Suchergebnisse

Η επικράτηση θεσμικών εκτροπών υποδηλώνει την ύπαρξη οικονομικής και κοινωνικής υπανάπτυξης, καθώς και αδυναμίες πολιτικής φύσεως που είναι περισσότερο έκδηλες στα λιγότερο αναπτυγμένα κράτη. Χρησιμοποιώντας ένα παγκόσμιο δείγμα αναπτυγμένων και αναπτυσσόμενων χωρών αποδεικνύεται ότι η σχέση μεταξύ διαφθοράς, που συνιστά μια σοβαρή θεσμική παρέκκλιση, και εισοδήματος δεν είναι συμμετρική. Παρόλα αυτά, ο αποτελεσματικός έλεγχος της διαφθοράς δε θα πρέπει να θεωρείται ως «οιονεί αγαθό πολυτελείας», η ζήτηση του οποίου αυξάνει όταν επιτευχθεί ένα συγκεκριμένο επίπεδο εισοδήματος. Αντίθετα, είναι εφικτός μέσα από την υιοθέτηση και την αποτελεσματική εφαρμογή κατάλληλων μακροχρόνιων πολιτικών και θεσμικών μεταρρυθμίσεων. ; The prevalence of institutional weaknesses largely unveils the existence of inherent economic and social underdevelopment as well as persistent bottlenecks of political nature, which in principle are more intense in lessdeveloped countries. In this study, by using a global sample of developed and developing countries it is proved that the relationship between corruption, which is a serious institutional deficiency, and income is not a symmetric one. However, the effective control of corruption should not be considered as a "quasi luxury good" the demand of which increases once the level of income rises to a certain level. On the contrary, it may beachieved through the adoption and effective implementation of the appropriate long-run policies and institutional reforms.

Η επικράτηση θεσμικών εκτροπών υποδηλώνει την ύπαρξη οικονομικής και κοινωνικής υπανάπτυξης, καθώς και αδυναμίες πολιτικής φύσεως που είναι περισσότερο έκδηλες στα λιγότερο αναπτυγμένα κράτη. Χρησιμοποιώντας ένα παγκόσμιο δείγμα αναπτυγμένων και αναπτυσσόμενων χωρών αποδεικνύεται ότι η σχέση μεταξύ διαφθοράς, που συνιστά μια σοβαρή θεσμική παρέκκλιση, και εισοδήματος δεν είναι συμμετρική. Παρόλα αυτά, ο αποτελεσματικός έλεγχος της διαφθοράς δε θα πρέπει να θεωρείται ως «οιονεί αγαθό πολυτελείας», η ζήτηση του οποίου αυξάνει όταν επιτευχθεί ένα συγκεκριμένο επίπεδο εισοδήματος. Αντίθετα, είναι εφικτός μέσα από την υιοθέτηση και την αποτελεσματική εφαρμογή κατάλληλων μακροχρόνιων πολιτικών και θεσμικών μεταρρυθμίσεων. ; The prevalence of institutional weaknesses largely unveils the existence of inherent economic and social underdevelopment as well as persistent bottlenecks of political nature, which in principle are more intense in lessdeveloped countries. In this study, by using a global sample of developed and developing countries it is proved that the relationship between corruption, which is a serious institutional deficiency, and income is not a symmetric one. However, the effective control of corruption should not be considered as a "quasi luxury good" the demand of which increases once the level of income rises to a certain level. On the contrary, it may beachieved through the adoption and effective implementation of the appropriate long-run policies and institutional reforms.

The scope of the paper is to explore the underlying determinants of governance quality at the global level. The study suggests that cross-country variation in governance is mainly attributed to differences not only in countries level of economic development but to the range of political freedom and level of social development. More specifically, the impact of economic development is stronger for the control of corruption, the rule of law and regulatory quality as far as the examined governance dimensions are concerned. Political development is strongly related to political stability and absence of violence as well as voice and accountability. A very interesting finding is the high correlation of social development, as depicted by the relevant human development index, with the level of government effectiveness. Therefore, strengthening and maintaining governance is achieved only through the adoption and effective implementation of the appropriate long-run policies. In a similar vein, concrete policy guidelines lie at the core of the good governance agenda. The associated reforms target a broad list of comprehensive governance objectives in order to achieve government effectiveness, anti-corruption safeguards, high standards of legitimacy and accountability, among other attributes of governance systems.

The scope of the paper is to explore the underlying determinants of governance quality at the global level. The study suggests that cross-country variation in governance is mainly attributed to differences not only in countries' level of economic development but to the range of political freedom and level of social development. More specifically, the impact of economic development is stronger for the control of corruption, the rule of law and regulatory quality as far as the examined governance dimensions are concerned. Political development is strongly related to political stability and absence of violence as well as voice and accountability. A very interesting finding is the high correlation of social development, as depicted by the relevant human development index, with the level of government effectiveness. Therefore, strengthening and maintaining governance is achieved only through the adoption and effective implementation of the appropriate long-run policies. In a similar vein, concrete policy guidelines lie at the core of the good governance agenda. The associated reforms target a broad list of comprehensive governance objectives in order to achieve government effectiveness, anti-corruption safeguards, high standards of legitimacy and accountability, among other attributes of governance systems. ; peer-reviewed

Under the assumption that economic competitiveness has a significant impact on the overall level of corruption in a given country, the present study evaluates the influence that a wide array of national reforms related to the pillars of structural competitiveness has on corruption in the case of Greece. In order to inform national and regional policies against corruption, three indices were calculated that express: (1) the impact of each specific reform on corruption; (2) the required reform effort and (3) the efficiency of the reform index, taking into consideration the competitiveness gap between Greece and Switzerland – the country with the best performance worldwide in terms of competitiveness. These indicators may indicate which reforms have the highest payoff in terms of corruption abatement, which are less costly to undertake and which deliver the greatest reduction in corruption per required effort, respectively. The empirical results of this study suggest that in a number of areas the associated reforms may translate into lower levels of corruption. Under this conceptual framework, institutions seem to be of high importance as they have a substantial impact as far as the reduction of corruption is concerned, with relatively low reform effort. Therefore, a comprehensive policy reform referring to the pillars of structural competitiveness is expected to deliver lower levels of corruption in Greece, allowing the substantial increase of its competitiveness and hence its faster convergence with the more advanced economies in the European Union.

In this study sectoral specialization of European Union countries and regions in the current period of crisis is analyzed. As a result, groups of countries shall emerge based on which the real developmental archetypes of European space will be shaped. The distinction does not lie on the traditional axis (of favored) North (less favored) South, but mainly, on the under configuration axis (of favored) West (less favored) East. As a result, the regions of Europe that specialize in dynamic sectors of economic activity shall be located. These regions demonstrate comparative advantages, which give rise to export capacities as well. Moreover the intertemporal analysis of indicators shall exhibit the great contribution of sectoral composition in relation to the general socioeconomic basis along with the structural characteristics of countries and regions, which are fundamental for the developmental process.

In this study sectoral specialization of European Union countries and regions in the current period of crisis is analyzed. As a result, groups of countries shall emerge based on which the real developmental archetypes of European space will be shaped. The distinction does not lie on the traditional axis (of favored) North – (less favored) South, but mainly, on the under configuration axis (of favored) West – (less favored) East. As a result, the regions of Europe that specialize in dynamic sectors of economic activity shall be located. These regions demonstrate comparative advantages, which give rise to export capacities as well. Moreover the intertemporal analysis of indicators shall exhibit the great contribution of sectoral composition in relation to the general socioeconomic basis along with the structural characteristics of countries and regions, which are fundamental for the developmental process. ; peer-reviewed