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on Transition Economics |
| By: | Otrachshenko, Vladimir; Nikolova, Milena; Popova, Olga |
| Abstract: | Communism was a two-edged sword for the trustees of the former regime. Communist party members and their relatives enjoyed status and privileges, while secret police informants were often coerced to work clandestinely and gather compromising materials about friends, colleagues, and neighbors. We examine the long-term consequences of such connections to the communist regime for life satisfaction in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. We also calculate a monetary equivalent of those effects and empirically test mechanisms. The findings underscore that past communist regime connections have a persistent but differential effect on life satisfaction. |
| Keywords: | Communist regime,historical legacy,Eastern Europe,former Soviet Union,life satisfaction,elite networks,Communist party,informants |
| JEL: | D60 I31 N00 P26 P36 P52 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:927&r= |
| By: | Do Manh Thai; Duong, Dang; Falch, Morten; Chung Bui Xuan; Tran Thi Anh Thu |
| Abstract: | Due to rapid technological changes, governments in developing countries have paid special attention to sustainability. However, understanding insights into the sustainability of telecentres remains an open question. This paper aims to fill this gap. We conducted a case study in Vietnam by using both qualitative and quantitative data. We used the Kumar and Best's (2006) model as our theoretical lens to analyse the sustainability of telecentres in Vietnam. The paper finds that telecentres have shifted their concept to provide a wide range of services, both online and offline. The paper indicates that technological, political, and social sustainability are important for the sustainability of telecentres. The paper recommends that we should take the role of state-owned enterprises and the digital transformation at telecentres into consideration to sustain telecentres. Furthermore, the paper indicates the mutual relation between political and technical sustainability with social sustainability that has not been yet unveiled in the prior literature. |
| Keywords: | telecentres,cultural-post offices (CPOs),sustainability,digital transformation,Vietnam |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itsb21:238017&r= |
| By: | Antonella Biscione (Department of Bioeconomic Strategies in the European Union and in the Balkans CESPIC, Catholic University Our Lady of Good Counsel); Dorothee Boccanfuso (Faculte de Gouvernance, Sciences Economiques et Sociales, AIRESS, Universite Mohammed VI Polytechnique); Annunziata de Felice; Francesco Porcelli (Department of Law, University of Bari Aldo Moro; Department of Law, University of Bari Aldo Moro) |
| Abstract: | This study seeks to explore the firm barriers of energy efficiency in a set of 28 Transition economies exploiting the enterprise survey data collected by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) jointly with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank Group (WBG). Based on the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model and on the construction of three different indicators to evaluate the energy efficiency, we find that the barriers to the adoption of energy efficiency measures mainly lack financial resources and profitability. Findings obtained from the interactions are also worthy of note. In particular, we find that the absence of profitability starts being stronger for non-EU countries. Instead, there is no evidence of heterogenous effects for industry sectors. |
| Keywords: | Firms energy efficiency, Barriers, Transition economies |
| JEL: | D22 K32 L29 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pea:wpaper:1014&r= |
| By: | Laszlo Bokor (Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary)) |
| Abstract: | I propose a simple indicator of climate-related transition risks of banks’ lending activity based on transaction-level loan data. The underlying idea is that the higher the greenhouse gas intensity of an economic activity (and so a debtor), the higher its transition risk. Recent Hungarian trends of this indicator alerts to significantly regrowing risks. |
| Keywords: | climate change, transition risk, greenhouse gas intensity, lending activity, risk indicator |
| JEL: | C43 G21 Q54 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnb:opaper:2021/141&r= |
| By: | Walter, Timo |
| Abstract: | From the early 1990s until 2005 the unemployment rate rose in Germany from 7.3% to 11.7%. While the unemployment rate reached its peak in 2005, it decreased steadily in the following years. On the one hand, the fourth stage of the German labor market reform (Hartz IV) was implemented in 2005 with the intent to cut the unemployment rate. On the other hand, the productivities in Germany and Eastern Europe grew strongly during the same period, enhancing the joint trade. The "rise of the East", in terms of rising trade, is likely to have had an ambiguous effect on the German labor market. This paper investigates the employment effects of the "Hartz IV-Reform". Further, it concentrates on the labor market effects of the German and Eastern European productivity shock. The focus lies on the national and county level (including 402 counties). As the effects on regional labor markets differ and take time, the paper builds on the dynamic and spatial trade model of Caliendo et al. (2019). I find that the "Hartz IV-Reform" and the German productivity contributes positively to the decline of unemployment, whereas the increase in Eastern European productivity is only responsible for a minor increase in unemployment. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic Trade Model,Labor Market Reform,Trade Liberalization,Productivity Shocks,Germany,Eastern Europe |
| JEL: | F14 F16 F17 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:052021&r= |
| By: | Yulia A. Seliverstova (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Within the framework of human capital and rational choice theory the effective formation of cognitive and non-cognitive skills in early childhood attracts both parents and researchers. Besides traditional home-based activities and kindergarten programs, many families in Russia choose extra classes for their children. The increasing inequality in early childhood education (ECE) has become a new problem, since not all parents can afford to pay for such extra activities (EA). This study investigates the interrelation between family income and the educational strategies chosen by parents. Data for the study were drawn from an online survey, conducted among 260 parents of children aged 3–7 years old. This dataset made it possible to estimate how much families with different income pay for EA in ECE and identify the motives of their educational investment practices. The results showed that the gap in spending on education in poor, low- and middle-income families is significant. However, financial constraints lead to increased parental involvement. The results show that parents from poor and low-income families value extra classes for preschoolers. This study emphasizes the need for further research into home-based teaching practices within poor and low-income families. A deeper understanding of this issue could improve the efficiency of ECE for children from disadvantaged families. |
| Keywords: | Russia, preschool education, parental involvement, skill formation, educational expenditure, educational economics |
| JEL: | E32 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:61edu2021&r= |