Suchergebnisse

The Stability & Growth Pact has become a primary fiscal policy framework in all European countries since 1997. Together with Maastricht fiscal criteria it determines the fiscal discipline of integration process. The aim of this study is to evaluate ex-post effectiveness of the fiscal rules from the view of a primary structural balance development during 1991-2007. A method taken for the evaluation was a panel-corrected standard errors regression with fixed effects applied on the former euro zone countries (EA12), "old" EU members (EU15) & finally on the EU25. The results of the econometric estimation indicate that all considered rules were effective even though with different impacts. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that electoral cycle, among others, has strong impact on the primary structural component of public balance. However against theoretical assumptions, there is not a conclusive statistical significance of the government behavior on the current state in the business cycle. Adapted from the source document.

In this contribution, we compare the correlation of supply & demand shocks for the countries of the euro zone & the acceding countries in Central Europe. Demand & supply shocks are recovered from estimated structural VAR models of output growth & inflation in individual countries. We find that Poland & Hungary face already a comparably high similarity with the countries of the current euro zone. However, the remaining countries show still significant differences in business cycles as compared to the euro zone. This is likely to indicate that the loss of monetary sovereignty may be costly. In turn, the integration is expected to align the business cycles of these countries in the medium run. We document a similar development for the countries of the European Union in the 1990s. 4 Figures, 22 References. Adapted from the source document.

The paper attempts to interpret the subsidiarity principle as an intervening variable of a policy cycle, one of the models commonly used in the context of a broad policy analysis approach. The text is based on a legal analysis of the subsidiarity principle. Methodologically, the model of a policy cycle facilitates the "transfer" of its results into the framework of European studies & forms a basis for further research of the subsidiarity principle & its role in particular legislative processes in the multilevel political system of the European Union. Adapted from the source document.

The paper is concerned with macroeconomic aspects of fertility. Second section starts by outlining the role of population in the history of economic thought, & continues by examining the theory of demographic transition. The fourth section explores the relation between population & economic growth, distinguishing theoretical approaches & empirical research. The fifth section examines the relation between the birth rate & death rate. The sixth section makes insights into the interdependence of fertility & business cycles. The seventh section takes the fiscal effects of population development into account. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.

Jean Baudrillard's perspective on the negative impact of TV on social solidarities, particularly as exemplified by the events in the former Yugoslavia, is explored. TV allows a viewer to experience events distant in place & time as though they were happening in the here & now. Reliance on this TV-viewer contact to arouse the world counts too much on the privileged position of the social as a positive. Baudrillard also argues that TV has a negative side of "collapsing the normalizing, expanding, & positive cycle of the social into its opposite: an implosive & structural order of signs." It is concluded that the triumph of the signifying culture means the eclipse of genuine social solidarity. Adapted from the source document.

The issue of international human rights norms which have not yet been fully established within the existing international human rights standard belongs at present to the essential components of the UN Human Rights Council agenda. Based on a synthesis of legal and political notions of the process of emergence of human rights norms, the paper attempts to clearly define and classify these emerging norms, which are sometimes called "new" human rights. At the same time it focuses on individual emerging human rights that are included on the Council's agenda, examines the stages they reached in the international norm cycle and briefly discusses the tools used by the UN Human Rights Council to achieve progress in this respect and turn the norms in statu nascendi into full international standards. Adapted from the source document.

The Czech economy has been characterized by a rapidly increasing external income balance deficit since 1998, which was caused by an increasing outflow of FDI earnings. The paper analyses factors, which determine the total amount of FDI earnings in a host economy & their subsequent division into reinvested earnings & repatriated profits. Three main factors are examined: total FDI stock in the economy & its structure, the FDI rate of return & the FDI financial life cycle. Growing total FDI stock, which reaches 51% of Czech GDP, is the most influential factor because the FDI rate of return has been approximately stable exceeding 10%. An outstanding amount of reinvested earnings in the Czech economy negatively influences the current account deficit, which exceeds the GDP 5% benchmark rate, although reinvested earnings do not represent actual financial outflows. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.

The Middle East has been caught in a cycle of Israeli-Palestinian violence for the last two years. Last year brought some changes that have the potential to bring about a shift in this violent situation. First, within a very short time period two figureheads of the Islamic militant group Hamas were killed by Israelis: the spiritual leader Sheikh Ahamad Yassin & the leader of Hamas, Abdal Aziz Al Rantissi. Second, an important development in the past year was the change in the policy of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He came up with the so-called "Disengagement Plan," which envisioned the retreat of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip. Such a plan was not expected from a settlement-pioneer like Sharon. Third, an event of great importance for the Middle East was the re-election of American President George W. Bush. US diplomacy plays a crucial role in the Middle East. Fourth, probably the most important event in the region was the death of long-time Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. His death will have a strong influence on the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations. The four developments are in the center of this article's analysis. References. Adapted from the source document.