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The paper aims to highlight the main difficulties on the monetary path towards the euro zone experienced by Emerging Europe. Emerging European Economies (EEEs), EU members, adopted either double shift or smooth transition monetary approach towards the euro zone. Double shift assumes changes from floating exchange rate regimes (ERRs) to the ERM II target zone and, finally, monetary union as a rigid ERR. The smooth transition is practiced by economies with mainly rigid ERRs before the ERM II entrance and, at the end, again rigid ERR of a monetary union. Despite chosen monetary path towards the euro zone, crucial difficulties or aggravating factors could be identified in the form of real exchange rate appreciation due to productivity growth or capital inflows. A reconciliation of inflation and exchange rate target zone is extremely complex, at the same time striving not to jeopardize the real convergence. What is stressed here is the vicious cycle between real and nominal convergence as the reason why the ERM II target should be regarded as a "waiting room" not as a "training room" in the pre-EMU phase.

The objective of this paper is to identify the top destination for FDI inflows as well as to analyze related growth progress in selected Emerging European Economies (EEEs) in order to suggest significant implications towards economic policy creators in Western Balkan countries. The authors conducted descriptive statistical analysis together with correlation analysis in the time period 1997-2019. The analysis of average FDI inflows includes following country groups: Visegrad States, Baltic States, Western Balkan and eleven new EU member states with regard to the structural break of Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The results suggest that the Visegrad States (particularly Poland) were the top locations for foreign investors in the analyzed time period. Having in mind a positive correlation link between significant FDI inflows, especially greenfield FDI inflows and economic growth, we suggest that Western Balkan countries should implement adequate measures to attract greater greenfield FDI inflows in order to stimulate real convergence towards developed European economies. Therefore, recommendations are directed towards economic policy of less developed countries of Western Balkan that need to continue to improve the quality of public institutions and infrastructure, as well as business environment and implementation of nonfinancial measures of promotional activities, in order to raise attractiveness of national market for foreign investors.

Cet article est consacré à la vulnérabilité de l'Europe émergente face aux mécanismes d'ajustement et de financement externes, par rapport à l'Amérique latine et à l'Asie émergentes. En soulignant la différence entre les pays avec des taux de change fixe ou flottant, nous analysons la manière dont le choc du compte courant est transmis aux variables reflétant un ajustement restrictif et redistributif, ainsi que différents canaux de financement externes. Les résultats empiriques, fondés sur un modèle VAR à panel estimé pour la période 2000-2014, confirment les mécanismes d'ajustement restrictifs et redistributifs les plus puissants dans le cas de l'Europe émergente, ainsi que la réaction la plus sensible des flux de capitaux au choc du compte courant. Outre l'avantage des régimes de change flottants comme amortisseurs, la résilience des économies émergentes repose principalement sur des fondamentaux macroéconomiques solides, quel que soit le régime de change appliqué.

The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the effects of changes in
quality of economic, legal and political institutions on income inequality
in the advanced countries over the last two decades. Using the robust panel
model on a sample of 21 OECD countries, it is found that the impact of
elitization of society is more pronounced than the impact of unionization on
income redistribution, but both effects are less expressed in comparison to
the influence of institutional changes on redistribution. In a globalized
economy, insufficient redistribution and high inequality might be
interpreted as the consequence of institutional inertia to disruptive
technological and business changes.

The paper explores (former) transition economies, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Republic of Serbia, concerning abandonment of the exchange rate targeting and fixed exchange rate regimes and movement toward explicit/implicit inflation targeting and flexible exchange rate regimes. The paper identifies different subperiods concerning crucial monetary and exchange rate regimes, and tracks the changes of specific monetary transmission channels i.e. exchange rate channel, interest rate channel, indirect and direct influences to the exchange rate, with variance decomposition of VAR/VEC model. The empirical results indicate that Polish monetary strategy toward higher monetary and exchange rate flexibility has been performed smoothly, gradually and planned, compared to the Slovak and, especially, Czech case. The comparison of three former transition economies with the Serbian case indicate strong and persistent exchange rate pass-through, low interest rate pass-through, significant indirect and direct influence to the exchange rate as potential obstacles for successful inflation targeting in the Republic of Serbia.

Emerging economies have specificities which distance them compared to
advanced economies in practicing inflation targeting (IT) monetary regime.
One of the main differences in performing IT in advanced compared to
emerging economies is ?fear of floating? problem in emerging group. However,
on the road from exchange rate (ER) as a nominal anchor to IT, differences
between advanced and emerging economies concerning ?fear of floating? have
been more or less narrowed. In this paper we are concentrated to selected
aspects of ER pass-through to prices and output, as well as (in)direct
monetary policy reactions to ER shocks, trying to find out is significant
difference observable between advanced and emerging IT countries in
pre-crisis period and (post)crisis period. The comparison is made on the
basis of forecast error variance decompositions from estimated Vector
Autoregression (VAR) / Vector Error Correction (VEC) models. ?Fear of
floating? phenomenon should not be exclusively applied to emerging
economies, especially in the crisis period burdened with external shocks.
The role of ER in IT monetary framework is strengthened with higher internal
vulnerability to ER shocks, despite the level of economic development.
Advanced countries more use interest rate as an indirect way to withstand ER
shocks, while emerging economies more use direct way via foreign exchange
interventions to withstand the ER shocks.

This paper examines the nature of changes within the EU–15 welfare states affected by the 2008 crisis. We try to answer the question of whether the differences that exist among different welfare state regimes, according to prevailing welfare state typologies, lead to different responses to the consequences of the crisis. Welfare state regimes are the result of different institutional perceptions of social risks hence it is realistic to expect specific responses to the effects of crisis among different welfare state regimes, and similar responses among the countries that belong to the same welfare state regimes. In order to recognize convergent vs. divergent processes, we perform a comparative analysis of the dynamics of the key welfare state determinants of the EU–15 countries, grouping according to welfare state regimes, in the pre-crisis and crisis periods. The results indicate that institutional rigidity and inherent inertia has remained a key factor of convergent welfare state processes in countries that belong to the Social Democratic and Corporatist welfare state regimes. Deviations from such a course are the most evident in the Mediterranean welfare state regimes, especially in Greece and Portugal where austerity measures have been formulated under the strong influence of the Troika.

This paper examines the nature of changes within the EU–15 welfare states affected by the 2008 crisis. We try to answer the question of whether the differences that exist among different welfare state regimes, according to prevailing welfare state typologies, lead to different responses to the consequences of the crisis. Welfare state regimes are the result of different institutional perceptions of social risks hence it is realistic to expect specific responses to the effects of crisis among different welfare state regimes, and similar responses among the countries that belong to the same welfare state regimes. In order to recognize convergent vs. divergent processes, we perform a comparative analysis of the dynamics of the key welfare state determinants of the EU–15 countries, grouping according to welfare state regimes, in the pre-crisis and crisis periods. The results indicate that institutional rigidity and inherent inertia has remained a key factor of convergent welfare state processes in countries that belong to the Social Democratic and Corporatist welfare state regimes. Deviations from such a course are the most evident in the Mediterranean welfare state regimes, especially in Greece and Portugal where austerity measures have been formulated under the strong influence of the Troika.