|
on Transition Economics |
| By: | Ádám Kerényi (Institute of World Economics, HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies); Csaba Lakócai (Institute of World Economics, HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies) |
| Abstract: | Following the collapse of the Soviet-style planned economies, the post-socialist region of Central and Eastern Europe has undergone a process of economic convergence after the initial shock of transition to a market economy. One stage in this process was accession to the European Union. Most of the countries in the region became members, making them eligible for further benefits and financial allocations. The extent to which these funds have been used effectively over the past decades varies from country to country, but overall, the convergence of these countries within the EU has continued. In this study, we examine the distribution of the net EU transfers to the post-socialist member states and their impact on macroeconomic and social indicators between 2004 and 2022. While these effects are clearly visible in terms of the formal economic and consumption indicators, they are less directly visible in terms of the informal wellbeing trends. |
| Keywords: | European Union, post-socialist countries, Central and Eastern Europe, financial transfers, convergence |
| JEL: | I31 O47 O52 P20 P27 Y10 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwe:workpr:274&r= |
| By: | Simola, Heli |
| Abstract: | Russia has long aimed at reducing its dependency on imported technology. These aspirations intensified after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and sanctions restricting Russia's access to foreign technology. We analyze Russian company surveys and a small sample of product-level statistical data to evaluate recent trends in Russia's import substitution of technology products. For the goods included in our sample, import substitution seems quite limited. Instead, Russian companies have replaced many sanctioned imports with similar or equivalent goods from other countries. Shortfalls of certain goods suggest unavailability of adequate import substitutes and the inability of domestic production to make up for the lost imports. |
| Keywords: | Russia, imports, sanctions, technology |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bofitb:297996&r= |
| By: | Vasily Astrov (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Lisa Scheckenhofer; Camille Semelet; Feodora Teti |
| Abstract: | Nearly two years after the start of the war in Ukraine, the report gives an overview of the current state of the Russian economy, with a focus on the fiscal situation, external balances, and the effects of Western sanctions on Russia’s trade with the EU and selected third countries. Increased scrutiny of companies from third countries violating the energy sanctions led to a renewed widening of the price discount on Russian oil during the last few months of 2023. However, despite this and heavy military spending, last year’s fiscal deficit was kept under control and primarily covered from the sovereign National Welfare Fund. EU exports to Russia of sanctioned economically critical (EC) goods and common high-priority (CHP) items have virtually stalled, indicating that the sanctions are effectively preventing direct exports. However, third countries, notably China, Hong Kong, Türkiye and the CIS countries, have increased their market shares and become Russia’s most important suppliers of missing EC goods and CHP items. Our findings suggest a particularly high likelihood of sanctions evasion via such CIS countries as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and to a lesser extent via Türkiye and China. |
| Keywords: | sovereign fund, energy sanctions, economically critically goods, common high priority items, trade sanctions, sanctions evasion |
| JEL: | F14 F51 H6 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:rusmon:4&r= |
| By: | Lucie Coufalová (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic); Michaela Kecskésová (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic); Štěpán Mikula (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic); Michal Ševčík (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of regional development on democracy building in the Czech Republic following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the autocratic communist regime in 1989. By exploiting the variation in regional development arising from the economic transition process, we identify that regional development, approximated by nighttime light intensity growth, leads to a rise in voter turnout in parliamentary elections. The heightened voter turnout is associated with increased electoral support for pro-system, pro-democratic parties, indicating that regional development facilitates democracy building. Conversely, we find no effect of regional development on the electoral support for the direct successor of the pre-1989 Communist Party. This suggests that while regional development may mitigate anti-system sentiment, it does not eliminate nostalgia for the fallen autocratic regime. |
| Keywords: | economic voting; Czech parliamentary elections; democracy building; voter turnout; economic transition; nighttime lights; regional development; communotropic voting |
| JEL: | D72 P25 O18 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mub:wpaper:2024-04&r= |
| By: | István Benczes (Institute of World Economics, HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies) |
| Abstract: | The eight new member states that joined in 2004, followed by three more in Central and Eastern Europe, have achieved a significant degree of convergence in terms of economic development. In the present study, however, we examine whether the size of public finances in the 11 CEE new member states has also approached the EU average, and to what extent the structure of public expenditures and revenues in these countries show similar or different patterns to that of the EU27. The distinction between the size and composition of public finances is rather important because, while empirical research on the sample of developed countries has found a non-existent or negative relationship between government size and economic growth, individual revenue and expenditure items can have very different impacts on economic growth and hence on the convergence process itself. The analysis of public finances can also help identify those commonly shared preferences in spending and revenues where old and new member states can agree on to strengthen the common budget of the EU in the future. |
| Keywords: | general government, public finances, economic convergence, Central and Eastern Europe |
| JEL: | E62 H11 P35 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwe:workpr:275&r= |
| By: | Marcel Caesmann; Janis Goldzycher; Matteo Grigoletto; Lorenz Gschwent |
| Abstract: | The spread of propaganda, misinformation, and biased narratives from autocratic regimes, especially on social media, is a growing concern in many democracies. Can censorship be an effective tool to curb the spread of such slanted narratives? In this paper, we study the European Union's ban on Russian state-led news outlets after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. We analyze 775, 616 tweets from 133, 276 users on Twitter/X, employing a difference-in-differences strategy. We show that the ban reduced pro-Russian slant among users who had previously directly interacted with banned outlets. The impact is most pronounced among users with the highest pre-ban slant levels. However, this effect was short-lived, with slant returning to its pre-ban levels within two weeks post-enforcement. Additionally, we find a detectable albeit less pronounced indirect effect on users who had not directly interacted with the outlets before the ban. We provide evidence that other suppliers of propaganda may have actively sought to mitigate the ban's influence by intensifying their activity, effectively counteracting the persistence and reach of the ban. |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2406.03393&r= |
| By: | Lucie Coufalová (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic); Fanny H. Dellinger (WIFO, Vienna, Austria); Peter Huber (WIFO, Vienna, Austria); Štěpán Mikula (Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Economics, Brno, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impacts of three major unexpected border regime changes that occurred during the course of 20th century on population growth along the Austrian-Czech border. Using historical municipal-level census data reaching back to 1880, we find no effects of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1919) but strong and oppositely signed effects of the drawing (1948) and the fall (1989) of the Iron Curtain in both countries. Our findings indicate that border regimes affect population growth via economic as well as non-economic mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Population growth, border regions, economic geography |
| JEL: | N94 R12 R23 J11 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mub:wpaper:2024-03&r= |
| By: | Richard Grieveson (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Mario Holzner (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Thomas Wieser |
| Abstract: | We discuss past performance and future challenges for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We highlight the successful convergence process of those countries, not least thanks to their integration into European and global value chains. As the external environment changes, so policies must change in order to maintain the momentum. A strong European Union also presupposes a strong and vibrant CEE. The policy recommendations in the areas we have covered in this contribution include national reform programmes that promote innovation, competitiveness, and transparent institutions; a larger EU budget for European public goods; shadow policies for euro accession by CEE non-euro economies; accession to the banking union by CEE non-euro countries; deepening of home/host cooperation with the assistance of the European Banking Authority to enable freer movement of capital; high-quality implementation of anti-money-laundering processes and institutions; promotion of regional cooperation in areas such as withholding tax, convergence of rules on accounting and stock exchanges in support of a regional capital market; promotion of deeper national capital markets by boosting the second and third pillars of pension systems, while retaining their pay-as-you-go systems; regional cooperation among venture capital funds, supported by the European Investment Fund; investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and establishment of a leading university to retain talent and foster innovation; implementation of a modern industrial policy promoting infrastructure and know-how for the green and digital transformation; mitigating the demographic challenges will require a mixture of automation, greater immigration and higher participation rates; promotion of a high degree of flexibility in labour markets, in order to facilitate shifts away from sectors that are adversely impacted by the twin transition, and towards more innovative activities; education and training programs for sectors where wage convergence has made most progress, including promotion of labour mobility within CEE to overcome sectoral bottlenecks; provision of family-friendly infrastructure to encourage citizens to remain in their home countries and encourage return migration. |
| Keywords: | European integration, economic convergence, Central and Eastern Europe, European Union, Euro Area, growth model, financial markets |
| JEL: | E22 E24 F15 F21 F36 G24 H54 J24 O16 O47 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:pnotes:pn:79&r= |
| By: | Vasily Astrov (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | Unlike most other countries of Central, East and Southeast Europe, even prior to the war Russia’s economic model was not really based on attracting foreign direct investment. On top of that, many of the Western firms announced plans to withdraw following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, two years after the war began, only 9.5% of foreign companies have fully exited Russia, while another 32.2% have curtailed their Russian operations. The exodus of foreign capital has slowed markedly over time, to a large degree due to the progressive tightening of the regulatory hurdles for exit. In general, foreign companies that have stayed find themselves between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the regulatory hurdles, the unfavourable exit terms and the non-negligible risk of nationalisation make exit a difficult, costly and potentially risky move; on the other hand, the decision to stay is fraught with risks of its own. |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investments, regulatory hurdles for business exit |
| JEL: | F21 F23 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:rusmon:5&r= |
| By: | Bettina Meinhart |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of membership in the European Union on foreign direct investments (FDI). In contrast to previous studies, the overall effect of EU membership is disaggregated by countries that joined the EU before 2004 (EU15) and those that joined after 2004 (CEE). This disaggregation is motivated by differences between the two groups in terms of their historical background, GDP levels, and motives for FDI. Furthermore, the effects of EU membership are estimated at the country level. Using a structural FDI gravity model and applying recent advances in the gravity estimation literature, it is shown that membership of the EU has a substantial positive impact on both inward and outward FDI stocks. In particular, there is considerable heterogeneity in the impact of EU membership, with EU15 countries experiencing mainly an increase in inward FDI, while CEE countries experience a surge in outward FDI. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investments, Structural Gravity Model, Europian Union membership |
| JEL: | F21 F36 O52 C33 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wsr:wpaper:y:2023:m:10:i:197&r= |
| By: | Ewa Neska; Maksymilian Bielecki; Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska |
| Abstract: | Renewable energy communities (RECs) are garnering significant interest and stimulating extensive discussions. However, they remain a marginal element of power systems in most countries, confined primarily to pilot projects and small-scale deployments. In Poland, this issue is even more pronounced, as RECs have not yet gained substantial public awareness. To explore why RECs are easier to discuss than to implement, we conducted in-depth interviews with a select group of experts. Utilizing PESTEL analysis to examine macro-environmental factors and investigate their interplay. Our study provides a diagnosis of the current situation and proposes a roadmap for the effective development of RECs. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy community; in-depth interview; PESTEL analysis |
| JEL: | D91 Q20 Q33 Q42 Q55 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahh:wpaper:worms2402&r= |
| By: | Paul, Michael |
| Abstract: | Russia's war against Ukraine seems to have no immediate end in sight, the strategic competition between China and the US continues, and the expanding military cooperation between China and Russia increases the challenges facing the international community. In this context, the Arctic seems to be a relic of the past, no longer the "zone of peace" that Mikhail Gorbachev described in 1987. Indeed, this Arctic exceptionalism ended long before Russia's war of aggression began. In order to restore at least a minimum level of cooperation, informal talks are needed that could help to provide perspective after the end of the war. Two former relatively uncontroversial projects could serve as starting points: the recovery of radioactive remnants of the Cold War and an agreement to prevent unintentional escalation, namely, another Incidents at Sea Agreement (INCSEA). A return to old approaches to arms control could pave the way to renewed cooperation in the Arctic in the future. |
| Keywords: | Arctic, Arms Control, Russia's war against Ukraine, zone of peace, Vladimir Putin, Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF), NATO, Arctic Council, Incidents at Sea Agreement (INCSEA), Arctic Security Forces Roundtable (ASFR) |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpcom:297223&r= |
| By: | Arsenii Shcherbov |
| Abstract: | Recent years have spurred significant migration movements, underscoring the need to understand their impacts. This study explores a widely-debated correlation between crime and migration. Specifically, I investigate the 2014 migration wave, studying the response of Russian crime rates to the influx of immigrants from Ukraine. I approximate local crime rates using court data on sentencing decisions and describe relevant migration flows with internet search activity. The application of the difference-in-differences method reveals positive effects for property crime sentencing and the heterogeneous response of violent crime sentencing. The findings of this study are policyrelevant and could prove beneficial in understanding and mitigating the effects of future migration waves. |
| Keywords: | Crime, Migration |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp782&r= |
| By: | Moreno Bertoldi; Heinz Scherrer; Guergana Stanoeva |
| Abstract: | The current brief revisits G20 developments in the last ten years. A particular focus is put on the G20 response to the pandemic, which for a short period relaunched the centrality of the G20 on the global scene. We then analyse the consequences of growing geopolitical tensions and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on the effectiveness of the G20, both in terms of messaging and deliverables. Finally, we discuss possible ways forward that would allow the forum to still play an important role at global level and continue to deliver much needed global public goods. Our analysis shows that the G20 has continued to deliver, especially in periods of global crises. However, currently the G20 is at a crossroads. In an adverse scenario, where a bloc logic between different parts of the global economy would prevail and economic decoupling and fragmentation would spread, the role of the G20 on the international scene could rapidly decline. There would still be the hope that in such an unfavourable environment, G20 economies would be able to insulate global challenges and be able to deliver remedies to them. In a gradually improving, more positive scenario where Advanced and Emerging Market Economies try to find new common grounds on crucial challenges, and essential global public goods, the G20 could continue to play a central role in global economic governance. Known unknowns that will materialise in the middle of this decade will determine which path it will take and define if and what it can still deliver. |
| Keywords: | G20, pandemic, global crises, Russia, Ukraine, Bertoldi, Scherrer, Stanoeva |
| JEL: | E6 F5 F6 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euf:ecobri:076&r= |
| By: | Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen (Rutgers University); Zveglich, Jr., Joseph (Asian Development Bank); Ali , Khadija (Asian Development Bank); Xue , Hanna (Rutgers University) |
| Abstract: | Demographics in Malaysia and Viet Nam are evolving rapidly, potentially disrupting traditional family support to older people. We estimate a set of Poisson random effects models with panel data from the Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey and the Viet Nam Aging Survey to analyze how living arrangements, marital status, and support from children influence the mental and physical health of older people. In Malaysia, having living children plays an important protective role for both mental and physical health, while living with a son appears to have a protective effect for physical health. Results are similar for Viet Nam, except older women, who are at greater risk of mental and physical health problems, appear to enjoy a greater protective effect for their mental health from a child living nearby than do men. Our analysis underscores the importance of social safety nets for the health of senior citizens living alone. |
| Keywords: | mental health; well-being; physical health; depression; gender; women; aging |
| JEL: | I14 J16 O53 |
| Date: | 2024–06–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0730&r= |
| By: | Khanh Ngoc, Quach Thi (Faculty of Economics, Nha Trang University, Nha Trang, Vietnam); Xuan, Bui Bich (Faculty of Economics, Nha Trang University, Nha Trang, Vietnam); Nam, Pham Khanh (School of Economics, Law and Government Management, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) |
| Abstract: | Small-scale fisheries, are crucial to support the welfare of coastal communities. Nonetheless, in Vietnam prolonged overexploitation and inadequate management have led small-scale fisheries into an uncertain future, leaving fishing households vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity. This study examines the role of small-scale fisheries in Vietnam in promoting food security and alleviating poverty within fishing households. Utilizing latent profile analysis, we categorize fishing households based on dimensions of poverty and food insecurity as well as explore the potential of fisheries management measures in eradicating poverty and improving food security. Our findings reveal that, overall, small-scale fisheries in Vietnam have significantly contributed to the well-being of fishing households, enhancing both income and food security. However, we found two distinct groups of fishers. One group, representing 65 percent of households in our sample, is characterized by higher incomes and greater food security, is denoted in the study as “protected households”. The second group, comprising 35 percent of our sample, is challenged in both dimensions, and is denoted as “vulnerable households”. Protected households are more likely to be located in areas where access limitations are enforced, often accompanied by livelihood enhancement opportunities. These results imply that future policies for small-scale fisheries should foster synergies among various interventions aimed at conserving fisheries resources, alleviating poverty, and ensuring food security. |
| Keywords: | Poverty; food security; small-scale fisheries; Vietnam fisheries |
| JEL: | Q22 |
| Date: | 2024–06–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunefd:2024_007&r= |
| By: | PHAM PHUONG NGOC (Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam); DAINN WIE (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates trade diversion in Vietnam, driven by the US-China trade war, which provided Vietnamese firms with relatively favorable access to the US market. Analyzing US import data, we observe a substantial rise in imports of targeted goods from Vietnam due to the trade war. Utilizing microdata from Vietnamese firms, we establish empirical evidence that tariff hikes on Chinese products augmented the likelihood of Vietnamese firms in targeted industries becoming exporters. Employing tariff wedges as an instrumental variable, our findings indicate that firms transitioning into exporters witnessed a significant increase in productivity. |
| Keywords: | trade diversion, trade war, export, foreign direct investment |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:23-06&r= |
| By: | Anna Kurowska (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Political Studies and International Relations); Agnieszka Kasperska (University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences) |
| Abstract: | This study explores how various work and family-related contexts moderated the link between work-from-home (WFH) and self-perceived changes to the career prospects among employees with children after over a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that the link between WFH and the perception of changes to one’s career prospects is likely to differ depending on gender, occupation, whether the employee has worked from home before the pandemic, how much time their children spent at home due to pandemic restrictions and the cohabiting status of the parent. We conducted fixed effects multinomial regression models using a unique multi-country dataset, including representative samples of parents with dependent children from Canada, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the US. Employees with children who had prior experience with WFH before the pandemic were more likely to report improved career prospects than those who worked solely in the office. The positive effect of WFH for newcomers to the world of remote work was less unequivocal and varied based on occupation and gender. We also find that the presence of children at home and the cohabitation status substantially moderate the link between WFH and perceived changes to one’s career prospects, with different implications based on the employee's gender. We fill the research gap by showing how fluid workers' perceptions of career prospects depend on varying professional (prior experience with WFH and occupation) and personal (increased family demands) situations. This study also indicates the need for context-sensitive career management in organisations. |
| Keywords: | career prospects, family, gender, work from home, remote work |
| JEL: | J12 J13 J16 J21 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2024-08&r= |
| By: | Maryna Tverdostup (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | Over the past few decades, immigration has become the primary factor contributing to population growth in the European Union (EU) due to rapid population ageing and declining fertility rates. However, the traditional migration source countries – namely, the EU countries in Central and East Europe (EU-CEE) and the EU neighbourhood countries – have limited potential to supply much-needed labour to Western Europe due to own their grim population prospects. Immigration from non-EU, non-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or non-EU candidate countries as of 2015 (i.e. Georgia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine) appears to be the only factor that can prevent population decline in the long run, as third-country nationals are, on average, younger than natives or immigrants from the EU neighbourhood. However, current evidence suggests that higher immigration has only a limited capacity to stabilise population decline and offset labour shortages in the EU countries most affected by negative demographic trends, as they receive fewer immigrants relative to other EU countries. Moreover, the labour market integration of immigrants from non-traditional source countries, including Middle Eastern and African countries, has proved challenging for both legal and infrastructural reasons. This has resulted in an immense pool of untapped talent and skills, which will require the appropriate policy steps to be fully identified and effectively employed in the labour market. These policies, like the ones proposed in this report, will become increasingly important as the EU moves steadily towards new immigration source regions. |
| Keywords: | demographic trends, labour shortages, migration, refugees, integration policies |
| JEL: | J11 J15 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:pnotes:pn:78&r= |
| By: | von Ondarza, Nicolai; Stürzer, Isabella |
| Abstract: | The debate in the European Union (EU) on the expansion of majority decision-making is entering a new round. Germany, in particular, is seeking to build a coalition in favour of more majority decisions in light of the, at times, difficult decision-making process concerning foreign and security policy, and the prospect of future EU enlargement. Too often, however, this debate is not taking into account how and with what results majority decisions are being used in other, sometimes equally contested policy areas. An analysis of the public votes since 2010 compiled in the SWP's new EU Council Monitor shows that EU member states generally strive for consensus, even in majority decisions. Larger groups of member states are almost never outvoted. Still, Hungary and Poland increasingly stand out as two states that are outvoted more often than others, albeit to a slightly lesser degree than the United Kingdom (UK) was before Brexit. One way out of the dilemma between strengthening the EU's ability to act and protecting vital national interests could be a well-balanced "sovereignty safety net". |
| Keywords: | European Union (EU), majority decision-making, qualified majority voting (QMV), EU enlargement, public votes, "sovereignty safety net" |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpcom:297221&r= |
| By: | Lech Marcinkowski; Anca Butnaru; Aleksandra Rabrenović |
| Abstract: | Public sector remuneration systems are shaped by an intricate interaction of administrative culture, economic conditions, and political systems. This paper discusses critical considerations to bear in mind when designing, planning and implementing reforms of public service wage systems. It explores key concepts such as job evaluation, pay structures, performance-related pay, market analysis for competitive pay levels and wage bill planning. It provides guidance on the process of reforming public sector salary systems to enhance their competitiveness, equity, transparency and affordability. The paper offers insights drawn from the reform efforts of several EU Member States and SIGMA partners in the Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine, presenting real-life examples and updated guidelines for effective, sustainable salary system changes. The primary focus is on reforms of wage systems within central government administrations, acknowledging the complexity arising from diverse classifications of civil service and public employees, and the varying scope and structure of salary systems. This paper serves as a practical guide, presenting options along with their advantages and disadvantages to aid policymakers in aligning reforms with their national public administration context and strategies. |
| Keywords: | employer branding, gender pay gap, human resource management, job evaluation, pay, pay competitiveness, pay compression ratio, pay equity, pay supplements, pay transparency, performance-related pay, public administration, public sector, remuneration, remuneration systems, salaries, salary policy, salary system reform, salary systems, wage bill planning, wages |
| Date: | 2024–06–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaac:71-en&r= |
| By: | Datt , Gaurav (Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability); Wellappuli, Ravisha (Monash University); Nguyen, John (Monash University); Martinez, Jr., Arturo (Asian Development Bank); Bulan , Joseph Albert Nino (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we make two contributions to the literature on inequality of opportunity (IOP). First, we use longitudinal data for two developing countries, Thailand and Viet Nam, to study the evolution of absolute and relative IOP in the income and consumption space over a 10-year period, thus adding to the relatively limited evidence on changes in IOP over time. Second, we propose and estimate “circumstance” elasticities as measures of the responsiveness of current income and consumption to pre-existing circumstances. Our analysis finds that inequalities of opportunity are enduring in both countries. We also find that the circumstance elasticities for the vast majority of household types identified by their baseline circumstances are not significantly different to unity and non-declining over time. Our evidence points to long-duration effects of circumstances on welfare outcomes. |
| Keywords: | inequality of opportunity; circumstance elasticity |
| JEL: | D31 D63 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–06–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0728&r= |
| By: | Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska; Ewa Neska; Maksymilian Bielecki |
| Abstract: | Renewable energy communities (REC) are pivotal in fostering decentralized, sustainable energy systems by empowering local stakeholders to collectively generate, share, and manage renewable energy resources, promoting community resilience and environmental stewardship. Within our study, we analyzed diversity of incentives and social barriers to participation in REC and identified actions to increase the willingness to participate in REC initiatives with particular consideration of the role of the understudied local Polish context. Hence, we present the results of the 16 in-depth interviews with Polish current and prospective prosumers and discuss the main drivers and barriers to participation in future REC. Our findings - interpreted against a broader backdrop of existing research and Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological model - indicate that successful policies regarding REC have to consider the unprecedented growth rate of domestically installed photovoltaics and the specificity of Poland's historical, political, social, and economic conditions. We discuss the implications of the results for future policymakers and stakeholders responsible for REC implementation, along with some methodological remarks concerning the importance of accounting for heterogeneity and stronger embeddedness of research practices shaping policy design. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy community; prosumer; in-depth interview; Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological model |
| JEL: | D91 Q20 Q33 Q42 Q55 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahh:wpaper:worms2401&r= |
| By: | Sharofiddinov Husniddin (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology, Japan); Moinul Islam (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology, Japan); Koji Kotani (School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology, Japan) |
| Abstract: | Climate change is a global concern, having a negative impact on agriculture, for food security and sustainability. Farmers’ adaptations are known to be key drivers for the resolutions. However, little is established about relationships between farmers’ characteristics and adaptation responses to climate change under irrigated agriculture. We investigate how farm sizes influence the adaptations in consideration to irrigation-related, cognitive and socioeconomic factors reflecting farming culture and history, hypothesizing that large-size farms adapt to climate change as compared to small-size ones in Tajikistan, where collective farming, “Kolkhoz and Sovkhoz, †had been practiced. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey with 800 farmers on their adaptations, farm sizes, climatic perceptions, irrigation water availability and socioeconomic factors. We conduct statistical analyses utilizing the index to characterize farmers’ adaptation responses. The results indicate an importance of farm sizes on adaptations, demonstrating that small-size farms adapt less than large-size farms, but increases their adaptations when they have good climatic perceptions and irrigation water availability. Overall, this research confirms an advantage of large-size farms for adaptations based on Tajikistan farming culture and history. Thus, the ongoing land-fragmentation policy should be reconsidered for possible losses in adaptations, as it has been drastically increasing the number of small-size farms. Otherwise, it is essential to support the small-size farms for acquiring good perceptions and enough water. |
| Keywords: | Farm sizes, adaptation responses, farming culture, history, Tajikistan |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kch:wpaper:sdes-2024-2&r= |
| By: | Federica De Pace |
| Abstract: | Housing affordability has deteriorated in the past decade. There is scope for eliminating barriers to expand housing supply by reforming land use policy and streamlining the administration of building permits. Measures can be taken to promote the expansion of the rental market and reform housing taxation to reduce the bias in favour of owner-occupied housing. Ensuring adequate supply and funding for construction and operation of social housing is crucial to improve living conditions for the most vulnerable. Accelerating the formalisation of property rights in Roma settlements would help to provide basic infrastructures for adequate access to water and sanitation. Implementing stricter regulation and targeted financial assistance to households most in need would help incentivise housing renovations, reduce energy poverty and advance environmental objectives. |
| Keywords: | building permits, environmentally sustainable housing, housing affordability, housing conditions for Roma, housing taxation, rental market, Slovak Republic, social housing |
| JEL: | H20 H23 R21 R31 R38 Q58 |
| Date: | 2024–06–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1806-en&r= |
| By: | Adrian Gheorghe (Center for Global Development); Peter Baker (Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | In this policy paper we summarise what is known about healthcare disinvestment and outline documented experiences in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to draw insights on what has worked, to what extent, and under what conditions. We reviewed the published literature on documented experiences of attempted healthcare disinvestment in LMICs. We identified two common scenarios when disinvestment initiatives were attempted, namely “one-off” and “systematic” initiatives, and characterised them in terms of objectives, resources and political will. We found four documented examples of one-off disinvestment initiatives—Iran, Malaysia, Romania, and Vietnam, two documented examples of systematic disinvestment initiatives by health technology assessment (HTA) agencies in LMICs—Brazil and China, as well as a range of countries like Thailand, India, and Ghana that carry out systematic disinvestment through routine HTA processes. We conclude that disinvestment is costly, time-consuming, and rarely as successful as policymakers intend. Key considerations to improve the chances of success include whether strong pre-existing health prioritisation systems exist (such as an HTA agency) and whether the design of initiatives are tightly matched to the level of political will, the policy objective, and available resources. |
| Date: | 2024–04–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:ppaper:327&r= |
| By: | Lebedinski, Lara (Institute of Economic Sciences, Belgrade); Carneiro, Pedro (University College London); Urzua, Tamara Arnold (World Bank); Perng, Julie (University of Göttingen); Boudet, Ana Maria Munoz (World Bank); Sosa, Katia Herrera (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we evaluate experimentally the impacts of a parenting program delivered virtually to 1, 431 families with children ages 2-6 years old in Serbia. We compare two program modalities to a control group. In the first (standard) modality, only the main caregiver -mainly mothers- participates in the training, while in the second (plus), two caregivers -mothers and fathers- participate in the training. We find that the standard intervention has a positive effect of 0.28 standard deviations on parent-reported child development outcomes, but no such impact is found for the plus modality. We fail to observe statistically significant impacts of either treatment across most variables measuring parental behaviors and home environments, with two exceptions: parents in the standard treatment became more conscious about their child's learning, while parents in the plus modality became less likely to use physical punishment to discipline children. |
| Keywords: | parenting program, child development, virtual delivery |
| JEL: | I10 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17028&r= |
| By: | Mehic, Adrian (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the electoral impact of increased foreign tourism, using data from Croatia. Exploiting exogenous variation in travel times to coastal municipalities from improved road infrastructure, I show that foreign tourism reduces nationalist voting and increases the center-left vote share. This effect is partly due to manufacturing spillovers and demographic shifts within municipalities. Further complementing these findings, individual-level survey data indicates that workers within the hospitality sector are more likely to hold left-wing views. I further show that this is likely driven by economic concerns, rather than the diffusion of socially liberal views. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure; Tourism; Voting; Nationalism |
| JEL: | D72 F63 L83 O18 Z32 |
| Date: | 2024–06–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1490&r= |