scholarly journals The Competitiveness of the European ICT Industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-119
Author(s):  
Dimitris Psychoyios ◽  
George Dotsis

This paper investigates the international competitiveness of the European ICT sector. We use Labour productivity, R&D expenses and trade performance as proxies of competitiveness. The empirical analysis of 39 countries between 1999 and 2004 confirms our main hypothesis that the EU is performing better in the ICT services industry relative to manufacturing. In general, the average EU production efficiency is larger in the services sector, than in manufacturing. The study has important policy implications. Appropriate policies should be implemented – especially in the ICT manufacturing sector – for making EU more competitive in “non- price factors”, such as policies that facilitate the transformation of R&D expenses into product innovation. There are clearly areas for improvement in the way R&D is carried out in the ICT sector within the EU, with respect to both the allocation of R&D investment and the process of producing results from R&D.

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Mohamed Saad Mohamed Abokaresh ◽  
Badrul Hisham Kamaruddin ◽  
Rohani Mohd

This efficiency assessment of Libyan manufacturing firms is unique as efficiency is assessed on a developing country that undertakes privatization primarily for political and organizational reasons. Moreover, the state of mixed results in the literature with regards to production efficiency between state-owned and private-owned firms motivated the conduct of this study. Despite deliberate implementation of programs to improve efficiency, the situation in Libya was such that firms were able to improve their performance through internal efforts even in a negative environment.  This has made the results of this study differ for developed and developing countries. For instance, from 1978-2002, the socialism-oriented economy replaced the capitalism system, transferring private ownership to the state. This has resulted in low levels of labour productivity, and weak structure of production in terms of acquisition of new technology. Moreover, both the United States and United Nation Security Council imposed sanctions on Libya from 1992-2003 which have restricted foreign direct investments. During these periods, the Libyan manufacturing sector suffered from increasing inefficiencies resulting in slowing down of growth of output following decline in labour productivity and financial capital. The objective of this study is to compare the technical efficiency of firms before and after privatization to be able to differentiate between state control and privatized firms, as well. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique was used to compute the efficiency scores of firms. The average efficiency score before privatization was 49.5 per cent, but the score improved to 62.3 per cent after privatization. However, this minor improvement was not statistically significant as verified by the Mann-Whitney U test. These results have verified the situations in Libya which suggest that firms in Libya have not been prepared for real privatization. Consequently, almost all firms faced difficulties in optimizing their own resources economically.


Economies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Mario Pečarić ◽  
Tino Kusanović ◽  
Pavle Jakovac

The EU model of market integration, based on financial openness, leads to divergence and sectoral specialization, which makes the convergence of Central and East European EU countries (CEE) in the EU questionable. The idea of the paper is that forms of foreign direct investment (FDI) have a differential effect on the growth and development of countries—i.e., it is assumed that FDI inflows into the manufacturing sector have a greater intensity and impact on economic growth than inflows into the services sector. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze the system determinants and transmission mechanisms of the sectoral structure of FDI inflows on the sample of 10 CEE for the period 1995–2019. Following a critical analysis of previous research, a panel model was constructed in the empirical section. A developed credit market and the purchasing power of residents lead to greater capital inflows into the services sector, while a higher GDP growth rate and a depreciated real exchange rate lead to higher inflows into the manufacturing sector. The conclusion of the paper is that changing the structure of the domestic economy based on clear industrial and investment policies is the best way to attract developmentally efficient FDI.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4593
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Cheba ◽  
Iwona Bąk

The main purpose of the paper is to present a proposal to measure the relationships between Goal 7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and one of the areas considered in the green growth concept: environmental production efficiency. Both of these areas illustrate the relationship between the natural environment and the economy, emphasizing transformations in the field of energy use. Selected taxonomic methods, TOPSIS, and multicriteria taxonomy, were applied to study the relationships between the two areas. The results of the EU countries classification showed a variety of countries’ development pathways within a single economic community. Despite continued attempts to equalize the development levels between European Union countries in many strategic areas, they remain highly diversified. That is also true for the areas analyzed in the paper, which is a disturbing situation, indicating that both strategies might not correlate in all respects. Further research into the relationships linking the remaining dimensions of both strategies is required.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Gutiérrez-Hernández ◽  
Ignacio Abásolo-Alessón

Abstract Background This study aims to analyse the relative importance of the health care sector (health care activities and services), its interrelations with the rest of productive activities, aggregate supply and demand, employment requirements and apparent labour productivity in the European Union (EU) economy as a whole, and in the economies of member countries. Methods The methodology used is based on input–output analysis. Data are extracted from National Accounts and, specifically, from the input–output framework for 2010. Data in national currencies are adjusted using as a conversion factor, specific purchasing power parities for health. Results In the EU, market production predominates in the provision of health care activities, which are financed mainly by public funding. However, there is significant variability among countries, and, in fact, non-market production predominates in most EU countries. The health care sector has direct backward and forward linkages lower than the average for all sectors of the economy and the average for the services sector. Thus, this sector is relatively independent of the rest of the productive structure in the EU. The health care activities industry is key because of its ability to generate value added and employment. Regarding apparent labour productivity, there are significant differences among EU countries, showing that productivity is positively related to the weight of market production in health care activities and negatively related to the number of hours worked per person employed. Conclusions Our results provide useful insights for health authorities in the EU, as they analyse the effect of health policies on macroeconomic indicators using an input–output framework, as well as comparing these effects with those in EU member countries. To the best of our knowledge, an analysis of the health care sector in the EU economy and the countries that integrate it using an input–output framework has not been undertaken. In addition, to compare health care expenditure between countries, data in national currencies have been adjusted using specific purchasing power parities for “health”, and not ones referring to the total economy (GDP), which is common practice in many previous studies.


Author(s):  
Giuliano Sansone ◽  
Elisa Ughetto ◽  
Paolo Landoni

AbstractAlthough a great deal of attention has been paid to entrepreneurship education, only a few studies have analysed the impact of extra-curricular entrepreneurial activities on students’ entrepreneurial intention. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by exploring the role played by Student-Led Entrepreneurial Organizations (SLEOs) in shaping the entrepreneurial intention of their members. The analysis is based on a survey that was conducted in 2016 by one of the largest SLEOs in the world: the Junior Enterprises Europe (JEE). The main result of the empirical analysis is that the more time students spent on JEE and the higher the number of events students attended, the greater their entrepreneurial intention was. It has been found that other important drivers also increase students’ entrepreneurial intention, that is, the Science and Technology field of study and the knowledge of more than two foreign languages. These results confirm that SLEOs are able to foster students’ entrepreneurial intention. The findings provide several theoretical, practical and public policy implications. SLEOs are encouraged to enhance their visibility and lobbying potential in order to be recognized more as drivers of student entrepreneurship. In addition, it is advisable for universities and policy makers to support SLEOs by fostering their interactions with other actors operating in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, who promote entrepreneurship and technology transfer activities. Lastly, this paper advises policy makers to assist SLEOs’ activities inside and outside the university context.


Economies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Carolina Hintzmann ◽  
Josep Lladós-Masllorens ◽  
Raul Ramos

We examine the contribution to labor productivity growth in the manufacturing sector of investment in different intangible asset categories—computerized information, innovative property, and economic competencies—for a set of 18 European countries between 1995 and 2017, as well as whether this contribution varies between different groups of countries. The motivation is to go a step further and identify which single or combination of intangible assets are relevant. The main findings can be summarized as follows. Firstly, all the three different categories of intangible assets contribute to labor productivity growth. In particular, intangible assets related to economic competences together with innovative property assets have been identified as the main drivers; specifically, advertising and marketing, organizational capital, research and development (R&D) investment, and design. Secondly, splitting the sample of European Union (EU) member states into three groups—northern, central and southern Europe—allows for the identification of a significant differentiated behavior between and within groups, in terms of the effects of investment in intangible assets on labor productivity growth. We conclude that measures promoting investment in intangibles at EU level should be accompanied by specific measures focusing on each country’s needs, for the purpose of promoting labor productivity growth. The obtained evidence suggests that the solution for the innovation deficit of some European economies consist not only of raising R&D expenditure, but also exploiting complementarities between different types of assets.


2022 ◽  
pp. 001573252110579
Author(s):  
Phan Thanh Hoan ◽  
Duong Thi Dieu My

Vietnam is one of the top information and communication technologies (ICT) exporters globally, and the ICT products constitute nearly one-fifth of Vietnam’s total exports to the European Union (EU). This study empirically investigates the determinants of Vietnam’s ICT exports to the EU by applying the gravity model for trade with panel data from 2000 to 2019. Besides the traditional variables of the gravity model, we added gross capital formation, patent application and exchange rates as explanatory variables. The results show that among factors affecting Vietnam’s ICT export to the EU, market size, patent applications, and exchange rate are the most significant determinants. The article also suggests some policy implications for the development of ICT exports between the two parties. JEL Codes: F14, C2


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 1177-1199
Author(s):  
Taozhi Zhuang ◽  
Queena K. Qian ◽  
Henk J. Visscher ◽  
Marja G. Elsinga

Abstract In China, there is a growing number of urban renewal projects due to the rapid growth of the economy and urbanization. To meet the needs of urban development, urban renewal requires a sound decision-making approach involving various stakeholder groups. However, current urban renewal decision-making is criticized for poor efficiency, equity, and resulting in many unintended adverse outcomes. It is claimed that high-level transaction costs (e.g., a great deal of time spent on negotiation and coordination) are the factors hidden behind the problems. However, few studies have analyzed urban renewal decision-making in a transaction costs perspective. Using the case of Chongqing, this paper aims at adopting transaction costs theory to understand the administrative process of urban renewal decision-making in China. This research focuses on four key stakeholder groups: municipal government, district government, local administrative organizations, and the consulting parties. A transaction costs analytical framework is established. First, the decision-making stages of urban renewal and involved key stakeholder groups are clarified. Second, the transactions done by different stakeholder groups in each stage is identified, thus to analyze what types of transaction costs are generated. Third, the relative levels of transaction costs among different stakeholder groups were measured based on the interview. The empirical analysis reveals how transaction costs occur and affect urban renewal decision-making. Finally, policy implications were proposed to reduce transaction costs in order to enhance urban renewal.


Ekonomika ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Žemgulienė

This paper examines the tendencies of Lithuanian services sector’s value added and labour productivity during 1995-2006. Comparative analysis of the average annual labour productivity growth in manufacturing and service industries reveals arguments supporting the W. Baumol’s consideration that there can be sporadic productivity increases in nonprogressive sectors. During 1995-2000, labour productivity growth in services exceeded productivity growth in manufacturing. The paper offers an interpretation of the Verdoom law for empirical regularities of the relationship between the cross-sectorial labour productivity growth rate and the value added growth rate.


Land Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. p21
Author(s):  
Vera Iváncsics ◽  
Krisztina Filepné Kovács

Recently the planning of green infrastructure (GI) has become a general practice around metropolis (Paris, München, Budapest, etc). A complex methodology is required that goes beyond the scope of traditional green surface systems. However, there are various policy implications in the EU, the smaller towns are lagging to apply them. The paper presents a potential evaluation method through the case study of Keszthely, HU. As Keszthely at Balaton Riviera, is a popular touristic target of CEE, the environmental planning is an essential part of sustainable development. After a literature analyses of assessment methods of GI and ecosystem services, the aspects of GI have been valued on grade scales, based on field surveys and indicators. The current status of the GI was surveyed which is a base for further development and monitoring activities. The paper introduces the methodology, which contributes to preservation of ecosystems.


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