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Urbanization occurs now more rapidly than before, due to the development of compact cities or urban sprawl, threatening quasi-natural areas, especially those protected within/near built-up ones. Europe lacks laws dedicated to natural protected areas within built-up areas, which are subject to the same provisions as natural protected ones, or a legislative vacuum. This research aimed to find the best planning approach for resiliently conserving and developing these areas and establishing grounds for a new tool used for planning the proximity of natural areas within cities. The methodology involved selecting two groups of countries, Nordic and eastern European, and treating these areas differently. The choice was based on specific political history. The study analyzed the legislative and planning framework and compared the approaches of 11 analyzed countries to pinpoint the basic aspects accounted for and applied to other European territories, in order to preserve the characteristics of urban morpho-typology and the particularities of local landscapes. The comparison results suggest solutions such as adopting specific regulations for urban protected areas and their adjacent zones through legal documents, completing/detailing environmental legislation in Nordic countries, adopting laws dedicated to protected natural areas within and/or close to built areas, and changing the approach to protecting natural areas with urban planning or land use tools. more...

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of national culture on classification shifting in Eastern European Member States of EU Eastern European countries (EEU) vis-à-vis the Western Member States of EU (WEU). The EEU provides a unique sample to study the quality of financial reporting that the authors measure with classification shifting given that for more than five decades they were following the model of a centrally planned economy, where market-based financial reporting was absent. Yet, the EEU transitioned to a market-based economy and completed its accession to the EU. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a panel data set of firm year observations from 1996 and 2020 that covers the full transition of EEU. This empirical analysis is based on fixed effects panel regression analysis where the authors report a plethora of identifications. Findings This study finds classification shifting in the EEU countries since their transition to the market-based economy, though they have no long record of market-based financial reporting. This study also notices that cultural factors are associated with classification shifting across all Member States of the EU. This study further examines the impact of interactions between cultural characteristics and special items and reveal variability between WEU and EEU. As part of the robustness analysis, this study also tests the impact of culture on real earnings management measures for both WEU vs EEU, confirming the variability of the impact of culture on earnings management. Research limitations/implications Future research could explore the role of religion differences in WEU vis-à-vis EEU states, as they are also subject to cultural differences. Practical implications The findings are important for regulators, external monitors and investors, as they show that cultural factors affect earnings management with some variability across countries in the EU, and they should be acknowledged in policymaking. Social implications The findings show that cultural differences between EEU and the “old” Member States of the EU could explain classification shifting. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that sheds light on the impact of national culture on classification shifting in EEU of EU vis-à-vis the “old” WEU of EU. more...

The purpose of the research is as follows: analysis of the current state of functioning of the road transport sector in Eastern Europe and identification of key problems and trends in its development. Research methods: Methods of grouping, comparison and generalization, сorrelation analysis have been used to identify the dynamics of the main indicators of road transport in Eastern Europe. The method of correlation-regression analysis has been applied to determine the impact of increasing the length of roads on the turnover of the road freight transport and the number of employed population in this area. Results. It has been found that the increase in the employed population by 96% and increase in revenues from transportation and storage of goods, postal and courier services (turnover of the road freight transport - in the original language) in the field of road transport by 82% is explained by the change in transport infrastructure capacity by increasing length of highways. more...

“Deep divisions have emerged between East and West [Europe] on matters such as freedom, justice and democracy,” writes the University of Luxembourg’s Dr Elena Danescu. In this article, the researcher explores the origins of these divisions. more...

In this study, Turkey and the five selected Eastern European countries Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Romania agricultural sector were analyzed in terms of four indicators (the share of national income, employment, production and foreign trade) and Turkey's harmony to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was examined. The aforementioned countries achieve the modernization of the agricultural sector, increase production, productivity, competition, exports and farm scale, promote the rural development, farmers' income and welfare of small businesses through supports/funds of the CAP. Turkey's competitiveness will increase through achieving an EU standard environmentally friendly, healthy, safe and high value-added production along with providing the necessary infrastructure and institutional arrangements for Turkey to benefit from the CAP funds. Moreover, application of the direct payment method to real producers instead of product-based price support and rural development policies. more...

Les romans d’Andreï Kourkov, auteur ukrainien qui écrit en russe, peuvent s’apparenter au genre du polar auquel ils empruntent quelques traits pour peindre la situation de son pays depuis la chute du Mur de Berlin. Il s’attache aux destins croisés de personnages qui se débattent dans un monde où l’absurde règne en maître, où l’on peut avoir un pingouin pour animal de compagnie, et où la survie est à négocier en se faufilant entre combines ordinaires, machinations mafieuses et corruption politique tous azimuts., The novels of Andreï Kurkov, a Ukrainian author who writes in Russian, can be linked to the genre of detective fic-tion. They borrow some features from it to paint the situation of his country since the fall of the Berlin Wall. He focuses on the intersecting destinies of characters who are struggling in a world where the absurd reigns supreme: one can have a penguin for a pet; one negotiates one's survival by slipping between ordinary schemes, mafia machinations and political corruption of all kinds. more...

Financial ratios play an important role in revealing corporate financial soundness, a role which helps to maintain the competitive position of an enterprise, with the achievement of stable development contributing to the elimination of potential financial risks. This paper aims to analyse and compare financial ratios used in the models of transition countries. The analysis focuses on the prediction of the future financial development of a particular enterprise as well as the determination of potential dependencies among the nation in consideration of financial ratios and country of origin. More than 400 prediction models of the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Croatia, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus were analysed. The crucial significance of financial ratios in divergent conditions is revealed using a cluster analysis, categorical data and a correspondence analysis. The cluster analysis identified similarities among three groups of countries: i) Belarus, Estonia, Croatia and Latvia; ii) Lithuania, Russia, Hungary and Ukraine, and iii) Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Poland. The results of the correspondence analysis indicate that the individual groups of countries prefer different financial ratios in developing models of prediction of financial distress, differences which arose as a consequence of common changing political, market and economic conditions within each group of nations. In contrary to results suggested by our findings, the most frequently used financial ratios in the prediction models throughout the countries remain current ratio, total-liabilities-to-total-assets ratio, and total-sales-to-total-assets ratio. more...

The impacts of demographic factors on savings need to be investigated in order to accurately analyse the saving differences between the countries. The propensity of countries for saving is determined by their demographic structures besides the decision-makers’ preferences related to the economy. Eastern European Countries generally have a common historical background; they have been exposed to many changes both politically and economically over time. In this study, the Eastern European Countries’ national savings were analysed for the 1996-2017 period by using panel data analysis methods. According to the findings, in Eastern European countries there was a positive relationship between female labour force participation rate, urbanization rate, population growth rate, and savings, while the old and young dependency rates have a negative impact on savings. A negative and statistically insignificant relationship was found between life expectancy rate and savings. This paper is the first research which could provide an explanation for these countries’ savings behaviour in relation to demographic factors and may thus provide policymakers with some ideas. more...

Objective: We investigate the association between parent-child contact frequency and changes in older parents’ depressive symptoms in Bulgaria, Georgia and Russia. These are countries in which societal transformations may mean that psychological feelings of security engendered by having children in close contact may have particularly important implications for the mental health of older parents. Methods: We analysed data from two waves of the Generation and Gender Surveys conducted three years apart and took account of relationships with more than one child. Analyses were performed using OLS regression models, adjusted for depressive symptoms at baseline. Results: Among mothers increases in depressive symptoms were greater for those who lacked at least weekly contact with any child than for those with frequent contact with at least one child (b = 0.64; p more...

This paper discusses the importance of the Budapest-Belgrade-Skopje-Piraeus (BBSP) corridor in the context of the 'One Belt, One Road,' Initiative (B&RI), standing as the connecting piece, to serve as a fast transit route, between three major economic corridors. Indeed, the BBSP appears to be the platform that magnifies the true potential of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Western and central Europe. Therefore, the BBSP is particularly decisive for landlocked economies, such as Hungary and Serbia. The BBSP is a brick on a larger wall when we refer to the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries. But it is certainly an important one, especially because it delivers flexibility to the network of economic agents. Finally, this paper adopts a geopolitical perspective, grounded in geo-economics concepts. more...

Euroscepticism is a comparatively new political phenomenon. It consists of many aspects, such as critics of Europeism as a political ideology of the EU. This ideology is syncretical and includes different elements of famous political thoughts by Hobbes, Locke, French Enlightenment and German classic philosophy. The core principles of europeism are principles of progressism, universalism (which is known as ground for the ideas of liberal democracy). Today europeism has replaced traditional ideologies of conservatism and socialism and created new types of quasi-religions. The main principles of this ideology are formed and implemented on the level of supranational European institutions. On contrary, euroscepticism restores principles of traditional ideologies, being a significant oppositional actor in relation to europeism. During the last years, euroscepticism has been taking strong positions on both national and supranational levels. Especially, this can be seen referring to the experience of Central Eastern Europe, which, nontheless, has a successful story of European integration. The case of Central Eastern European countries shows a nationalistic character of euroscepticism (in its economic and political senses) and illustrates the people’s reaction on practices of the transfer of values and political practices. In Bulgaria euroscepticism remains weak – its membership is still seen as the only alternative, keeping in mind the destroying effect of the country’s shift toward democracy and market. Bulgarian euroscepticism connects with the people’s hopelessness in relation the EU as an actor, which is to deal with national problems. more...

This paper provides evidence in terms of the incentives which lead managers from emerging European countries to manage earnings. In particular, we focused on four Eastern European countries: the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, as the majority of studies on earnings management in developing countries were based on the Asian emerging market. The market of developing European countries is still barely explored. After we confirmed that managers from emerging European companies manage earnings, we find that within the different incentives which lead managers to earnings management, the avoidance of debt covenants violations is a strong incentive for managers. Additionally, those firms considered as poor investments (with less value) have incentives to manage earnings down as a consequence to opt for market niche. Moreover, emerging Eastern European companies have incentives to flatten earnings of current periods in order to benefit in the future as the source of future nonmanipulated earnings will be insufficient, as they may expect reduced, or at least lower future performance of their companies affected by increasing global competition. Finally, we confirm that privately-owned companies tend to maximize accounting earnings more than state-owned companies because they are in a weaker position related to a specific political and historical factors. more...

The current world is not moving as all specialists predicted. Brexit, Trump, everyone was wrong. This paper will have two targets: describing the French policy toward Russia, making a perspective on the future policy, whatever the new French presidency in 2017, Francois Hollande will transmit the key to his successor with new election. He refused to compete for a second mandate. It is good to remind that Hollande was involving in the Ukrainian affairs and had managed with Germany the Minsk I and II agreements. He also had suspended Mistral ships selling and approving sanctions against Russia. How will be the future with François Fillon, Marine Le Pen or other? The analysis will be focusing on the future relationships toward Russia and Eastern European Countries. more...

In this article the relationship between shadow economy and its’ determinants has been examined. Ten Eastern countries from European Union were chosen due to specific particularities, which may cause higher shadow economy levels in the investigated countries compared with the EU average. Time span of 2003-2016 was selected, as 2017 data has yet to be released at the time of the analysis. Article consists of examination of the current situation and shadow economy trends in Eastern European countries; overview of shadow economy scientific literature followed by hypothesis, which are examined by constructing regression models. Models aim to distinguish the relationship between selected determinants and shadow economy size. Scientific literature analysis revealed that increase of tax burden on labor is seen as a primary reason for the increase of shadow economy, however, such relation has not been identified. Furthermore, results show that unemployment and self-employed people ratio affect shadow economy insignificantly. This suggests that further analysis is needed. Nonetheless, regression model has not rejected the hypotheses of corruption level, income inequality, business freedom and GDP per capita effect on shadow economy. Thus, it can be stated that these variables are determinants of shadow economy in Eastern European countries. more...

Bu çalışmada, kaynak taraması ile İslam öncesi dönemde Doğu Avrupa Türklerinde korunan ya da değişen mitolojik öğeler ve ifade ettikleri anlamlar incelenmiştir. Kapsam ölüm, cenaze, yas törenlerindeki mitolojik öğeleri içerecek şekilde belirlenmiştir. Günümüzde mitoloji çalışmaları; yazılı kaynaklar, sanat eserleri, arkeolojik kalıntılar veya daha da önemlisi devam eden kültür uzantıları üzerinde yapılan, alan araştırmaları şeklinde yürütülmektedir. Bu kadar geniş bir bölge ve tarih için yukarıda bahsedilen şekilde yapılacak çalışmalar çok geniş bir kaynak ve zaman gerektireceği için, bu çalışma sadece kaynaklar üzerinde yapılmıştır. Tarihlerinde belirli bir noktada İslam'ı kabul eden topluluk, hanlık ve devletler, kapsam dışında tutularak, çalışma kapsamındaki devletler/topluluklar; İskitler, Avrupa Hunları, Sabarlar, Avarlar, Ogurlar, Büyük Bulgar Devleti, Tuna Bulgarları, Hazarlar, Macarlar, Peçenekler, Oğuzlar, Kumanlar-Kıpçaklar olarak belirlenmiştir. Yapılan araştırma neticesinde, Türkler değişen coğrafi koşullara geçseler, yeni dinlere geçiş yapsalar ve yeni kültürlerle etkileşimde olsalar da mitolojik öğelerinde artma/azalma olabildiği, öğelerin küçük değişikler geçirebildiği ancak temel mitolojik öğelerin binlerce yıldır neredeyse aynı şekilde kaldığı tespit edilmiştir. In this paper, the protected mythological elements of pre-Islamic Eastern European Turks and it's meanings are examined by using literature review. The scope contains the mythological elements of death, funeral and mourning rites.Modern-day mythological researches are focused on written sources, artworks, archaeological remains and more importantly field studies on ongoing cultural extensions. Regional and historical wideness bring the necessity of extensive researches in the diffractions which are above-mentioned. Therefore this paper is only focused on academic sources. The communities, khanates and states which were accepted Islam as an official religion at one point, are kept out of scope. In scope states/communities are identified as; Scythians, European Huns, Sabars, Avars, Ogurs, Great Bulgarian State, Danube Bulgarians, Khazars, Hungarians, Pechenegs, Oghuzs, Cumans-Kipchaqs. As a result of the researches, even though Turks change their geographical location or their religion, even interacted with other cultures over time, their main mythological assets preserved through the thousands of years while their number or some specific assets have minor changed. 142 more...

Earnings management has received considerable attention as numerous papers were investigated different hypotheses. However, there is still no consensus on how efficiently detect and measure earnings managements. Nevertheless, most authors use methodology based on accruals, sophisticated models that attempt to separate total accruals into discretionary and nondiscretionary components. We may find wide range of use of alternative models to measure earnings management. Nevertheless, the researchers typically used five the most popular models: the Jones (1991) model, the modified Jones model (Dechow, Sloan, and Sweeney, 1995), Teoh, Welch and Wong (1998) model, Kasznik (1999) model and Kothari et al. (2005) model. However, it is confirmed that the environment where the company is operating influences on the earnings management. Therefore, we focus our study on the growing market of the developing European countries. In particular, our analysis comprises four different and independent samples from emerging Eastern European countries: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, since earnings management in Eastern European countries is still barely explored. Consequently, our objective is to evaluate the ability of the existing models on earnings management for the environment of countries from the East of Europe. Our results confirm that the Jones (1991), Shivakumar (1996), Kasznik (1999) and Yoon and Miller model (2002) offers the most reliable results for detecting earnings management in emerging Eastern European post-communism economic environment. Additionally, based on broad analyses the results indicate that there is no superiority of the cross-sectional models vis-à-vis their time-series counterparts. Both methodologies are consistent in detecting earnings management for Eastern European companies. Therefore, we verified the importance of the previous evaluation of the ability of each model for detecting earnings management before its application. It is because each economic environment has different peculiarities and circumstances, as observed in case of our developing European countries. more...

Do central banks in Eastern European countries react asymmetrically and in a non-linear fashion to changes in inflation and output? We tackle this question by expanding the standard Taylor reaction function for the four inflation targeting countries Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania. We do so taking explicitly inflation rates below or above target and output below or above potential, the so-called state of the economy, into account. The results reveal that there are indeed substantial asymmetries in the reaction function of the Czech, Polish and Romanian central bank, which are only evident when the combination of inflation and output thresholds is explicitly modelled in one estimation equation. For these three central banks also non-linearities in the inflation and output response could be verified. more...

Son zamanlarda gündeme gelen hükümet sistemlerine ilişkin tartışmalar, akademik dünyada özellikle 1990'lı yıllardan itibaren siyasal sistemlerinde demokratik yönetimlere doğru değişiklikler yaşayan ülkelerin ortaya çıkmasıyla oldukça popüler hale geldi. Bu tartışmalar hükümet sistemlerinin genellikle teorik düzeyde karşılaştırılması temelinde yapılmış ve az sayıda ampirik araştırmada ise gelişmiş demokratik ülkeler ile yeni demokrasilerin verileri birlikte değerlendirilmiştir. Bu çalışma, çoğunluğu demokratik konsolidasyon sürecini henüz tamamlamamış ülkelerle ilgili hükümet sistemleri ve kalkınma seviyesi arasındaki ilişki hakkında ampirik kanıt sunmaktadır. Latin Amerika, Doğu ve Güney Avrupa, Asya ülkelerinde yürütme-yasama ilişkilerine dayanan hükümet biçimleri başkanlık, başkan-parlamenter, yarı-başkanlık ve parlamenter olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Bu ülkelerin hükümet sistemleri ile birlikte diğer siyasal kurum ve yapıları (parti sistemi, seçim sistemi, meclis sistemi ve devlet şekli) betimsel tablolarla incelenmiştir. 53 ülkenin 1995-2014 yılları yıllık verilerine göre, ülkelerin sosyoekonomik kalkınma göstergelerindeki performansının hükümet sistemleri ile ilişkili olup olmadığını belirlemek için temel bileşenler analizi ve panel veri analizi kullanılmıştır. Analizlerin sonucu, hükümet sistemlerinin ülkelerin kalkınma düzeyi açısından anlamlı bir etkisinin olmadığını göstermektedir. Bu sonuç, bütün hükümet sistemlerinin her ülkede aynı ölçüde verimli ve etkili bir şekilde işleyeceği anlamına gelmemekle birlikte, bir ülkedeki mevcut hükümet sistemi ile ilgili birtakım sorunların sosyoekonomik gelişme açısından etkisiz olduğu anlamını da taşımamaktadır. Ülkelerin refah düzeyleri açısından, herhangi bir hükümet sisteminin diğer hükümet sistemlerinden daha üstün olduğu iddia edilemez. The arguments on government systems which has recently been on the agenda had become a quite popular subject in the academic world in 1990s with the emergence of countries experiencing changes in their political systems towards democratic rule. These debates were generally made on the basis of a theoretical comparison of government systems, and in a small number of empirical studies, the data of developed countries and new democracies were evaluated together. This study provides empirical evidence about relationship between government systems and the level of development regarding countries which have not yet completed the democratic consolidation process. The government forms based on executive-legislative relations in the Latin American, Europe and the Asia countries were classified as presidentialism, president–parliamentary, semi-presidential and parliamentarism. In addition to the governmental systems of these countries, other political institutions and structures (i.e. party system, electoral system, legislative structure, form of state) were examined with descriptive cross tables. On the basis of annual data from 53 countries in the period 1995-2014, principal component analysis and panel data analysis were used to determine whether countries' performance in terms of socio-economic development indicators is related to government systems. The results show that nominal categories of government systems have no meaningful effect on the level of development. This does not mean that all government systems will function equally, efficiently and effectively in every country, nor does it mean that some problems with the current government system in a country are ineffective in terms of socioeconomic development. But, in terms of wealth levels of the countries, it cannot be claimed that any government system is superior to others. 228 more...

Bu çalışmada Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinin demokratikleşme süreci incelenmiştir. İncelenen bu süreç Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinin Sovyetler Birliği yönetiminden ayrılmasından AB'ye üye olmasına kadar geçen dönemi ve etkilerini kapsamaktadır. Bu çerçevede Doğu Avrupa ülkeleri incelemesinin yanısıra ayrıntılı olarak Macaristan'ın demokratik dönüşümü ele alınmıştır. Çalışmanın temel amacı, Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinin demokratikleşme sürecini ve bu sürece tarafların katkılarını belirlemektir. Bu amaçla öncelikle demokrasi kavramı üzerine odaklanılmış, bu kavramın faydaları ve eleştirilerine değinilmiştir. Demokratik bir devletin olması gereken kriterler ve AB'nin demokratik devlet anlayışı incelenmiştir. Daha sonra Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinin sosyalist yönetim altına girmesi sonucu yaşanan gelişmeler, halkın sisteme yönelik tepkileri araştırılmış, sosyalist yönetimden ayrılmaları, ekonomik yapıları ve AB üyelik süreci incelenmiştir. Birinci bölümde incelenen demokrasi kriterleri son bölümde demokratikleşme sürecine giren Doğu Avrupa ülkeleri üzerinde belirlenmiş ve demokratikleşme sürecinde AB'nin rolü ele alınmıştır. Demokratikleşme sürecinin nasıl gerçekleştiği Macaristan örneği ile daha ayrıntılı olarak incelenmiştir. Kullanılan ekonomik göstergeler ve demokratikleşme kriterleri bağlamında tarafların etkisi ortaya konulmuş ve bu etkiler sonuç bölümünde değerlendirilmiştir. Ayrıca çalışmada literatür taraması ve tarihsel analiz yöntemleri uygulanmıştır.Anahtar Kelimeler: Demokrasi, Doğu Avrupa Ülkeleri, Avrupa Birliği, Macaristan. This study examines the democratization process of Eastern European countries. This process includes the period and influences from the separation of Eastern European countries from the Soviet administration to its membership in the EU. In this context, in addition to examining the Eastern European countries, the democratic transformation of Hungary is discussed in detail. The main aim of the work the democratization process of the Eastern European countries by the parties to this process. For this purpose, the focus is primarily on the concept of democracy, and its benefits and criticisms are addressed. Criteria that should be a democratic state and the democratic state understanding of the EU are examined. Later, after the administration of the Eastern European countries by the communist government, the developed developments, the public's reaction to the system were researched, the separations from the communist government, the economic structures and the EU membership process were examined. The democracy criteria examined in the first part are determined on the Eastern European countries that entered the democratization process in the last part and the role of the EU in democratization process is discussed. The process of democratization has been examined in more detail with the Hungarian example. The effects of the parties in relation to the economic indicators and democratization criteria used have been put forward and these effects have been evaluated in the conclusion section. In addition, literature review and historical analysis methods were applied in the study.Keywords: Democracy, Eastern European Countries, European Union, Hungary. 90 more...

Finansal gelişme günümüzde ekonomik büyümenin önemli bileşenlerinden birisi haline gelmiştir. Özellikle yükselen piyasa ekonomileri ve gelişmekte olan ülkelerde bankacılık sektörü, finans sektörünün lokomotifi durumundadır. Bu nedenle bankacılık sektörünün etkin ve sağlıklı bir şekilde çalışması, tüm ekonomik birimler için çok önemlidir. Bu çalışmada panel regresyon analizini kullanarak 1998-2015 döneminde içsel ve dışsal etkenlerin Orta ve Doğu Avrupa Birliği ülkelerinde bankacılık sektörünün karlılığı üzerindeki etkisini analiz etmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda banka sermayesi, ekonomik büyüme ile finansal gelişmenin bankacılık sektörü karlılığını pozitif etkilediği, banka büyüklüğü, takipteki krediler ve bankacılık sektörü yoğunlaşma oranının bankacılık sektörü karlılığını negatif etkilediği belirlenmiştir. Financial development has become one of the important components of economic growth at the present day. Banking sector is locomotive of the financial sector especially in emerging markets and developing countries. Therefore, efficiently and healthfully functioning of the banking sector is crucial for the whole economy. This study investigates the impact of internal and external factors on banking sector profitability in Central and Eastern European Union countries during 1998-2015 period. We found that bank capital, economic growth and financial development affected banking sector profitability positively, while banking sector size, non-performing loans, and bank sector concentration affected the banking sector profitability negatively. 113 more...

Bu çalışma Avrupa Birliği'nin Doğu genişlemesini emperyalizm çerçevesinde incelemektedir. Bu amaçla, çalışma Avrupa projesinin niteliğini, Avrupa Birliği'nin Doğu genişlemesinin ardındaki nedenleri ve küreselleşme, Avrupa bütünleşmesi ve AB genişlemeleri arasındaki ilişkiyi tartışmaya açmaktadır. Bu bağlamda bu çalışma, Avrupa Birliği ile Orta ve Doğu Avrupa ülkeleri arasındaki ilişkinin emperyalizmin özgün bir örneğini ortaya koyduğunu iddia eder. Bir başka ifadeyle, Doğu genişlemesinin, yeni emperyalizmin bir örneği olduğunu iddia eder. Dolayısıyla çalışma, Orta ve Doğu Avrupa'daki yeni emperyalizmin bu özgün karakterini incelemeye odaklanır. AB'nin Doğu genişlemesi, AB ile ilgili literatürde çoğunlukla Orta ve Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinin `Avrupa'ya dönüş`ü olarak tartışılmıştır. Diğer bir ifadeyle, Doğu genişlemesinin, bu ülkelerin demokrasiye ve piyasa ekonomisine dönüşünü ve Avrupa'nın batısı ile doğusunun bütünleşmesini sağladığı ileri sürülmüştür. Ne var ki, Doğu genişlemesi Avrupa'daki eşitsiz gelişimi daha açık bir şekilde gözler önüne sermiştir. Avrupa projesi, Sovyet bloğunun çöküşünden sonra Orta ve Doğu Avrupa'yı küresel kapitalizmin ihtiyaçları doğrultusunda yeniden yapılandırmak için bölgeye yayılmıştır. Fakat Orta ve Doğu Avrupa'daki yeni emperyalizm, buradaki ülkelerin AB bloğu içerisine dahil edilmesiyle özgün bir nitelik kazanmıştır. Bu ülkeler açısından sonuç ise, bölgesel pazara yani Avrupa Tek Pazarı'na bağımlılık olmuştur. This study analyses the Eastern enlargement of the European Union within the frame of imperialism. For this purpose, the study brings into question the characteristics of the European project, the reasons behind the Eastern enlargement, and the link between globalization, the European integration, and the EU enlargements. In this context, this study argues that the relationship between the EU and the Central and Eastern European countries presents a unique case for imperialism. In other words, the study argues that the Eastern enlargement was a case for the new imperialism. Accordingly, this study mainly focuses on examining this unique characteristic of the new imperialism in the Central and Eastern Europe. The eastern enlargement of the EU has been mostly discussed in the literature regarding the EU as the `return` of the Central and Eastern European countries `to Europe`. In other words, it was argued that the Eastern enlargement provided the return of these countries to democracy and market economy and integration of the west and the east parts of Europe. However, it has more clearly revealed the uneven development in Europe. The European project expanded to the Central and Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet bloc to restructure the region in line with the requirements of global capitalism. However, the new imperialism in the Central and Eastern Europe has had a unique characteristic by inclusion of these countries in the EU block. The result for these countries has been dependency on the regional market namely the European Single Market. 142 more...

This study analyses the relationship between governmental expenditure and economic growth rate for 8 Eastern-European countries with data for 1995–2014 using the ARDL model. The main goal of the present study is to test the presence of a non-linear - Armey Curve type - relationship between the government size and economic growth and also to find an optimal level of public spending which maximizes economic growth. Our results reveal the occurrence of a significant cointegration of public spending and economic growth for all considered countries and show that the current share of public spending within the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeds the optimal level calculated for the three countries for which the Armey-type phenomenon occurs. Also, the results suggest that the optimal percentage of governmental spending varies between 37 % and 41 % and the present level is higher than the optimal level for Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The outstripping of the optimal level may conclude to the idea that the weight of public sector should be slightly decreased in these countries since the public sector is not able to efficiently cope with its resources. Based on the study results, the weight of public expenditure should be reduced while the efficiency of public spending programs should be increased. more...

The privatization has as purpose to reestablish the functionality of a type of property under the public agreement. The privatization of banks brings both positive and beneficial aspects, but also some notions with a negative impact that influence the capital markets and banking system. Among the benefits we can include: the increase of the effectiveness and performance of the banking operations, the implementation of some effective structures that lead to the gradual integration of the banking system into the greatly developed economies, the improvement and perfecting of the bank services. In Romania, the privatization of banks started rather late and in some cases it turned up to be very difficult. Romanian banking system is dominated by the Austrian and Greek investors. The Romanian banking system is very concentrated, but the intermediation level is still lower than in other European or Eastern European countries. more...

This paper explores bidirectional linkage between inflation and its uncertainty by observing monthly data of 11 Eastern European countries. The methodological approach comprises two steps. First, inflation uncertainty series have been created by choosing an optimal Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity- (GARCH) type model. Subsequently, inflation and inflation uncertainty have been observed together by two models examining whether Friedman's and Cukierman–Meltzer's hypotheses hold for selected Eastern Europe Countries (EEC). Due to the heterogeneous behaviour of some series of inflation and inflation uncertainty, the unconditional quantile regression estimation technique has been applied because of its robustness to the particular non-normal characteristics and outliers' presence in the empirical data. According to the findings, both Friedman's and Cukierman–Meltzer's hypotheses have been confirmed primarily for the largest EEC with flexible exchange rate. In contrast, these theories are refuted in smaller, open economies with firm exchange rate regime. more...

The recent financial crisis has highlighted the lack of analytical frameworks to help predict the global financial imbalances. The recent financial crisis has determined an increasing number of countries to use macroprudential instruments, in order to avoid systemic risks. According to the policy objective that wants to be achieved, country’s authorities have to choose among several instruments. Work on selecting and applying macroprudential instruments is a priority in the European Union, both at a national and at entire Union. In the case of Eastern Europe countries, the authorities adopted several measures to curb bank lending in foreign currency, subject that will be treated in the present paper. more...

The aim of this presentation is to provide a comparative analysis of public administration education programmes in Eastern Europe post- socialist countries, that are geographical, cultural, political, and/or historical interconnected. Those countries were part of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia and currently are (potential) candidates for EU membership (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), plus Croatia. In addition, we analysed changes in public administration education programmes in the time span of 5 years in those countries. The comparative analysis is based on the programmes of higher education institutions and information collected via web sites of the institutions. It includes analyses of the main orientation of the PA curricula, levels of education and character of the institutions offering PA education. The PA education programmes have been identified by reviewing the names of the courses offered within the programmes. Public as well as private university institutions and polytechnics have been included in the analyses. more...

Globalization process has determined a lot of changes at an individual level. These changes arereflected in the modern family profile, which creates individuals able to accomplish the goal ofglobalization. Thus, young people from the Romanian society, take as a goal, the opportunity ofliving the country, during or after they finish their studies, for studying or for working in Westerncountries. This paper tries to analyze the migration of population phenomenon, from economicunstable areas to economic economic stable areas, and, also, the impact of this phenomenon ontheir families. more...

This paper aims at investigating the existence of accounting heredity in some of Eastern European countries. Accounting heredity assumes that at the time the economic paradigm changes, a new accounting system emerges, enclosing both genes from the existing accounting system, as well as genes from a new accounting system used as an inspiration. Data was gathered by sending questionnaires to academics in the respective countries. Studied countries fell into two categories: Ex Soviet countries (Republic of Moldova & Ukrane), and other Est European countries (Romania, Republic of Macedonia and the Czech Republic). It analyses the survival of communist accounting practices in the post-1990 accounting systems and identifies other eternal influences that shaped these accounting systems. more...

ÖZETBu çalışmanın temel amacı, Avrupa Birliği’nin Orta ve Doğu Avrupa ülkeleri ile genişlemesini iki uluslararası ilişkiler teorisinin argümanları doğrultusunda analiz etmektir. Genişleme, Avrupa Birliği’nin kendisini tanımlayan ve uluslararası sistem içerisindeki konumunu belirleyen bir süreç ve aynı zamanda politika alanıdır. Orta ve Doğu Avrupa ülkeleri ile gerçekleşen genişleme, Avrupa bütünleşmesi sürecinde atılan en önemli ve bununla birlikte en tartışmalı adımlardan biridir. Çalışmada, Avrupa Birliği’nin Orta ve Doğu Avrupa ülkeleri ile genişlemesi uluslararası yapıya ve devlet davranışlarına vurgu yapan neorealizm ve sistemik inşacılık teorileri ile incelenmiştir. Avrupa Birliği üye devletlerinin genişleme kararı almasına neden olan etmenler üzerine yoğunlaşılmış ve sistemik inşacılığın neorealizme kıyas ile genişlemeyi açıklayıcı gücünün daha fazla olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.Anahtar Sözcükler: Neorealizm, Sistemik İnşacılık, Genişleme, Avrupa Birliği, Orta ve Doğu Avrupa Ülkeleri.ABSTRACT The basic purpose of this dissertation is to analyse enlargement of the European Union with Central and Eastern European Countries in line with arguments of two International Relations Theories. Enlargement is both a policy and a process that describes European Union itself and determines its position in international system. Enlargement with Central and Eastern European Countries is one of the most important and in the meantime controversial steps in the process of European integration. In dissertation, enlargement of the European Union with Central and Eastern European countries was examined with neorealism and systemic constructivism which emphasize international structure and state behaviour. It is concentrated upon actors that led to European Union member states’ enlargement decisions and it is concluded that explanatory power of systemic constructivism on enlargement is more in comparison with neorealism. Keywords: Neorealism, Systemic Constructivism, Enlargement, European Union, Central and Eastern European Countries. more...

Performance measurement provides an objective basis for evaluating how efficiently public resources are being used and how effectively public service outcomes are being achieved. It is a process used to support government selfanalysis and provide a basis for more informed and publicly defensible decision-making. In this context an important role is reserved to performance external audit performed by external audit institutions. The performance audit analyses the quality of financial administration from the point of view of the three elements of performance: economy, efficiency and effectiveness. We intend to realize a comparative study for some Eastern European countries regarding the performance audit, knowing the fact that since countries differ at the level of individual reforms, there is no single model of reform. Nonetheless, reform strategies have many points in common emphasizing the international character of public management reform. By cross-national comparisons we intend to analyze the impact of implementing the new performance audit in certain Eastern European Countries, and in Romania, focused on the external audit institutions. more...

The comparative analyses of the development of democracy inUkraine and Eastern European states are provided. The author presentedfive periods of cooperation of the specified countries in the context ofEuropean integration. Every period represents a cadence of the oneUkrainian president (Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma, Viktor Yushchenko,Viktor Yanukovych and Petro Poroshenko). Moreover, they are closelyconnected with events in Europe and considers an internal political situationin the Eastern European countries. Political, economic, social and geopolitical factors affecting the transformation process are considered. Inthis article problems of domestic and foreign political development of ourcountry are explored, and attempts of construction of a single strategy ofthe state reforms in Ukraine during the all periods of our independence areinvestigated. The special attention to the current events in Ukraine is paid.In this article the analysis of researches which in general allow todefine a level of social-economic development of the new democratic statesis made. The construction of the right algorithm of complex cooperation ofUkraine with the western neighbors in the conditions of opposition toneoimperial ambitions of the Russian party is a one of the main question ofUkraine and needs taking into account the new factors.Therefore, the purpose of this publication was to define a place and arole of Ukraine as full-fledged participant in the modern system of regionalcooperation. It demands the solution of the following tasks: to determinethe main stages of development of the relations of Ukraine with the EastEuropean states; to establish distinctive features of the countries’ internaldevelopment; to reflect an influence of external factors on transformationalprocesses in the countries., W niniejszym artykule przeprowadzona jest komparatywna analizademokratycznego rozwoju ukraińskiego państwa i krajówwschodnioeuropejskich. Proponuje się pięć okresów współpracy wskazanychkrajów w kontekście eurointegracji (аutorska periodyzacja). W pracyprzedstawiona jest analiza polityczno-ekonomicznych, socjalnych,geopolitycznych czynników, które wpływają na procesy transformacyjne.Szczególna uwaga jest użyczona ostatnim wydarzeniom na Ukrainie., У статті проведено компаративний аналіз демократичногорозвитку української держави і східноєвропейських країн. Авторськебачення співпраці вказаних країн в контексті євроінтеграції включаєп'ять періодів. Зроблено аналіз політико-економічних, соціальних,геополітичних чинників, які впливають на трансформаційні процеси.Особлива увага приділена поточним подіям в Україні. more...

Aims Widespread availability of tertiary hospitals with catheterization facilities, although vigorously promoted, has yet to become a reality in many countries with economy in transition. We sought to evaluate the clinical profile and mortality of patients who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and either received reperfusion therapy or remained without reperfusion in Eastern Europe. Methods and results Data were obtained from the International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndromes in Transitional Countries (ISACS-TC; [NCT01218776][1]) on STEMI patients admitted to 57 hospitals in Eastern European countries from January 2010 to February 2015. The primary endpoint was 30-day mortality. Of 7982 patients, 65 (0.8%) had a documented contraindication to reperfusion, 5973 (75.5%) received fibrinolysis ( n = 1032) or underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI; n = 4941), and 1944 patients (24.6%) did not receive any reperfusion therapy. The overall unadjusted 30-day mortality rate was 7.9%. Thirty-day mortality rates were higher in non-reperfusion patients (16.0 vs. 5.0% in the p-PCI group and 7.4% in fibrinolysis group). The strongest factors associated with not attempting reperfusion therapy among these patients were female sex (OR 1.29 CI 1.07–1.56), age (OR 1.02; CI 1.01–1.03), prior MI (OR 1.79; CI 1.38–2.32), prior cerebrovascular events (OR 1.87; CI 1.30–2.68), chronic kidney disease (OR 1.76; CI 1.22–2.53), Killip class >1 (OR 1.31; CI 1.06–1.62), and time to admission >12 h (OR 15.9; CI 13.1–19.3). Conclusions A substantial number of patients are still not offered any reperfusion therapy in many Eastern European countries with economy in transition, and this was associated with increased 30-day mortality. Time from symptoms onset to admission >12 h was the highest ranking among factors related to lack of reperfusion therapy. Quality improvement efforts should focus on minimizing delay to hospital admission among STEMI patients. [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01218776&atom=%2Fehjqcco%2F2%2F1%2F45.atom more...

Bu çalışma Avrupa Birliği (AB) üyesi 27 ülkedeki kitle iletişim araçlarında yer alan AB içerikli haberlerin 2009 Avrupa Parlamentosu seçimlerine katılıma olan etkisini inceler. PIREDEU projesinden alınan kitle iletişim araçları kaynaklı içerik verilerini ve seçmen tercihlerine dair kapsamlı kamuoyu yoklaması verileri ile birleştirip incelemek suretiyle; kitle iletişim araçlarının içeriği ve tesiri, seçimlere katılım ve ikinci derece seçim kuramı konularındaki mevcut kaynakların üzerine hipotezler geliştirir. Toplanan veriler AB hakkındaki haberlerin görünürlüğü, tonu ve buna ek olarak seçmenlerin bahsi geçen kitle iletişim araçlarını kullanımları hakkında bilgi içerdiğinden, bu veri grubu seçimlere katılım veri grubuyla birleştiğinde seçmen seviyesinde haber tüketimini ve bunun seçimlere katılımına olan etkisini incelemeye imkân sunabilmektedir. Bu çalışma kitle iletişim araçlarında AB hakkında haberlere maruz kalan seçmenlerin Avrupa Parlamentosu seçimlerine katılma olasılığının arttığına dair sonuçlar içerir. Haberlerin tonundan ziyade çokluğu seçimlere katılımı açıklamaktadır. Bu çalışma ayrıca Batı, Orta ve Doğu Avrupa ülkelerindeki kitle iletişim araçlarının etkilerinin farklılığını da inceler. Batı ve Orta Avrupa ülkelerinde kitle iletişim araçlarındaki haberlere maruz kalan seçmenlerin Avrupa Parlamentosu seçimlerine katılma olasılığını artırırken, Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinde benzer bir olumlu etki görülmemektedir. Avrupa Parlamentosu seçimlerine düşük seviyedeki seçmen katılımı seçmenlerin AB'ye olan ilgisizliği veya AB hakkındaki bilgi eksiklikleri ile ilişkilendirilebilir. Bu sonuçlar ayrıca AB'nin kendini tanıtımındaki eksiklikler, derinleşen AB demokrasi açığı, ve son olarak AB'deki partilerin ve adayların Avrupa Parlamentosu'na olan ilgisizliği ile de ilişkilendirilebilir.Anahtar Kelimeler: Avrupa Parlamentosu Seçimleri, Kitle iletişim araçlarının etkileri,Komünizm sonrası Avrupa This study examines the impact of European Union (EU) news coverage and of media exposure on voter turnout in the 2009 European Parliament elections in the 27 EU member states. It analyzes media content data and voter survey data from the PIREDEU project and builds the hypotheses on the existing literature on media coverage, media exposure, voter turnout, and the second-order elections theory. The study matches data on the visibility and tone of EU news in countries' media outlets with voters' usage of these outlets. This allows for examination of the effects of exposure to individual outlets on voter participation in the European elections. The study finds that people exposed to media in which the EU news coverage is highly visible are more likely to vote in the European election. The tone of the news does not play an important role in this equation, as long as the EU news is salient. Additionally, the study examines the differences in the media effects between countries of Western and Central and Eastern Europe, finding lack of media effects in the latter group. Low voter turnout in the European Parliament elections may signify voters' lack of interest in the EU and low level of knowledge about the EU. The results further indicate the lack of EU's external communication and a deepening of the democratic deficit in the EU, as well as the lack of interest in the EU from national political parties and candidates to the European Parliament.Keywords: European Elections, media effects, post-Communist 220 more...

Sosyoekonomik statü bazlı oy vermenin öneminin azalması son yıllarda literatürde önemli tartışmaları beraberinde getirmiştir. Bir görüşe göre sosyoekonomik statü bazlı oy verme seviyeleri 2. Dünya Savaşı'ndan bu yana azalmışken diğer bir görüşe göre ise sabit kalmıştır. Bu çalışmada anket verisinden elde edilen sonuçlarla oluşturduğum makro düzeydeki veriseti üzerinde kesitler-arası zaman serisi analizi uyguluyorum. Ana bulgular Batı ülkelerinde sosyoekonomik bazlı oy verme seviyelerinin 1990-2011 yılları arasında sabit kaldığını gösterirken Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinde aynı dönemde arttığını, Güney Avrupa'da ise azaldığını gösteriyor. Bu çalışmanın literatüre katkısı üç ana maddede sıralanabilir. İlk olarak, ülkelerin tarihi, sosyal ve siyasi özelliklerine göre benzerlik gösterdikleri coğrafi bölgelere göre gruplandırılmaları bu gruplar değişik oy verme örüntüleri gösterebildikleri için faydalı olabilir. İkincil olarak, ülke seviyesinde kullanılan kontrol değişkenleri değişik kurumsal bağlamlarda sosyoekonomik bazlı oy vermenin değişik dinamiklere sahip olabileceğine işaret ediyor. Üçüncü ve son olarak ise sonuçlar ülke seviyesinde kontrol değişkeni kullanmadan sosyoekonomik bazlı oy vermenin zaman içindeki değişimine bakmanın yanıltıcı olabileceğini göstermektedir ki bu ülke seviyesinde kontrol değişkeni kullanmanın öneminin altını çizmektedir.Anahtar kelimeler: Sosyoekonomik Statü Bazlı Oy Verme, Doğu Avrupa Ülkeleri,Kurumsal Bağlam, Kesitler-Arası Zaman Serisi Analizi There have been fierce debates over the decline in class voting levels. While one group of scholars argues that class voting has been declining in the Western democracies, another, opposing group aims to show that class voting trends have been stable. There exist three shortcomings in the previous class voting literature. First, a majority of these studies focus on Western countries and neglect others. Second, comparative studies are relatively rare. Lastly, the role of country-specific effects has been ignored. The present study offers a cross-regional comparison of class voting trends, including non-Western countries, while also considering the effects of country-level control variables. After conducting analyses on survey-level data to construct the country-level dataset, I conduct time-series-cross-sectional analysis. The findings reveal that in Western democracies class voting levels were stable between 1990 and 2011, while in post-communist countries they increased over the same period. The study makes three main contributions to the literature. First, it demonstrates that a differentiation between regions, in which countries have similar historical, social and political characteristics, is necessary since different regions have different patterns of class voting. Second, country-level control variables suggest that different dynamics of class voting exist under different institutional contexts. Finally, the results demonstrate that assessing time trends in class voting without taking country-specific factors into account may be deceptive and therefore country-level control variables should be included.Keywords: Class Voting, Post-Communist Countries, Institutional Context, Time-SeriesCross-SectionalAnalysis 84 more...

This paper is aimed at analyzing the level of postmaterialist values in Eastern European countries as well as the main individual and country level predictors of the postmaterialist value preference. The data from the World Values Survey (WVS) and the European Values Survey (EVS), conducted on the nationally representative samples in the period from 1990 to 2008, were used. The main analysis was performed on the data from the fourth wave of EVS (2008/2010), on the total of twenty countries and 30,393 respondents. A number of individual (age, education, income level, size of town, economic hardship in formative years) as well as country level variables (inflation and unemployment rate, Human Development Index and GINI index values) were used. The results have shown that the level of postmaterialist values in Eastern Europe, measured by the standard four-item index, is relatively low and relatively stable in the period 1990–2008. Younger, urban and more educated respondents as well as the citizens from more developed and economically stable Eastern European nations are more inclined towards postmaterialism. The significance of the current socio-economic conditions for the variation in postmaterialism as well as the insignificance of economic security during the formative period of political maturation calls into question the assumptions of Inglehart’s original model. The possible alternative mechanisms of value change as well as of the (post)materialist conception are discussed. more...

Avrupa Birliği, 2004 ve 2007 yıllarında gerçekleştirdiği başarılı ve büyük genişlemeden sonra Doğu Avrupa'da daha geniş sınırlara ulaşmış, daha önce sınırdaş olduğu Doğu Avrupa ülkelerinin Birliğe katılması ile Doğu Avrupa'da kendisine yeni komşular edinmiştir. AB, Doğu Avrupa'da yer alan yeni sınırdaş komşulara 2004 ve 2007'de Birliğe katılan Orta ve Doğu Avrupa ülkeleri gibi üyelik perspektifi sunmamış ve asıl sorun da burada baş göstermiştir. Bu sorunu aşmak amacıyla üyelik vaad etmeyen, ancak eski ilişkilere kıyasla daha fazla ekonomik, siyasal ve sosyal entegrasyon öneren Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası hayata geçirilmiştir. Başlangıçta, yalnızca 3 Doğu Avrupa ülkesine yönelik olarak tasarlanan Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası daha sonra Güney Kafkas ülkelerinin ve Güney Akdeniz ülkelerinin de dahil edilmesiyle 16 ülkeyi kapsayacak şekilde genişletilmiştir. Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası kapsamında AB ile Doğu komşuluğu ülkeleri arasında ikili düzeyde sürdürülen ilişkiler, Karadeniz Sinerjisi ve Doğu Ortaklığı gibi tamamlayıcı politikaların oluşturulması ile çok taraflı bir zemine taşınmıştır. Bu şekilde ülkeler arasında görüşmelerin, karşılıklı fikir alışverişlerinin gerçekleştirileceği platformlar ve forumlar oluşturulmuştur. Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası kapsamında demokrasi, temel haklar ve özgürlükler, hukukun üstünlüğü gibi kavramları komşuları ile ilişkilerinde önkoşul olarak belirten Avrupa Birliği, mali yardımları da ülkelerin bu konularda gösterdiği ilerlemelere göre gerçekleştirmektedir. Bu kapsamda, tezde Avrupa Birliği ve Doğu komşuları arasındaki ilişkiler incelenmiş ve bu bağlamda Avrupa Komşuluk Politikasının olumlu ve olumsuz yönleri ve temel sorunları tahlil edilmeye çalışılmıştır. After the big and successful enlargements occurred in 2004 and 2007, European Union (EU) has reached wider borders in Eastern Europe; and by the accessions of Eastern European countries once bordering with the European Union, it has obtained new neighbors. The EU hasn't provided membership perspective to these new neighbors located in Eastern Europe as it did for the Central and Eastern countries acceded to the Union in 2004 and 2007 and this has created the main problem. In order to overcome this problem, European Neighborhood Policy, which doesn't promise membership but offers a stronger economic, political and social integration, has been initiated. The European Neighborhood Policy, which was firstly designed only for 3 Eastern European countries, was then extended 16 countries including South Caucasian and South Mediterranean countries as well.The bilateral relations between the EU and Eastern neighbourhood countries within the context of European Neighbourhood Policy have gained a multilateral basis with the formation of complementary policies such as Black Sea Synergy and Eastern Partnership. By this way, platforms and forums, where multilateral negotiations and exchange of views of the countries will be conducted, have been established. Within this policy, EU, bringing forward some concepts such as democracy, fundamental rights and freedoms, and rule of law as preconditions in its relationship with its neighbors, provides financial support according to the progress of the countries in these areas. In this respect, the thesis examines the relationship between the EU and its Eastern neighbors and attempts to analyze the positive and negative aspects as well as the fundamental problems of the European Neighborhood Policy. 181 more...

For Eastern European countries, after reestablished independence, commercial property market has become one of the major influences on economic development, as it generates a wide range of economic activities. However, its development remains an ambiguous process and there is gap of clear understanding of how this market emerged, evolved, grows and operates, and which processes and factors affect its development. The development of commercial property market in Eastern Europe has not been analyzed systematically and considered unsufficiently explored. Commercial property market in these countries stands out by: - its operational characteristics; - data fragmentation. On one hand, the nature of commercial property market in Eastern European countries differs from the developed countries by its foundation and operation logic due to the historical facts that occurred within the frames of the command system. On the other hand, fragmented data and / or lack of reliable data for time series, which offer such countries, complicates any empirical research, analysis, evaluation, and especially any forecast. The theorethical and scientific contribution of this research offers: • commercial property market development model adopted for above mentioned markets, allowing to assess the evolution of the markets; • the expert evaluation helps assessing the Lithuanian commercial property market’s evolution; • while the extreme values theory allows predicting the probability values of vacancy and yield factors under the review of a certain range over the long-term period. The results of the expert evaluation revealed that Lithuanian market, regardless of its obvious development, has certain risks and limitations. Meanwhile, the extreme values theory application does not provide an unambiguous answer for commercial property market development trends, however, leads to the conclusion that the shopping center segment in Lithuania is generally more reliable during both recession and growth periods, i.e. less risky comparing to the office segment. more...

the combination of such system as educational, sanitary and social provides measures that create background for prevention of cerebrovascular diseases and may be implemented for healthy people and those who are under stroke risk factors. The statistic data for Eastern European countries shows increasing of abovementioned pathology (according to national and international researches). The State youth policy considers promotion of the healthy lifestyles for young people as absolute priority. There are numerous factors that may reduce risks of stroke and support its prevention, e.g. implementation of national programs on promoting the healthy lifestyle, medical culture of population, proper methodological approach of a doctor to assessment and impact on individual risk factors., Профилактика цереброваскулярных заболеваний включает в себя систему воспитательных, гигиенических и социальных мер, которые реализуются среди здорового населения и лиц с факторами риска и направлены на предотвращение развития инсульта. Согласно статистическим данным, которые приводятся зарубежными и отечественными исследовательскими организациями, в странах Восточной Европы фиксируется возрастание числа этой патологии. Пропаганда здорового образа жизни среди молодежи находится в безусловном фокусе внимания социальной сферы и государственной молодежной политики. При внедрении национальных программ, направленных на формирование здорового образа жизни и медицинской культуры населения, при правильном методическом подходе врача к оценке и воздействию на индивидуальные факторы риска профилактика инсульта становится реальной., Профілактика цереброваскулярних захворювань включає в себе систему виховних, гігієнічних і соціальних заходів, які реалізуються серед здорового населення та осіб з факторами ризику і спрямовані на запобігання розвитку інсульту. Згідно зі статистичними даними, які наводять закордонні і вітчизняні дослідницькі організації, в країнах Східної Європи фіксується зростання цієї патології. Пропаганда здорового способу життя серед молоді є в фокусі уваги соціальної сфери та державної молодіжної політики. При впровадженні національних програм, спрямованих на формування здорового способу життя та медичної культури населення, при правильному методичному підході лікаря до оцінки і впливу на індивідуальні фактори ризику, профілактика інсульту стає реальною. more...

A tanulmány célja annak bemutatása, hogy az Európai Unió a pénzügyi és gazdasági válság, valamint az egyre erősödő globális versenykényszer hatására megváltoztatta gaz-daságpolitikai stratégiáját. A hangsúly a versenyképesség fokozására került, a kohézió, vala-mint az újonnan csatlakozott kelet-közép-európai tagállamok gazdasági és szociális felzárkóz-tatásának rovására. A versenyképesség a növekedésért és foglalkoztatásért célkitűzésre szánt források évről évre 6-7%-kal emelkednek a 2007–2013-ig terjedő pénzügyi perspektíva során, míg a mezőgazdasági és vidékfejlesztési (természeti erőforrások megőrzése, kezelése) for-rások 3%-kal csökkennek évente. A paradigmaváltás a kétsebességű Európa kontúrjait, vala-mint a magrégiók és a perifériarégiók közti feszültségeket vetíti előre. A tanulmány megítélése szerint helyes az Európa 2020 stratégia versenyképesség- köz-pontúsága – még akkor is, ha a kezdetekben sérül a szociális kohézió –, mivel a tudásgaz-daság létrehozása biztosítja hosszú távon Európa jövőjét. A stratégia megvalósításakor azon-ban megkülönböztetett figyelmet indokolt fordítani arra, hogy a kelet-közép-európai államok innováció befogadására alkalmas abszorpciós képességei javuljanak. A kelet-európai tagál-lamoknak mindent meg kell tenniük, hogy az egyetemi oktatásuk és szakmai képzéseik meg-feleljenek a piac diktálta követelményeknek.-------------------------In this essay I tried to show that the European Union modified its economic policy due to the financial and economic crisis and the fierce global competitiveness requirements. The main emphasis was laid on the increase in competitiveness. Competitiveness became pre-ferred to cohesion and the economic and social comvergence of the newly accessed Central-Eastern European countries. The funding for competitiveness for growth and employment in-crease by 6-7% yearly during the financial perspective between 2007-2013. On the contrary, the funds for agriculture and rural development decreased by 3% yearly in this period. This trend strengthens the establishment of the two speed Europe concept and causes tensions between the core regions and the peripheries. According to the study, the core message of the Europe 2020 strategy concerning com-petitiveness is well established, even though social cohesion is neglected at the beginning be-cause the establishment of the knowledge economy assures Europe’s future for the long term. When executing the strategy, utmost attention has to be paid to the absorption capabilities of the Central-Eastern European countries. These countries have to undertake everything so that the standards of universities and professional education correspond the expectations of the market. more...

Türkiye - Bulgaristan sınırına 5 km uzaklıkta konuşlandırılan kırsal bir istasyonda Nisan 2006 ve Mart 2008 zaman aralığında partikül madde örnekleri günlük olarak toplanmıştır. Örneklerin element içeriği Endüktif Eşleşmiş Plazma Kütle Spektrometresi (ICPMS), iyon içeriği İyon Kromotografi (IC) cihazı ve siyah karbon içeriği Atelometre cihazı ile analiz edilmiştir. Böylece Türkiye'nin kuzeybatısı ve Doğu Avrupa'daki partikül maddeyi temsil eden çok parametreli bir veri seti elde edilmiştir. Sülfat, NO3- ve NH4+ iyonlarının aritmetik ortalama derişimleri sırasıyla 5.8, 2.9 ve 2.0 µg m-3 iken toplam partikül madde derişimi 66 µg m-3 olarak bulunmuştur. En yüksek derişimler toprak kaynaklı kirleticilerde yaz mevsiminde, insan kaynaklı kirletilerin çoğunda ise kış mevsiminde ölçülmüşür. Yerel meteorolojik faktörlerden sadece yağmurun partikül madde derişimini etkilediği tesbit edilmiştir. Türkiyenin kuzeybatısına ulaşan hava kütlelerinin hakim yönü yazın kuzeybatı, kışın ise batı-kuzeybatı sektörüdür. Hava kütleleri geliş yönleri ve rüzgar hızlarına göre beş farklı kümeye ayrılmıştır. Çoğu kirletici derişimi kümeler arasında farklılık göstermiştir. Kümeleme analizinde suda çözünebilir K'un orman yangınları belirticisi olarak kullanılmasıyla, Ukrayna ve Rusya Federasyonundaki orman yangınlarının etkisi gösterilmiştir. Partikül maddeyi etkileyen kaynakları bulmak için EPA'nın PMF modeli kullanılmış ve beş kaynak ayrıştırılmıştır. Toprak emisyonları partikül kütlesinin %41'ini oluşturarak en büyük katkıya sahiptir. Katkısı ikinci sırada yer alan uzun mesafeli kirletici emisyonları partikül kütlesinin %26 lık bir kısmını oluşturmaktadır. Trafik emisyonları %16 lık bir katkı ile dikkat çekmektedir. Deniz emisyonları ve sabit kaynaklarda yakıt yanması kaynaklı emisyonlar ise partikül kütleye sırasıyla %9 ve %8 lik bir katkıda bulunmaktadır. PMF ile ayrıştırılan kaynakların kaynak bölgeleri kaynak etki fonksiyonu yöntemi (PSCF) ile belirlenmiştir. Daily aerosol samples (PM) were collected at a rural station, which is 5 km away from the Turkish-Bulgarian border between April 2006 and March 2008. Aerosol samples were analyzed for elements by ICPMS, ions by IC and black carbon by aethalometer to provide a multi-species aerosol data set, which can represent aerosol population for Northwestern Turkey and Eastern Europe. Average concentration of SO42-, NO3- and NH4+ was 5.8, 2.9 and 2.0 µg m-3, respectively, while total aerosol mass was 66 µg m-3. Seasonal variation of crustal species had maxima in summer, while most of the anthropogenic species had maxima in winter. Rainfall was found as the only local meteorological parameter affecting aerosols concentrations. The dominant sectors of air masses arriving the Northwestern Turkey were northeast in summer and west-northwest in winter. Air masses were classified into five clusters regarding their wind speed and direction. Most species indicated significant differences between clusters. The influence of forest fires in Ukraine and Russian Federation was identified by cluster analysis using soluble K as tracer. Source apportionment of PM was carried out by EPA PMF model and five sources were resolved. Crustal emissions were found to be the major contributor to PM (41%). The second largest source was distant anthropogenic sources with a contribution of 26%. Traffic was also a remarkable source with 16% contribution. Sea salt and stationary combustion sources accounted for 9% and 8% of PM, respectively. Potential source regions of resolved sources were determined by potential source contribution function (PSCF) 191 more...

The paper attempts to provide an overview of the fiscal decentralization process in emerging market economies in Eastern Europe in the last 20 years. Using methodology developed by Vo (2009), the paper assesses the degree of fiscal decentralization in the region. Conceptually, the measurement of fiscal decentralization focuses on fiscal autonomy and the fiscal importance of subnational governments. The empirical analysis reveals that according to our definition of fiscal decentralization the highest level of (average) fiscal decentralization (centralization) is found in Russia (Armenia) among non-EU members and in Estonia (Slovak Republic) among EU members of the Eastern European. In addition, the empirical results show that, in general, the degree of fiscal decentralization is higher in developed OECD countries than in most Eastern European countries (EECs). However, in contrast to our expectations, there has been an alarming downward trend of FDI in most of the region over the last two decades. Moreover, the paper also examines the effects of fiscal decentralization on growth and public sector size in EECs. The analysis provides some evidence that increases in public sector decentralization are associated with higher income levels. However, the growth-enhancing effects of fiscal decentralization are expected to be much greater when supported by a sound institutional environment. Therefore, EECs, in particular non-EU member states, should improve their administrative and technical capability in order to establish sound and effective fiscal decentralization. Finally, our results suggest that fiscal decentralization in EECs generally leads to an increase in the size of government, albeit there are some significant differences between EU and non-EU member states. more...

Modigliani ve Miller (1958)'ın firmaların seçeceği finansman politikalarının firma değerini etkileyemeyeceğini belirttiği sermaye teorisinden bu yana, firmaların sermaye yapısı politikaları ve bunların etkileri hem teorik hem de ampirik olarak geniş çapta çalışılmıştır. Sermaye yapısı belirleyicilerinin gelişmiş ülkeler için oldukça fazla ele alınmasına rağmen, gelişmekte olan ülkelerdeki firmalar için yapılmış çalışma sayısı kısıtlıdır. Bu tez 6 adet firma bazlı değişkenin Avrupa Birliği'ne yeni üye olan Slovenya, Polonya, Macaristan, Litvanya ve Çek Cumhuriyeti ve Türkiye'deki firmaların sermaye yapısını inceleyerek literatüre katkıda bulunmaktadır. Firmaya özgü değişkenler olarak firma büyüklüğü, sabit varlıklar, karlılık, vergi kalkanı, büyüme olanakları ve likidite kullanılmıştır. Ayrıca, Avrupa Birliği üyesi 5 ülke için üyelik öncesi/sonrası için bir kukla değişkeni ve 2008 finansal krizi için de bir kukla değişkeni modele eklenmiştir. Verinin kapsadığı dönem ise 1996-2010 aralığıdır. Karlılık, sabit varlıklar ve likidite firmaların kısa vadeli borç kullanımı üzerinde negatif etkiye sahipken, firma büyüklüğü kısa vadeli borç kullanımını pozitif yönde etkilemektedir. Uzun vadeli borç kullanımını ise karlılık ve vergi kalkanı negatif yönde etkilerken; firma büyüklüğü ve likidite pozitif yönde etkilemektedir. 2008 Finansal krizinin firmaların sermaye yapısı üzerinde bir etkiye sahip olmadığı da tespit edilmiştir. Avrupa Birliği üyeliğine ait kukla değişkeni ile kısa vadeli borç kullanımı arasında negatif yönlü bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Karlılık, sabit varlıklar, büyüme fırsatları ve likidite firmaların toplam borç kullanımı üzerinde negatif etkiye sahipken, firmanın büyüklüğü ise toplam borcu pozitif yönde etkilemektedir. Modigliani and Miller (1958) argue that the capital structure decisions are irrelevant under some restrictive assumptions including perfectly efficient capital markets. Since then, choices of sources of financing and their effects have been widely discussed. This thesis contributes to the literature by analyzing the impact of firm-level variables on the capital structure choices of the listed firms in 5 new member countries of EU namely Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, and Czech Republic and Turkey. The impact 6 firm-level variables namely size, asset structure, profitability, non-debt tax shield, growth opportunities, and liquidity on capital structure is analyzed. In addition, an EU membership dummy and 2008 financial crisis dummy are introduced. Firm level data is collected from Compustat Global Industrials and Commercials database. The time period of data is 1996-2010. We find that profitability, asset tangibility, and liquidity have negative impact on current liabilities to total assets ratio (CLTA) whereas size has a positive impact on CLTA. For long-term debt to total assets ratio (LTDTA), profitability and non-debt tax shield are found to have negative impact. On the contrary, liquidity and size variables have positive effect. We also show that profitability, tangibility, growth opportunities, and liquidity negatively affect total liabilities to assets ratio (TLTA). There is a positive relation between TLTA and size. European Union membership dummy has a negative effect on CLTA whereas no impact is observed for LTDTA and TLTA. 2008 Financial crisis dummy does not have any statistically significant effect. 148 more...

Bu çalışma, Polonya'nın Avrupa Birliği üyeliğini değerlendirerek, kimlik ve dil arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektedir. Dilin, ulusal düzeyde, siyasi bir programın parçası olarak oluşturulan ve yeniden oluşturulan kimliğin inşacısı ve taşıyıcısı olduğu öne sürülmektedir. Bu çerçevede, Avrupa kimliğinin, Avrupalı elitler tarafından yaratıldığı ileri sürülerek, Polonya'da Avrupa kimliğinin oluşumu tartışılacak ve Polonya'da Avrupa kimliği oluşumu sürecinde dilin rolü sorgulanacaktır. Çalışma ayrıca, çokdillilik ile Polonya'da Avrupa kimliğinin tesis edilmesini amaçlayan dil politikalarının sonuçlarını değerlendirecek ve Anglo-Sakson kültürü ile İngilizcenin hâkimiyeti gibi sonuçlarına dikkat çekecektir. Son olarak bu çalışma, Polonya'nın AB üyeliği örneği üzerinden, kimliğin taşıyıcısı ve belirleyicisi olarak, AB düzeyinde dilin sınırlarına işaret edecektir. This thesis analyses the relationship between identity and language by evaluating Poland?s accession to the European Union. It suggests that at the national level, language is a constructer and transporter of identity, which is created and recreated as part of a political programme. Thus, it questions the role of language as an identity transporter/ marker at the EU level. Within this framework, arguing that the European identity is created by the European elites, establishment of the European identity in Poland will be discussed and the role of language in the European identity formation process in Poland will be examined. The thesis will also evaluate the results of the language policies and multilingualism that aim to establish the European identity in Poland, and will draw attention to the results such as the dominance of Anglo-Saxon culture and English. Finally, by making use of Poland?s EU accession, the thesis will point out the limits of language as an identity transporter/ marker at the EU level. 185 more...

Ortaçağın sonlarından başlayan Osmanlı-Lehistan ilişkileri, XVIII. yüzyılın sonuna kadar devam etmiş ve bu süre boyunca iki devlet arasında farklı türden ilişkiler yaşanmıştır. Karlofça Antlaşmasından sonraki dönemde, Avrupa birçok gelişmeye sahne olmuş, Osmanlı-Lehistan ilişkileri de bu gelişmelere göre şekillenmiştir.XVIII. yüzyılda Doğu Avrupa politikaları dengelere bağlı olarak değişmiştir. Denge politikası sonucu 1772 -1795 yılları arasında Lehistan komşuları; Rusya, Prusya ve Avusturya tarafından işgal edilmiş ve ülke parçalanmıştır. Osmanlı Devleti, bu parçalanma sürecinde Lehistan'ın yanında bulunmuş ve destek olmuştur. Bu çalışmada cevap aranacak soru, Lehistan'ın parçalanma sürecinde Osmanlı Devleti ile ne tür ilişkiler yaşadığıdır.Anahtar Kelimeler: Osmanlı Devleti, Lehistan, Doğu Avrupa, Rusya, Prusya, Avusturya, Parçalanma, İlişkiler Ottoman-Poland relations which had started in the late middle ages, continued till the end of XVIII. century and during this period various relations were existed between two states. In the era after Karlowitz Treaty, Europe has been a stage for many developments and Ottoman-Poland relations has taken form according to those developments.In the XVIII. century the policies of Eastern Europe has changed depend on balances. By the conlusion of balance policy Poland has been invaded and partitioned by its neighbours Russia, Prussia and Austria between the 1772-1795 years. Ottoman has taken side with Poland and has supported it during that period. In that work the question waiting for answering is what kind of relations has been existed between Ottoman and Poland during the partition.Keywords: Ottoman, Poland, Eastern Europe, Russia, Prussia, Austria Partition, Relations 124 more...