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on European Economics |
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Issue of 2024‒05‒06
25 papers chosen by Simon Sosvilla-Rivero, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico |
| By: | Marco Cipriani; Daniel Fricke; Stefan Greppmair; Gabriele La Spada; Karol Paludkiewicz |
| Abstract: | As shown in a past Liberty Street Economics post, in the United States, the yields of money market fund (MMF) shares respond to changes in monetary policy rates much more than the rates of bank deposits; in other words, the MMF beta is much higher than the deposit beta. Consistent with this, the size of the U.S. MMF industry fluctuates over the interest rate cycle, expanding during times of monetary policy tightening. In this post, we show that the relationship between the policy rates of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the size of European MMFs investing in euro-denominated securities is also positive—as long as policy rates are positive; after the ECB introduced negative policy rates in 2015, that relationship broke down, as MMFs received large inflows during this period. |
| Keywords: | monetary policy; euro-denominated money market funds; Pass-through |
| JEL: | G23 E4 E5 |
| Date: | 2024–04–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednls:98056&r=eec |
| By: | Christensen, Jens H. E. (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco,); Zhang, Xin (Research Department, Central Bank of Sweden) |
| Abstract: | We assess the impact of large-scale asset purchases, commonly known as quantitative easing (QE), conducted by Sveriges Riksbank and the European Central Bank (ECB) on bond risk premia in the Swedish government bond market. Using a novel arbitrage-free dynamic term structure model of nominal and real bond prices that accounts for bond- specific safety premia, we find that Sveriges Riksbank's bond purchases raised inflation and short-rate expectations, lowered nominal and real term premia and inflation risk premia, and increased nominal bond safety premia, suggestive of signaling, portfolio rebalance, and safe asset scarcity effects. Furthermore, we document spillover effects of ECB's QE programs on Swedish bond markets that are similar to the Swedish QE effects only after controlling for exchange rate fluctuations, highlighting the importance of exchange rate dynamics in the transmission of QE spillover effects. |
| Keywords: | term structure modeling; nancial market frictions; safety premium; unconventional monetary policy |
| JEL: | C32 E43 E52 E58 F41 F42 G12 |
| Date: | 2024–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0434&r=eec |
| By: | van Leuvensteijn, Michiel; Huljak, Ivan; de Bondt, Gabe |
| Abstract: | This paper extends Boone (2008) by introducing a competition measure at the individual firm level rather than for an entire market segment. It is based on the elasticity between profits and efficiency and called marginal relative profitability (MRP). Its intuition is that when a small change in efficiency derived from marginal costs can cause a large change in profits, a firm exercises pressure on its peers and gains profits. The MRP is embedded in the theoretical framework of Boone and measures competition vis-à-vis other market participants. We apply this extended Boone indicator to individual bank-level competition in the loan market in the four largest euro area countries and Austria. The MRP distribution is skewed to the left and many banks have a MRP below one, indicating that those banks have little incentive to enhance their efficiency to increase their profits. The MRP approach is shown to be a powerful tool to test the efficient-structure, structure-conduct performance, and ‘quiet life’ hypotheses and to detect comparatively weak non-competitive banks. Our new measure of firm-level competition enriches and complements other competition measures and provides a promising starting point for future market power analyses. JEL Classification: D4, L16, G21 |
| Keywords: | banks, competition, firm level |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20242925&r=eec |
| By: | António Afonso; José Alves; Sofia Monteiro |
| Abstract: | In this article, we study the effects of geopolitical risks and world uncertainty on time-varying fiscal and external sustainability coefficients. We use Schlicht’s (2021) methodology to estimate time-varying fiscal and external sustainability coefficients for the EU for 27 economies between 2001Q4 and 2022Q3. While fiscal sustainability coefficients derive from the government revenues and expenditures relationship, external sustainability coefficients were computed from the exports’ responses to changes in imports. Our results show that geopolitical risks are always associated with lower fiscal and external sustainability, although with a stronger effect when took into consideration the home geopolitical risk. Moreover, the effects of geopolitical tensions are much stronger on external accounts’ sustainability than on fiscal sustainability. The magnitude of GPR detrimental effects on external sustainability can be 3 to 6 times higher, approximately, when compared to public finances’ sustainability. Lastly, geopolitical tensions in border countries have a negative spillover effect on the sustainability of domestic external accounts. |
| Keywords: | Economic integration; Geopolitical risks; Fiscal sustainability; External sustainability; Time-varying coefficients |
| JEL: | E62 F15 F42 H62 H87 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:remwps:wp03182024&r=eec |
| By: | Gschossmann, Emilia; Heckemeyer, Jost H.; Müller, Jessica; Spengel, Christoph; Spix, Julia; Wickel, Sophia |
| Abstract: | The European Commission recently implemented the minimum tax directive (Pillar Two) to ensure that corporate profits are at least taxed at 15%. At the same time, it proposed a legislative initiative aimed at reducing the tax-induced distortions between debt and equity financing (debt-equity bias reduction allowance directive, DEBRA). In our simulation analysis, we evaluate how the two measures and their interplay influence the EU Member States' effective tax levels and thus their location attractiveness. We find that DEBRA, on average, leads to a substantial reduction of the effective tax levels for equity-financed companies. In countries with a combined profit tax rate below 15%, Pillar Two increases the effective average tax burden. The simulation of the interaction of both regulations shows that the effect of Pillar Two dominates that of DEBRA. In addition, the results hold under a common tax base in accordance with the recently proposed "Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation" directive (BEFIT). |
| Keywords: | Business in Europe, Framework for Income Taxation, BEFIT, Effective tax rates, Debt-Equity Bias Reduction Allowance, DEBRA, Debt-equity bias, Devereux/Griffith Methodology, Global minimum tax, Pillar Two |
| JEL: | F23 H25 K34 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:289449&r=eec |
| By: | Luca Fornaro; Christoph Grosse-Steffen |
| Abstract: | We provide a theory of financial fragmentation in monetary unions. Our key insight is that currency unions may experience of symmetry: that is episodes in which identical countries react differently when exposed to the same shock. During these events part of the union suffers a capital flight, while the rest acts as a safe haven and receives inflows. The central bank then faces a difficult trade-off between containing unemploymnet in capital-flight countries, and inflationary pressures in safe-haven ones. By counteracting private capital flows with public ones, unconventional monetary interventions mitigate the impact of financial fragmentation on employment and inflation, thus helping the central bank to fulfill its price stability mandate. |
| Keywords: | Monetary unions, euro area, fragmentation, optimal monetary policy in openeconomies, Capital flows, fiscal crises, unconventional monetary policies, inflation, endogenous breaking of symmetry, Optimum |
| JEL: | E31 E52 F32 F41 F42 F45 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1437&r=eec |
| By: | Gundert, Hannah; Spengel, Christoph; Weck, Stefan |
| Abstract: | The recent enactment of Directive 2021/2101 by the EU introduces a public Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) regime, with the aim of promoting a level playing field for businesses operating within the EU Single Market. The directive seeks to bolster tax transparency requirements for multinational enterprises (MNEs), with the objective of reducing disparities in international tax planning potential when compared to smaller, domestic firms. However, the efficacy of public CbCR in achieving this objective hinges on equitable treatment of MNEs, irrespective of their geographical location. In this study, we examine whether the public CbCR Directive introduces unintended disparities between (1) MNEs domiciled in different EU member states and (2) MNEs domiciled within and outside of the EU. Employing an expert survey, we assess the national implementation of the directive across member states, revealing significant variations, particularly concerning the deferment of sensitive information disclosure and permitted data sources. Subsequently, conducting a descriptive analysis of firm-level financial and ownership data, we analyze the differential impact on MNEs domiciled within versus outside the EU. Our findings indicate that the directive predominantly affects MNEs headquartered in the EU, with these entities disclosing, on average, a significantly higher proportion of their global operations on a disaggregated, country-by-country basis. We conclude that the current form and implementation of the directive likely introduces unintended disparities, contrary to the intended goal of establishing a level playing field, and suggest stronger guidance and fewer transposition options. |
| Keywords: | tax transparency, tax disclosure, country-by-country reporting, European Union |
| JEL: | F23 G38 H26 M41 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:289453&r=eec |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | The Netherlands FSAP focused on three cross-cutting themes—housing, non-banks, and climate risks—while carrying out a comprehensive review of financial sector oversight. The FSAP reviewed the resilience of the Dutch financial system against a set of conjunctural and structural challenges to the economy: the conjunctural challenges included slowing economic growth amid tighter financial conditions, elevated housing prices, large and interconnected nonbanks with major pension reforms underway, and the shift in securities markets trading from London to Amsterdam since Brexit, which raised Amsterdam to systemic importance for the euro area (EA); and the structural challenges focused on climate issues, including climate physical risks associated with roughly a quarter of the country being below sea level, and nature-related transition risks from an uncertain policy path to bring down nitrogen depositions to contain biodiversity loss and comply with European Union (EU) Directives. |
| Date: | 2024–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:2024/087&r=eec |
| By: | CHECCHI Daniele; BERTOLETTI Alice (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The European Education Area aims to support Member States' efforts in enhancing the educational attainment of younger generations. In this policy context, there is a need for an objective tool to assess the educational outcomes of EU countries. The present report addresses this need by pursuing two objectives: (1) providing a comprehensive method for using EU-SILC data to build relevant indicators for monitoring educational systems; (2) investigating the factors that explain variations in educational indicators across EU countries, with a particular focus on the influence of family inputs and personal characteristics. The empirical analysis is conducted using EU-SILC data from the 27 EU countries, employing various methodologies, including cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and correlational analysis. The results of this report demonstrate the potential of EU-SILC data in assessing educational systems in Europe. Furthermore, the findings offer valuable insights in support of the European Commission's objective of establishing a European Educational Area. The results also raise concerns, suggesting that education in Europe may not act as a universal equaliser. Instead, educational systems continue to exhibit social selectivity in influencing individuals' prospects for future careers. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc128758&r=eec |
| By: | Scott, David (Central Bank of Ireland); Pratap Singh, Anuj (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | Mortgage switching, and the choice of contract type, can have important implications for borrower resilience to interest rate movements. In this Note, we focus on switching in the Irish mortgage market in the run-up to (August 2018-June 2022) and early phase of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) contractionary monetary policy from July to December 2022. Using the Central Credit Register (CCR), we find that mortgage switching had been steadily increasing in the period of falling interest rates since 2018 but grew particularly quickly during the early months of the ECB’s monetary policy tightening cycle. The increase in switching was primarily to and from fixed-rate contracts, and remained strong even as the immediate short-term monetary gains from switching were reducing, signifying borrower’s forward-looking choices in seeking to avoid future increases in monthly repayments. We also find that non-banks were particularly important in leading interest rates downwards from 2019 to 2022, a trend which reversed abruptly once ECB policy rates rose. In terms of borrowers’ financial outcomes, we find interest rate gains from mortgage switching of up to 1.3 pp, equating to annual savings worth €2, 000 on average. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:fsnote:2/fs/24&r=eec |
| By: | Gaffney, Edward (Central Bank of Ireland); Lyons, Paul (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | This Note examines the non-mortgage consumer credit market in Ireland, which represents just over one-tenth of all household creditin Ireland. Consumer credit has trended upwards since 2016, within a context of overall deleveraging in the household sector. Consumer credit is characterised by smaller amounts, more diverse purposes and a broader range of lenders than the mortgage market. While banks continue to have a large share of outstanding consumer credit, credit unions, collectively, are the main lender for personal loan products. A large, stable share of lending also originates from other non-bank financial intermediaries. Consumer debt servicing costs have not increased significantly since the ECB started to raise interest rates in July 2022. Additionally, the pass through of interest rate increases to new consumer loan rates has been more muted in Ireland than elsewhere in the euro area. Furthermore, overall non-performing consumer loans at banks and credit unions remain near recent historical lows despite a slight increase observed in new early arrears cases. |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:fsnote:1/fs/24&r=eec |
| By: | Sepp, Tim Florian; Israel, Karl-Friedrich; Treitz, Benjamin; Hartl, Tom |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the heterogeneous effects of the ECB's monetary policies on the resilience of the German banking system between 1999 to 2022. We distinguish between the main bank types in Germany: Large Banks, Regional Banks, Sparkassen, Landesbanken and Credit Unions. We proxy bank-type resilience by a zscore measure. We use structural monetary policy shocks relying on high-frequency identification methods. Unconventional monetary policy shocks are decomposed into three parts: timing shocks, forward guidance, and quantitative easing. We estimate the resilience of German bank types in response to expansionary monetary policy shocks by producing impulse response functions through local projections. Conventional monetary easing is associated with weakened resilience for all bank types. Unconventional monetary policies have heterogeneous effects on German bank types. Shocks to short-term interest rate expectations (i.e. timing shocks) are associated with increasing resilience of Large Banks, Regional Banks and Landesbanken, but with decreasing resilience of the others. Forward guidance only has a positive impact on the resilience of Sparkassen. Large-scale asset purchases through quantitative easing tend to the increase resilience of Large Banks and Sparkassen, but decrease the resilience of Regional Banks, Credit Unions and Landesbanken, in both, the short and long run. |
| Keywords: | Resilience, Financial Stability, Monetary Policy, Unconventional Monetary Policy, Banking System, Germany |
| JEL: | E42 E52 G21 M41 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:leiwps:289620&r=eec |
| By: | Romina Giuliano (UMONS (Soci&ter) and ULB (CEBRIG, DULBEA)); Benoît Mahy (UMONS (Soci&ter) and ULB (CEBRIG, DULBEA)); François Ryckx (ULB (CEBRIG, DULBEA), UMONS (Soci&ter), UCLouvain (IRES), GLO and IZA); Guillaume Vermeylen (UMONS (Soci&ter) and ULB (CEBRIG, DULBEA)) |
| Abstract: | This paper is the first to examine whether and how overeducation and overskilling, considered separately and in interaction, influence workers’ job satisfaction at European level. It also investigates the moderating role of employment contracts. Our results, based on a unique pan-European database covering 28 countries in 2014, show that overeducation and overskilling reduce the probability of workers being satisfied with their jobs, but also that the drop in job satisfaction is almost double for genuinely overeducated workers (i.e. workers that are both overeducated and overskilled). These adverse effects on job satisfaction are found to be more pronounced among mismatched workers (whether overeducated, overskilled or both) on fixed-term rather than indefinite contracts. |
| Keywords: | Job Satisfaction, Overeducation, Overskilling, Labour contracts, Europe |
| JEL: | C21 J24 J28 J41 |
| Date: | 2024–04–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2024003&r=eec |
| By: | Morteza Ghomi (Banco de España); Samuel Hurtado (Banco de España); José Manuel Montero (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | The recent inflationary episode is the result of a series of shocks that have taken place over a short period of time. In this article we use the Blanchard and Bernanke (2023) model as an analytical framework to assess the relative importance of different factors over the course of this episode. Two main conclusions can be drawn from our results. First, supply-side shocks (related to energy, food and bottlenecks) have played a major role in recent inflation developments in the Spanish economy. Second, now that these supply shocks have been absorbed, labour market tightness is becoming more important as a determinant of wage inflation, with a pass-through to prices that has been limited so far but that, if it intensifies, could generate risks with a higher degree of persistence. |
| Keywords: | inflation, wages, inflation expectations, labour market |
| JEL: | E31 E32 J30 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:opaper:2404e&r=eec |
| By: | Demary, Markus |
| Abstract: | Am Beispiel der Finanzierung von Windenergie zeigt sich, wie Kapitalmarktinvestoren und Kleinanleger an der Finanzierung der Klimaneutralität beteiligt werden können. Die Europäische Union hat mit den European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIF) ein entsprechendes Vehikel geschaffen. Doch sollten Kleinanleger nicht in alle Phasen dieser Projekte investieren. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwkkur:289472&r=eec |
| By: | Frantisek Brazdik; Tatiana Keseliova; Karel Musil; Radek Snobl; Jan Solc; Stanislav Tvrz; Jan Zacek |
| Abstract: | We investigate inflation expectations and their measures in the context of the 2022 inflation surge in the Czech Republic. Using data and econometric analyses, we explore how inflation expectations are formed and how they may affect inflation developments. To capture the overall trend of inflation expectations in the Czech economy, we develop a Common Inflation Expectations index. Additionally, we extend the CNB's g3+ core projection model by incorporating endogenous expectation premiums that reflect elevated inflation expectations. Utilizing the Common Inflation Expectations index and the modified model, we construct a simulation that provides policy-relevant outcomes when addressing high inflation. By presenting the simulation, we emphasize the importance and relevance of our research for practical policymaking. |
| Keywords: | Forecasting, inflation, inflation expectations, inflation expectations index, structural modelling |
| JEL: | C32 C50 E31 E37 E50 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cnb:wpaper:2024/3&r=eec |
| By: | Flavio Calvino; Chiara Criscuolo; Antonio Ughi |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented global economic downturn, affecting productivity, business dynamics, and digital technology adoption. Using a comprehensive commercial database from Spiceworks Ziff Davis, this study analyses the firm-level drivers of digitalisation during the pandemic across 20 European countries. The findings show that a considerable share of firms introduced new digital technologies during the COVID-19 crisis. Notably, firms that were larger, more digitalised, and more productive before the pandemic were more likely to introduce new digital technologies in 2020 and 2021. Additionally, firms with pre-existing complementary technologies had a higher likelihood of adopting digital applications that gained momentum during the pandemic (such as digital commerce, collaborative software, cloud, and analytics). These patterns may increase polarisation among the best-performing firms and the rest of the business population. Public policy can play a key role in fostering an inclusive digital transformation in the post-pandemic era. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, Digitalisation, Productivity, Technology adoption |
| JEL: | O33 D22 |
| Date: | 2024–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stiaaa:2024/03-en&r=eec |
| By: | Fasani, Francesco (University of Milan); Mazza, Jacopo (Utrecht University) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on the Covid-19 effects on workers and labor markets by focusing on the experience of migrant key workers in EU countries. Our analysis, based on survey data on more than 3 million workers, explores three main aspects. First, we document the over-representation of migrant workers in key occupations, particularly in low-qualified roles. Second, we examine the selection into key occupations. According to our estimates, women are more likely to be key workers, the relationship with education is V-shaped, and EU and Extra EU migrants are, respectively, 12 and 15 percent more likely to be key workers than comparable natives. Finally, we estimate the impact of Covid-19 on the labor market, showing that migrant key workers had to extend their working hours during the pandemic and, nevertheless, faced a 2-3 times higher probability of being laid off relative to natives. Our findings imply that migrant workers played a crucial role in the response to the pandemic, but endured a harsher fate than native workers. |
| Keywords: | migrant workers, COVID-19, essential occupations |
| JEL: | F22 J61 K37 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16884&r=eec |
| By: | Rodolfo G. Campos; Benedikt Heid; Jacopo Timini |
| Abstract: | The Cold War was the defining episode of geopolitical fragmentation in the twentieth century. Trade between East and West across the Iron Curtain (a symbolical and physical barrier dividing Europe into two distinct areas) was restricted, but the severity of these restrictions varied over time. We quantify the trade and welfare effects of the Iron Curtain and show how the difficulty of trading across the Iron Curtain fluctuated throughout the Cold War. Using a novel dataset on trade between the two economic blocs and a quantitative trade model, we find that while the Iron Curtain at its height represented a tariff equivalent of 48% in 1951, trade between East and West gradually became easier until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Despite the easing of trade restrictions, we estimate that the Iron Curtain roughly halved East-West trade flows and caused substantial welfare losses in the Eastern bloc countries that persisted until the end of the Cold War. Conversely, the Iron Curtain led to an increase in intra-bloc trade, especially in the Eastern bloc, which outpaced the integration of Western Europe in the run-up to the formation of the European Union. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2404.03508&r=eec |
| By: | HOLLANDERS Hugo; TOLIAS Yannis; RADOVANOVIC Nikola (European Commission - JRC); GONZALEZ EVANGELISTA Manuel (European Commission - JRC); FABBRI Emanuele (European Commission - JRC); GERUSSI Elisa (European Commission - JRC); SASSO Simone (European Commission - JRC); MIEDZINSKI Michal (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | One of the most complex steps within Smart Specialisation is to determine genuinely promising areas in an evidence-based manner, with the help of multiple data. This is also the stage where the economies from the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Region lacked expertise and required support. Following the progress made by these economies in the previous period, it was possible to conduct a comparison of the methodologies used for mapping the economic, innovation, scientific, and technological potential of countries and regions, as well as reflect on the challenges encountered during the data collection process in the different territories. To achieve this goal, a technical workshop has been organized and preceded by two background documents describing the experiences in the above-mentioned countries, with a focus on collecting and interpreting economic, innovation, and scientific statistical data. Similarly, the workshop aimed to compare and evaluate methodologies used for mapping the economic and innovation potential in the countries. This was followed by a debate on how to deal with new challenges related to sustainability and non-EU territories, such as Latin America and Africa. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc136308&r=eec |
| By: | McIndoe-Calder, Tara (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | The 2020 Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) marked the first time that survey data from Irish households was supplemented with administrative data from the Central Bank’s Central Credit Register (CCR). Using household level data from the panel component of the survey, weighted to the full population in 2018, we develop a simple approach for estimating measurement error and applying it, find at least one third of households hold “revealed debt” worth almost 13 per cent of the value of total debt outstanding in 2020. Revealed debt is debt which was previously not reported in the HFCS but has come to light with the inclusion of the CCR. In doing so, we show that incorporating the CCR into the HFCS has helped to correct for under-reporting and improved the overall quality of liabilities data in the survey. Controlling for demographic and income characteristics, we find that households with more complex balance sheets are more likely to hold revealed debt. The results suggest that incorporating administrative data into surveys can help alleviate issues surrounding recall bias and other human errors that may generate initial misreporting. |
| Keywords: | household finance, debt, borrowing, balance sheet, economic measurement, surveys, admin data. |
| JEL: | G51 D1 D0 G0 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:wpaper:2/rt/24&r=eec |
| By: | RADOVANOVIC Nikola (European Commission - JRC); BOLE Domen |
| Abstract: | The stakeholder dialogue within the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process has been often cited as the most critical stage in designing the Smart Specialisation strategy. It represents a very important milestone in the process, as it brings together key representatives of a society, coming from business, academic, civil and government spheres, to thoroughly discuss and agree on the number of priority areas followed by an appropriate policy mix. The findings from this stage are the key ingredients for the policymakers that are drafting a Smart Specialisation strategy. However, the engagement of such stakeholders needs to be maintained in the implementation stage as well, when policy instruments are tested in the real environment and the implementation results come into the light. Hence, the motivation for being involved in the continuous stakeholder dialogue in both Smart Specialisation design and implementation stages is of crucial importance. In the context of the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Region, where the Smart Specialisation advancement is followed against the dedicated frameworks for strategy design and implementation, this importance is even more demonstrated. This report provides a guidance on how to conduct the efficient and continuous Entrepreneurial Discovery Process in such setting |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc136053&r=eec |
| By: | Bruno, Lars Christian (BI Norwegian Business School); Grytten, Ola Honningdal (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | This short paper uses recent estimates of GDP per capita for the Baltic countries for the 1919-2020(22) period to test for convergence between the Baltic and the Nordic economies. Drawing from the methodology used in Bernard and Durlauf (1996) and Greasley and Oxley (1997), we utilise a time-series approach to test for bivariate convergence between the various Baltic and Nordic economies. We find some evidence of conditional convergence and catching up for the interwar period, 1919-1939 and the post-Soviet era 1993-2022, when for the communist growth period until 1988 we find no trace of convergence, when thereafter during the last years of communism, the Baltic economies went into a severe and devastating recession. |
| Keywords: | Baltic; Scandinavia; economic growth; convergence; historical national accounts |
| JEL: | N14 N34 N94 O47 O52 |
| Date: | 2024–04–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2024_005&r=eec |
| By: | BIANCARDI Daniele (European Commission - JRC); MARTINEZ CILLERO Maria (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This note presents the latest trends in the investment behaviour of multinational enterprises focusing on non-EU (foreign) investors. It looks at merger and acquisition (M&A) deals and other equity investments of at least 10% of capital of the target company in the EU, as well as at greenfield projects. |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc135590&r=eec |
| By: | Ganglmair, Bernhard; Krämer, Julia; Gambato, Jacopo |
| Abstract: | The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of 2018 introduced stringent transparency rules compelling firms to disclose, in accessible language, details of their data collection, processing, and use. The specifics of the disclosure requirement are objective, and its compliance is easily verifiable; readability, however, is subjective and difficult to enforce. We use a simple inspection model to show how this asymmetric enforceability of regulatory rules and the corresponding firm compliance are linked. We then examine this link empirically using a large sample of privacy policies from German firms. We use text-as-data techniques to construct measures of disclosure and readability and show that firms increased the disclosure volume, but the readability of their privacy policies did not improve. Larger firms in concentrated industries demonstrated a stronger response in readability compliance, potentially due to heightened regulatory scrutiny. Moreover, data protection authorities with larger budgets induce better readability compliance without effects on disclosure. |
| Keywords: | data protection, disclosure, GDPR, privacy policies, readability, regulation, text-as-data, topic models |
| JEL: | C81 D23 K12 K20 L51 M15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:289447&r=eec |