Suchergebnisse

Services of general economic interest (SGEI) are usually offered on markets characterized by monopoly, oligopoly, governmental or local authorities control or other forms of market imperfection. Consequently, issues related to consumer protection also present some particularities. In the energetic sector, the product offered (electricity) is absolutely homogeneous, allowing only consumer protection through price. Our study analyzed the presence of this phenomenon in the 27 countries of the European Union. Data was collected from official institutions, such as the World Bank, Europe's Energy Portal and the National Institutes of Statistics of the member states. Based on OLS regressions we demonstrated the existence of price-based protection for domestic consumers at EU level. Prices are regulated in such a way as to be correlated with the average wage. As an additional argument, we demonstrated that the energy price for industrial consumers follows a different formation mechanism, with main influence factor the energy import dependence.

This longitudinal, ecological study assesses associations between median cigarette prices, cigarette price differentials, and infant mortality across the European Union.

This article addresses the problem of the main factors driving sectoral unemployment in the Mediterranean countries most affected by this phenomenon. The choice of the four countries (Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal) relies on the fact that they are dealing with the highest unemployment rates in the European Union and a certain typology of the economic structure. The originality of our research is offered by its direction, less tackled until now, namely the focus on the particularities of the economic sectors, trying to capture differences between them. The importance and the impact of the results are supported by the methods used to produce them, indicators and econometric models that are on trend and bring extra information to available studies. Descriptive statistics and mismatch indexes are used to outline the economic and labour market structure, while the econometric models built on panel data capture the impact of factors such as GVA growth, specialization and labour market mismatches on the unemployment rate at six economic sectors level. Our paper makes three contributions to the literature. First, we have demonstrated that agriculture is the sector of activity less sensitive to output fluctuations in terms of unemployment and can become a buffer for the jobless in times of recessions. Second, we have proved that industry, as a whole, is highly responsive to economic developments and bad specialization could worsen unemployment situation in this sector. Third, we showed that educational mismatches have a significant impact on unemployment in those sectors of activity that employ low educated workforce.

This article addresses the problem of the main factors driving sectoral unemployment in the Mediterranean countries most affected by this phenomenon. The choice of the four countries (Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal) relies on the fact that they are dealing with the highest unemployment rates in the European Union and a certain typology of the economic structure. The originality of our research is offered by its direction, less tackled until now, namely the focus on the particularities of the economic sectors, trying to capture differences between them. The importance and the impact of the results are supported by the methods used to produce them, indicators and econometric models that are on trend and bring extra information to available studies. Descriptive statistics and mismatch indexes are used to outline the economic and labour market structure, while the econometric models built on panel data capture the impact of factors such as GVA growth, specialization and labour market mismatches on the unemployment rate at six economic sectors level. Our paper makes three contributions to the literature. First, we have demonstrated that agriculture is the sector of activity less sensitive to output fluctuations in terms of unemployment and can become a buffer for the jobless in times of recessions. Second, we have proved that industry, as a whole, is highly responsive to economic developments and bad specialization could worsen unemployment situation in this sector. Third, we showed that educational mismatches have a significant impact on unemployment in those sectors of activity that employ low educated workforce.

Purpose: The overarching aim of this article is to divide EU countries into classes characterised by different levels of ecology in the field of air quality using factors in the form of emission levels of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The data included in the study concern the year 2017 and come from OECD STAT. Approach/Methodology/Design: The classification of EU countries was carried out using the cluster analysis method as one from data mining methods. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the European Union countries can be divided into three distinct classes according to the criterion of environmental performance in the area of air quality. Findings: In terms of the conditions considered for the international air quality test, concentration 3 was the best, namely Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark and Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta,Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Hungary. These are the countries that place the least burden on the atmosphere from harmful factors. The countries belonging to cluster 2, namely Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the Netherlands, Ireland and Luxembourg, have also achieved high levels of harmful agents. It should be clearly indicated that the lowest level of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere was found in cluster 1, and more precisely in France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy, the UK and Wolf. Practical Implications: It turns out that the good practices and recommendations of any sustainable development service do not achieve their purpose in comparison with other EU countries. It seems necessary to tighten the ban policy by imposing high fines on the prohibition of the use of all prohibited objects, devices which have a significant impact on the deterioration of air quality. Originality/Value: There are many reports on the market in the scope discussed above, rich literature compilations. The proposed model may contribute to further development in order to implement the proposed breakdown to reflect actual results in a way that does not seem to hide the worst performing countries. ; peer-reviewed

An aim of the author's considerations contained in the article is to describe the models of tax incentives supporting research and development activity carried out by enterprises in European Union countries, with a particular consideration of Polish solutions as well as their attractiveness from the enterprises' point of view. To achieve the objectives there were analyzed reports and surveys conducted by international organizations as well as presented the generosity level of tax incentives in different countries. There is also evaluation of Polish legal regulations supporting R&D activities, pointing out the potential directions of change in tax law. ; An aim of the author's considerations contained in the article is to describe the models of tax incentives supporting research and development activity carried out by enterprises in European Union countries, with a particular consideration of Polish solutions as well as their attractiveness from the enterprises' point of view. To achieve the objectives there were analyzed reports and surveys conducted by international organizations as well as presented the generosity level of tax incentives in different countries. There is also evaluation of Polish legal regulations supporting R&D activities, pointing out the potential directions of change in tax law.

An aim of the author's considerations contained in the article is to describe the models of tax incentives supporting research and development activity carried out by enterprises in European Union countries, with a particular consideration of Polish solutions as well as their attractiveness from the enterprises' point of view. To achieve the objectives there were analyzed reports and surveys conducted by international organizations as well as presented the generosity level of tax incentives in different countries. There is also evaluation of Polish legal regulations supporting R&D activities, pointing out the potential directions of change in tax law. ; An aim of the author's considerations contained in the article is to describe the models of tax incentives supporting research and development activity carried out by enterprises in European Union countries, with a particular consideration of Polish solutions as well as their attractiveness from the enterprises' point of view. To achieve the objectives there were analyzed reports and surveys conducted by international organizations as well as presented the generosity level of tax incentives in different countries. There is also evaluation of Polish legal regulations supporting R&D activities, pointing out the potential directions of change in tax law.

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to assess the degree of similarity in the structure of the unemployed according to various categories (gender, age, education, the duration of unemployment) in the EU countries. Approach/Methodology/Design: As a research tool, the vector elimination method was used, which facilitates a division of a set of objects into subgroups with similar structures. Statistical data on the structure of the unemployed due to selected features in 28 European Union countries come from the Eurostat database and relate to 2018. Findings: The spatial distribution of groups of EU countries in 2018 confirms the authors' observations formulated at the beginning of the work that the structures of the unemployed by selected categories are similar in most countries, but it is also possible to distinguish countries in which these structures are significantly different. Practical Implications: The knowledge about the regularities of the structures of the unemployed in individual EU countries is necessary when developing strategies to combat unemployment, especially among people in a particular situation on the labor market. Originality/Value: There are no comprehensive analyzes in the literature to determine the similarity of the structure of the unemployed in EU countries, taking into account various demographic features that are typically taken into account in this type of research (e.g., gender, age, or level of education). The presented studies fill a gap in this area, they can also complement existing studies focusing mainly on the level of unemployment. ; peer-reviewed