|
on Transition Economics |
| By: | Andreeva, Anastasiya; Bazhanov, Andrei |
| Abstract: | The rates of oil depletion are increasing during the last ten years in Russia and the Russian Energy Program, approved by the government, implies further growth of oil production by 2020. We used the transition curves analysis in aggregate model to examine the long-run consumption along different possible paths of oil extraction. We conclude that the long-run consumption along the paths associated with the Energy Program is about twice as less as the consumption along the paths switching to sustainable extraction in the short run. |
| Keywords: | Nonrenewable resource; Sustainable development; Transition curve analysis |
| JEL: | Q38 Q32 |
| Date: | 2007–10–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:5343&r=tra |
| By: | Notten, Geranda; de Crombrugghe, Denis |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates to what extent Russian households have been able to protect their consumption against income shocks during the transition and in what manner the ability to smooth consumption is related to poverty risk. We use data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (1994-2004). Empirical analyses of such panels have often been based on differenced data in order to eliminate individual household effects. An innovative aspect of this study is that we model households smoothing behaviour by means of an Error Correction Mechanism (ECM); this model explicitly distinguishes between short and long run dynamics of consumption and income and thus better exploits the information in the level data. We find that households are only partially able to protect their consumption from income shocks and that income shocks have a smaller impact on food consumption than on non-food consumption. The results also suggest that the population is not homogeneous in terms of consumption smoothing abilities; partial estimations show that consumption smoothing ability improve as the living standard increases. However, below average consumption smoothing abilities are not always associated with higher poverty risk; rural households, who have a high poverty risk, manage to smooth food expenditures quite well, most likely because they have more opportunities to produce their own food. These exploratory results suggest that development and social protection policies should not only play a role in terms of poverty reduction but also influence households' abilities to manage risks. |
| Keywords: | poverty; consumption smoothing; error correction model; Russia |
| JEL: | D31 D12 I32 |
| Date: | 2006–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:5314&r=tra |
| By: | Van Poeck A.; Veiner M. |
| Abstract: | In this paper we provide new evidence on aggregate labour market flexibility in the four largest new EU member states from Central Europe (CEEC4) and a benchmark of existing EU countries (EU9). This is done trough direct comparison of several labour market institutions from which we derive an institutional summary indicator. Another approach that we follow is the estimation of aggregate wage Phillips curves from which we obtain estimates for the wage responsiveness to unemployment in these countries. The results show that the CEEC4 cannot be regarded as an homogeneous group. The Czech Republic and Hungary are relatively flexible and comparable to the United Kingdom. Poland belongs to a subgroup with France, Germany and Italy, with reduced labour market flexibility. The results are especially problematic for the Slovak Republic where aggregate wages do not respond to unemployment, although labour market institutions are still more supportive to flexibility than in most incumbent EU countries. |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ant:wpaper:2007016&r=tra |
| By: | Huang, Can (UNU-MERIT); Soete, Luc (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses some of the challenges confronting the European Union and China as they build their knowledge economies, and their on-going and possible future actions to address such challenges. Fifty years after the creation of what became the European Union, we argue that there is an urgent need to develop a new European Lisbon Agenda, preparing the EU for globalization. A new and "outward-looking" Lisbon strategy would focus on three key areas: international trade in services, internationalization of research networking, and access to brains and talent. The paper shows that the success of the Chinese economy over the past three decades can be partially attributed to its ability to absorb globally advanced technology and huge flows of foreign investment, its large pool of knowledge and talent, and its enactment of a policy framework that provides incentives to domestic and foreign firms to innovate - a strategy very much reminiscent of Europe's own internal Lisbon agenda. To move further, China needs to overcome the obstacles of regional disparities, transform its industry and deepen industry-academy linkages, which are also unavoidable tasks for the sustainable development of Europe. We contend that the scope for comparative studies of the EU and China, for mutual learning from each other's experience - even for joint initiatives - is substantial. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge Economy, Industry-University Partnerships, Globalization, Internationalization, Highly Skilled Migration, European Union, China |
| JEL: | F02 F16 F22 L80 O32 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2007028&r=tra |
| By: | Martin Srholec (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how research on geography of innovation can benefit from multilevel modeling. Using explanatory factors operating at different levels of the analysis, we assess the hypothesis that regional innovation systems influence the firm’s likelihood to innovate. We estimate a logit multilevel model of innovation on micro data from the third Community Innovation Survey in the Czech Republic. The results indicate that the quality of the regional innovation system directly determines firm’s likelihood to innovate and mediates the effect of some firm-level factors. Also structural problems in the region influence innovation in firms. |
| Keywords: | innovation, multilevel modeling, regional innovation system, Czech Republic. |
| JEL: | O32 R15 D21 |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20071010&r=tra |
| By: | Hilber, Christian A. L.; Voicu, Ioan |
| Abstract: | Relatively little is known about the determinants of FDI location in transition economies. We exploit the large inflow of FDI into Romania, after the revolution in 1989, to study this question. Using a conditional logit setup, we find that external economies from service agglomeration are the main determinant of FDI-location. An increase in service employment density by 10 percent makes the average Romanian county 11.9 percent more likely to attract a foreign investor. Industry specific foreign and domestic agglomeration economies and labor conflicts also impact FDI-location. Our findings imply that results are sensitive to the inclusion of locational fixed effects. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration economies; foreign direct investment; transition economies. |
| JEL: | R3 P33 |
| Date: | 2007–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:5137&r=tra |
| By: | Berger , Allen N (Federal Reserve Board); Hasan , Iftekhar (Lally School of Management,Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Bank of Finland Research); Zhou, Mingming |
| Abstract: | China is reforming its banking system, partially privatizing and permitting minority foreign ownership of three of the dominant ‘big four’ state-owned banks. This paper seeks to help predict the effects of this change by analysing the efficiency of virtually all Chinese banks in the years 1994–2003. Our findings suggest the big four banks are by far the least efficient and foreign banks the most efficient while minority foreign ownership is associated with significantly improved efficiency. We present corroborating robustness checks and offer several credible mechanisms through which minority foreign owners can increase Chinese bank efficiency. These findings suggest that minority foreign ownership of the big four is likely to significantly improve performance. |
| Keywords: | foreign banks; efficiency; foreign ownership |
| JEL: | F23 G21 G28 G34 |
| Date: | 2007–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofrdp:2007_016&r=tra |
| By: | Jose Miguel Albala-Bertrand (Queen Mary, University of London) |
| Abstract: | This analysis is based on the optimal consistency method (OCM) proposed by Albala-Bertrand (2003), which enables to estimate a capital stock for a benchmark year. This method, in contrast to most current approaches, pays due regards both to potential output and to the productivity of capital. From an initial OCM benchmark estimate, we produce series for the net capital stock, via a perpetual inventory method (PIM), for all China and some useful regional disaggregations over the 45-year period 1960-2005. As a by-product, we also make available the optimal productivities of incremental or “marginal” capital, corresponding to the net accumulated GFCF over 5-year sub-periods from 1960 onwards. We then attempt some structural analysis, showing that the quantity of resources rather than their quality appears to be largely behind growth rates, especially since the 1990s. |
| Keywords: | China, Benchmark capital, Perpetual Inventory Method (PIM), Potential output, Capital productivity, Optimal Consistency Method (OCM), Structural analysis |
| JEL: | O4 B4 E2 |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:wp610&r=tra |
| By: | Markus Leibrecht (Institute for Public Sector Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Austria); Johann Scharler (Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the importance of labor market conditions and in particular of employment protection legislation as a determinant of bilateral Foreign Direct Investment flows to seven Central and Eastern European countries. Although our results indicate that countries characterized by low unit labor costs tend to attract more Foreign Direct Investment, we find no evidence suggesting that employment protection legislation matters in this context. This result also holds if we control for the riskiness of the host countries. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investment; Central and Eastern Europe; Labor Market; Employment Protection |
| JEL: | F21 F23 J50 |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2007_16&r=tra |
| By: | Danijel Nestic (The Institute of Economics, Zagreb) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at estimating the size of, changes in, and main factors contributing to gender-based wage differentials in Croatia. It utilises microdata from the Labour Force Survey in 1998 and 2005, and applies both OLS and quantile regression techniques to assess the gender wage gap across the wage distribution. The gender wage gap is found to be relatively mild at the lower part of the wage distribution and is getting larger as one moves towards the top of the distribution. The paper argues that employed women in Croatia possess higher-quality labour market characteristics, especially levels of education, but receive much lower rewards for these characteristics. Some evidence of a glass-ceiling effect and occupational segregation are found. The impact of having children on the wage prospects of women is also considered. The paper finds that at the top of the wage distribution in the private sector mothers earn lower wages than women without children. |
| Keywords: | gender wage gap, glass ceiling, maternity leave, quantile regression |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J71 |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iez:wpaper:0704&r=tra |
| By: | Irena Grosfeld |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the relationship between ownership structure and firm value in a transition economy. It distinguishes firms belonging to the sector of innovative technologies and firms from more "traditional" industries. For the latter, the results of the estimation of a simultaneous equations system give support to the hypothesis that strong monitoring and ownership concentration are beneficial for firm performance. They also show that in high-tech firms, higher ownership concentration does not improve firm performance. The sample consists of all non-financial firms listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since its creation in 1991. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pse:psecon:2007-26&r=tra |