evolution of labor cost and trade competitiveness, as well as on the role of exchange rate policies and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the process of catching up and integration with the European Union (EU). Apart from the national statistics available in the databases of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), the authors also use Eurostat data COMEXT database. Based on the research findings, policy recommendations are made for enhancing international competitiveness in a pre-accession strategy. Section I of the report reviews wage and labor productivity, first at the aggregate level of the whole gross domestic product (GDP), then for the manufacturing industry total and for its individual branches at the 2-digit (NACE) level. Section II examines in detail the evolution of export competitiveness as reflected in the changing composition and factor content of manufacturing industry trade with the European Union. Section III sums up the main findings from the ongoing WIIW research on the impact of FDI on restructuring, and provides some policy recommendations.

Growth Resurgence, Productivity Catching-up and Labour Demand in Central and Eastern European Countries

This book analyzes growth at the total economy and industry level from an international perspective, providing unique cross-country comparisons. The authors focus on the EU-25 countries but also include the US, Japan and Korea. The chapters explore growth patterns from a long-run perspective, although greater attention is paid to the period of expansion from 1995–2007 and the post 2008 period of crisis. Each contribution builds on a common methodology based on a detailed database providing a high degree of disaggregation with respect to the industries and factors accounting for growth. The role played by ICT is expertly emphasized, in particular the different paths followed in the US and the EU.

Patterns of Structural Change in the New EU Member States

Abstract This paper analyses the extent and impact of structural changes on aggregate economic growth that occurred in European economies during the past two decades, focusing on the new EU Member States of Central and Eastern Europe. After presenting some stylised facts related to employment and output restructuring, we use a conventional shift and share analysis in order to evaluate the impact of broader sectoral shifts on GDP growth, focusing on the period 1995–2011. A decomposition of aggregate GDP/GVA growth using the shift and share analysis shows a distinct North-South pattern of growth and restructuring while the previous NMS-OMS divisions are becoming less relevant. In the North, manufacturing and trade have fuelled growth whereas in the South there has been much less structural change. Apart from these differences, our results partly differ from earlier findings of similar analyses for the NMS. Finally, we analyse differentiated impacts of the recent (2008–2011) crisis on structural changes in Europe and find interesting similarities between (groups of) NMS and OMS in terms of both growth patterns and responses to the crisis.

The Enlarged European Union and Its Eastern Neighborhood

Abstract This paper deals with the economic relations between Russia, Ukraine and the enlarged European Union. We start with some essential characteristics regarding the huge gaps in the size and trade structures of these three economic entities, before briefly outlining the development of their institutional relations. We discuss the impacts of EU enlargement on Russia and Ukraine, as well as the prospects for Russia—Ukraine relations. Given all the complexities of these relations, the mutual interdependence and the uncertainties concerning the future, we conclude that rather than devising grand new schemes, Russia, Ukraine and the EU should focus on practical steps that would facilitate closer cooperation in areas such as the development of border regions, the implementation of a free trade area and the support of economic reforms. Regarding Ukraine, whose official aspirations of EU membership seem highly unrealistic at least in the medium term and whose already high economic dependency on Russia is becoming even more pronounced, the policy challenges will be formidable. Whether Ukraine will succeed in a fine-tuned balancing act to establish closer relations with both the enlarged EU and Russia simultaneously, remains to be seen. Concerning economics, Ukraines already intense eastward integration may even deependespite Ukraine possibly getting more hearing in the EU at the insistence of some new member states.

Information and related technologies and their impact on East-West relations

There is a vast amount of literature dealing with the gap in technology between East and West.1 Information and communication technologies (electronics, computers and software, satellites, modern mass media technologies, etc.) form one of the most advanced, fastest growing and increasingly important parts of modern technology in general. Despite this being recognized also in the East there are some signs that the common perception regarding the fact that the countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR (the East) have already “missed the train” in modern technology is particularly valid for the area of information technologies. Later on I deal with measures which these countries undertake, both individually and collectively, in order to change this undesirable state of affairs.

Introduction: European Crises and Emerging Markets

This introductory chapter will first discuss a short history of the European crises during 2008–2015, then explain what motivated the project, the structure of the book, and, finally provides a summary of each chapter.

Macroeconomic Impacts of the Crisis on European Emerging Markets

The global crisis of 2008–2009 hit the Central and East European emerging markets disproportionally hard, albeit in a rather uneven manner across individual countries. Whereas Poland has been the only country which managed to avoid recession in 2009, the rest of the region suffered from a huge economic contraction (in some countries, e.g. the Baltics, triggered by flawed domestic policies initiated well before the Lehman crisis). The subsequent recovery has not been particularly impressive and the post-crisis GDP growth rates generally remain much below the previous performance. The process of the region’s economic convergence has stalled; some countries even fell behind the core EU in terms of relative development levels. The weak post-crisis recovery has been associated with stubbornly high unemployment, with younger and lower-skilled workers affected the most. This chapter will analyse differentiated patterns of economic performance in individual CEE emerging markets during the past decade with the help of comparable macroeconomic indicators from the wiiw database, identify the main transmission channels of the crisis as well as the driving forces of recovery. The role of diverse exchange rate policies, export specialization patterns, and competitiveness will be empirically evaluated and discussed as well.

Conclusions: The Crisis Left Deep Scars on European Emerging Markets

The concluding chapter will briefly argue the main contributions of the project to the literature and discuss the agenda for further study on European emerging markets.

The Value of Global Earth Observations

Humankind has never been so populous, technically equipped, and economically and culturally integrated as it is today. In the twenty-first century, societies are confronted with a multitude of challenges in their efforts to manage the Earth system.