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The importance of human and social capital in the processes of growth and economic development has been broadly discussed in the literature. There are many theoretical models of economic growth considering human or social capital. However, there is still a shortage of empirical studies concerning the dependencies between these phenomena. The purpose of this study is to examine the role which human and social capital play in the processes of economic development in the European Union countries. Empirical analysis concerns the year 2015. Owing to the fact that neither of these categories is measurable, the research uses the soft modelling method. It allows users to examine links between variables which are not directly observable (latent variables). The conducted research has demonstrated that human capital as well as social capital had statistically significant, positive impact on the economic development of the EU countries. The obtained results also made it possible to create the rankings of the examined countries according to their stocks of human and social capital and the level of economic development. ; O značaju ljudskog i društvenog kapitala u procesima rasta i ekonomskog razvoja se široko raspravljalo u literaturi. Postoji mnogo teoretskih modela ekonomskog rasta koji uključuju ljudski ili društveni kapital. Međutim, i dalje postoji nedostatak empirijskih studija koje proučavaju zavisnosti između ovih pojava. Svrha ove studije je da ispita ulogu koju ljudski i društveni kapital igra u procesima ekonomskog razvoja u zemljama Evropske unije. Empirijska analiza se odnosi na 2015. godinu. Zbog činjenice da nijedna od ovih kategorija nije merljiva, istraživanje koristi metod mekog modeliranja, koji omogućava korisnicima da ispitaju veze između varijabli koje se ne mogu direktno posmatrati (latentne varijable). Sprovedeno istraživanje je pokazalo da ljudski kapital kao i društveni kapital imaju statistički značajan, pozitivan uticaj na ekonomski razvoj zemalja EU. Dobijeni rezultati su takođe omogućili ...

This edited volume provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in industrial relations systems in Southern Europe and Ireland as a result of the debt crisis and subsequent fiscal consolidation policies. The authors take stock of developments and consider policy implications.

Abstract. This paper examines changes in welfare effort from 1960 to 1980 and two intervening periods. Analysis of data on 17 OECD countries indicates that there is increasing divergence in welfare effort, as reflected in expenditure and policy orientation, although this statement masks important nuances relating to measures of welfare effort and time periods. The findings illustrate the importance of considering the elements of welfare effort. The patterns of variation in social transfer and government civil consumption expenditure differ as do the explanations of these patterns particularly those relating to the impact of working class mobilisation variables. These variables are positively and relatively strongly associated with change in consumption expenditure in both the 1960–73 and 1973–80 periods but only weakly associated with change in social transfer expenditure. This has implications for findings relating to the widely used ILO measure of welfare effort. Since it is skewed towards social transfer payments and includes only a small part of consumption expenditure, the impact of working class mobilization variables is not evident. Finally, the standardization of change in welfare effort for average annual change in real GDP results in interesting insights relating to the impact of independent variables on 'real' as opposed to nominal change in welfare effort.

Little scholarly work has been done on cultural exchanges between Communist countries and the United States. Despite the frustrations involved, such exchanges are regarded as useful by both sides. One of the great difficulties in the study of cultural exchanges is the conceptual problem of de fining their nature. It would appear that, in addition to the genuinely cultural aspects of exchanges of persons between and among countries with such different ideologies and political structures, significant noncultural aspects are involved. There is certainly a propaganda component in such exchanges, and also an intelligence component. Many activities which would be regarded as normal academic research in the United States are regarded as espionage by the Soviets. Another difficult problem is obtaining adequate information. On the Soviet side, secrecy hampers the scholar, and on the American side, conscientious participants do not wish to disclose information which may be injurious to their Soviet contacts. Finally, it is interesting to analyze Communist motives in exchanges with "capitalist" countries. Although the Soviet Union especially takes a highly political approach to such exchanges, they are also useful to non-Communist countries. Among the Communist countries, Yugoslavia, particularly, has pursued a relatively liberal course. In spite of the difficulties, it is to be hoped that the United States will continue to welcome exchanges. It is encouraging that the United States Senate ratified the United States-Soviet consular convention, and it is to be hoped that the Soviet Union will also ratify it.

European economic integration fascinates and inspires for the way it brought peace to a continent torn by violent and long-standing rivalries. The lessons from Europe, however, cannot be applied directly as the degree of the European Union's supranationality is unthinkable elsewhere. This paper discusses how Europe overcame the specific problem of overlapping free trade agreements (FTAs) with the Pan-European Cumulation System which instituted common rules of origin, regional cumulation of value, and completed the full matrix of bilateral FTAs. After this, Europe had what can be thought of as a "customs union" for rules of origin.

The paper illustrates the model of territorial networks and it investigates the role of institutions in a bottom-up approach of economic and institutional integration aiming to tackle the negative impacts of the globalization process on the economic development. The first chapter illustrates in analytical terms the model of territorial networks and the multidimen-sional nature of the process of integration, in a regional and international setting and it contrasts it with the traditional neoclassical model of price competition and of aggregate efficiency. The second chapter illustrates the concept of organizational/institutional distance and it analyses the various forms of interregional interdependence between developed and less developed regions and it contrasts them with the neoclassical model of market integration and interregional competition. The third chapter investigates the impact of the European Union enlargement on a reform of the aims and instruments of EU regional policy and the characteristics of a regional policy appropriate to the aim of the integration of the new accessing countries in the European Union. Finally, the fourth chapter illustrates the role of institutions in the governance of the international economic relations and the lessons which may be derived from the process of European integration in order to tackle the impact of the globalization process on less developed countries. Key words: Globalization, European Integration, networks, distance, institutions Prof. Riccardo Cappellin

Governments across Europe are required to make decisions about how best to allocate scarce health care resources. There are legitimate arguments for eliciting societal vales in relation to health care resource allocation given the roles of the general public as payers and potential patients. However, relatively little is known about the views of the general public on general principles which could guide these decisions. In this paper we present five societal viewpoints on principles for health care resources allocation and develop a new approach, Q2S, designed to investigate the extent to which these views are held across a range of European countries. An online survey was developed, based on a previously completed study Q methodology, and delivered between November 2009 and February 2010 across nine countries to 33,515 respondents. The largest proportion of our respondents (44%), were found to most associate themselves with an egalitarian perspective. Differences in views were more strongly associated with countries than with socio-demographic characteristics. These results provide information which could be useful for decision makers in understanding the pluralistic context in which they are making health care resource allocation decisions and how different groups in society may respond to such decisions.

This article explores income redistribution in Iceland stemming from taxes and transfers, both in terms of its development (1995–2009) and in comparison with European countries (2007). This is done by applying various decomposition analyses, mostly based on the reduction in the Gini coefficient due to taxes and transfers. Our results show that redistribution declined substantially in Iceland between 1995 and 2007; two thirds of the reduction was due to the tax system. The reduction in tax redistribution is explained by a decrease in the personal tax allowance and changed income composition. In a comparison of western European countries in 2007, redistribution stemming from taxes and transfers was lowest in Iceland. This may be explained by low progressivity in the tax system and very low transfer payments, which may to a large extent be explained by high employment rates. In an international comparison, Scandinavian and Continental European countries have the highest levels of redistribution. For the Continental countries, this is to a large extent due to low employment rates, while in the Scandinavian countries it is due to high distributional policies.

The book analyses how business interest organizations responded to the challenge of European integration and delivers important insights into major characteristics of EU governance and policy-making.

This article focuses on the analysis & criticism of the fundamental state theoretical & constitutional premises of the Lisbon ruling. First of all, the essay examines the structural dilemma of the constitutional control of German integration force. Further, it analyzes the removal of the voting right guarantee & the individual right to adherence to constitutional limits in European integration. It depicts the state theoretical premises of the court. In conclusion, the author deals with the question of how the Lisbon regulation impacts the Federal Constitutional Court's relationship to European integration. E. Sanchez

The widespread interest in recent changes in fertility, union formation, & union dissolution has largely focused on adult behaviors. Much less attention has been paid to changes in related youth behaviors that foreshadow & may shape adult behaviors. This article identifies some of the changes that have occurred in the timing of sexual initiation & fertility across Western industrialized counties since 1960. Documenting the similarities & differences in these patterns help us to understand better how youth transition experiences differ across place. This article finds that patterns of youth sexual behavior are converging across developed countries. That is, within-& between-country variation in the timing of sexual initiation has decreased. There also has been a reduction & convergence in levels of teenage fertility, but the decline in fertility was more pronounced among non-English-speaking countries than among English-speaking countries, which has resulted in an increasing gap. 5 Figures, 22 References. [Copyright 2002 Sage Publications, Inc.]

The European Parliament (EP) adopted the first comprehensive political report on the relationship of the EU & the UN in 2004. Though multilateralism is the foundation of the EU's foreign policy, to date it has largely played a reactionary role with respect to UN, well below its economic, political, & contributory significance. The ongoing reform processes in the EU & the UN offer a chance to restructure the relationship politically, coherently, & strategically at a much higher level, but also challenge the EU to establish & name a single voice for UN representation. This can be achieved through a constitution that enables a stronger & more transparent political presence in the UN, improved cooperation among EU member states, a leading role in the concrete implementation of UN resolutions, development of a programmatic concept for a comprehensive partnership with the UN beyond developmental & humanitarian aid, active engagement for UN reform, & a strong EU parliament. Active support of the UN & a multilateral world order is an important step to a better world. 1 Figure. L. Reed