Search

This article studies the Greek crisis since 2009 with a synthesized Marxian framework by embedding the Greek capital accumulation process into the capitalist core-periphery structure in the European Union, which deteriorated the competitiveness of Greece and adversely impacted its capital accumulation, leading to a relatively low profit rate in the neoliberal era. Institutions of the European Union helped Greece turn to debt-driven accumulation to sustain growth, especially the external debt of government, but the weak productive accumulation because of relatively low profit rate made the accumulation of debt unsustainable in the long run. When doubt was cast on Greece's capacity to repay its debts, the economy lost external sources of funding, leading to a halt in debt expansion and the burst of the sovereign debt crisis. JEL Classification : E11, F02, O10 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this monograph is to analyze the limits to the exercise of monetary sovereignty in peripheral countries. The existence of a hierarchy of currencies in the international monetary system and its possible consequences for the management of exchange rate, monetary and fiscal policies in peripheral countries is discussed. It is argued that the peripheral condition is not immutable. And that when a country is recognized as being in an unfavorable position in the hierarchy of currencies, at least two paths may be adopted: accept that it is up to this country to continue presenting low international relevance, high poverty rates and a production structure focused on primary-export activities with low added value; or investigate what measures need to be adopted for the country to assume greater international relevance, offer better living conditions for its population and develop a more diversified and technologically sophisticated production structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of Policy Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Realidad Economica is the property of Realidad Economica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The European financial crisis has affected most of the EU member states, and European institutions have had to create new financial instruments to counter the impact. Most effects in the economic and political spheres can be attributed to high unemployment and changes in governments in peripheral countries (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Romania). Objectives: The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the economic and political effects of the European financial crisis in some peripheral countries that have implemented austerity policies. Methods/Approach: The methodology used is mixed: an analysis of the primary economic variables of the selected countries in comparison to those of countries with low-risk premium was performed, and the relation between the bailouts and elections was presented. Results: The exacerbation of the crisis in the Eurozone is mainly due to the high political costs of austerity measures and not the high level of public spending and/or the alternations in the governments of peripheral countries. Conclusions: The European financial crisis is primarily a result of weak economic governance, and its effects are differentiated. The peripheral countries possess the highest rates of unemployment, and there is a higher tendency towards political instability in rescued countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The introduction of Internet and Information and communication Technologies (ICT) in offices is a global phenomenon that transformed white-collar worker job demands. Although there are several studies of e-skills and mental workload for central countries, there is a lack of similar studies for the Latin American context. An online snowball sampled ( n = 352) survey was developed and validated by the authors (internal consistency = 0.7). We characterized ICT worker profiles from e- skills and these dimensions: attitudes toward, resources usage and technology dependency. Mental Strain was assessed with raw task load index (RTLX) and correlated with the proposed profiles by means of paired T-tests and Mann-Whitney Tests. The sample was characterized by 7.2% of non visual display terminal users and 92.8% of visual display terminal, ICT skilled users. Of the latter, 30.7% were ICT practitioners, 30.4% were ICT Users and 27.2% were E-Business Users. Non VDT users' mental strain was statistically meaningful smaller than VDT-ICT skilled users' mental workload. No statistical differences were found in RTLX results when comparing ICT skilled user profiles. Non VDT users can be identified from ICT skilled Users by their lower ITC Dependency and minor use of ICT resources. There were no differences in those dimensions among ICT skilled Profiles. Attitude toward these technologies was a distinct factor for ICT Users in relation to ICT Practitioners and ITC Business Users. The application of this tool in peripheral and central countries would allow a complete ergonomical characterization of white-collar workers within the Information Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Colombia Internacional is the property of Universidad de los Andes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study analyses the specificities of youth identity construction in Brazil in the context of global transformations and the particularities of the Brazilian model of development. Poor urban Brazilian youngsters' demands to consume, as a 'mode of inclusion' in society, achieve short-term gains that narrow down prospective visions of the self. A 'logic of survival' hypothesis is proposed to account for the process of identity construction whereby encapsulated and rigid, rather than hybridized and creative, identities are constituted. The hypothesis is illustrated with a discussion of the cases of the drug dealer, the religious fanatic and the labourer. New cultural forms of consumer culture also convey claims for recognition and justice, shown by the musical expressions coming from the peripheries of big cities. It remains to be seen whether musical and artistic expressions, as possible factors that can enhance self-respect and group solidarity among poor youth, will not be consumed just as a new item of the culture industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to examine the longitudinal trajectories of five selected South American countries in the period between 1990 and 2018, applying the Quintuple Helix Innovation Model (QHIM). The aim is to analyse the trends of each country through the relationship of its helices using indicators extracted from an international database in order to establish their articulation and synergies to go in search of sustainable development. Within this dynamic, Venezuela represents the axis country of the study and Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru make up the group that allows the comparison. The research focuses attention on two periods of Venezuelan politics since they allow measuring the variations of the countries under study. The base year is 1996 and is called the pre-Hugo Chávez Frias (HCF) period; the cutoff year for the comparison is 2014 and is called the post-HCF period. The study is longitudinal and descriptive. For the analysis, the five knowledge subsystems (helices) of the QHIM were redefined in order to have precise concepts; a database was designed based on World Bank indicators that were later thematically related to each of the helices. The interrelationships between the helices of each country were also specified in order to determine which were the weakest and which had the most positive or negative influence. In order to calculate the percentage variation of the countries, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method was applied. In this sense, the most relevant finding is related to the decisions made in the last twenty years from the political helix in Venezuela because it deactivated and disarticulated the others, causing that country to collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]