Economic efficiency of national governments: case study of Poland and Ukraine

The article proposes a new unique approach to assessing the economic efficiency of national governments. The assessment is based on the indicator of gross free product per capita, which is a difference between GDP and government size per capita. This method was used to analyze the situation in two post-communist states – Poland and Ukraine. The author studied their economic development in 2009–2019, and the received data was used to draw conclusions about economic policies in the two countries in the period in question. A forecast has been made about the possible impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on economic processes from the perspective of changes in the gross free product per capita.

The Interconnectedness between Institutional Quality, Civil War and Institutional Reform: A Case Study of Nepalese Maoist Civil War

Various factors trigger civil war, depending on the society and stages of political development. But analyzing it through the quality of an institution or some provisions of institutions may lead to a possible cause of a civil war. Thus, the primary objective of this article is to investigate institutional quality and its role in triggering a civil war. This paper argues that there is interconnectedness between institutional quality, civil war, and institutional reforms, which occurs as a series of events. Although the article provides many examples, in the second section, the case study of Nepalese decade-long civil war and post-civil war institutional reform has been presented to back the argument made in the paper. By discussing various dynamics of historical institutionalism, the paper mainly analyzes the primary and secondary sources.

Methodological problems before regional development in the conditions of post COVID-19 governance

This article is devoted to the theoretical problems of regional development in the conditions of post COVID-19 management. The text mphasizes the fundamental nature of regional development as a new scientific field, which has its own accumulation of knowledge, based on social sciences and natural sciences. The article focuses on problems with clarifying the place of regional development in post-crisis management. It is accepted that regional development has an important role in managing territorial problems and achieving a pulling development of individual spatial areas. In this direction, the very functional role of regional development brings to the fore the need for targeted measures and policies of a socio-economic nature. Some aspects of the regional development of scientific research are also presented. Emphasis is placed on the connections of regional development with other scientific directions and its role for effective geo-urban development, local self-government and local communities.

Tourism of Polish cannabis consumers

The aim of this study is to characterize the tourism activity of Polish cannabis consumers in terms of (i) the level of their participation in tourism, (ii) parameters describing this participation, (iii) the effect of legal access to cannabis on choosing tourism destinations. The study is based on an anonymous online survey in which 886 voluntary respondents answered a series of questions about their tourist travels, their attitude to cannabis consumption, and their demographic, socio-economic and geographic metrics. Results of the survey were analyzed using several statistical indicators of variability, structure, correlation, and structure similarity. For the respondents declaring cannabis consumption, the level of their participation in tourism is close to the national level. Other parameters describing the domestic and foreign tourism of these respondents differ quite significantly from those reported for the general public of Poland. This indicates that the possibility of cannabis consumption significantly affects the nature and directions of travels undertaken by tourists interested in cannabis. Furthermore, there is a strong connection between the respondents’ personal preferences and the nature of their tourism, especially the destinations of their foreign trips. The conclusions from this study mostly apply to current and recent cannabis consumers because the vast majority of respondents (90%) rank among such kinds of cannabis users.

Climatic conditions of the development of tourism and leisure on the Żuławy Alluvial Plain

Based on the data for the years 1981–2014 from two meteorological stations located in the central and northern part of the Żuławy Alluvial Plain, the climatic conditions for the development of tourism and recreation in this area were analyzed. The factors contributing to this type of activity are the average temperatures in the fall and winter months higher than in central Poland and lower temperatures in the summer months, a relatively small number of hot and very hot days, as well as ice and very ice days. The central part of the analyzed area is characterized by lower precipitation totals, lower relative humidity, lower number of steamy days, lower cloud cover, and a high number of days with less than 50% cloudiness than the northern part, which is favorable to tourism in this area. Due to the small number of days with snowfall and snow cover over 8 cm thick, the possibility of skiing here is limited.

Social inequalities – theoretical considerations from an interdisciplinary perspective

Contemporary considerations on social inequalities are more and more often of an interdisciplinary character. Particular interest in the above-mentioned issues becomes noticeable in sociological and economic sciences and is also gradually increasing in geographical disciplines. The aim of this study is to present the problem of social inequalities from an interdisciplinary perspective. The analysis highlights the contribution of research conducted by representatives of sociology, economics, and geography. The methods of classification and identification of factors shaping social inequalities were also discussed.

The UN Agenda 2030 and the Climate-Security Nexus in Africa

There is a growing bulk of studies on global climate changes and conflicts. It has been argued that climate change may be a triggering factor to conflicts and wars, especially in societies with poor governance. This study explores the climate-security nexus in Africa. It is argued that the global climate change provides profound state and human security challenges to African governments and people. Scarcity of vital resources in food, water, sanitation and health has challenged political and economic structures, infrastructure and integration. This has also been due to poorly governed states with authoritarianism, corruption, ethnic divisions and fragile, dysfunctional institutions. The war in Darfur is a tragic, but illustrative example of the climate change-security nexus of our time.

Determinants and effects of Chinese foreign direct investment in the economy of Ukraine

The article analyzes Chinese foreign direct investment in the economy of Ukraine at the present stage. China is as an important partner for Ukraine, not only in the field of foreign trade and investment but also for the implementation of the strategic vector of Ukraine’s economic development and its integration into the modern world economy. The empirical study shows that Chinese investors receive additional incentives to invest in Ukraine if there is a prior positive investment experience, increasing market potential and openness, and economic freedom. As Ukraine is generally perceived as a path to European markets, the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU is a positive factor. However, Chinese investors’ readiness to support corruption schemes in the Ukrainian economy arouses concern. Therefore, in order to enhance and improve the structure of investment flows from China, it is necessary to take a number of measures to overcome corruption.

Analysis of the key elements of the mechanism of formation of the system of intra-cluster interaction

The article considers the key elements that influence the mechanism of formation of the system of intra-cluster interaction. The article analyzes the competitiveness of the national economy as one of the system-forming factors, the mechanisms of self-organization of cluster formations, the properties of integration and cooperation of the participants of cluster formations, and it analyzes the structure of cluster system connections and develops the principles of state policy to promote the development of cluster formations.

The types of fertility patterns in Europe

The aim of this paper is to present the types of fertility patterns that characterise European countries and their NUTS-1 units in the early 21st c. and in the near future. The types of fertility patterns were defined by ordering six five-year age groups of women aged from 15 to 44 years, according to the groups’ fertility rates (from the highest to the lowest). The analysis resulted in the creation of 14 different types of fertility patterns. Countries located in the same European region tend to have the same or similar type of fertility pattern. In most European countries, the postponement transition can be observed, and it will probably continue in the future. Differences between the fertility rates of the age groups were assessed within countries and between countries with the same type of fertility pattern by calculating the so-called fertility rate ratios. The paper also provides an overview of the main theories and concepts explaining the course of family formation processes in Europe and indicates factors that shape fertility patterns in European countries today.