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Objective: The aim of this study is to examine monetary policy transmission mechanisms in four Central and Eastern European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania), in the presence of fiscal and exchange rate effects. Research Design & Methods: We implement a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) approach for modelling the interdependencies between monetary and fiscal policies, output gap and consumer price inflation (CPI). In our six-variable model, which includes the budget balance, the output gap, CPI, the central bank reference rate, the lending rate and the real exchange rate (RER), short-run restrictions on the contemporaneous structural parameters imply that the budget balance responds to changes in the output gap and lending rate, while the central bank reference rate is a function of output and inflationary shocks. Findings: The results of our research show that the effects of an increase in the central bank's short-run interest rate on inflation, output gap and the RER are quite heterogeneous across the CEE countries. As the monetary policy response to inflation seems to be significant and rather uniform across countries, though with a different time pattern, there is no evidence of its reaction to the output gap (except for Romania in the long run). Among other results, budget surplus has a strong anti-inflationary impact in all countries but at the expense of a short-lived output slowdown (except for Hungary). The RER undervaluation is likely to stimulate output (Romania) or depress it (Poland), with a neutral stance in the two other countries. As expected, an increase in the lending rate is followed by a fall in output on impact, while there is no significant effect on inflation. Implications/Recommendations: Our study argues in favour of a much stronger response of the central bank reference rate to the output gap in the CEE countries. As suggested by the experience of Poland, an immediate response of the central bank to inflation could explain the lack of the price puzzle when an increase in the reference rate is associated with a sustained increase in consumer prices. An anti-inflationary monetary policy stance should be strengthened by fiscal tightening, while in a recession a higher budget deficit is likely to boost output and prevent a deflationary spiral. Contribution: The article presents the application of the extended IS-MP-IA model to the modelling of monetary policies by the central banks of the CEE countries that practice a floating exchange rate regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the upheavals in Poland that foreshadowed the economic illnesses and political unrest throughout Eastern Europe, posing threats of regional instability that could draw in the superpowers. Factors responsible for the diversity in Eastern Europe; Impact of the rise and decline of powers that produced population migrations and political boundaries.

This paper outlines several general processes in Eastern European economies, which are seen as important elements of transformation of their systems of innovation and are evolving between the restructuring and erosion of potentially viable R&D and technology capacities. It is emphasized that the best way to restructure hyper-developed extramural R&D capacities in post-socialist economies is to integrate them into industrial enterprises. If Eastern Europe continues to grow, spin-offs are likely to improve the coherence of their national systems of innovation by creating links between research and production. Privatization alone, if not accompanied by restructuring support, will create new gaps in the knowledge base.

After sudden political liberalization, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union seem poised to abandon administrative-command planning and embrace market socialism (which stops somewhere short of American-style capitalism). However, using the Soviet Union as a case in point, careful analysis of all plausible transition paths from the current system to Western-style markets suggests that prospects for success are dim. The revolution of rising expectations in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe sparked by Gorbachev's program of political liberalization is on a collision course with the immediate possibilities for fundamental economic change. The East is likely to be politically unstable for a long period, nor can the West alter this situation with massive foreign assistance because the Eastern nations cannot utilize the credits effectively. The Western business community therefore must be very constrained in its expectations about progress in the East and should approach the issues of private investment and governmental aid accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive exchange of letters between Professor J. Hart Walters, Jr., and various Polish economists resulted in a first-hand study of marketing in Poland for almost one year. Drawing on his first-hand experiences in Poland, as well as documentary sources, the author shows why low costs of doing business in Poland are not always accompanied by a high degree of consumer convenience. As in other Eastern European economies, Polish re- tailing is relatively decentralized, but many major areas of decision-making are centrally controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Trabajos y Comunicaciones is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata 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 article examines the challenges and opportunities of innovation-driven growth in Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on firm-level survey research, we analyze the experiences of early stage Polish companies in Silicon Valley. We focus on the Polish Silicon Bridge, an international bridge organization that differs from conventional business incubators and accelerators by embedding emerging market startup companies in foreign innovation hubs. We situate the analysis in the context of the "Polish Paradox". While Poland ranks as one of the European Union's fastest growing economies over the past two decades, it is one of the EU's weakest performers measured by innovation. The Silicon Bridge program aims to expand Poland's innovation capacity by placing promising local startups in the world-class ecosystem of the San Francisco Bay Area. Our empirical study demonstrates that international bridge organizations generate significant benefits-knowledge acquisition, mentoring, networking with prospective investors and strategic partners-for young emerging market companies seeking to enter the global market. The article thus augments the scholarly literature on global innovation ecosystems, entrepreneurial internationalization, and emerging market startups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last 20 years the large cities of Eastern Europe had to face the reindustrialisation of their territory and economic restructuring, leading to migration and urban expansion into the surrounding countryside. These factors led to no public coordination, where market forces could almost determine the plan of the city. The demise of the socialist state and the adoption of Western ideas left an ideological vacuum. In addition the financial crisis and the structural adjustments for entering the EU also played a role. Urban regeneration in Budapest was at first restricted to physical restoration, but later involved social and environmental aspects. This has led to the revitalisation of the central area aided by stronger housing policy. This paper describes the urban transformation underway in Budapest in just ten years which has created a more global society, with a new economy and major transformation in the organisation and structure of the urban space. The paper illustrates the phases of development -- particularly housing policies and the Magdolna case -- and the expected transformation of Budapest in the year of 2030. The conclusions focus on the initial results observed and on the challenges for 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falling real incomes, rising utility prices and the historically poor thermal quality of the housing stock are some of the main factors that have driven the rise of systemic injustices surrounding energy poverty in the post-communist states of Eastern and Central Europe (ECE). We undertake a socio-spatial and temporal assessment of energy poverty in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, using Household Budget Survey micro-data and the consolidated national results of the EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions. Our results indicate that increases in domestic energy prices and expenditures during the last decade have not been offset by purchasing power gains or energy efficiency improvements, resulting in sustained and growing levels of energy poverty. Capital city regions have fared better than rural areas even if traditional macroeconomic performance indicators do not easily match domestic energy deprivation metrics. We thus question policy approaches that favour income-based solutions and fail to recognise housing- and demography-related vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization & Management / Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej. Seria Organizacji i Zarzadzanie is the property of Silesian Technical University, Organisation & Management Faculty 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 Monetary Studies (Bank of Lithuania) is the property of Bank of Lithuania 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 paper investigates the causes and consequences of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis on five Eastern European countries, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Russia, with the purpose of identifying the common points and the differences between these economies in terms of crisis impact, with an accent on their capital markets. Our findings indicate that although the countries under scrutiny have displayed somehow different paths of economic development before the crisis, they were affected, to a higher or smaller extent, by the financial crisis. Also, the crisis was felt in these countries, at least in terms of impact on capital markets, with different lags: in some of these countries the crisis hit at beginning of 2008, while in others signs of the crisis were visible only towards the end of2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether UIRP principle holds and what is predominant driving force, which influences exchange rate movement - economic fundamentals or short-term speculative behaviour. Analysis covers seven East European transition countries and empirical data comprise weekly time series ranging from first week in January 2003 to last week in December 2013. The research method is Component-GARCH in Mean Model, which decomposes temporary and permanent element of volatility. The mean and variance equations have been adjusted for the structural breaks'presence in order to improve estimated parameters. The results suggested that UIRP principle does not hold in any country. After structural breaks inclusion, we have found that the permanent effect is significant in determination of exchange rate dynamics in five countries, but it does not apply for the transition effect. However, further outliers'purification revealed that only in Serbia short-term transition component plays an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the problem of the efficiency of the intermodal transport system. Among the factors determining the transport system the key factors of the intermodal transport development in the Central and Eastern Europe were selected. The analysis included: intermodal transport units (ITU), means of transport and transhipment technologies, as well as organization conditions of intermodal connections. In addition, the costs structure of the intermodal delivery was analysed and its impact on the profitability of the whole supply chain. Observations have led to a number of detailed reflections and those are the basis of the following conclusions and recommendations of a general nature related to the region of the Central and Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a simple model to study the effect of age structure on the interactions between the state and dissidents. Younger populations are more prone to protest. As the population grows younger, states that can discriminately target repression to different groups, but cannot concede discriminately, decrease repression. In contrast, states that can target concession, but not repression, increase repression. We test these results in nonmilitary single-party regimes and military regimes without political parties. Moreover, we study state response to dissent in East European communist regimes in the late 1980s, showing that state response was more repressive in countries with younger populations. ( JEL D74) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central and east European new member states are being affected by the shockwaves of the Eurozone crisis, made manifest also in the presence of different stages, or 'speeds', of integration. In this article, we attempt to examine the different aspects of this picture of a multi-speed Europe, and the lessons of those regions and countries that have been affected by the crisis and by the implemented therapy, and we identify the major risks that this means for the future of Europe. New member states find themselves in a rather unique situation in the context of the enduring Eurozone crisis. On the one hand, as 'junior partners' they are more vulnerable (and are also in the eye of the financial markets); on the other hand, economically they are fully docked to the core of the EU, i.e. Germany, that results in ambiguous and sometimes contradictory consequences. One particular aspect will be to examine if 'convergence' - a basic and distinguishing idea behind European integration - would ultimately turn out to be a myth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vintilă Horia associates the alchemic imaginary and the paradigm of quantic Physics by applying the result to the interpretation of social and ideological phenomena characteristic of postwar Eastern Europe. Like Dante's Commedia, Persécutez Boèce! proposes a soteriology, but in a New Age formula, through an inter- and transdisciplinary transfer, at the intersection of atomic Physics and hermetism - an alternative to the imanentist ideologies of (post)modernity. Like his Florentine icon, Vintilă Horia reconsiders an ontology of redemption - of salvation from the "evil" of the history that has dissolved the luminous order of the world into an ideologically nourished entropy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper carries out a growth accounting exercise for the 10 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that are part of the European Union over the period 1993-2008. We estimate the capital share (a) from a Cobb-Douglas production function in an intensive form, by employing panel data techniques. The Hausman and Chi-Square tests indicate that a Cross-Section Random Effects with Period Fixed Effects model best suits our data. Based on this model, we find a capital share between 0.45 and 0.83, higher than the usual 0.3-0.4 used in growth accounting literature. When we take into consideration the quality of labour force the estimated capital share slightly decreases, but still remains high, in a range between 0.39 and 0.79. Our growth accounting results reveal that, on average, capital per worker accumulation is the main engine of growth in CEE, followed by the contribution of total factor productivity (TFP). However, when dividing by sub-periods, we found that the contribution of TFP cannot be neglected since during 1997-2004 it proved to be the main engine of growth in some CEE countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania). Some policy implications are offered based on our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain drain as the diffusion of talented people from home to host country is a concern to many nations. Based on a case study of brain drain in developing countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), this article explores new insights related to the determinants of brain drain phenomenon using data provided by World Economic Forum throughout the Global Competitiveness Report (WEFGCR) 2014–2015. According to our knowledge, this article reveals a new methodological perspective considering that the performed analysis is based on data provided by WEFGCR and applied on emerging countries sample. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As distinct from income or wealth inequality, ‘social inequality’ is currently poorly understood and, at best, unevenly measured. We conceptualize social inequality as the relative position of individuals along a number of dimensions that measure achieved outcomes and, innovatively, expectations about future outcomes. Using data from 12 Central and Eastern European countries, we find that cross-national patterns of social inequality differ significantly from patterns derived from income inequality measures. Moreover, our measure of social inequality is much better correlated than income inequality with other country differences such as higher levels of economic performance and human development, and stronger political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In post socialist countries that now form the eastern member states of the European Union there was a general vision of the society from the early nineties to catch up to the developed West. The dream of reaching the level of western European economic development and living standards was the main driver for economic transition and EU integration. In spite of modest convergence, however, the difference between the West and the East has remained dominant until today, ten years after the EU accession, while the core-periphery duality is also an important economic-geographic dimension in the European single market. The changing relative position of these regions in economic terms and the interrelation between the East and West of the EU is in the focus of this paper. It addresses some specifics of regional economic development of this area and particularly of Hungary at both macro-regional and regional levels paying attention to the economic crisis which started in 2007. In most of the eastern bloc, economic transition and EU integration were associated with several challenges and followed by imbalanced regional development as a result of the dominant role of the foreign direct investments in regional development, which led to the territorial concentration and increase of regional inequalities among regions within these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore and analyze the main characteristics of East-Central Europe's spatial structure, including its changes during the recent years. In many territorial researches, there is an intention to define different types of regions and to establish territorial regularities, create models, etc. In this case, we analysed the regions of East-Central Europe based on their comprehensive socio-economic data and described the most important characteristics of the spatial structure of this macroregion from different perspectives. Some results show that the social and economic core areas are highly separated from each other and the development "image" of East-Central Europe has remained the same viewing from the aspects of bigger, homogenous areas, but became more mosaic with the appearance of some separated and improving regions, strengthening the model of the "Bunch of Grapes", not the "Boomerang". Other results show that it is difficult to create a spatial structure model for this macroregion, because the results may depend on the viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to investigate the presence of a creditless economic recovery in Eastern Europe, after de 2008-2009 output collapse. To this end, we use three variables: credit stock, credit flow and money supply M1. We find that the changes in the credit flow, as percentage of GDP, are the most distinctly correlated with the GDP rate. During the growth recovery, the credit flow tends to rise in six of the surveyed countries, although the credit stock declines in some cases. On the other side, the liquid segment of money supply (M1) registered in some countries strong rebounds that boosted demand recovery, due not so much to credit but to the liquidity preference. Within domestic demand, we notice a steeper decline of the fixed capital formation than the consumption one, but also a stronger subsequent upturn. The investment recovery seems to be supported in most of countries by the credit flow growth; there is a stronger dependence of capital formation on the newly created credit than in the case of consumption, which is rather correlated with the whole money supply M1. In conclusion, we can say that there was a "creditless recovery" phenomenon in Eastern Europe after the global crisis, but most countries recorded an increase of credit flow along with the GDP. The new flow of money is mostly used for investment and consumption, and thus supports the revival of domestic demand, especially in countries with a less developed financial system, such as the emerging european ones. On the other hand, the trend in the liquid part of the money supply may evolve, especially in times of financial instability, regardless of credit developments. This, along with other factors, strongly affects the degree to which GDP rely on credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union ( EU) encourages cross-border inter-firm networks as a part of its external governance approach. What is the effect of these networks? Do they lead to regulatory convergence around EU standards in the eastern neighbourhood? Using original survey data, as well as data on regional enterprise-related regulations, this article argues that the density of interaction among private actors and between private actors and regional governments in such networks create conditions for private actors to lobby for regulatory change, resulting in approximations to EU standards. By testing the transnational mechanisms of policy change, the article points to the possibility of integration, even in the absence of membership prospects. However, the findings also indicate that the extent of regulatory change is conditioned by cross-border network structure as well as the institutional distance between the partnering regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the relations between the two geo-temporal categories – Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and West/Europe – in discussions about sexual politics, homophobia, tolerance, and nationhood. It contributes to the existing literature about homonationalism and sexual nationalisms by introducing CEE to the debate's geographicalloci, so far mostly invested in West/Europe and its relations to Islam. It argues that it is important to consider CEE in sexual nationalism debates because of its framing as the European (homophobic) Other in the emerging discourses of ‘homoinclusive Europe’. This article introduces the concept ofleveragedpedagogy, which captures the specificity of the West/Europe – CEE discourses of sexual liberation, advancement, and backwardness.Leveraged pedagogyis a hegemonic didactical relation where the CEE figures as an object of the West/European ‘pedagogy’, and is framed as permanently ‘post-communist’, ‘in transition’ (i.e. not liberal, not yet, not enough), and homophobic. Such ‘taking care of’ CEE, it is argued, is a form of cultural hegemony of the Western EUropean liberal model of rights as the universal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the historiography of the last decade, there has been a boom in research which attempts from a transnational perspective to break the dominance of the “methodological nationalism” in history. Although economic history has dealt for a long time with cross-border phenomena such as foreign trade and capital movements, the “national economy” is still by and far the most important object of investigation. The position of East Central Europe in the European economy of the 19th Century is usually analyzed using the assumptions of either dependence or modernization theory. The paper provides a critical revision of the results of these analyses. The external influences on the formation and development of the Galician oil industry are to be discussed, as is the importance of integration into the Customs Union of the Habsburg monarchy for industrialization of Hungary, the development of an industrialization type that is based on the food industry as a result of globalization and agrarian crisis, and changes in foreign trade structures of the Habsburg Monarchy. The article argues for an economic entanglement history in a very broad sense. Besides the treatment of the “classical” topics, such as foreign trade and cross-border movement of capital, we shall deal with the transfers of technology, migration and trans-national operating companies history, with commodity chains and of course with the concrete actors that made these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southeast Europe’s economic backwardness and very slow industrialization prior to 1945 continues, even in recent research, to be attributed to an unproductive peasant economy and traditional peasant society. However, the radical paradigm shift in the view of peasants as agents of economic growth and of their ability to adjust to modern growth after 1960 has surprisingly never been highlighted in economic history research on the Balkan-states (Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece). Interpreting agricultural development as a mainly demand-driven process this paper argues that the potential for agricultural growth was much more restricted in the Southeast than the Northwest of Europe but that Balkan peasants seem to have exploited their growth potential as far as possible. There is a lot of evidence that the reasons for sluggish industrialization before 1940 were definitely not rooted in 'peasant traditionalism' as often claimed by Balkan elites and many scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that labor emigration was central to the globalization of Southeastern Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. The region’s societies became part of a transatlantic labor market, while emigration had significant economic and social effects on them. The fact that Southeastern Europe, together with Eastern and Southern Europe, became the prime regions of origin of immigrants to the United States cannot be explained without considering economic causes. On the one hand these were structural, such as the perennial lack of land, compounded by rapid population growth; on the other hand, contingent events such as the Phylloxera epidemic also played an important role. The return orientation of many an emigrant from Southeastern Europe as well as the economic effects of their money transfers are important factors explaining the persistence of large-scale emigration until 1914. The article, thus, stresses the need for explanatory models that account for the complexity of emigration as a social process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Spatial Economic Analysis is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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.)

Since the end of socialism scholars have been debating whether post-socialist welfare policies in Eastern Europe and the former USSR could be considered converging into Western European patterns, and possibly fit one of Esping-Andersen's (1990) welfare state classifications, or whether they should be considered an exception or sui generis and therefore studied beyond these categories. This article is informed by post-2008 crisis material and contends that neither of the above interpretative frameworks is appropriate because they both miss the role of informal welfare provision and informal renegotiations of the scope of welfare policies. Going beyond the transitional-alternative paradigm, this article situates itself in the structure–agency debate in defining how welfare policies are renegotiated by domestic and local actors and come to form a partially new system. Rather than seeing the former socialist region as an exception, it suggests that the very debate about the welfare state and welfare policies should be revisited in order to consider also informality as a major element of social policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Nordost-Archiv: Zeitschrift für Regionalgeschichte is the property of Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH 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 Author-supplied Abstracts.)

The indicators on financial stability provide a multitude of information related to the strength and stability of the financial system which are essential to the macroprudential analysis. The objective of this article is to analyze the main indicators developed by the IMF on financial stability at the level of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and to observe their trend in crisis. Through the calculation of FSI we can clearly observe the overall image of an economy as well as its strengths and the vulnerabilities. The Indicators developed by the IMF on financial stability provides a wealth of useful information in taking monetary policy decisions and also for counteracting severe financial disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the evolution of systematic risk (beta) for a sample of 436 non-financial companies from five Central and Eastern European countries for the period 2002- 2012. We found that Polish companies present the higher systematic risk, while Latvian companies, on average prove to be less risky. Our results suggest that high tech companies from Central and Eastern Europe have higher beta than utilities companies. We also identified a set of "defensive" shares in Czech Republic, Hungary and Latvia, and numerous "aggressive" shares in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our multi-level model about the relationship between opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial entry in transition economies suggests that ethnic fractionalization along with the size of the shadow economy are moderators of individual-level opportunity recognition. Whereas ethnic diversity increases entrepreneurial entries, a large informal sector appears to decrease them. We also find that opportunity recognition may be a more important predictor of entry when ethnic diversity is low and when the shadow economy is small. Thus, our study contributes to the literature examining the influence of contextual factors on entrepreneurial entry. Succinctly, ethnic diversity can substitute for opportunity recognition, whereas the informal economy increases its importance. Consequently, it appears that ethnic heterogeneity in transition economies may be a valuable driver of entrepreneurial entry even in the absence of opportunity recognition, while the size of the informal economy makes opportunity recognition dearer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central and Eastern Europe is a region with widely divergent development paths. Until World War II, these countries experienced comparable growth patterns. Whereas Austria and West Germany remained part of the capitalist West and underwent periods of rapid growth, other countries, under state socialist regimes, experienced, on average, far lower growth rates. The lack of data, however, often limits the possibilities of a detailed, quantitative analysis. In this paper, we use a new data set on physical and human capital in seven Central and East European countries for the period 1920-2006 to calculate their effect on economic growth. In addition, we analyze the effect of including the quality of education in human capital. This allows us to perform a growth accounting analysis with the several production factors for Central Europe between 1920 and the present. The difference in growth path across countries is partly explained by differences in technical efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we have used a stochastic frontier approach (SFA) in order to analyse the efficiency and determinants of the mafucaturing firms from Central and Eastern Europe. The results reveal that firms from Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary have a higher efficiency than firms from Romania and Bulgaria. The evolution in time of the efficiency show that years 2008 and 2009 have brought a decrease of the efficiency's index. This drop-off is caused by the global economic crisis that has reduced the demand and affected the turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reflects on the evaluation of resilience and adaptability concepts from evolutionary perspective. It further explores the evolution of regional development conceptions with emphasis on different nature of Central East Europe and advanced western economies. It also discusses the concepts of resilience and adaptability, and depicts their sources and development.

In this article, the author discusses the economic conditions of Romania over other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It mentions that Romania experiences fundamental changes in distribution of consumer goods since the year 1990. It informs that Romania has big business opportunities as it is the second country after Poland in population having 21.4 million inhabitants while Poland has registered 38.2 million inhabitants.