Suchergebnisse

s. Identification with security studies in European countries is pretty low (around 10%). Security studies have strong connections with international relations – 2/3 of those who teach security studies also teach international relations. Lecturers of security studies focus mostly on "hard" security issues (56% of security lecturers give policy advice on international affairs, development aid and EU-matters and 41% of security lecturers are solicited on matters pertaining to "defence"). The share of security lecturers who advise on "soft" security issues is 16%. The geopolitical situation is a strong predictor of the size of security experts'community in European countries. In less democratic countries more researchers identify with security studies.

Makroregionalne strategije Evropske unije (EU), kot orodje kohezijske politike, predstavljajo celosten okvir, katerega namen je reševanje skupnih izzivov, ki se pojavljajo na določenem geografskem območju. Državam članicam EU, kot tudi tretjim državam, je tako omogočeno skupno spopadanje s težavami in večji izkoristek skupnih potencialov. Naloga temelji na predpostavki, da sodelovanje držav Zahodnega Balkana (ZB) znotraj makroregionalnih strategij pripomore k njihovemu lažjemu vključevanju v EU. Namen naloge je proučiti usklajenost makroregionalnih strategij EU in širitvene politike EU ter prispevati k razumevanju zunanje dimenzije kohezijske politike. V teoretičnem delu naloge opredelim ključne koncepte s področja zunanjepolitičnega delovanja EU. V empiričnem delu najprej preverim koherentnost makroregionalnih strategij EU in širitvene politike z vidika ciljev in sredstev teh politik. Nato s primerjalno analizo koherentnost teh dveh politik merim z vidika napredka držav ZB pri pristopnih poglavjih glede na posamezna vsebinska področja makroregionalnih strategij. Usklajenost ciljev in sredstev makroregionalnih strategij in širitvene politike, možnost koriščenja znanja, pridobljenega na podlagi sodelovanja znotraj makroregionalnih strategij pri pristopnem procesu držav ZB ter ne nazadnje viden napredek pri pristopnem procesu pokaže, da makroregionalne strategije krepijo pristopni proces držav k EU. ; The European Union's (EU) macro-regional strategies, as the cohesion policy tool, represent an integrated framework aimed at addressing the common challenges that arise in a given geographical area. This allows EU Member States, as well as third countries, to tackle problems together and make greater use of their common potential. The thesis is based on the assumption that the participation of the countries of the Western Balkans (WB) within macro-regional strategies helps to facilitate their integration into the EU. The aim is to examine the coherence between EU macro-regional strategies and the EU enlargement process and to contribute to the understanding of the external dimension of the cohesion policy. In the theoretical part of the thesis, I define key concepts in the field of EU foreign policy action. In the empirical part, I first check the coherence of the EU macro-regional strategies and enlargement policy in terms of goals and means of these policies. Then with a comparative analysis I measure the coherence of these two policies in terms of progress of WB countries in accession chapters according to individual content areas of macro-regional strategies. The coherence of the goals and means of macro-regional strategies and enlargement policy, the possibility of using the knowledge gained through cooperation within macro-regional strategies in the accession process of WB countries and last but not least visible progress in the accession progress show that macro-regional strategies are strengthening EU accession process.

Family policies and family support measures have been identified as having major implications for child well-being, particularly through their role in influencing parental and family resources, circumstances and behaviour. The official approach to family policies focuses on opportunities for families to balance their work and family duties and care for their children. This paper analyses the type of policies available in Montenegro compared to the European Union. Potentially, Montenegro will become an EU member state, thus it is important to take a look at Montenegrin practice, as children should have equal life chances and protection of their well-being. Having a solid legal framework per se does not necessarily result in significant positive outcomes, and this paper analyses whether children in Montenegro have the same opportunities for development, in the context of family policies, as their counterparts in the rest of Europe. The focus of the paper will be on the criteria that define family rights and obligations, eligibility, availability and use of family policies in Montenegro. Based on the specific measures and datasets examined, the analysis considers the degree to which a period of family policy investment in Montenegro has been accompanied by improvements in child well-being and family resources, and undertakes comparisons in these regards with EU-wide family policy and child well-being trends. The paper uses a welfare state theoretical approach, with the focus on social investment and relevant data on children's well-being obtained from the Eurostat, the OECD and the official national statistics.

This paper argues that the loose monetary policy of two of the world's most important financial institutions-the US Federal Reserve Board and the European Central Bank-were ultimately responsible for the outburst of global financial crisis of 2008 - 09. Unusually low interest rates in 2001 - 05 compelled investors to engage in high risk endeavors. It also encouraged some governments to finance excessive domestic consumption with foreign loans. Emerging financial bubbles burst first in mortgage markets in the US and subsequently spread to other countries. The paper also reviews other causes of the crisis as discussed in literature. Some of them relate directly to weaknesses inherent in the institutional design of the European Monetary Union (EMU) while others are unique to members of the EMU. It is rather striking that recommended remedies tend not to take into account the policies of the European Central Bank.

This contribution evaluates the Nordic (primarly Swedish and Finnish) impact on the Europen Union's civil law cooperation within family law and the law of inheritance, starting from mid 1990s when Sweden and Sweden joined the European Union. Both countries have strived to have progressive, pragmatic EU-regulations, and have succeeded to some extent. In addition, they have strived to maintain a certain level of legal coherence in relation to special conventions previously adopted between the five Nordic states (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). As a result, in the manner explained in the contribution, amendments of the Nordic Conventions reflect those of the new EU regulations. All of the hitherto adopted EU-regulations include special provisions in relation to the Nordic Conventions (so-called "Nordic exceptions").

This paper is meant to look into the process of setting priorities in livestock research for developing countries. It deals with the nature of the priority setting problem and with shortcomings to solve it, with theoretical approaches, and with specific issues for priority setting in livestock research. The following details are dealt with in some detail: the multiple functions and external effects of livestock; the role of uncertainty, the time horizon, adoption and the complementarity of efforts in comparing research activities; the structure of livestock research activities; the lack of information on livestock research impacts; and the parity approach as a starting-point for research priority setting. (DÜI-Hff)

When seeking to ensure financial sustainability of a health programme, existence of a line item in the Ministry of Health (MOH) budget is often seen as an essential, first step. We used immunization as a reference point for cross-country comparison of budgeting methods in Sub-Saharan African countries. Study objectives were to (1) verify the number and types of budget line items for immunization services, (2) compare budget execution with budgeted amounts and (3) compare values with annual immunization expenditures reported to WHO and UNICEF. MOH budgets for 2016 and/or 2017 were obtained from 33 countries. Despite repeated attempts, budgets could not be retrieved from five countries (Chad, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Somalia and South Sudan), and we were only able to gather budget execution from eight countries. The number of immunization line items ranged between 0 and 42, with a median of eight. Immunization donor funding was included in 10 budgets. Differences between budgeted amounts and expenditures reported to WHO and UNICEF were greater than 50% in 66% of countries. Immunization budgets per child in the birth cohort ranged from US$1.37 (Democratic Republic of Congo) to US$67.51 (Central African Republic), with an average of US$10.05. Out of the total Government health budget, immunization comprised between 0.04% (Madagascar) and 5.67% (Benin), with an average of 1.98% across the countries, when excluding on-budget donor funds. It was challenging to obtain MOH budgets in many countries and it was largely impossible to access budget execution reports, preventing us from assessing budget credibility. Large differences between budgets and expenditures reported to WHO and UNICEF are likely due to inconsistent interpretations of reporting requirements, diverse approaches to reporting donor funds, challenges in extracting the relevant information from public financial management systems and broader issues of public financial management capacity in MOH staff.

Front Cover -- SMART TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE -- SMART TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE: Upscaling in Developing Countries -- Copyright -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS -- FOREWORD -- PREFACE -- INTRODUCTION -- 1 - Smart Agriculture: Scope, Relevance, and Important Milestones to Date -- 1.1 INTRODUCTION -- 1.2 SCOPING CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES -- 1.2.1 Southern Africa Biophysical Characteristics -- 1.2.2 Socioeconomic and Political Environment -- 1.2.3 Recent Extreme Events Recorded in Southern Africa -- 1.2.4 Supportive Initiatives in Agriculture Development in the Last 10Years -- 1.3 BUILDING IN SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN CLIMATE SMART TECHNOLOGIES -- 1.4 RELEVANCE OF SMART TECHNOLOGIES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA -- 1.5 THE ECONOMICS OF APPLYING SMART TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE -- 1.6 INVESTING INTO TARGETED TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE FUTURE -- 1.7 CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- 2 - Climate Scenarios in Relation to Agricultural Patterns of Major Crops in Southern Africa -- 2.1 INTRODUCTION -- 2.2 SOUTHERN AFRICA IN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HISTORICAL CHANGES -- 2.2.1 Rainfall -- 2.2.2 Temperature -- 2.3 CLIMATE CHANGE TRENDS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA -- 2.3.1 Long-Term Observations -- 2.3.2 Temperature -- 2.3.3 Rainfall -- 2.4 FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS OVER SOUTHERN AFRICA -- 2.5 DETERMINING FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS -- 2.5.1 Rainfall -- 2.5.2 Temperature -- 2.6 PROJECTED CHANGES IN EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS OVER SOUTHERN AFRICA -- 2.7 IMPACTS OF FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS ON CROPS AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTIVITY -- 2.7.1 Crop Production -- 2.7.2 Livestock Production -- 2.8 CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- 3 - Advancing Key Technical Interventions Through Targeted Investment -- 3.1 INTRODUCTION -- 3.2 CLIMATE CHANGE, INTEGRATED SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT, AND CROP PRODUCTION

The paper considers a (static) portfolio system that satisfies adding-up contraints and the gross substitution theorem. The paper shows the relationship of the two conditions to the weak dominant diagonal property of the matrix of interest rate elasticities. This enables to investigate the impact of simultaneous changes in interest rates on the asset demands.

In September 2010, Brazil's Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, used the term "currency war" with reference to monetary policies implemented by different countries to generate an artificial devaluation of their currency and achieve a cheaper, more competitive domestic economy that may be attractive to foreign investors. Similar cases have been documented since the 1930's Great Depression, when several countries abandoned the gold standard as backing for their currencies. More recently, a large-scale asset purchase by Japan's Central Bank in 2013 was singled out as a strategy aimed at generating devaluation of the yen. This research uses statistics of new business formation density reported by Doing Business for 30 emerging countries in the period from 2004 through 2011 to evaluate the impact of devaluation measured by the behavior of the real effective exchange rate (REER) on the rate of new business formation (NBF). It is determined how variables associated with competitiveness affect the relationship between devaluation and business formation. Results show that devaluation has a positive effect on NBF in the short term, which gets diluted in the long term. Countries with greater competitiveness have less dependence on devaluation to increase the number of businesses.