MAPPING CLUSTERS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN REGIONS BASED ON FDI, REMITTANCES AND EMPLOYMENT – A SPATIAL STATISTICS GROUPING ANALYSIS

Cristina LINCARU

Dr, FeRSA, Department of Labour Market, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, Bucharest, Romania

cristina.lincaru@yahoo.de

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6596-1820

Speranța PÎRCIOG

Dr Scientific Director, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, Bucharest, Romania

pirciog@incsmps.ro

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0215-038X

Abstract

Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Visegrad countries transform and develop in different spatial patterns in a global economy. Host labour markets benefit directly from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inward flows through jobs creation or increased productivity. On the other side, the labour force rises its geographical mobility and benefits from jobs in FDI’s source countries, sending personal remittances. Global integration marks that the “receipts of remittances have become an important and stable source of funds that exceeds FDI” (indexmundi.com). Are the CEE /Visegrad countries similar concerning their spatiotemporal pattern of FDI inflows? These countries are identical in their development model, described by the coordinates of FDI, remittances and Employment? We applied for 35 European countries from 2013-to 2019 the Similarity check –Grouping Analysis ARC GIS-tool from the Spatially Constrained Multivariate Clustering (Spatial Statistics) family. The FDI inflow as input proves to be more inertial, according to the categories set by EuroVoc. Simultaneously, the FDI inward as output (employment growth or labour productivity growth) differentiate CEE countries next to labour/ human capital mobility as personnel remittances in more heterogeneous categories.

In conclusion, for CEE countries, capital mobility and labour & human capital mobility create different development patterns globally. Therefore, it is not enough to build policies to attract capital (FDI) and attract high human capital.

Keywords: CEE, inward FDI rates, personal remittances receipt as GDP rate, employment rate, Similarity check –Grouping Analysis, spatial statistics

JEL classification: C23, F21, F22, F24, J21, J24, O52

 pp. 67-104

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INSURANCE-ECONOMIC GROWTH NEXUS – EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED WESTERN BALKAN’S COUNTRIES

Gentiana SHARKU

Prof. Assoc. Dr. Pedagogue in Finance Department, Faculty of Economy, University of Tirana

gentianasharku@feut.edu.al

Etleva BAJRAMI

Prof. Assoc. Dr. Pedagogue in Finance Department, Faculty of Economy, University of Tirana

etlevabajrami@feut.edu.al

Abstract

The insurance-growth nexus has attracted the attention of many academics and researchers, due to the huge potential the insurance industry constitutes for the economic development of developed and developing countries as well. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact the insurance industry has on economic growth of emerging countries, such as the Western Balkan’s countries. The impact is studied through two indicators of insurance industry: density and penetration, and for the total, life and non-life insurance market. The authors have applied a multiple regression analysis using annual data on insurance industry and GDP per capita from 2004 to 2019. This paper has contributed in the existing literature by exploring (i) whether insurance market has a positive or negative effect on economic growth of developing countries; (ii) which of the insurance indicators explains better the impact – insurance penetration or density indicator; and (iii) which of insurance activities has the largest effect on economic development: total, life or non-life insurance. The conclusions of this paper will serve to the public and private operators to evaluate the significance that each segment of insurance industry has on the economic development and to undertake the proper policies.

Keywords: Insurance penetration, insurance density, GDP per capita

JEL classification: G22, C23, O52

 pp. 53-68

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MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS OF TELEWORKING IN EU27: STOCHASTIC FRONTIER APPROACH

Lena MALEŠEVIĆ PEROVIĆ

Full professor, University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, Split, Croatia and CERGE-EI Teaching Fellow

lena@efst.hr

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to investigate macroeconomic effects of teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an atypical approach. We apply stochastic frontier analysis to a Cobb-Douglas production function broadened with teleworkability variable, and analyse the level of (in)efficiency of EU27 countries in producing their GDPs. We find that increasing the percentage of jobs that can be done at home by 1 percentage point reduces the level of technical inefficiency by 3.5%. Additionally, we use a unique e-survey conducted in April and May of 2020, which provides the data on the share of people who started working from home as a results of a COVID-19 situation, and combine it with the teleworkability variable. Overall, our findings suggest that more developed EU countries have a higher share of teleworkable jobs, which in turn reduces their inefficiencies, and furthermore results in more people beginning to work from home in the pandemic. 

Keywords: teleworking, production function, stochastic frontier analysis, EU, COVID-19

JEL classification: C21, O4, O33, O52

 pp. 33-42

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