The author researched the foreign direct investment flows, patterns & effects in conditions of regional economic integration in Europe. The foreign direct investment presence results in two effects: first, increase in competition, & second, creation of forward & backward linkages between domestic firms & foreign affiliates. The benefits of foreign direct investment for their host countries take the form of various types of externalities or spillovers (of technology, knowledge, productivity). The potential spillover benefits could be realized if domestic firms have the capacity to absorb foreign technologies & skills. References. Adapted from the source document.
Transnational companies are the key drivers of foreign direct investments & major actors in international trade. They are involved in more than two-third of international trade & determine its direction, composition & volume. The relationship between transnational companies & international trade is complex & interwoven, raising the following question: are transnational companies substitutes or complements of international trade? The author explores this relationship. She studies the role of these companies in international trade as a whole & in foreign trade of domestic & host countries. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.
The debtors' crisis at the end of the 20th century is a hard reality facing transitional countries (and others as well). However, to borrow or not to borrow is a false dilemma. In the situation when in most transitional countries, the local accumulation is insufficient for financing economic development & completing the transitional process, the only alternative is borrowing. This is particularly unavoidable when the influx of foreign capital via direct investments is meager. This is also true for the Republic of Croatia, in which the level of direct investments is, for the time being, very modest. Borrowing, particularly from foreign countries, calls for a high degree of caution, a well-thought out approach to borrowing, & the rational use of the loans. 5 Tables, 14 References. Adapted from the source document.
In this article the author analyses the innovations in the Treaty of Lisbon, in particular the ones related to the status of European citizenship, i.e. European citizens. Accordingly, he points out the fact that many authors who investigate the significance and reach of the Treaty of Lisbon as a constitutional surrogate fail to see the important innovations related to consolidation and development of the concept of European citizenship. In the first part, the author sketches out the evolution of the European citizenship concept from the first founding treaties of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Community. He concludes that the Treaty on European Union and the constituting of the EU as a supranational political community sui generis marked the beginning of practical realization of the European citizenship concept. This was carried out primarily through policy-measures and pilot-programmes, and then the discussion on the European Constitution incited the shift to a higher level of affirmation of European citizenship. The problem of European citizenship as a political project of construction of an European demos encounters many difficulties and contradictions, and the Treaty of Lisbon links the realization of European citizenship with the spreading of democracy, which has been at the roots of the European integration process from the originally projected model of representative democracy to the model of participative and immediate (direct) democracy. For this reason, the "European citizens' initiative" is an important innovation which provides a new stimulus to the realization of the European citizenship concept. It remains uncertain, however, how firmly this political idea can be established if in some of the EU member-states citizens are still treated as nationals, i.e. if they do not participate in public affairs of their nation-state as much as they should participate even at the very top of the pyramid of a multi-level governance system such as the EU. Adapted from the source document.
Having reflected on the concept of direct democracy & the possibility of its implementation, the author focuses on Germany & Austria. It is not possible to hold a federal referendum in Germany, although the Basic law explicitly states that the people exercise their power also through referenda. After analyzing the Weimar experience with direct democracy, the author argues that the reasons why there are no direct democracy mechanisms at the federal level do not lie in the "bitter experience of the Weimar Republic." Having considered the implementation of direct democracy mechanisms in the German provinces & in Austria, the author concludes that Germany & Austria are not the leading countries in employing direct democracy but they are surely not at the very back of the list. Adapted from the source document.
The texts focuses on constitutionalisation of democracy in the European Union and the phenomenon of democratic deficit through the failed Constitution for Europe and, thereafter, the Lisbon Treaty, which takes over the definition of democracy as the foundation of the European Union. In this context, the author also looks into the contribution of political scientist Zvonko Posavec, who was one of the first in Croatia to advocate the need for constitutionalisation of the European Union as a project of finalising the process of European integration. While writing about the need for constitutional foundation of the European Union, Posavec simultaneously reflects on representative democracy as the form of democracy on which the European Union is predominantly founded. Beside a valorisation of Posavec's works on democracy in the European Union, this paper deals with the problem of the democratic deficit in the European Union which is manifest in the lack of democratic legitimacy of EU institutions, with the sole exception of the European Parliament. The author finds, however, that the main deficit of the European Union is not the democratic process, but political alienation. He perceives the latter as alienation of citizens from the EU as a derivative community, non-transparent and distanced from the basic interests of the citizens and the media interest in politics. Although the European Union declaratively relies on basic democratic values, in practice democracy is experienced primarily through a democratic deficit contrasted by a more obvious bureaucratic surfeit of the European political construction. The author asserts that the Lisbon Treaty was a step towards founding the EU on democratic principles inasmuch as it introduced elements of participative democracy, although it did not accept proposals for introduction of direct democracy in the EU. Finally, the author puts forward some ideas which might reduce the degree of political alienation of citizens in relation to the European Union; this requires giving greater authority to the European Parliament, abolishing the monopoly of the legislative initiative of the European Commission, incorporating the Council of the European Union into the European Parliament as the second House, i.e. the European Senate, and consequently implementing the mechanism of consulting the citizens regarding the legislative initiatives of the EU. The author concludes that the democratic deficit and political alienation cannot be overcome in the European Union without overcoming the democratic deficits and concrete forms of political alienation in the member states which the European Union consists. Adapted from the source document.
Privacy protection & data security become important part of business practice. In the same time customers are concernd about personal data missusage. Regarding this, in the world, & finally in Croatia, new laws & codes have been created to regulate & recommend how to communicate with customers & for those who do not respect decency, discretion & safety to set penalties. In direct marketing straight communication with prospective buyers & customers is essential. Target marketing campaigns are based on data base (which f.e. include consumer name, address, information about purchase behaviour etc.). Mailing lists are important for direct marketers because they send advertising materials to the potential buyers. Sometimes consumers are not satisfied with marketing activities because they are frightened of inappropriate data usage, privacy disturbance & bothering. References. Adapted from the source document.
The author analyzes fundamental concepts of the school of rational expectation (RATEX, an offspring of the Chicago school of economics). Theoretical foundations of the neoclassical macroeconomy are set out: the hypothesis of rational expectations in the circumstances of perfect competition & the principle of strategic interdependence. Central to these are the hypotheses of variants, misallocation of resources, & neutrality of economic policy. Outlined are rent-seeking & direct unproductive profit-seeking as well as alternative models in the new theoretical economy: economic constitutionalism, deficitarians, the theory of political business cycles, & supply-side economics. 22 References. Adapted from the source document.
The debate on this topic began in the 1950s in the texts by Patrick Devlin. Devlin argued that for the sake of its stability the community has the right to impose moral standards by means of law in relation to those actions that breed intolerance, anger & disgust. Devlin's arguments are challenged on several grounds. First, Hart's argument is accepted, that there is no direct connection between such moral attitudes & the stability of a community. Second, Devlin's foundations of morality are rejected. & finally, an alternative model of the stability of community is taken over from Rawls' social contract theory. References. Adapted from the source document.
The author compares the new law on higher education with the program demanded by the Croatian Social-Liberal Party. This is a two-level comparison: a direct comparison of excerpts from the text & the articles of the law, & an indirect comparison of fundamental principles & general policies. The law plays lip service to the requirements for private universities, autonomy, & ideological neutrality. In implementation of the law, the procedures as well as the law itself have been contravened. This is illustrated by a detailed outline of the unsatisfactory provisions of the law & the U of Zagreb statute regarding students. Adapted from the source document.
