Suchergebnisse

This report describes the relation between the core network corridor Orient/East-Med and the elimination of one serious bottleneck with the example of the planned new railway line Dresden-Prague. In cooperation between the Free State of Saxony and the Czech Republic first preplanning studies were elaborated for a new cross border track, which will bring the regions closer together and has positive effects for a modal shift to rail as well as for the regional economy and development. The basis of this report are results of the study for the new line from 2015. An incorporation of interim new proposals for a route guidance has not been made due to the lack of depth of investigation of these alternatives at the moment.

Budapest metropolitan area is the major logistic hub of Hungary, as major TENT-T corridors cross the city. Growth potential is high, and railway infrastructure, brownfields and new hubs of logistics are key areas of development; still none of these sectors are at their full potential. The case study introduces the historical background and evolution of logistics and the rail network, and national objectives aiming to improve efficiency in infrastructure to foster sustainability and competitiveness. The focus areas are rail freight, offshore trade, service export, intermodal terminals, air cargo terminals, suburban passenger services and investments aiming to increase the usage of railway in freight and passenger transport. The study highlights how the region is seeking its competitive edge, and how progress is hindered by the lack of railway capacities or a lack of integrated urban planning. The urban rail concept and large brownfield sites along the lines may create opportunities for exploitation, but a lack of synergies impedes strategic development for now.

As one of the world's most globalized economies, Germany is confronting a challenging international environment characterized by aggressive subsidies, a global race for control of key technologies such as advanced chips, and vulnerable supply chains for critical components. Increased energy costs - induced by Russia's war on Ukraine - are also straining Germany's industrial model. Germany's industrial economy is simultaneously undergoing a fundamental transformation from precision-based engineering to systems-based manufactured products. With this shift, a competitive digital technology stack is becoming a key repository for future industrial competitiveness. Yet, the country struggles to capture value in fast-growing markets like that for cloud and edge infrastructure. It also faces risks from its exposure to untrustworthy technology vendors and potential geopolitical disruptions to fragile hardware supply chains.

Online crowdwork platforms have been praised as powerful vehicles for economic development, particularly for workers traditionally excluded from the labor market. However, there has been insufficient scrutiny as to the feasibility of crowdwork as an income-source among socio-economically deprived populations. This paper examines device requirements and differential access to digital infrastructure, both of which act as potential barriers to not only basic participation but also to economic success. Given the increasing prevalence of mobile-first and mobile-only populations, research on this topic aids in understanding the crowdwork ecosystem among differing socio-economic sectors. Based on a survey of 606 crowd workers in the United States and India, this paper uses both quantitative and qualitative data to explore whether reliance on mobile devices is detrimental for the economic outcomes of crowdwork. The results point to substantial inequalities in device use and received benefits from crowdwork, within each country and between the two contexts.

An article about the institutional problems of interaction between government and market actors in the economy of the Russian Federation. The author analyzes the problems associated with an increase in the effectiveness of economic policy of State through the unconditional observance of the basic principles of relations between the authorities and economic operators in an open market economy.

This paper presents the results of empirical research conducted during March to September 2009. The study focused on the influence of virtual research and development (R&D) teams within Malaysian manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The specific objective of the study is better understanding of the application of collaborative technologies in business, to find the effective factors to assist SMEs to remain competitive in the future. The paper stresses to find an answer for a question "Is there any relationship between company size, Internet connection facility and virtuality?". The survey data shows SMEs are now technologically capable of performing the virtual collaborative team, but the infrastructure usage is less. SMEs now have the necessary technology to begin the implementation process of collaboration tools to reduce research and development (R&D) time, costs and increase productivity. So, the manager of R&D should take the potentials of virtual teams into account.

Regarding strategies for transformation, we examine the transformative potential of socio-ecological projects. "Pioneers of change", i.e. innovative projects that do not stay in niches but shift the play of powers, encourage the degrowth transformation. When and how do such "forms of practice" become powerful instruments of transformation? Following practice theory, we understand practices as typical arrangements of images, skills, and stuff (Shove). Bundled, these arrangements become forms of practice, which are embedded in a dispositif of power (Foucault), linking interpretive patterns with doings and infrastructures. Using urban gardening and free stores as case studies we can show that our sociological approach offers criteria to identify transformative projects. In the medium term, socio-ecological forms of practice like urban gardening, free stores, repair cafés, and food banks can change the play of powers if they become stable parts of everyday routines. For this, experience-based learning, sharing and swapping, a community-based approach (and fun!) are important elements.

The CFA-zone is basically composed of two sub-zones, characterised by significant structural economic and political differences within and between its member countries: the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA) and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (EMCCA/CEMAC). The growing structural divergences between UEMOA and CEMAC have been intensified by the recent development of world oil markets, booming production in Equatorial Guinea and the arrival of Chad in the club of oil producers. Nevertheless the CFA-zone in general, and the UEMOA in particular, have been considered as model case for economic and monetary integration in Africa. Yet, neither of these sub-zones meets the classical criteria of the Optimum Currency Area (OCA). In contrast, they show a low degree of diversification of production and exports, low factor mobility (except of labour in some countries) and price and wage flexibility, different levels of infrastructure and of inflation, low intra-regional trade and a strong exposure to asymmetrical external shocks (e.g. violent political conflicts, different terms of trade development for oil- and agricultural exports). The rules of the informal sector, are more important in structuring the CFA-zone than the institutions and policies of the formal economic sector, including its monetary institutions. For decades, prices of French imports were overpriced, due to protection by tied aid and other political and cultural non-tariff barriers. The cost of this rent-seeking was carried not only by the French Treasury, who guarantees the peg, but by the French and EU-taxpayers, who financed budgetary bail-outs and development aid, and finally by the poorer member countries and social strata (cf. the free-rider thesis). This article analyses the aims and structures of the WAEMU and its future development prospects.