Human Capital as a Determinant of Long-Term Economic Growth

This chapter aims to investigate the importance of human capital as a key success factor to economic growth and modern economic reforms as well as exploring determinants of human capital. Then factors influencing human capital accumulation as well as case studies are discussed to illustrate the influence of human capital to economic growth and reforms. Together with economic reforms, supportive education and human capital development policies, some countries could generate a dramatic technology and economic development. Currently, human capital even becomes crucial because of this technological progress. Thus, modern economic reform needs more intense human capital accumulation to cope with more advanced technology. In this chapter, we investigate the role of human capital accumulation by education and migration process in economic reforms and development of three countries with completely different conditions of economic development.

External Aspects of the European Union´s Competitiveness

This chapter deals with application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method to multicriteria performance evaluation of the European Union' (EU) Member States in the reference period 2000-2015. The productivity of the EU countries can be seen as the source of national performance and subsequent international competitiveness. International trade, as a major factor of openness, has an increasingly significant contribution to economic growth and thus for competitiveness. The aim of the chapter is to analyse level of productive potential achieved by the EU Member States. The results confirm the heterogeneity that exists among the EU Member States as well as in the trade area. While the calculations show that productivity growth of foreign trade was significant in the case of the entire EU, but the significance of productivity in foreign trade was not the same in the case of individual countries.

Alternative Financial Integration to Stimulate National Competitiveness

The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) actively joined in process of transformation of institutes of global financial market's management, having created New Development Bank. This institute according to most of analysts can be considered as potential competitor of the World Bank and as one of elements of so-called system of “parallel institutes”, which as required can become replacement American-centered system of international financial institutions. Progress of newly created New Development Bank in- much will depend on that economic power which will characterize BRICS economies. And a key condition of long-term stable economic growth is availability of global advantages of the BRICS countries. This article is devoted to the analysis of changes BRICS global competitiveness factors.

Fiscal Reforms in a Country's Competitiveness Development

The chapter attention is given to fiscal reforms in Slovakia. Reform measurements and their impact on the state budget have been investigated in selected areas of the economy. Reforms are always lively discussed issue. On the one hand, they are reasoned by expert arguments, but also by political ideas and emotions. On the other hand, we must see that the reforms affect all citizens, mainly children, students, workers, unemployed and pensioners. The chapter contains a brief overview of the most important reforms in the years 2002-2006 as well as preliminary impacts on the economy, inhabitants and public finances. The aim of this chapter is to describe the fiscal reforms in Slovakia, to bring close principles that were behind the changes and to evaluate their influence on the country's competitiveness. The aim is to show how economic policy and reforms have changed the socio-economic model in Slovakia and what results it has brought.

Sufficiency Economy as an Alter-Globalist Concept for Modern Reformations

Contemporary dynamics of capitalistic relations' development has made world economy a complicated and intricate system of national economies, transnational production & distribution constructs, international economic organizations etc. Within its framework competencies of governments and of corporate top managers, directors of supranational unions and of local consumers, business owners and employees are intercrossing and overlapping, resonating and counteracting. The article analyzes the key bottlenecks and problems of globalization as a social progress concept along with the accompanying social and economic problems provoked by liberalization. The potential of sufficiency economy is analyzed as an alternative to the globalist approach. Potential prospects of sufficient economy principles' implementation are assessed. These principles have been suggested by His Majesty King of Thailand Bhumipol Adulyadej as the key values and strategic guidelines for nation's development. The related conditions and requirements for their implementation in the economic policies of todays' governments worldwide are discussed.

Regional Competitiveness and National Economic Growth

Indonesia is a country with a notable economic inequality both across its provinces and districts. This inequality can be attributed to the disparities in access to development. In this paper, the effects of regional competitiveness and economic reforms on economic growth is studied. Regional competitiveness factors include infrastructure pillar, health and education pillar, and labor market efficiency pillar. The data come from the Indonesia Database for Policy and Economic Research (INDO-DAPOER) of the World Bank for the year 2010. The results of the study show that the percentage of households with electricity, the percentage of births attended by skilled health worker, the net enrollment ratio for primary education, the number of people employed, and the total grants statistically and significantly influence regional economic growth positively. Indonesia is to reduce inequality in regional competitiveness and improve the total grants distribution in order to promote regional economic growth equality in the country.

Reforming of the State Immigration Policy in the Context of Globalization

International labor migration in a globalized context offers alternative ways to overcome the problems of slow economic growth or identification of additional levers of economic progress along with forcing the states or the whole supranational units to urgently search for the instruments to confront new economic, humanitarian and political challenges and threats. Migration policy must become an effective tool in nationalization of economic benefits of international labor migration and combating its possible negative effects, especially critical for the Russian Federation, which at the beginning of the 21st century has become a global center of gravity and attraction for international migrant workers. This study reveals the importance and the stimulating role of migration policy in fostering national competitiveness, demonstrating the conditions of its key tools effectiveness for the implementation in economic and social globalization dynamics. In the case of Russia, the paper evaluates the historical background of migration policy reform and suggests directions of its modernization in the short and the long run. As a result of the analysis of Russian state migration policy further development trends under economy modernization have been revealed, special emphasis is put on the selective nature of immigration policy along with the need for highly skilled professionals' attraction.

Cross-Regional Interactions as a Source for Innovative Reformation

The processes of disintegration in the 90th of the last century negatively influenced the Russian Federation economic environment. Differentiation of economic activity conditions sustained essential growth. According to experts the total volume of cross-regional economic relations became 4 times lower. Practically the split of economy into export sector and sector working for home market took place. Meanwhile, the achievement of sustainable economic growth, the rise of the country' competitiveness and transfer to the innovative model of development depends directly on successful overcoming of autarkic tendencies. It requires the reform of cross-regional relations' system aimed at efficient use of territories competitive advantages both in the interests of definite regions and state in whole. Solution of the defined problems is in the competence of federal and regional authorities interested in transition of the Russian industry into the innovative setup.

Sustainable Project Management in the System of Economic Reform of Industries

Russian economy is facing a difficult period characterized by economic crisis. In particular, industry became an evident of the necessity to change economic development model: the transition from raw material economy to industrial one. This requires economic reforms. At the present stage, economic reforms can be implemented, first, in the project format, and secondly, following the requirements of sustainable development concept. Project management as the theory, methodology and set of practical technologies has significantly strengthened its position in the modern management of economic entities. Project management proves own efficiency, also in the development and implementation of economic reforms. This raises the urgent issue of integration and integrated use of project management and sustainable development concept. Today, scholars and practitioners declare an importance of sustainability criteria implementation at the project level. Therefore, the aim of the study was to develop provisions for sustainable project management. Consequently, results of the study proposed: clarification of sustainable project management essence, interrelation of directions of sustainable development and functional areas of project management, conditions and prerequisites for the transition to sustainable project management, rationale for the transition to sustainable project management towards so-called “weak” sustainability.

Resources and Capacities as Factors of National Agro-Industrial Reforms

Research findings indicate that the basic condition for overcoming the current development entropy is agro-industry internationalization. During the last few years, innovative system of work and new model of agrarian industrial business management crystallized in Serbia. The innovations of development trends point to better and more appropriate using of resources and necessary production capacities for the purpose of successful agro-industrial reforms. The reform process within the agro-industrial business will carried out the country from trap of medium development dictated by investors. The conducted studies indicate that there is a basis to improve state and future development of agricultural industry in the European integration process. Radical change in economic and institutional infrastructure towards the agro-industrial sector's competitiveness improvement is modern challenges for regional economic policy makers and actors of transitional macro management. Increase of competitiveness will generate a new development potential which would contribute to the overall economic prosperity of the country.