Multinational Banks: Protective Factors of Financial Stability in Central and Eastern Europe?

Research background: Given the fact that multinational banks’ credit activity leads to the accumulation of external debt in the borrowing countries, which potentially contributes to the formation of a debt-type economy, more in-depth research of the scope and consequences of such impact on the example of specific recipients is required. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is to develop theoretical and methodological bases of the study of multinational banks’ lending activity in terms of debt-type economy on the example of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Methods: A system of general scientific and special research methods, namely, statistical (correlation analysis, in particular), structural-functional and comparative analysis, has been applied to achieve the above-mentioned purpose. Findings & Value added: The results of the study indicate that multinational banks’ direct cross-border lending remains an important source of external debt accumulation and the formation of a debt-type economy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Based on the assessment of the external debt indicators of the countries under the study, it has been determined that they all can be classified as debt-type economies. At the same time, the countries of the group still remain significantly differentiated in terms of relative indicators of direct cross-border lending and external debt. It has been concluded that multinational banks’ aggressive lending strategy during the growth phase in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe has exacerbated the problem of external indebtedness during the recession phase.

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Risk and protective factors of neurocognitive disorders in older adults in Central and Eastern Europe: A systematic review of population-based studies

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0260549 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. e0260549

Author(s):

Katrin Wolfova ◽

Matej Kucera ◽

Pavla Cermakova

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Risk And Protective Factors ◽

Population Based ◽

Neurocognitive Disorders ◽

Social Risk ◽

Social Risk Factors ◽

Wide Range

Background A wide range of potentially modifiable risk factors, indicating that the onset of neurocognitive disorders can be delayed or prevented, have been identified. The region of Central and Eastern Europe has cultural, political and economic specifics that may influence the occurrence of risk factors and their link to the cognitive health of the population. Objective We aimed to systematically review population-based studies from Central and Eastern Europe to gather evidence on risk and protective factors for neurocognitive disorders. Methods We searched the electronic databases PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Embase. The search was performed on 26th of February 2020 and repeated at the end of the review process on 20th May 2021. Results We included 25 papers in a narrative synthesis of the evidence describing cardiovascular risk factors (n = 7), social factors (n = 5), oxidative stress (n = 2), vitamins (n = 2), genetic factors (n = 2) and other areas (n = 7). We found that there was a good body of evidence on the association between neurocognitive disorders and the history of cardiovascular disease while there were gaps in research of genetic and social risk factors. Conclusion We conclude that the epidemiological evidence from this region is insufficient and population-based prospectively followed cohorts should be established to allow the development of preventive strategies at national levels.

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