scholarly journals Social Effects of Economic Crisis: Risk of Exclusion. An Overview of the European Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Novo-Corti ◽  
Diana-Mihaela Țîrcă ◽  
Magdalena Ziolo ◽  
Xose Picatoste

Sustainability is a complex concept. It only can be achieved from a global perspective, where social, economic and environmental issues are all key factors for achieving the goal. This paper is focused on the importance of social sustainability and, as a consequence, the importance of avoiding each and everyone’s risk of poverty and exclusion as due to the recent crisis effects. Nevertheless, this crisis resulted in higher inequalities and put a lot of people at risk of poverty, even in “developed” countries. Through a statistical and econometric analysis, some of the key factors to which the European Union should aim to avoid unsustainable scenarios are analysed. A regression, factorial and cluster analysis is carried out and this leads to conclude that the labour market is key in promoting economic policies in order to achieve social sustainability.

Author(s):  
Eugenio Salvati

AbstractThe outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has placed severe pressure on the EU’s capacity to provide a timely and coordinated response capable of curbing the pandemic’s disastrous economic and social effects on EU member states. In this situation, the supranational institutions and their models of action are evidently under pressure, seeming incapable of leading the EU out of the stormy waters of the present crisis. The article frames the first months of management of the COVID-19 crisis at EU level as characterised by the limited increase in the level of steering capacity by supranational institutions, due to the reaffirmed centrality of the intergovernmental option. To explain this situation, the article considers the absence of the institutional capacity/legitimacy to extract resources from society(ies), and the subsequent impossibility of guaranteeing an effective and autonomous process of political (re)distribution, the key factors accounting for the weakness of vertical political integration in the response to the COVID-19 challenge. This explains why during the COVID-19 crisis as well, the pattern followed by the EU is rather similar to past patterns, thus confirming that this has fed retrenchment aimed at the enforcement of the intergovernmental model and the defence of the most sensitive core state powers against inference from supranational EU institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-154
Author(s):  
Meyfitha Dea Khairunnisa

Environmental policy has become an important aspect in reviewing environmental issues in international relations. The European Union is a regional institution that has been very active in international environmental cooperation. However, at the same time the European Union is one of the largest waste exporters to countries in Asia, including Indonesia. Waste export is a free trade mechanism that allows developed countries to send waste to developing countries to be processed as industry materials. This then becomes contradictory to the commitment of the European Union in promoting environmentally friendly policies and policies for the export of waste are considered as a form of eco-imperialism. This article discusses how the waste export policy by the European Union has become a form of ecological colonization for Indonesia as a waste recipient. Keywords: waste export; eco-imperialism; environmental policy


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-317
Author(s):  
Bohdan Vahalík ◽  
Michaela Staníčková

International competitiveness is influenced by globalization processes in the world economy. This process changes the comparative advantages of each country and thus the shares of individual countries in world trade. BRICS countries have quickly strengthened their influence in international trade, and thus the European Union must face new pressure in competitiveness from their side. The aim of this paper is to define key factors of foreign trade competitiveness by an application of factor analysis and identify countries with similar characteristics of competitiveness factors by an application of cluster analysis. Factor and cluster analysis contain indicators of foreign trade which describe the driving forces of competitiveness, also in terms of long-term potentiality, and those which are direct or indirect outcomes of a competitive society and economy. Based on the results of the factor analysis, it is possible to classify the evaluated territories according to the level of foreign trade advancement by cluster analysis.


Author(s):  
Emilia Herman ◽  
Marta-Christina Suciu

Abstract The importance of a smart, inclusive and sustainable development as well as their main determinants had benefit in the last decades of an emergent attention both in the current evolution of the mix set of socio and economic policies as well as in the theoretical and empirical research development. The paper focuses on the role of investments in human capital and innovation, two closely interrelated variables, for a smart, inclusive and sustainable development, within the European Union countries. Our main research results show that, at the EU level, there are significant differences between less inclusive and sustainable developed countries and, correspondingly, between more inclusive and sustainable developed countries in terms of investments in human capital (expressed by the Global Human Capital Index and tertiary educational attainment), on one hand, and the national innovation systems performances (as illustrated by the Summary Innovation Index and R&D intensity), on the other hand. Moreover, the correlation and regression analysis results suggest that existing gaps between inclusive and sustainable development, manifested at the EU level, can be explained by the level of human capital optimization and innovation performances. Therefore, more attention have to be paid to take some specific actions, especially in the less inclusive and sustainable developed countries (such as Romania, Greece, Spain, and Portugal, called also emergent countries) in order to improve innovation performance and the leverage of the human capital for the benefit of both individuals’ themselves and of the whole economy for increasing the inclusiveness and sustainability of development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-834
Author(s):  
V.V. Smirnov

Subject. The article considers the symbiosis of Russia with developed countries. Objectives. The purpose is to identify conditions and possibilities for the symbiosis of Russia with advanced economies to establish a process of concentrated internationalization of financial capital for the market economy development completion, formation of full-fledged capitalism with stable dynamics of productive forces. Methods. The study rests on the systems approach, using the methods of descriptive statistics, neural network, nonparametric and cluster analysis. Results. The study reveals favorable conditions for the symbiosis of Russia with developed countries. They appear due to low requirements to the volume and connectivity of attracted high-tech capital. This enables to use the potential of small countries, motivating them to satisfy their ‘resource hunger’. Russia's transition to the said symbiosis is hindered by the policy of smooth devaluation of the national currency, which is used to increase the growth rate of total government expenditure and current GDP, and adversely affects the growth rate of gross national saving. Conclusions. The grounds for emergence of conditions and opportunities for the symbiosis of Russia with developed countries include the high values of financial development and low economic growth in Russia against the declining growth rates of the world economy and weakening of globalization process. The basis of Russia's symbiosis with developed countries is the mutually agreed necessity to internationalize capital in the form of investment financial institutions, which increase its concentration in production for the development of productive forces in conditions of the increasing risk of global recession.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 138-148
Author(s):  
Francesco Zammartino

Seventy Years after its proclamation, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, despite not having a binding force for the states, still provides at international level the fundamental text from which the principles and the values for the preservation of liberty and right of people are taken. In this article, the author particularly underlines the importance of Declaration’s article 1, which states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. With these words the Declaration presses states to undertake economic policies aimed at achieving economic and social progress for all individuals. Unfortunately, we also have to underline the lack of effective social policies in government programs of the E.U. Member States. The author inquires whether it is left to European judges to affirm the importance of social welfare.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 351-356
Author(s):  
Sandra Risteska

Each country strives for growing economic development, but no country is able to implement it. Various experiences and projects from the countries of the European Union and other neighboring countries are taken and considered. Towards the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, economic movements are increasingly relying on public-private partnerships, which can lead to a rapid development process through the financing of infrastructure projects. Economic globalization, as well as the emergence of new opportunities for economic activity in the world, are aimed at cooperation of the authorities and businesses in the realization of the socio-economic policies. The implementation and realization of development projects through public-private partnerships is impossible without participation by the relevant institutions of the public and private sector. Above all, direct participation implies expertise, experience and education. Every project that will be realized through various forms of public-private partnership must fulfill certain conditions. Among the conditions for proper implementation of the project are: dialogue, transparency and monitoring. The main feature of PPP is the transfer of the risk to the financing, efficiency and quality of public services, which are usually the burden of the private partner. This paper analyzes and explores the essence of public-private partnership. The conceptual framework for public-private partnership, as well as its strengths and weaknesses, is set. With the application of PPP, the economic development of the infrastructure as a whole, and in particular the development of local infrastructure, is analyzed. The origin of PPPs, its characteristics, as well as the need and importance for their continuous implementation are explained. The application of PPP is considered through the experiences in certain countries of the European Union and the Republic of Macedonia. Then, the responses to previously hypothesized hypotheses are collected: what is the successful implementation of PPP, what is needed for PPPs and why. In the end, the data from the conducted research are collected, analyzed and determined the profile of certain activities, as well as the possible decisions for further strategies for the implementation of the PPPs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Leszek ◽  
M Zaleska-Kociecka ◽  
D Was ◽  
K Witczak ◽  
K Bartolik ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of death and hospitalization in developed countries. Most of the information about HF is based on selected cohorts, the real epidemiology of HF is scarce. Purpose To assess trends in the real world incidence, prevalence and mortality of all in-and outpatients with HF who presented in public health system in 2009–2018 in Poland. Methods It is a retrospective analysis of 1,990,162 patients who presented with HF in Poland in years 2009–2018. It is a part of nationwide Polish Ministry of Health registry that collects detailed information for the entire Polish population (38,495,659 in 2013) since 2009. Detailed data within the registry were collected since 2013. HF was recorded if HF diagnosis was coded (ICD-10). Results The incidence of HF in Poland fell down from 2013 to reach 127,036 newly diagnosed cases (330 per 100,000 population) in 2018 that equals to 43.6% drop. This decrease was mainly driven by marked reduction in females (p<0.001; Fig. 1A) and HF of ischaemic etiology (HF-IE vs HF-nonIE, Fig. 1B. p<0.001). The HF incidence per 100,000 population decreased across all age groups with the greatest drop in the youngest (Table 1). The prevalence rose by 11.6% to reach 1,242,129 (3233 per 100,000 population) in 2018 with significantly greater increase in females and HF-IE (both p<0.0001, Fig. 1C and D, respectively). The HF prevalence per 100,000 population increased across all age groups except for the 70–79 years old. (Table 1). Mortality increased by 28.5% to reach 142,379 cases (370 per 100,000 population) in 2018. The rise was more pronounced among females (p=0.015, Fig. 1E) and in HF-IE (p<0.001, Fig. 1F). The HF mortality per 100 000 population increased across all age groups, except for the 50–59 subgroup (Table 1). Conclusions Heart failure incidence plummeted in years 2013–2018 in Poland due to drop in newly diagnosed HF-IE. Despite that fact, the prevalence and mortality increased with rising trends in HF-IE. Figure 1. Incidence, prevalence, mortality trends Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development and it is being carried out by the Analyses and Strategies Department of the Polish Ministry of Health


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6003
Author(s):  
Manuel Carlos Nogueira ◽  
Mara Madaleno

Every year, news about the publication of rankings and scores of important international indexes are highlighted, with some of the most prestigious being the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), the Human Development Index (HDI), the Ease of Doing Business (EDB), the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the Global Entrepreneurship (GEI). A country’s progression in these indices is associated with economic growth, especially since several empirical studies have found evidence to reinforce these beliefs, the indices having been built based on the scientific literature on economic growth. Building a database on these indices for European Union countries between 2007 and 2017 and using panel data methodologies and then 2SLS (Two-Stage Least Squares) to solve the problem of endogeneity, we verify empirically through panel data estimates, what is the relationship between the mentioned indices and the European Union countries’ economic growth for the period. However, as the European Union is made up of diverse countries with different economic and social realities, we divided the countries into six clusters and made an individual interpretation for each one. We found that human development and competitiveness play an important role in economic growth, and entrepreneurship also impacts this growth. Regarding income distribution, applying the Gini index, we found that only human development mitigates inequalities.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
LB ◽  
JHR

In between the writing of this editorial and the publication of this issue of EuConst, the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, in everyday parlance the ‘Fiscal Compact’, will have been signed by the representatives of the governments of the contracting parties — the member states of the European Union minus the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic. The Fiscal Compact is intended to foster budgetary discipline, to strengthen the coordination of economic policies and to improve the governance of the euro area.


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