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Discrepancies between several South-Eastern European (SEE) countries and Nordic countries are investigated in this paper using an econometric analysis. Its aim is to examine the relationship between CO2 emissions, GDP per capita, urban population (URB) and electricity production from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) - EPREN, excluding hydroelectric for the two groups of EU countries located in the North and S-E of Europe. The data covers a period from 1990 to 2022, providing a comprehensive view over three decades. The relationship between the four variables is determined by various causality and cointegration tests. We check the unit root tests and conclude that the analyzed time series are stationary at first difference. Further, we estimate two models: Fully Modified and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and study causality and cointegration between variables. The results show that CO2 emissions are impacted by GDP, URB and EPREN for both regions. Testing causality, for SEE and Nordic countries, the bidirectional and causalities do exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pension systems around Europe are being reformed for several decades already. Main objectives of the reforms are to enable people to have adequate income at retirement and to ensure the system’s financial sustainability. Many European countries implemented policies aiming at diversification of financing sources of income at older age: risk-sharing between pay-as-you-go and funded pensions is expected to help in achieving social policy objectives towards pension systems. Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) face even more challenges in ensuring adequate income at retirement. First, CEE countries were required to transform radically their economies in 1990s towards market economy, including old age pension systems. Second, in order to ensure diversified future old age pension income and attract more financial means to the system, introduction of funded pensions from scratch and ensuring as wide as possible coverage with funded pension schemes was of primary importance also. The paper discusses latest developments of retirement pension systems in Europe and state involvement in private pension schemes. In doing so, the focus is on the introduction of funded private pension schemes in selected CEE countries. In spite of initially chosen different paths for the reforms, inconsistent state policies towards funded pensions in the CEE countries resulted in similar outcomes of the reforms. The paper starts with discussion on main objectives of pension systems – enabling people to have adequate income at retirement and ensuring financial sustainability of the systems. Further, possibilities to achieve the objectives of pension reforms are analysed – diversification of income at retirement. Third part of the paper discusses prevailing debates on future of welfare state as such and individualisation trends within different European welfare state models. These debates and perceptions of population about responsibilities of a state for individual welfare affect direction of reforms and future shape of old age pension systems. Fourth part of the paper deals with state policies and tools that are used for encouragement of participation in supplementary pensions. Final part of the paper presents more detailed outline of the pension reforms in selected CEE countries and summarises particular challenges of their pension systems. The paper ends with a discussion on policy implications in relation to latest developments of pension systems in CEE countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study approaches the fresh perspective of non-financial reporting (NFR) promoted through the Directive 2014/95/EU (EUD) by providing a state of knowledge, initiatives and approaches on this topic and also by identifying the main patterns developed within this research stream. Based on a structured literature review and statistical methods as Principal Component and cluster analysis, it investigates the progress of scientific research and design undertaken within NFR topic and discloses insights and critical issues for future research agenda. The results reveal the focus of the literature on general issues related to EUD, as well as throughout its specific requirements, using GRI or other national/international frameworks. From a methodological point of view, even though empirical studies prevailed, there are also conceptual studies that analyse the new EUD either on sampled countries or across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wrought iron was a determining material in historic times. Although it was mainly used for manufacturing tools and weapons it was also applied for architectural purposes as building structural or architectural elements. In this paper the impact of material and technology of forging on the shaping and the design of wrought iron building structural and architectural elements from the time of the first known application to the 20th century in Europe is analyzed, distinguishing five main periods which are divided by four determining technological shifts in material production and consequently forging technology. Several phenomena are delighted regarding the appearance of the artifacts and the characteristics of the material, which reveal connections between technology and architectural design. The observations are validated by visual analyses of wrought iron samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis has become a centre of interest for empirical research, as it serves to identify the relationships between economic growth and environmental degradation that will lead to a sustainable development path. The aim of the paper is to investigate these relationships for each of the EU15 countries, which are responsible for the largest amount of carbon dioxide emissions in Europe. Based on the results of the analysis of ARDL bounds cointegration approach, for the 1960–2019 period, it was found that there is a great diversity between the countries in the EU15 regarding the existence and shape of EKC, from the identification of N shape, Inverted U-shape or monotonic relationships to the absence of statistically significant relationships. Thus, there are countries that have managed to implement environmental protection measures early and now ensure GDP growth while significantly reducing CO2 emissions. The similarities and differences identified among EU15 countries can serve as a guide for EU policymakers in developing recommendations adapted to specific situations in order to facilitate economic growth taking into consideration environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to assess the effect of discretionary accruals on firm growth while controlling for firm characteristics and macroeconomic environment. Employing a large sample of 1.105 young and high-growth firms (gazelles) from 15 emerging European countries over the period 2006-2014, it has been found that the discretionary accruals negatively influence firm growth. The empirical results suggest that discretionary accruals are used as earnings management tools and this practice is more used over the high-growth period (2006-2009), with negative effects on future performance. Furthermore, the results of the quantile regression employed in the whole period suggest that the earnings management practices have a negative effect on firm growth. The results prove to be robust for different estimation approaches and different sub-samples of gazelles. The findings provide empirical evidence for the need for more detailed information provided by firms on the origin of the accruals, as well as for the use in the performance analysis of some indicators that eliminate the influence of accruals, such as cash flow based ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper re-examines the short-term and long-term performance following announcements of mergers and acquisitions. This is the first study that comprehensively explores this phenomenon in Central and Eastern European countries. We find strong evidence that announcement of a takeover creates value for both bidders and acquirers in the short run. Simultaneously, contrary to the stylized fact reported by a majority of U.S. based studies, after controlling for local value, size, and momentum factors the mergers and acquisitions do not destroy the value of the acquirers in the long term. The observations are important for corporate governance and portfolio management. The research is based on 109 deals in years 2001–2014. For the short-horizon event studies, we calculate average cumulative abnormal returns and we employ of the zero, index, and market models. For the long-run studies, we build equally and capitalization-weighted calendar-time portfolios and test their performances with CAPM, three-factor and four-factor models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards the strive of developing sustainable freight transport networks in Europe, the EU and the developing South-Eastern Europe in particular, this paper initially examines the feasibility of establishing a navigable link along the Axios–Morava waterway, for freight transport between the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (via the Aegean) and the Danube River, and then proceeds with its energy and air quality comparison with the competing modes of rail and road. It was found that this waterway service is technically feasible and offers an energy and carbon efficient alternative to road-borne and rail-borne freight. However, the land-based services were found to be superior with regard to their impact upon the air quality of the region, mainly attributed to the stricter emission standards applicable to these transport modes. Finally, it is proposed to build on the ongoing international policy and funding interest in this project in order to implement all the necessary infrastructural and operational changes which will make the proposed waterway service a commercially and environmentally sustainable freight transport alternative in South-Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study investigates the impact of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on GDP per capita and domestic investment in 22 European transition countries from 2000 to 2014 by using the system Generalized Method of Moments estimator. The main implications are that cross-border mergers and acquisitions have a negative effect on GDP per capita in the year of merger or acquisition, while their lagged level shows a positive impact. From long-term perspective, this type of FDI has negative and significant effect on GDP per capita. The results show that one-year lagged cross-border mergers and acquisitions positively affects domestic investment, suggesting that spillover effects of this type of investment can be expected not earlier than one year after the merger or acquisition. The value of this paper is that our results show how the advances in structural reforms enhance GDP per capita whereas their influence on domestic investment activity is insignificant. We found that there is insignificant impact of the relationship between overall structural reforms and cross-border mergers and acquisitions on GDP per capita and domestic investment both in short and long run. The originality of this study lies in investigation of the dynamic nature of cross-border mergers and acquisitions and their economic effects depending on the quality of structural reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Impact of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) on sustainable transport development is indisputable. It can be tested through various methods. The identification and detailed analysis of specific types of ICT solutions, case studies approach or scenarios analysis are examples of perspectives for impact assessment that can lead to the proof that successful applications of ICT solutions entails optimised, more accessible, less resource consuming and less emission intensive transport. The impact of ICTs in travel induction and substitution and resulting decarbonisation effect is difficult to assess isolated from other social, economic and technologic drivers. Financial applicability reflects initial investment cost as well as operation maintenance costs. Organizational feasibility refers primarily to the necessary changes in organisation and conduct of operations created by introduction of ICTs. The social factor results from user and public acceptance or lack of it. User acceptance is combination of many sub factors of which most important are: D2D travel time, D2D travel costs, comfort and convenience, safety and security. The objective of the article is to present the applicability of ICT solutions in passenger transport from the perspective of transport users taking into consideration real case studies from different European background. These case studies were identified as a result of specific selection process in order to receive a complex and differentiated sample. The first element of the selection process was the identification of ICT solutions to be applied in case studies. The next element was the choice of regions corresponding to varied economic and geographic characteristics. In addition, cultural factors have a strong impact on the behaviour of users. The resulting multidimensional factor matrix allows for the selection of best fitting case studies, which have potential to cover most of the ICT applications. Five European settings are selected for in-depth research. Each case represents different geographic, social and economic area, which forms a good European sample across differentiated setups. Case studies are supported by user surveys. Surveys allow for direct answers regarding user attitudes towards proposed ICTs. Based on this approach findings could be reported. The main conclusion is that users in various regions with very different characteristics as to the wealth, GDP levels, geography, and cultural back-grounds represent surprisingly similar attitudes towards ICTs. Specific findings regarding different types of solutions and different type of users are presented in the article. The analysis of selected case studies shows also that they could offer solution to many of transport sector problems including key issues from transport policy agenda: environment, mobility or accessibility. The paper is based on the authors research conducted within COMPASS project (Optimised co-modal passenger transport for reducing carbon emissions, project co-funded by the European Commission within the Seventh Framework Programme). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines how different forms of digitalization affect inequality in Europe. Using a cross-national dataset of economic development and digitalization across a range of regression specifications including country and time fixed effects, this article explores the heterogeneous relationships of disparate forms of digitalization -- human capital, broadband connectivity, integration of digital technology into small and medium enterprises, and digital public services -- with income inequality. Fixed country and time effects models show that only the digitalization of human capital and integration of digital technology by SMEs are associated with decreases in income inequality. Causal mediation analysis reveals that tertiary education, despite its oft-cited connection to digital technology uptake, has no causal effect on the pathways through which digitalization of labour and SME operations lower inequality, which are direct. The findings tentatively suggest that there exist informal sources of digital skills training apart from formal tertiary education and point to SMEs as a potentially impactful area for investing in digitalization as pathways for income redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a sample of 2,186 credit default swap spreads quoted in the European market during the period 2002–2009 to empirically analyze which model – accounting- or market-based – better explains corporate credit risk. We find little difference in the explanatory power of these two approaches. Our results indicate that a comprehensive model that combines accounting- and market-based variables is the best option to explain the credit risk, suggesting that both types of data are complementary. We also demonstrate that the explanatory power of credit risk models is particularly strong during periods of high uncertainty, such as those experienced in the recent financial crisis. Finally, the comprehensive model continues to produce the best results if the credit rating is used as the proxy for credit risk; however, accounting variables currently appear to have a more important role than market variables in determining corporate credit ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the stock market there occur some events that contradict the efficient market hypothesis therefore they are called anomalies. One of the mysterious corporate events which has attracted the attention of numerous researchers is a stock split. I perform the review of implications of splitting the stock for market liquidity of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Vienna Stock Exchange. I use event study, in particular Market model method and Market adjusted return method, to inspect the behavior of abnormal changes in daily trading volume for stock splits performed between 2000 through 2011 over a short run and assuming a longer time interval. Moreover, I juxtapose the results for both stock exchanges to examine whether the stock split phenomenon for two major capital markets from this part of Europe can be better explained by means of existing theories on stock splits. The research is aimed at analyzing the implications of the split for market liquidity, i.e. whether there occurs an immediate effect following the split as well as whether this corporate event improves the level of market liquidity over long run. Furthermore, the goal of the paper is to investigate whether the investors can cash in on the stock split, more specifically, whether they can profit from lower transaction costs. I document a significant growth in the market liquidity of stock splitting firms over 36 months following the split for both capital markets what is indicative of lower transaction costs for investors. The 1-percent significant results are consistent with the liquidity hypothesis on stock splits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listed real estate companies can be divided into two categories: real estate operating companies (REOCs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs). REOCs have been around for quite a while, whereas REITs are a somewhat new phenomenon in Europe, the main differences pertaining to permissible activities and taxation. This paper studies the relative differences of REOCs and REITs in terms of liquidity: Also asset returns, volatility and correlation to other equities are assessed. The liquidity tests performed reveal REITs to be significantly more liquid than REOCs, potentially due to restrictions regarding REIT ownership structure. Ceteris paribus, superior REIT liquidity implies REITs constitute a preferred investment vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transport (16484142) is the property of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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

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

The determinants and effects of bank bailout programs on the economy and society are still controversial. Using a Propensity Score Matching approach relying on 22 European countries, it was identified economic growth, economic freedom, total banking assets, and liquid assets to deposits and short-term funding ratio as the main drivers for the decision to adopt a bank bailout program. The results show that the adoption of bank bailout programs did not lead to an improvement in the banks' solvency indicators or financial performance. Still, it has amplified financial stress and income inequality instead, hampering political stability, as well as social and economic conditions. The novelty of this research resides in adding a contribution to scarce literature covering the determinants of the decision to adopt a bank bailout program, also by comprehensively expanding the set of candidate variables that may have impacted the decision for Government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recession 2008-2009 which influenced the World economy has set new challenges for the development of the European construction sector. In the years 2008-2009 a great number of countries faced serious production and employment breakdowns. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the construction sector from a macroeconomic point of view by comparing construction market variations appeared during the crisis in twenty European countries. Therefore statistical indicators of the construction sector were used and a multiobjective evaluation method under the name of MULTIMOORA was employed. However these traditional indicators of the construction sector deliver an incomplete definition of real situations within the sector as during the recession plenty of constructed buildings remained unsold. Therefore the authors of this article propose a rather complex comparison of construction indicators for different European countries. The case study provides the analysis and calculations performed with the help of the MULTIMOORA method. This method enables the evaluation of European countries in accordance with the investigated objectives and ranges them into different groups according to the objectives set for the construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisation climate plays an important role for the innovation of an organisation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate connections between the innovation climate and individual and organisational level factors. Surveys were conducted among Japanese, Chinese, Estonian, Czech and Slovakian enterprises. Linear regression analysis was conducted. The results of an empirical study show that the innovation climate predicts differently some individual and organisational level factors in studied countries. Two innovation climate facets – commitment and freedom predict individual level factors– attitude toward the firm in all 5 countries. In two studied Asian countries, Japan and China, commitment predicts meaning of work and job satisfaction whereas in all three new European Union member states some links between facets of the innovation climate and individual meaning of work and job satisfaction were missing. Although individual job satisfaction and meaning of work in is still shaped by to some extent different mechanisms in studied countries, implications of the innovative climate for organisation are more similar, at least in industries that are influenced by rapid technological development and globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the systematic risk and validity of the basic capital asset pricing model of Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966) in three Central and Eastern European stock markets (i.e. Slovenia, Hungary and Czech Republic). The CAPM is tested on a multiscale basis, building on the Fama and MacBeth (1973) methodology and applying two modern econometric techniques – wavelet analysis and generalized method of moments estimation. Empirical results indicate that the systematic risk and validity of CAPM implications are multiscale phenomena. Empirical evidence in support of CAPM implications in the investigated Central and Eastern European stock markets is found to be weak. The most commonly violated CAPM hypotheses are the zero Jensen's alpha condition, positive market premium, and the non-systematic influence of non-observable variables on the excess returns of stocks in these stock markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The research presented in this paper is aimed at defining a model that enables the management of the relationship between private vehicles and public transport applying the available instruments of city transport policy such as parking policy and public transport policy measures. Statistical data used for modelling is sourced from the database in a wide range of EU cities. The target model was developed in the form of stepwise regression analysis. Very favourable statistical results were obtained, and the subsequent tests on the city of Novi Sad (250000 inhabitants) led to the conclusion that the obtained results were suitable for implementation in practice. The results of the implemented procedure are of great importance for the enhancement of the existing transport policies in cities, as they enable the development of strategies for finding combinations of instruments that would bring the transport system and urban environment into a desired-viable rather than consequential condition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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

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

Copyright of Transport (16484142) is the property of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Transport (16484142) is the property of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Transport (16484142) is the property of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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

Copyright of Transport (16484142) is the property of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the structure of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Turkey and the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) as well as the other new members of the European Union (EU). Our study has two main parts. Firstly, we investigate the key economic and political factors that have an impact on foreign investment, for example, the macroeconomic performance, the production cost and the size of domestic market. Secondly, we explore the relationship between FDI and trade flows for Turkey, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland using the Granger causality methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageing population and ageing infrastructure are two significant socioeconomic challenges, and business opportunities, for the construction sector in Europe. Utilisation of ICT in daily living is one of the future technology drivers. The principles of the Design for All (universal design) help to develop the built environment and its technologies in such a way that cities will be pleasant and supportive places for everybody. This paper considers the potential of new types of services and networking, which are very much under development at the moment and also under lively debate. The cost-effectiveness - and so the availability - of the home delivered services will be dependent on the accessibility of the urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of the EU construction industry in total makes a major impact on the European Community's economy, particularly on capital formation and employment. Small and Micro Enterprises account for 97% of businesses across the construction sector in the EU, a profile broadly reflected in the individual national and regional business base of members. This paper reviews the state of regional support for innovation and technology transfer in the Small Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SME) sector of the Construction industry in the European Community. Results show that at the regional level, where most construction SMEs operate, there is a marked absence of focus on construction in either innovation support initiatives or business development services. Data on the construction industry at national and regional levels across Europe is not available in sufficient quality or detail for strategic decisions concerning this economically significant sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate management is often accused of short-term oriented behaviour related to R&D expenditures. This study analyses the influence of R&D volatility and R&D intensity on the market capitalization of pharmaceutical and medical research companies from Europe, considering the institutional context and several firm characteristics. Panel regression estimations on a sample of 217 companies for 2014-2019 indicate that R&D volatility adversely affects market value. The analysis is conducted on the entire sample and on sub-samples determined based on the positive and negative values of the R&D volatility. This differentiates between the continuous and the disrupting effect of R&D activities and the firm's shift between exploratory and exploitative innovations. The positive volatility sub-sample provides consistent evidence of a significant negative influence of the R&D volatility on the market value. For the negative volatility sub-sample, R&D intensity and its interaction with R&D volatility have a significant positive effect, consistent over the alternative estimations. We conclude that the market influence of the R&D expenditure is related to the sign of volatility and depends on the proportion of R&D expenditure, especially when the volatility is negative. Our findings provide valuable insights for managers, investors, analysts, and other stakeholders about the market reaction to R&D volatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether there has been convergence of total factor productivity levels across twenty-two EU member and three candidate countries following the process of legislative harmonization. The results indicate evidence of β-convergence and σ-convergence in productivity across sampled countries. The results further indicate that all sampled banking sectors seem to have experienced a significant productivity growth over the sample period. The productivity growth levels range from 3.1% to 15.6% and 6.8% to 19.5% in the old member and new member states, respectively. The geometric means considering all banking firms in the new member and candidate countries together reveal that banking sectors in these countries were more productive than those of in the old EU member countries. Overall, the evidence indicates that promoting merger and acquisition activities in the banking system (and hence supporting market driven consolidation of smaller banks) and enhancing the presence of foreign banks could increase competition and productivity in these banking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe and generally the western societies are aging rapidly. Public sector in many countries is facing difficulties to keep up the same level of social and health care services as before. The size of younger generations diminishes and the amount of people that need to be supported will increase in relation to working population. Still the challenges that aging society bring are not fully recognized. Beside negative challenges, aging society raises new kinds of opportunities, new business potential. The change will be so rapid that new construction cannot fulfil the need for specialised housing. Moreover, specialized senior housing may not even be what aged consumers want. The biggest market potential can be seen in existing building stock, which needs to be renovated to meet changing needs. Existing building stock has been built for healthy working age generations. Besides renovation, the new needs can be met by new type of services and service concepts. These services are called here senior services. This paper consists of an analysis of different factors that affect demand and supply of senior services. Financing is discussed briefly together with wealth issues. Ideas of new business opportunities have been described following the actor groups and senior service classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the inflation-hedging properties of European real estate stocks in developed and emerging markets over 1990 to 2011. The Fama and Schwert model and a dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) regression were employed to study the inflation-hedging characteristics of European real estate stocks over the short run and long run. The empirical results show little inflationhedging ability of European real estate stocks over the short run. Over the long run, developed real estate stocks provide a positive inflation hedge against expected inflation, while no similar evidence is found in the emerging markets. The findings suggest that the inflation-hedging properties of real estate stocks are related to the institutional involvement in the real estate stock markets. The finding could have profound implications to institutional investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

With the omnipresent influence of mankind around the world, controlling resource use and pollution are key factors in the progress toward sustainability in all sectors. These considerations appear in international and European policies, but there remains a need to make these policies suited to local conditions. This article aims to present a method of analysis for the transport sector that could prove useful for identifying the similarities and differences in the current state and historical development of transport systems in EU Member States. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Short-term orientation aimed at maximizing quarterly results at the expense of long-term corporate performance and survival has become severely criticized. In the face of continuously decreasing chief executive officer (CEO) tenure, CEOs, however, seem to have few incentives to embrace long-term oriented behaviour. Instead, the question of foremost importance to self-interested CEOs is whether short-term orientation already harms financial performance in the three to four years of their own tenure, and whether CEOs stand a chance of benefiting from long-term orientation while still in office. CEOs thus face an intriguing ethical dilemma between optimizing their financial pay-off within their own tenure and securing the longer-term well-being of the corporation, its employees, and other major stakeholders. Consequently, our longitudinal study focuses on the medium-term performance implications of short-term and long-term orientation in Europe's largest publicly listed companies. Results indicate that short-term orientation negatively impacts on medium term performance while long-term oriented behavior is positively associated with corporate performance in the medium term. Our findings advance managerial myopia theory, and provide insights into one of the most central ethical dilemmas faced by corporate executives today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the government incentives towards foreign direct investments (further – FDI) of Central and Eastern Europe countries by evaluating the external influencing factors of foreign investment. It is argued that the major incentive affecting FDI inflows involves more fiscal than financial incentives. Tax deduction is considered to be the most significant influencing factor on attracting FDI. Hence, the empirical analysis is based on exogenous variables. The empirical model was used to determine causal relationship between macroeconomic variables and FDI intensity in Central and Eastern European countries. The article introduces some policy recommendation for the increase of FDI intensity in Central and Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid credit growth has been one of the most pervasive developments in recent years in Central and Eastern Europe. We tested for the significance of macroeconomic and banking sector variables that condition non-performing loan ratios and the hypothesis of procyclicality between economic activity and improving banking-sector results in the Baltic States, Bulgaria and Romania. The theory of procyclicality between economic activity and the non-performing loan ratio was proven. The increased economic activity improved the loan portfolio quality of the banking sector, as indicated by a lower NPL ratio. Due to a high share of loans denominated in a foreign currency and the fact of productivity gains in the tradable sector, the appreciation of the real exchange rate contributed to an improvement in loan portfolio quality. The procyclicality of banking sector performance and high economic activities growth could be a signal of an economy overheating and therefore a slowdown in economic activity is likely to accelerate the growth of the non-performing loan ratio in the Baltic States, Bulgaria and Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Based on data from the European meat processing industry three sets of competitive sources on business performance are studied: Firm Specific Advantages (FSAs), Localizational Specific Advantages (LSAs) and Relation Specific Advantages (RSAs). The results indicate that the FSAs and the RSAs are the most important explanatory variables on business performance, however, with strong interaction effects between the two sets of variables. Given the findings, we call for further empirical validation of how the different sets of competitive advantages interact and reinforce each. A closer examination of the nature of the RSAs, ie resource accumulation and development through inter-firm co-operation is also needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we evaluate the efficiency of the firms with DEA technique and bootstrapping procedure in eleven transition economics among sixth industrial and service sectors in a cross-section 2005. At the second stage, we study the relationship between corrected efficiency scores and possible explanatory variables. On one hand, our result shows statistically significant differences in efficiency levels across countries and sectors. Likewise, significant levels of inefficiency are identified especially in service sectors (Hotels and Restaurants, Retail and Wholesale and Transport). On the others hand, the results of the analysis in second stage confirmed the existence of a significant relationship between the country that firms operate (country-effect) and firm′s age (learning by doing). The latter relationship between age and efficiency has different behaviors according to the sector concerned, in the form of U shape in the Hotels and Restaurants, inverted U shape in Metal and Machinery and Wood and Furniture and linear in the Retail and Wholesale sector. Contrary perhaps to expectations, the results also allow us to conclude that there is no important statistically significant relationship between the efficiency and variables related to the strategies implemented by firms and the control of the property. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]