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This paper proposes the application of taxonomic tools to study the differentiation of standard of living in the European Union countries. The aggregate distance between given countries is the basis for grouping member states in terms of their internal structure of the studied characteristics. The analysis is based on two chosen methods–the Ward's and k-means method. The study included 24 member states of the European Union in 1995-2010. Depending on the distance between the object, the countries were divided into two or four clusters. Similar configuration of each group obtained using both methods has led to the conclusion that these methods can be used both complementarily and separately. ; This paper proposes the application of taxonomic tools to study the differentiation of standard of living in the European Union countries. The aggregate distance between given countries is the basis for grouping member states in terms of their internal structure of the studied characteristics. The analysis is based on two chosen methods–the Ward's and k-means method. The study included 24 member states of the European Union in 1995-2010. Depending on the distance between the object, the countries were divided into two or four clusters. Similar configuration of each group obtained using both methods has led to the conclusion that these methods can be used both complementarily and separately.

This paper proposes the application of taxonomic tools to study the differentiation of standard of living in the European Union countries. The aggregate distance between given countries is the basis for grouping member states in terms of their internal structure of the studied characteristics. The analysis is based on two chosen methods–the Ward's and k-means method. The study included 24 member states of the European Union in 1995-2010. Depending on the distance between the object, the countries were divided into two or four clusters. Similar configuration of each group obtained using both methods has led to the conclusion that these methods can be used both complementarily and separately. ; This paper proposes the application of taxonomic tools to study the differentiation of standard of living in the European Union countries. The aggregate distance between given countries is the basis for grouping member states in terms of their internal structure of the studied characteristics. The analysis is based on two chosen methods–the Ward's and k-means method. The study included 24 member states of the European Union in 1995-2010. Depending on the distance between the object, the countries were divided into two or four clusters. Similar configuration of each group obtained using both methods has led to the conclusion that these methods can be used both complementarily and separately.

Multilingualism lies at the heart of educational policies adopted in most European Union countries. Knowledge of foreign languages now forms a significant part of the agenda concerning equality of educational opportunity. These policies are based on the premise that foreign languages help individuals in their professional and private life, combating poverty and social exclusion. In this paper, we present the education policies in relation to foreign languages in three European Union countries, Germany, Spain and Greece in order to examine whether they have been influenced by the equality agenda. We also present the results of a research study the aim of which was to investigate lower secondary education students' views and attitudes toward the teaching of foreign languages. Students seem to accept the official rhetoric regarding the beneficial outcomes of foreign languages. We conclude that multilingualism can contribute to the reduction of social class inequalities, as they can offer to all students, regardless of socioeconomic background, the opportunity to overcome obstacles and succeed in the education and employment field.

Multilingualism lies at the heart of educational policies adopted in most European Union countries. Knowledge of foreign languages now forms a significant part of the agenda concerning equality of educational opportunity. These policies are based on the premise that foreign languages help individuals in their professional and private life, combating poverty and social exclusion. In this paper, we present the education policies in relation to foreign languages in three European Union countries, Germany, Spain and Greece in order to examine whether they have been influenced by the equality agenda. We also present the results of a research study the aim of which was to investigate lower secondary education students' views and attitudes toward the teaching of foreign languages. Students seem to accept the official rhetoric regarding the beneficial outcomes of foreign languages. We conclude that multilingualism can contribute to the reduction of social class inequalities, as they can offer to all students, regardless of socioeconomic background, the opportunity to overcome obstacles and succeed in the education and employment field. Article visualizations:

AbstractEuropean Union (EU) governments are placing intensified stress on both the development of the circular economy (CE) and digital performance. In spite of the strategic and economic relevance of these two scientific fields, there is a lack of evidence regarding their mutual effects and implications. We tackle this gap by analysing how digitalization favours the path towards the CE across EU member states. Firstly, a cluster analysis was conducted to identify groups of EU countries depending on circular behaviour, resulting in the Generators, Recyclers, Achievers, Innovators classification. Subsequently, an analysis of variance was performed to examine how the groups were influenced by the different contexts of digitization. This has allowed us to detect that the digitalization variables of human capital, integration of digital technology and digital public services, are key drivers of variability in the CE. Moreover, we have found that countries with similar circular behaviour share similar levels of digitalization variables.

Wagner's Law is the first model of public expenditure in the history of public finance. It suggests that during the process of economic development the share of public spending in national income tends to expand (Wagner, 1883). Nevertheless, Peacock and Scott in 2000 wrote a paper entitled "The curious attraction of Wagner's law", explaining the reasons for why this (apparently) outworn theory is still studied by modern economists. On the other hand, Keynes (1936) considered public spending as an exogenous factor to be used as a policy instrument to influence growth. Moreover, Peacock and Wiseman (1961) presented the displacement effect, according to which during times of war tax rates are increased to generate more revenues, sustaining the increase in defense spending. While Peacock and Wiseman (1979) surveys the literature on public expenditure growth. This paper aims to analyze the relationship between public expenditure and aggregate income in EU countries, for the period 1980-2013, using panel data methodologies. After a brief introduction, a survey of the economic literature on this issue is discussed. Then, panel data tests on stationarity, cross-dependence, cointegration, and causality are shown. Finally, some notes on policy implications conclude the paper. ; http://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi/article/view/1317/pdf

The common set of reporting standards allows for a unified business language when reporting on the financial status of businesses. Standards help to raise the quality of information and the comparability of financial statements. The understanding of financial statements is particularly important for the economies of prospective European Union countries, especially the smaller ones, because their growth is so dependent on the free movement of capital and extensive foreign direct investments. Researchers stress that even though the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are adopted by most of the developing countries, their business characteristics could limit their ability to accomplish expected benefits. Formal adoption does not necessarily lead towards unimpeded implementation. This chapter presents the perceptions of Macedonian managers about IFRS acceptance. First, we survey, a representative sample of Chief Financial Officers from companies listed on the Macedonian stock exchange, and executives and analysts in investment and pension funds. Next, we compare the findings with the results of the similar survey presented in the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Reports 2011, on the attitudes of their counterparts in America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Finally, we offer recommendations on the further implementation of standards in the prospective European Union countries, which in turn will help their inclusion into the overall economic, social and cultural trends of the Union.

The severe material deprivation rate indicates the proportion of the population that cannot fulfil at least four of the nine needs identified as basic ones in the European conditions. The study attempts to identify factors differentiating this indicator in the European Union countries. The parameters for regression beta models were estimated on the basis of data from the European Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) for 2014. Such models are useful when the value of the dependent variable interval is included between 0 and 1. It was found that severe material deprivation rate is affected by such factors as: type of household, median equalized disposable income, at-risk-of-poverty rate, relative median at-risk-of-poverty gap, inequality of income distribution, long-term unemployment rate, GDP per capita, and share of social protection expenditure in GDP.

This paper presents a new methodology for evaluating the economic sustainability of countries energy systems. The aim of the work is to improve the support tools for policy makers as the scale and complexity of the global energy industry demands a country-by-country approach to managing change. The proposed participatory analytic network process model was applied to the five largest energy consumers in the European Union, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK plus Turkey a candidate for the European Union. The criteria used for the evaluations were selected from the economic dimension of the energy indicators for sustainable development. Results show that the best performer country is the UK followed by France, Turkey, Germany, Spain and Italy. Finally, we want to highlight that the methodology is able to grant participated decisions through a multi-expert traceable and transparent assessment process. ; Aragonés-Beltrán, P. (2015). Measuring economic sustainability of energy use: an ANP-based evaluation of some European Union countries and Turkey. International Journal of Management and Decision Making. 14(3):205-223. doi:10.1504/IJMDM.2015.070759 ; S ; 205 ; 223 ; 14 ; 3

205 223 14 3 ; S ; This paper presents a new methodology for evaluating the economic sustainability of countries energy systems. The aim of the work is to improve the support tools for policy makers as the scale and complexity of the global energy industry demands a country-by-country approach to managing change. The proposed participatory analytic network process model was applied to the five largest energy consumers in the European Union, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK plus Turkey a candidate for the European Union. The criteria used for the evaluations were selected from the economic dimension of the energy indicators for sustainable development. Results show that the best performer country is the UK followed by France, Turkey, Germany, Spain and Italy. Finally, we want to highlight that the methodology is able to grant participated decisions through a multi-expert traceable and transparent assessment process. Aragonés-Beltrán, P. (2015). Measuring economic sustainability of energy use: an ANP-based evaluation of some European Union countries and Turkey. International Journal of Management and Decision Making. 14(3):205-223. doi:10.1504/IJMDM.2015.070759