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The paper presents a summary of the literature on the significance and importance of entrepreneurship to economic growth and development. Entrepreneurship has been shown to have been seen to lead to an overall optimistic development in many economic data. There is a general expectation that this inquiry would address the question of whether there is a correlation between the entrepreneurial enterprise and economic growth. In countries with various economic groups, different citizens are classed due to how much wealth they have. The data used in this paper were extracted from the World Bank, the World Entrepreneurship Monitor (WEM) over the last five years, and the World Economic Forum has a Database of Worldwide businesses. However, in low-middle- and middle-income nations, growthoriented entrepreneurship is associated with economic progress. Analysis of various countries and different levels of economic growth, so it can be claimed that entrepreneurship serves a special position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to show the importance of the labour market and employment in the conditions of globalization in the context of sustainable development. This paper evaluates the formation of sustainable development, its main features and sustainable development goals. This theme aims to examine the evolution of sustainable development goals and its fundamental values and to show the importance of labour market and one of its policies - flexicurity. The objectives of this article are: to characterize the sustainable development goals on the global, the European Union Member States (EU-28) and Lithuanian levels; to characterize the flexicurity of labour market policy and to make a comparative analysis of employment forms in Lithuania, Latvia, Denmark and the EU-28 in the period of 2005-2017. Data from Eurostat databases for the year 2005-2017 are used for the analysis. The method of base indicators (labour market employment rate, activity rate, unemployment rate and others indicators) comparison is used, whereas the first year (e.g. year 2005) of the analysed period is chosen as base year. The analysis shows that economic modernization in the context of globalization in Lithuania is based on the main sustainable development goals and the EU-28 economic development targets. The comparison of main labour market employment forms in Lithuania, Latvia, Denmark and the EU-28 shows differences, which requires further research. The investigation reveals that in Lithuania and Latvia the flexicurity model is weak, unlike in Denmark and the EU-28. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the directions of the development of food consumption in Poland in view of the changes occurring in the EU. The aim of this paper is to identify the relationship between the level of economic development of a country and the consumers’ standard of living. The starting point of the discussion is an interdisciplinary presentation of the current development of the theory of consumption. Next, the changes in food consumption in Poland are presented against the background of general European trends in 2009–2015. The explored trends include both the quantitative and qualitative transformations in the amounts and structure of food consumption. This paper was developed based on secondary information sources published by the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) and Eurostat. It has been shown that the presented direction of changes follows in step of the research in this field performed during the last 15 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioeconomic development is one of the major research topics undertaken in economic sciences. It is a multidimensional and wide concept. The problems discussed in this paper are extremely essential not only from the point of view of countries, but also their regions and smaller territorial units. The development of border areas as one aspect of the aforementioned phenomenon is an important and interesting matter to look at. Such areas are universally regarded as peripheral and less-developed. Peripherality is a complex notion, although it is accepted that geographic accessibility is not the only or prevailing determinant of the development of lands situated along state borders. The purpose of this paper is to assess the socioeconomic development of Poland’s eastern borderland. The borderland encompasses three regions, or voivodeships: Podlaskie, Lubelskie and Podkarpackie. Perkal’s Index was used to assess the level of their socioeconomic development. The data to build the model on was derived from the Central Statistical Office. The analysis was carried out for 2004 and 2016 for all the 16 voivodeships of Poland, which allowed for comparisons to be made between them. The research showed that the level of socioeconomic development differed between the regions. In 2004, the three eastern borderland voivodeships scored the lowest in terms of the development indices when compared to the rest of the country. By 2016, the situation of the regions concerned had slightly improved. Among them, Podkarpackie Voivodeship had developed the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accompanying administrative territory or satellite town is a concept in urban planning that refers essentially to smaller metropolitan areas that are located somewhat near to but are mostly independent of larger metropolitan areas. Taking into account the rapid social economic development of satellite towns, which leads to the population growth in these municipalities, it is important to ensure the well-being for their citizens. The studies have proved that society well-being is directly related to the involvement of citizens in decision-making processes. In this context, it is important to ensure the management of the municipality where citizens are playing important role. Especially, it is important in satellite towns where society participation level and local patriotism is relatively low. However, the theoretical management issues of satellite towns are not analysed properly in scientific literature. Mostly researchers focus on spatial planning of these territories. The aim of the paper is to propose possible management guidance for accompanying administrative territories of Riga based on case study approach. Within this research, the analysis of scientific publications and scientific research are carried out; qualitative and quantitative research methods, including grouping, graphic analysis, expert survey, semistructured interviews, focus group method, and case study are applied. The main results and conclusions of the paper: based on the designed methodology on identification of accompanying administrative territories, 25 accompanying administrative territories around Riga were determined. One of the accompanying administrative territories - Salaspils municipality - was analysed from different perspectives (well-being indicators, public services, citizens’ engagement etc.). The authors have provided management guidance for accompanying administrative territories on citizens’ engagement, public service provision, and budgeting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to present a research discourse of theoretical literature studies on problems related with economization of tourism industry. Authors' considerations focus on the discussion of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research on tourism. A critical analysis of the contribution of both of these approaches in the development of theoretical bases of tourism as a science was made. The authors of the paper have revealed the importance of the economics of tourism and special attention was drawn on facts that tourism has become one of the most important sectors of the global economy. The new paradigms of economization of tourism arise owing to the economic impact of services on the development of global economy, which determines the need for revision of the former tourism basic postulates and research focuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to assess the comparative level of sustainable development of European Union countries. Posing such questions is particularly important in the case of such political and economic structures as European Union. The analyses conducted in the paper allow to track changes in individual EU countries, forming a single organism, but they are characterized by differing levels of development, with different resistance to the crisis of 2007-2008 and often completely different socio-economic realities. To study the spatial differentiation of social and economic development, on the basis of sustainable development indicators presented by Eurostat, the taxonomic measure of development based on median vector Weber was used. The results obtained in this study can be used in subsequent years to examine the direction of changes in sustainable development levels observed from the point of view of the EU Member States. The results obtained in the work confirm the significant differences between the EU countries in the field of sustainable development. These differences are especially visible between the countries located in different geographical area of Europe (such as Northern and Western Europe and Southern and Eastern Europe) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green governance principles entails perception of the most basic premises of economic, political, and legal orders, as well as cultural orders. It addresses local context and social diversity in structuring social and economic activity and environmental problems that requires understanding of values in social and economic thought to account for nature and social well-being. Environmental education infrastructure integrates basic analysis, critical thinking, and instructs people to evaluate different sides of an environmental issues in order to make necessary every day choices. The aim of the paper is to investigate interdisciplinary approach of the green governance principles in the local context and discover development of environmental education infrastructure in Latvia. The paper examines the green governance principles reflecting theoretical approach described by Weston B. H., Bollier, Biermann F., Adger N., Jordan A. and environmental education infrastructure theoretical approaches by various scholars Leopold A., Carson L.R., Naess A., Brudtland G.N., Palmer G.N.,J. and Stevenson R.B., Brody M. in order to analyse green governance principles development in the context of environmental education infrastructure integration. As such, the term "environmental education infrastructure" is seldom encountered in the sociological or economic theoretical discourse; therefore, the paper will provide common understanding of environmental education as broader view of environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is an assessment of current level of socio-economic development of EU countries. In situation of many difficult changes, which could complicate the further EU's situation, the analyses provided in these areas are important. Due to large differences in the social and economic development of EU countries, the multi-criteria taxonomy was used to compare the situation in both of these areas. The authors decided that the basis for the analyses will be the indicators transformed according to the relative taxonomy method. The results confirmed the relatively large differences between EU countries especially in the area of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the quality of life is one of the main long-term development goals mentioned in Latvian planning documents. In order to assess whether the goals are achieved, it is necessary to find the optimal solution for quality of life evaluation. The aim of the article is to find the most suiTable method for assessing and comparing quality of life in the regions of Latvia. The most popular and easy-to-use method for quality of life evaluation is calculation of the complex index, but the indicators could be normalized according to different methodology. In this paper 7 methods of calculation of indexes were compared and the advantages and disadvantages of each method were determined, as well as the optimal method for calculating the quality of life index at the regional level was chosen. To evaluate quality of life, factors such as financial situation, health, economic activity, education, dwelling, security and environment were used and 10 descriptive indicators were selected. In the assessment of the quality of life in the regions of Latvia, it was concluded that Pieriga and Riga regions have the highest quality of life, but the lowest quality of life is in Latgale region. The most appropriate method for assessing the quality of life is to calculate the Quality of Life (QoL) Index as a percentage of the average, or by using the min-max normalization formula and obtaining index values in the range from 0 to 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional disparities have been a focus of scientific discussions for more than a century. Today, economic growth or development factors are as much important as, for example, sustainable development factors in the environmental and social dimensions. Social equality and public participation in state and environmental governance -- through regional institutional cooperation -- are among the priorities of sustainable development. Research on institutional cooperation is an urgent priority. Previous research studies indicated that local governments in the regions of Latvia implemented isolationistic policies both at the horizontal and at the vertical level, which was promoted by their competition aimed at benefiting themselves, ignoring common public interests. Previous cooperation among regional institutions was fragmented and based on short-term economic interests. The research aim is to assess the role of institutional cooperation, placing a special focus on research done by national economists. After performing a literature review, the authors concluded that the research papers of both foreign and national researchers have stressed the essential role of institutional cooperation in regional economic development. Further and more detailed research has to be done on the pace of territorial growth, depending on local and national institutional cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is natural for Poland's regions to differ in development. Differences result, among others, from attractiveness of location, deposits of raw materials, availability of human capital, and access to infrastructure and financial resources. Economic potential constitutes an important factor in the development process. The aim of the paper is to analyse spatial disparities in communal development against the background of economic potential. In the analysis, the TOPSIS method was used for the construction of the synthetic measure. The investigations were based on the data from Local Data Bank of Central Statistical Office for years 2012, 2014 and 2017, and also from Regional Accounting Chamber. They made it possible to create synthetic measures of economic potential and development of rural communes of the Swietokrzyskie province. Economic potential includes local labour market, level and type of entrepreneurship and infrastructure. The level and structure of economic potential are a condition of communal development. The communes of Sitkowka-Nowiny and Morawica, affected by the proximity of Kielce city, are the highest evaluated units. As their agricultural function is fading away, the industrial one is growing in importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is an assessment of current level of development in the green growth area of the OECD countries. For this purpose, the seven main indicators characterized the green growth in 2004 and 2015 were utilized. To identify the relations between them, the multi-dimensional correspondence analysis with the complex matrix of markers was used. The main advantage of this method is possibility to implement division into groups of OECD countries taking into account the level of each of analysed indicators, not only a mean level of development in this area. In the paper, the OECD countries were separated into four groups with different level of development in the green growth area. The results of the study confirmed visible changes in the area of the green growth in 2004 and 2015 for the majority of countries. There are also visible changes between these years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on statistical data about financial indicators in the regions of Latvia, there can be observed a general finding that economic situation in the regions of Latvia is improving. But at the same time regional disparities between regions still remain. To decrease regional disparities, a variety of regional development instruments are used in Latvia. One of them is a special economic zone, which should be established in less developed regions. To operate in a special economic zone, companies should make investments in their business, primarily in fixed assets. The authors of research paper have discussed whether a special economic zone may be considered as an innovation booster in less developed regions. By using descriptive methods, the authors described economic situation in the regions of Latvia, defined main measure points of innovation level in regional aspect and analysed examples of innovative companies in special economic zones. The authors concluded, that if special economic zones play a role as innovation booster in less developed regions, than companies which operate in a special economic zone should primarily focus on investments in technology as innovation agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the paper is to compare and assess the structure and value of implemented projects co-financed by EU funds in perspective 2007-2013 in rural areas in comparison to the urban ones. The objectives of the study were to classify investment priorities assigned to each project into smaller number of homogenous groups and to identify the share of EU funded projects in the different types of areas. Desk research, review of literature and databases, statistical and descriptive methods were used. The material used was database of projects implemented in the period 2007-2016 co-financed by EU structural funds in the programming period 2007-2013 as of June 2018. Polish rural areas have had the highest share of funds (above 10 %) allocated on construction of transport infrastructure, developing energy infrastructure, social infrastructure; and projects enhancing nature, tourism and cultural development. The proportions between the allocation in urban and rural areas were uneven - in most cases much more funds were spent in the cities and towns, which is clearly connected with the polarization - diffusion model of Polish regional policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the paper is to compare the investments in transport infrastructure with support of structural funds in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The specific objectives were: classification of projects connected with transport infrastructure development, calculation of the share of infrastructure projects in all EU funding and identification of types of beneficiaries. Desk research, review of literature and databases, statistical and descriptive methods were used. The material used was databases of projects implemented in the period 2007-2016 co-financed by EU structural funds in the programming period 2007-2013. Poland was the largest EU-funds for infrastructure absorber (30 billion EUR), and in Latvia and Lithuania the total values of all transport infrastructure supporting projects were very close to each other (1.7 billion EUR). The share of transport infrastructure funding among all EU co-financed projects was similar in all countries, although in Poland it was higher (31.2 %) than in Lithuania (21.7 %) and Latvia (24.8 %). Developing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and rail infrastructure projects (i.a. Rail Baltica connecting Warsaw with Kaunas) were the two types of projects with highest share in all countries. In Lithuania and Poland, there was quite high funding for national, regional and local roads and highways reconstruction, while in Latvia investments in sea ports took the third place in total share of funding. Nearly all airports in the three countries benefited from the EU funds. The structure of beneficiaries was very diversified in Poland, while in Lithuania all infrastructure investments were highly institutionally concentrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents possibilities of investments’ realization in Nature 2000 areas in Poland and majors of Nature 2000 communes opinions about role of the network in socio-economic development of managed areas by them. It was focused on the presentation of legal possibilities of investment, by conducting analysis of conditions which potential investor is obeyed to fulfil in order to invest in those protected areas. Basing on typified to research communes with network Nature 2000, laid on area of Green Lungs of Poland, there were presented majors’ opinions about restrictions and potential profits resulting from fact of Nature 2000 area possessing. It was underlined that most of inquired majors had declared that Nature 2000 areas in analysed communes had had limitations for inflow of investments and almost all of them had posited necessity of allocation of additional financial means by state budget in order to compensate for the effects resulting from Nature 2000 functioning in their areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research problems comprise issues connected with acquiring EU funds for newly established SMEs. The main purpose of the article is to discuss the significance of the EU funds for the establishment of SMEs in the Lubelskie Voivodeship. The research included the following tasks: characterization of selected aid funds, description and assessment of instruments that support the development of the newly established small and medium-sized enterprises as well as presentation of advantages that stem from the implementation of the aid funds in the Lubelskie Voivodeship. In order to meet the aim of the article and to verify the hypotheses elements of statistics, descriptive and tabular analysis were also used. A case study method was also applied. The theoretical part of the paper describes the SME sector and its role in the economy. The empirical part analyses the Regional Operational Program for the Lubelskie Voivodeship, as well as a total of 20 projects implemented under the Human Capital Operational Programme and addressed for the newly established SMEs. However, the article is limited only to presenting the details of 4 selected projects taking the criterion of the highest amount of the acquired funds into account. As a result, entrepreneurs have a chance of obtaining funds allowing them to establish and develop their businesses. Due to the use of the aid funds, many new jobs were created, which had a positive impact on a decrease in unemployment, as well as on the local development. For instance, the Human Capital Operational Programme, Priority VI, Operation 6.1, co-financed by the EU under the European Social Fund for 2007–2013 in the Lubelskie Voivodeship provided as much as over PLN 354 million, with the EU funding amounting to over PLN 299 million. As a result of those funds, 5.109 new businesses were opened. An important result was also an increase in entrepreneurial awareness and conducting own business activity, which in the future can stimulate further economic growth of the Lubelskie Voivodeship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a general economic pattern, the importance of services grows as the economy develops. This is also true for economic processes inside the agricultural sector. The use of services is a measure of modernity, and may substitute capital expenditure. Both the basic research task and the purpose of this paper is to identify the extent of differences in accessing services in the agriculture of EU countries. The study was based on input-output tables with a spatial distribution of services by type at country level. As regards the time frames for this study, the most recent available data from 2000, 2005 and 2010 was used. Over that period, most of the EU countries reported growth of the service sector’s contribution to the supply of agricultural materials, which is consistent with the progressive evolution of the agri-food sector. However, between 2005 and 2010, some countries saw a decline in the share of services. This could be caused by the decisions to purchase more efficient, state-of-the-art machinery and equipment which enabled substituting purchased services with own labor. The key services delivered to the agricultural sector were financial, insurance, professional, scientific, technical and veterinary services and, in EU -10 countries, transport services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size and usage level of labour resources co-determine the economic potential and strength. The above aspect is particularly important in Polish rural areas, which remain affected by side effects of the economic transformation. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the size and usage levels of labour resources related to Polish rural areas after Poland’s accession to the EU, compared to earlier figures. The subject matter of this study is labour resources in Polish rural areas seen in the context of demographic trends and economic developments over the 2002-2050 period. Polish rural areas have a significant population potential and strong labour resources. Over time, their potential will become increasingly important for the entire country, especially considering the progressing urban depopulation. Later in the study period, the population’s professional situation was steadily improving on a year-to-year basis. This was reflected by the consistent increase of the economic activity rate and employment rate, and by the declining unemployment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the issues of investment of hybrid and public venture capital funds. The results show that hybrid and public venture capital funds in Latvia in most cases are the first investors. Only a smaller part of these investments are investments of the early stages of funding. The results of our research suggest that venture capital funds with public participation avoid projects with a high level of information asymmetry. The consequence of this can be underfunding of young innovative companies with the potential for rapid growth, which, in turn, is not consistent with the goals of public subsidies of venture capital funds in the context of the need to stimulate innovative economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a consensus among environmental scientists, that existing household behavior patterns cause a wide range of environmental impacts. This study is based on the data acquired through the nation-wide public opinion survey carried out in Latvia in March 2016 (n 1009), covering pro-environmental behavior practice and personal value orientations. The initial findings reveal that people are concerned about the environmental problems and at least half of them are willing to reduce their environmental impact. However, as it is clear from the majority of related studies during the past decades, these concerns and good intentions rarely lead to real pro-environmental behavior. This paper investigates the link between values, current household behavior patterns, environmental impact and willingness to act pro-environmentally. The key conclusion is that values have a slight positive correlation with current (carbon footprint) as well as intended (Willingness to Act Index) pro-environment behavior and it brings us closer to the understanding of underlying motivations behind household behavior; however, results from the regression analysis clearly indicate that values explain only small part of our pro-environmental behaviors. It will help us to shape the most appropriate and selectively targeted interventions as for next steps towards sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The smart specialization strategy is a tool for European Union (EU) economic growth and recovery from economic crisis. The aim of the paper is to describe and compare the smart specialisation strategy (RIS3) in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania by describing the theoretical aspects of smart specialization concept in state and regional level; analysing smart specialization strategy development in the EU in accordance to Europa 2020 targets; comparing and evaluating the smart specialisation strategies in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The three Baltic States have made the most progress to the EU 2020 targets in 2015. All three Baltic States have set common priorities for RIS3: ICT, biomedicine and health technologies, materials, technologies and engineering systems. Smart energy is a priority in Latvia and Lithuania, but functional food and logistics - in Lithuania and Estonia. Lithuania is the only country of Baltic States which has set a priority regarding to the inclusive and creative society area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development processes take place everywhere, but they are more observable in urban areas and periurban areas. Regulations for urban areas are usually well developed, but the situation is less clear for peri-urban areas. Peri-urban areas sometimes have land use conflicts, or competition for the land occurs. Meanwhile, it is quite problematic to determine where the peri-urban area ends and the rural area begins. The aim of the paper is to propose a method for the determination of the peri-urban areas around the town of Tartu according to data of land use types and land use. The study was carried out around the town of Tartu in Estonia. Ten buffer zones have been created; each buffer zone was two kilometres in width. Cluster analysis was used. It demonstrated that the first two zones differ from others and the width of the peri-urban areas around Tartu is about four kilometres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present issues of eco-innovations in relation to sustainable development of businesses. Research was conducted among 225 owners, managers or other persons involved in environmental issues in businesses located in rural areas of Kujawsko-pomorskie Province of Poland. The research showed that caring for the environment is one of the key assumptions of sustainable development undertaken by the businesses. The environmental benefits are an important, but not the most important factor which determines the introduction of eco-innovations. Economic advantages also matter. Environmental protection may be a way of a simultaneous improvement in economic results, e.g. a decrease in the cost of energy usage, resources and raw materials affects the profitability of the business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important pre-condition for successful operation and development of business are highly motivated and professional employees. The aim of the paper is to analyse the employee's knowledge and skills required by the employers. Methods used in the research are: analysis of scientific literature, survey of employers and survey of graduates of vocational education institutions of Kurzeme region, Jelgava city, Jelgava district, Ozolnieki county, Dobele district (the surveys were conducted in June 2013 - October 2013). Methods used for data analysis: descriptive statistics- indicators of central tendency or location and indicators of variability, analysis of variance, cross tabulations and factor analysis. Empirical research results showed that the employers' highly evaluated the following knowledge and skills: specific professional knowledge, ability for self-contained work, ability to plan work time, co-operation ability, initiative, and creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to quantitatively evaluate the quality of institutions in innovation-driven economies. First, the authors define institutions as socially approved behaviour models that restrict the rationality of an individual and constrain or encourage specific behaviour and classify institutions into two groups - governance institutions and value institutions. Secondly, the authors propose and implement an innovative and consistent yet simple and informative methodology for quantitative evaluation of institutions. The core of the methodology is the Institution Index Matrix that combines Institution Index and Institutional Potential Index in a single framework, where the level of quality of institutions is placed on X axis and the results of policies that facilitate growth-friendly institutions- on the Y axis.To measure the quality of institutions several World Bank's World Development and Worldwide Governance Indicators are used as well as the results from the World Value Survey. The analysis confirms that the leaders regarding the quality of institutions are the Nordic countries, Western European countries and New Zealand, Canada, the United States and Australia and the laggards - Southern, Central and Eastern European countries as well as Hong Kong, Chile and Israel. The low quality of institutions might impede the economic convergence. Finally, the authors provide a detailed analysis of the institutional environment in the countries with the worst institution indicators and propose solutions for the development of growth-friendly institutions in these countries. Research results can be applied to global development policies and regional development policies in geo-political regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the authors' discussion on the activities defined in the third priority axis of the RDP 2007-2013. The mentioned axis included the implementation of four activities which were directed at the diversification of rural areas economy and quality improvement of rural inhabitants functioning in these areas. The aim of the paper was presentation of research on the third priority axis in quantitative terms and the rate of the EU funds implementation. The research was conducted taking into account the implementation of tasks in quantitative and material (financial) terms. The comparison of the number of tasks in the programme was made with reference to the number of decisions issued and it was demonstrated that no task was fully implemented at the beginning of 2014. Better performance of planned activities was noticed with measures realized by the Marshal's Offices of Poland's provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state in facilitating the development of a successful national economy needs to address the issue of support for small and medium-sized enterprises in order to improve their competitiveness internationally, as well regards overall economic development and growth. Latvian entrepreneurs in seeking to raise their competitiveness, need to focus on new technologies, products and service solutions. Taking into account changes in the political environment, as well as membership in the European Union, businesses must be ready to accept the challenges of a changing environment: to achieve higher productivity, to achieve greater added value, to enter new markets and to develop new products. There are a variety of support activities to promote new business development in Latvia, which may be financed by the government and EU structural funds, by private investors, investment funds and organizations. One financial instrument co-financed BY EU structural funds relates to business incubators which are national or regional economic and social development bodies whose mission is to assess and support new business start-ups and provide opportunities for their growth. The aim of this article is to clarify the nature of a business incubator, its importance in setting up a new company in Latvia, including use of European Union structural funds. This paper addresses the following issues: business incubator core, availability of EU structural funds, as well as a framework for results based on the support received. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A broad strand of research demonstrates a beneficial role of political competition producing more efficient policies and fostering economic development. This paper explores the linkage between political competition and economic development of municipalities in Latvia after the 2009 administrative reform. Empirical data do not support the above claim of the positive role of political competition and rather demonstrate an adverse linkage between political competition and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxation policy is one of the possible solutions to ensure development of the economy and can affect possible regional and social disparities and market distortions. One of the possible discussions in the field of the current Latvian tax policy is mainly based on reduction of income inequality by some elements of tax policy. Research of the current status of taxation policy and quality of the state budget revenue sources enabled to suggest some solutions instead of personal income taxation to tax personal wealth with separate wealth tax. As the main result this paper offers proposals on the personal wealth taxation system. The research is based on traditional economic science methods, including monographic method, analysis and synthesis, statistical analysis, and also comparative analysis and practical experience of tax policy implementation. Implementation of prepared recommendations provides an opportunity to ensure development of Latvian tax system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the policy of reducing negative human impact on the natural environment and the fashion for eating high-quality food influenced the development of organic farming. However, that organic crops in the world currently only cover approx. 0.9% of agricultural land, mainly in developed countries. Europe, particularly the European Union countries, besides the North America, is a leader in terms of both the area and the number of farms, and the development of organic products market. The aim of the paper is to present both the status of organic farming in the European Union in the years 2000-2012, and synthetic prospects for the development by the year 2020. Information was analysed on the organic farming i.e. the area and structure of organic crops, and the number of certified farms. An analysis of the basic data concerning the level and rate of the development of organic farming in the European Union confirmed an increase in the significance of this method of agricultural production. As a result of the support under the CAP so far, both the number of organic farms and the area of organic agricultural land have been on the increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]