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on Transition Economics |
| By: | Aleksandrova Anna (Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University); Sheresheva Marina (Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University); Natalya Egorova (National Research University – Higher School of Economics (Nizhny Novgorod)) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the paper is to discuss problems and prospects of tourism clusters development in Russia. The Russian tourism market has huge potential, due to its history, culture, extremely diverse landscapes, rivers, lakes, mountains, flora and fauna, “hidden gems” of small towns with their ancient churches, original local museums and unique sights. In the last decade Russia has witnessed rapid quantitative growth as well as significant changes in strategic development of the tourism industry. Russian Government initiated a number of Federal target programs important for tourism and hotel industry development. In particular, tourism clusters are now in the focus of interest. In 2008, the Russian Government adopted the Concept of cluster policy in the Russian Federation, laying the cluster approach in the basis of the strategy of socio-economic development and considering it as a tool to raise competitiveness of industries and territories. However, the formation of clusters in Russia faces a number of problems due to the peculiarities of the Russian institutional environment. The main challenges facing tourism clusters development in Russia are described. The importance of development joint marketing strategy is underlined. The case of "Big Volga" tourism cluster in the Nizhny Novgorod region is presented. |
| Keywords: | tourism clusters, networks, regions, Russia |
| JEL: | L83 R12 L50 M21 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upa:wpaper:0022&r=all |
| By: | Tomas Hellebrandt (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Jacob Funk Kirkegaard (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Robert Z. Lawrence (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Paolo Mauro (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Silvia Merler (Bruegel); Sean Miner (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Jeffrey J. Schott (Peterson Institute for International Economics); Nicolas Veron (Peterson Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | China's efforts to transition from an economy driven by investment and exports to one based on private consumption and services are roiling global markets. Its problems are compounded by an economic slowdown, rising debt levels, languishing real estate market, and lagging productivity growth. In these essays, scholars from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) recommend a number of reforms for Chinese leaders to consider, including steps to further open up its capital account and develop its financial markets. This collection of papers is part of a series of interactions and discussions between PIIE and the China Finance 40 (CF40) Forum, which began in 2012. The papers are intended to illuminate the challenges facing China as it engages increasingly with the global economy and builds on its phenomenal economic success of the past three decades. |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:piiebs:piieb15-3&r=all |
| By: | Anna O. Daviy (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Vera A. Rebiazina (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The evolution of e-commerce positively affects the development of business in different areas, especially in developing countries. Also the development of e-commerce assists in creating new business models that are in certain cases results of overcoming existing barriers of the e-commerce market. However, there is little research on e-commerce market development and it hinders our understanding of the e-commerce market potential. The internet audience in Russia is 66.5 million people – the largest online audience in Europe. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the barriers and drivers for e-commerce market development in Russia. It gives an overview of the current Russian internet market development and trends. To identify the obstacles to and opportunities for the Russian e-commerce market, 25 in-depth interviews with representatives of Russian internet businesses were conducted. The empirical research reveals that the most significant barriers for the Russian market are barriers concerning market, infrastructure, and institutional issues |
| Keywords: | marketing, e-commerce, qualitative study, emerging markets |
| JEL: | Z |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:40man2015&r=all |
| By: | M. Teska |
| Abstract: | As performing the major transition reform and joining the European Community fifteen years later Poland's economy should be rather observed from the broader historical perspective, nevertheless as provided by Eurostat data the income inequality in Poland between 2004 and 2012 decreased by roughly 15%. Thus, this decrease was a result of redistributive effect of social benefits and taxes. And, which was the impact of this redistributive effect on housing allocation if the median equivalised disposal income was higher by roughly 9% for the owners of dwellings and the ownership rate reached 82% in 2012? Between 2004 and 2008 the housing market boomed and then slowed down for the next six years leading to reducing sales volumes and falling prices. On the other hand, the dwellings' prices have been rising over the last twenty years driven by the strong economic growth. The boom indeed was forced by the increased inflow of investments, mainly due to accession to the European Union, low interest rates, mortgage financing development and new government programmes. And although the housing sector was a considerable priority for the communist government, since then it has been still facing the major problems like: housing shortage and deficiency of dwellings, decay of building stock, the ownership structure, demographic and social changes in the context of the building stock and availability of dwellings, changes in the labour market, the government housing policy, barriers to the development of the construction industry. |
| Keywords: | Housing Market; Income distribution; Income Distribution And Housing |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_248&r=all |
| By: | Yang, Jidong; Liu, Kai; Zhang, Yiran |
| Abstract: | Along with China becoming an upper-middle-income country from a lower-middle-income one after 2009, the happiness inequality in China has been enlarged. Based on the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) database (2003-2012), this paper investigates the determinants of the happiness inequality in China and explores what factors contribute to its enlargement after 2009. We find that a rise of income inequality as well as the population share of middle age cohorts can widen China’s happiness inequality, while an increase in income or education level has a reducing impact. Owning a house and being in employment also have happiness inequality reducing impacts. A decomposition analysis shows that the deterioration of China’s happiness inequality is mainly caused by coefficient effects, i.e., the relationships between happiness inequality and its influencing factors have changed, which reflects the dramatic change in the Chinese economy and society. Among the coefficient effects, regional heterogeneity plays an important role. Policies enhancing economic performance and education as well as reducing income inequality and regional inequality can help to reduce happiness inequality and improve social harmony in China. |
| Keywords: | happiness inequality, income, income inequality, education, China |
| JEL: | I28 I31 J17 J21 J28 |
| Date: | 2015–09–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66623&r=all |
| By: | Nie, Peng; Nimrod, Galit; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso |
| Abstract: | Using data from the 2010 China Family Panel Studies, we analyze the association between Internet use and various measures of subjective well-being (SWB) in a sample of 16- to 60- year-old Chinese. Our analysis shows that although intensive Internet use is significantly associated with lower levels of SWB, we hardly observe any associations when the focus is on participation in specific online activities. Nevertheless, SWB depends on perceptions of Internet use; that is, the importance that different individuals ascribe to different purposes for using the Internet and how much they believe that their Internet use is displacing other activities. Our results suggest that, contrary to previous findings, differences in beneficial outcomes (the third level digital divide) do not necessarily arise from individuals' actual Internet use (the second level digital divide) but rather may result from their subjective perceptions of such usage. Our findings also point to a possible cultural factor that puts Chinese Internet users at psychological risk. |
| Keywords: | China,digital divides,depression,happiness,Internet use,life satisfaction |
| JEL: | I10 D10 J10 Q53 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:072015&r=all |
| By: | Canfei He; Yi Zhou |
| Abstract: | Industrial change processes are underlying forces that determine the change of regional productivity. In developed market economies, less productive firms are more likely to exit while productive firms have more chance to enter and to survive. As a result, spatial inequality of firm dynamics will directly influence the inequality of regional productivity. This study investigates how firm dynamics would affect regional productivity using firm level data during 1998-2007 in China. We first estimate total factor productivity (TFP) for each firm based on the semi-parametric method proposed by Olley and Pakes (1996). Regional productivity is derived by weighing the firm TFP using gross industrial output. There is considerable spatial inequality of TFP paired with a trend of convergence over the time period of 1999-2007. Decomposition of TFP growth shows that firm entry, exit and survival do contribute to TFP change and their contributions vary across prefectures substantially. The between share holds the largest regional difference, as the most important factor contributing to the spatial inequality of regional TFP. The restructuring of SOEs has critically contributed to the spatial inequality of TFP by raising TFP in the traditional industrial bases and by facilitating the development of productive private and foreign sectors particularly in the coastal region. The finding indicates that resource reallocation across firms with different ownerships is the key mechanism to improve regional productivity. |
| Keywords: | Firm Dynamics, Regional Inequality, TFP, Decomposition Method, China |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1527&r=all |
| By: | Robert Ambrisko |
| Abstract: | The Balassa-Samuelson (B-S) effect implies that highly productive countries have higher inflation and appreciating real exchange rates because of larger productivity growth differentials between tradable and nontradable sectors relative to advanced economies. The B-S effect might pose a threat to converging European countries, which would like to adopt the Euro because of the limits imposed on inflation and nominal exchange rate movements by the Maastricht criteria. The main goal of this paper is to judge whether the B-S effect is a relevant issue for the Czech Republic to comply with selected Maastricht criteria before adopting the Euro. For this purpose, a two-sector DSGE model of a small open economy is built and estimated using Bayesian techniques. The simulations from the model suggest that the B-S effect is not an issue for the Czech Republic when meeting the inflation and nominal exchange rate criteria. The costs of early adoption of the Euro are not large in terms of additional inflation pressures, which materialize mainly after the adoption of the single currency. Also, nominal exchange rate appreciation, driven by the B-S effect, does not breach the limit imposed by the ERM II mechanism. |
| Keywords: | Balassa-Samuelson effect; DSGE; European Monetary Union; exchange rate regimes; Maastricht convergence criteria; |
| JEL: | E31 E52 F41 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp547&r=all |
| By: | Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw) |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with parenthood induced inequalities in the labour market outcomes of men and women in Poland. It extends the existing framework of research by providing a joint analysis of parenthood impact on working hours and wages for men and women for a transition economy. Using propensity score matching and fixed effects estimation this paper reveals that parenthood is associated with longer working hours and greater wages for men and shorter working hours and lower wages for women. The gaps in working hours may be however partially attributed to unobserved differences between parents and childless individuals. For men, unobserved heterogeneity also explains their greater wages. Mothers are however found to receive significantly lower wages even if their unobserved characteristics and self-selection into employment are accounted. |
| Keywords: | family gap, wage inequality, fatherhood premium, motherhood penalty, specialization |
| JEL: | J13 J22 J31 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2015-32&r=all |
| By: | Doan Thi Thanh Ha (Graduate School of International Social Sciences, Yokohama National University); Kozo Kiyota (Keio Economic Observatory, Keio University) |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to measure the contribution of resource misallocation to aggregate manufacturing TFP, focusing on Vietnamese manufacturing firms for the period 2000-09. Our research questions are threefold. 1) To what extent are resources misallocated in Vietnam? 2) How large would the productivity gains have been in the absence of distortions? 3) Did the degree of misallocation decline after entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO)? The answers to these questions are as follows. First, misallocation in Vietnam is comparable to that in China and India. Second, there would have been substantial improvement in aggregate TFP in the absence of distortions. Finally, the accession to the WTO contributed to reducing the distortions in output markets. However, this positive effect was offset by increasing distortions in capital markets. These results together suggest that further reforms in capital markets could improve aggregate TFP in Vietnam through reduced misallocation. |
| Keywords: | Local Misallocation, Total factor productivity, Trade liberalization, WTO, Vietnam |
| JEL: | O47 F14 D22 |
| Date: | 2015–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:keo:dpaper:2015-007&r=all |
| By: | L. Yao; M. White; A. Koblyakova |
| Abstract: | Housing affordability distinguishes ‘need’ and ‘access’ as the key criteria to examine the ability of the households to enter the housing market or transit into homeownership. Housing affordability was broadly considered as the relationship between housing and non-housing expenditures, which examines the ability of households paying for a house without breaking current living standards or falling into poverty. In the context of economic transition and housing reform in China a fully market-oriented housing market has developed. The expansion of the residential housing market has been accompanied with house price appreciation and inflation, accelerating urbanization, and a rising demand for housing. These changes have led to affordability problems, particularly for low and middle-income groups. Recent research on housing affordability has shifted from estimating affordability indices to policy debates of granting housing and social welfare subsidies. This paper examines the magnitude of Chinese households’ housing affordability issues since the early 1990s, on the basis of the most common measures of housing affordability. It combines ratio approach with demographic factors, household formation and financial constraints in estimation. Tenure choice refers to households' housing decision under the constraints of financial ability to choose owner-occupied or live in renting houses. The paper then employs affordability estimation results and analyses how these impact tenure choice decisions. The model not only employs aggregate level data from Statistical Yearbook, but also uses Household Survey data to reflect households’ affordability situations in China. With respect to the results, this paper tries to propose further policy measures regarding housing affordability and insufficient housing subsidies. _ |
| Keywords: | Households; Housing Affordability; Tenure Choice |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_44&r=all |
| By: | Y. Kochetkov; E. Grebenuk |
| Abstract: | To date, the theory of housing market cycles is not well developed. Clearly, even in general case the development of the models for cycle analysis involves numerous interrelated and unresolved theoretical problems. As for Russia, we face a lot of additional problems – lack of reliable data, existence of calculus in two types of currency for real estate market, high influence of government decisions and regulations on supply and demand. Anyway, residential property cycles exist in Russia cities and could be detected and investigated by various methods.For large cities of Russia (Moscow and St.Petersburg) extensive data for housing market have been accumulated and processed. In this paper, we explore the following data: asking prices for apartments since 2000 year, sales volumes, number of apartments on display at the market, share of mortgage in sales, information about starts of new construction, etc. Using a panel of 15 year, we examine the formation of housing market cycles, behavior in inflection point, their amplitude and period.The paper contributes to our understanding of housing market cycles in Moscow and St.Petersburg in two ways. First, we found high influence of real macroeconomic variables on market. The analysis suggests that results from the housing market should be evaluated in the context of the overall economy’s performance. Second, we discover the existence of short-term cycles in price dynamic, inherent to own real estate market. The period of cycles is about 27 months in 2000-2009 and up to 40 months in 2009-2014. Presumably, unusual turnaround took place in the residential market during 2008-2009 years crisis. It would be noted the nature of the impact of fundamentals on residential market changed in 2008/2009 too.Will be considered separately hypothesis about the formation of the 18-year cycle, where shot-term cycles are the part of general 18-year process. |
| Keywords: | Market Modelling; Real Estate Cycles; Time Series |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_124&r=all |
| By: | Jan Drahokoupil; Martin Myant |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the influence of the European Union (EU) on legal resources available to labour to tackle labour market challenges in central and east European countries after their accession to the EU in 2004 and 2007. Its conclusion is that the EU’s impact has been complex and contradictory, with differences between countries and time periods. It has to varying degrees encouraged social partnership and supported a model of employment relations giving high levels of legal and collective protection to employees. Since 2008, the EU has advocated reductions in protection for employees on standard contracts and a very substantial reduction in collective bargaining coverage in one case, only partially balanced by advocacy for improving the lot of those on less secure employment relationships. The EU agenda has in practice been largely irrelevant to the widespread informalization and casualization of employment relations in the region. |
| Keywords: | labour market, labour code, trade unions, collective bargaining, central and eastern Europe |
| Date: | 2015–04–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cel:dpaper:28&r=all |
| By: | IRC expert group of the ESCB; Ramon-Ballester, Francisco; Pulst, Daniela; Posch, Michaela; Savelin, Li; Manolov, Stoyan; Huljak, Ivan; Kuhles, Winona; Jimborean, Ramona; Oláh, Zsolt; Dancsik, Bálint; Colabella, Andrea; Moder, Isabella; Macki, Piotr; Cervena, Marianna; Other contributors; Shehu, Klodion; Maloku, Krenare; Vaskov, Mihajlo; Bozovic, Borko; Vlahovic, Ana; Vasilijev, Dejan; Çakmak, Bahadır |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews financial stability challenges in countries preparing for EU membership, i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The paper has been prepared by an expert group of staff from the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) in which experts from EU candidate and potential candidate country central banks also participated. The paper finds that near-term challenges to financial stability primarily relate to credit risks from the generally weak economic dynamics in combination with already high non-performing loan burdens in many banking systems, especially in the Western Balkans. In the medium-term, challenges to financial stability stem from indirect market risks to banks related to foreign currency lending as well as lingering exposures to funding risks, with Western Balkan economies again appearing as relatively more vulnerable. Looking further ahead, the paper highlights that the magnitude of the challenge to reach a ‘new banking normal’ for banking systems in these countries appears to remain sizeable, while noting that the establishment of adequate home-host cooperation channels would be important to help maximise the potential benefits to third parties stemming from centralised banking supervision under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). JEL Classification: G32, E44 |
| Keywords: | banking sector, banking union, cross-border flows, deleveraging, emerging markets, Europe, foreign exchange lending |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbops:2013164&r=all |
| By: | BLINOV, Sergey |
| Abstract: | In 2003, President of Russia Vladimir Putin set the task of doubling the GDP. However, this task is yet to be accomplished. Why has not this goal been achieved yet? What needs to be done to double Russia’s GDP? To answer these questions is exactly what this paper sets out to do. We can see that it is quite possible to double the GDP, but to do that, it takes an absolutely different perspective of the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Russia. |
| Keywords: | GDP, economic growth, money supply, monetary policy |
| JEL: | E37 E41 E52 E58 E65 O11 O17 O42 |
| Date: | 2015–09–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66625&r=all |
| By: | Anthony J. Howell, Canfei He, Rudai Yang, Cindy Fan; Canfei He; Rudai Yang; Cindy Fan |
| Abstract: | Building on the evolutionary economic geography literature, we employ the density measure introduced by ? to dynamically track the impact of technological relatedness on firm productivity. We rely on advanced quantile regression techniques to determine whether technological relatedness stimulates productivity and whether the size of the effect varies for low and high performing firms. Lastly, taking China’s economic transition into account, we test whether changes in the local industrial mix brought about by China’s market reforms enable or inhibit performance-enhancing spillovers. We show that a dynamic tradeoff exists between agglomeration costs and benefits that depends, in part, on the firm’s placement along the productivity distribution: the effect of technological relatedness reduces productivity for the least performing firms, but enhances it for better performing firms. As a result, spillovers via technological relatedness lead to improvements in the geographical welfare by intensifying the learning effect for the vast majority of co-located firms, in spite of increasing productivity disparities between the bottom and top performing firms. |
| Keywords: | Firm Productivity, Relatedness, Agglomeration Economies, Firm Heterogeneity |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1529&r=all |
| By: | K. Kurylchyk |
| Abstract: | International real estate diversification provides significant benefits which are inevitably associated with considerable risks and costs. This requires a thorough analysis of options in order to take account of substantial uncertainty and foreignness implied by international investment per se, as well as the real estate market risks inherent in foreign countries. These factors are intensified by economic and political distresses and make real estate investors use more discretion in their operations abroad. Similarly, in the face of downturn, market players have become cautious about investing in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and shifted their investments away from many once booming markets. In other words, the crisis resulted in an increased perception of risk and a change towards more selective investment strategies in CEE, with international investors unprepared to take high country risks even though property risks may be low. Thus relatively more importance is attached to country risks vs. property specifics and gains when making investment decisions. This study has been motivated by the perceived shortage of research on real estate markets and investment decision making factors in CEE, as well as the need for understanding these aspects in order to ensure sound investments in the region. It seeks to identify major risks of investing in real estate, with a particular focus on selected CEE countries. The paper addresses in the first instance the complexity of country risk as a composite risk and its components. Further, real estate investment trends and issues in the CEE markets are discussed, with specific investment risks for the CEE region identified. Finally, the importance of the factors influencing investment decision making is discussed, as perceived by international investors in the region. This research contributes to a better understanding of barriers and risks of international real estate investment while assisting investors in improving their perception of opportunities and implications associated with real estate investments in the CEE region. |
| Keywords: | CEE countries and region; Country Risk; International investment; Investment Decision Making; Real Estate Risk And Return Factors |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_212&r=all |
| By: | Canfei He; Qi Guo; David Rigby |
| Abstract: | The importance of agglomeration externalities for economic activities is widely recognized. Recent developments highlight the importance of industry relatedness to the performance of firms, industries and regions. This study explores the determinants of firm survival in China and tests the significance of industry relatedness using firm-level data over the period 1999-2007. Industry relatedness is developed from the co-occurrence analysis of paired industries. Results based on Cox regression models show that firms benefiting from industry relatedness and governmental supports are more likely to survive. However, the influence of relatedness varies across industries and provinces. This study highlights the significant influence of local forces on firm dynamics and enriches our understanding of regional industrial restructuring in China. |
| Keywords: | Industry relatedness, Agglomeration Externalities, Firm Survival, China |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1528&r=all |
| By: | G. Gu |
| Abstract: | Housing is one of the essential contributing factors to the growth of the economy. "Despite its importance, however, the housing sector has not received adequate attention from macroeconomists.“ (Zhu, 2014) Housing studies in general cover two areas - housing demand and housing supply. Compare with housing demand, researchers have noted that housing supply is understudied (Green, et al, 2005) probably due to the deficiency of micro-data of housing supply which embraces supply quantity and supply time. By gathering 885 housing projects from the official property registration platform in Shanghai, China, this paper focuses on examining how the time of housing supply is determined, more specifically the determinants of the first period of time* from land supply to housing supply. After analysing the generalized property development model and undertaking multiple linear regressions, we find that government is a major party in influencing the times of housing supply. Firstly, the permits and certificates required by various government or government related agents in the process largely determine the length of construction and marketing. Secondly, the three independent variables, i.e. plot area, plot ratio and housing price, are all significant at 1% level. Relatively speaking, plot ratio exerts bigger impacts than the other two on the dependent variable of the first period of time with a coefficient of 4.63. The results prove that government could play a vital role in housing supply. |
| Keywords: | Housing Supply Time; Land Supply; Plot Ratio; Property Development Process |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_40&r=all |
| By: | J. Wegrzyn; M. Gluszak |
| Abstract: | The construction and provision of infrastructure services is often based on a partnership between public and private sector under a framework of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). This type of partnership has been employed in Poland since 2009._Though public-private partnerships in Poland are a relatively young and promising investment model, they are still poorly developed. As a result, only a small numer of projects (20%) managed to get funding. Given this observation, the objective of this paper is to examine how economic and political characteristics contribute to the success of PPPs. We examine a database with PPP projects using a generalized linear model in the form of a logit model in order to find out what factors exerts impact on PPPs success in Poland. |
| Keywords: | Logit Model; Ppps; Project Success |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_272&r=all |
| By: | A. Kallakmaa |
| Abstract: | The Estonian housing market has a short, but already remarkable history with skyrocketing housing prices, a housing bust period and a slowdown in recent years. The rise in the Estonian housing market was mostly driven by consumers’ expectations and easy access to credit. Political decisions might have been made with the purpose of ensuring better access for households to the loan market, but at the same time not taking into account its impact on the real estate market. The article seeks to analyse the development of the housing market in Estonia, evaluate the current situation and predict potential development trends. The development of the housing market has been investigated from three main aspects. Firstly, the development and changes of economic environments are evaluated and links to the general development of the whole real estate market, especially of the housing market, are provided. Secondly, the demand within and factors influencing the housing market are analysed in greater detail. Thirdly, changes in regulatory framework are investigated. |
| Keywords: | Demand; Estonia; Housing; Regulatory Framework |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_198&r=all |
| By: | Neda Trifkovi? |
| Abstract: | Most studies focus on trade effects and organizational outcomes of international standards, neglecting the effect of standards on employees. Using a two-year matched firmâ..employee panel dataset, this paper finds that the application of standards improves work conditions in small and medium enterprises in Vietnam. Certified firms pay higher wages on average. They are also more likely to offer formal contracts and to pay social and health insurance to workers. The estimation accounts for endogenous matching of workers with firms and unobserved heterogeneity using an instrumental variable approach. The study reveals unexpected benefits from certification, calling for higher investment in standards. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-047&r=all |
| By: | J. Wegrzyn; A. Nalepka; A. Telega |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to determine the motives of PPP implementation in municipalities. It was assumed that implementation of this kind of projects is determined by the characteristics that can be aggregated into three areas: availability of infrastructure, the size of the financial resources at the disposal of municipalities, ability to finance investment project without exceeding the limits of liability. A quantitative study of this relations was conducted with the use of taxonomic analysis. The study failed to clearly resolve the problem of the impact of infrastructure gap onto PPP decisions. The results confirmed that municipalities have been experiencing negative phenomena of rising public debt. This threatens the investment process. Research shows that PPP is perceived by the communities as a remedy to the problems associated with obtaining finance for investment. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure Gap; Investments; Public Debt; Public-Private Partnership (PPP) |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_93&r=all |
| By: | M. Zaleczna; R. Wolski |
| Abstract: | The Polish real estate market have coped with an economic slowdown quite well. However, some sectors and localisations developed in different pace. The authors would like to describe some factors influencing the conditions of the real estate market and its current level of development. Having this background the authors would like to analyse financial results of developers dividing them into different categories. The authors would like to find what kind of developers have found the best solutions and strategies in changing economic environment. |
| Keywords: | Developer Company; Financial Condition; Real Estate |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2015_264&r=all |