Tag: sustainable development

INCREASING FUNDING FOR THE REGIONAL INDUSTRY OF KOSOVO AND THE IMPACT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH

Filipos RUXHO

Prof. Ass. Dr., Vice President for Innovation and External Relations, Universum College, Kosovo

filip.ruxho@universum-ks.org

Christos Ap. LADIAS

Professor, Regional Science Inquiry  Journal, Hellenic Association of Regional Scientists

ladias@rsijournal.eu

Abstract

All research so far, related to financing the needs of SMEs in Kosovo, show that financing remains among the main problems for starting the growth and development of the country’s economy, especially for regional small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. This phenomenon has created negative consequences in the growth and development of businesses in general, as well as the growth of investment activities in particular. Despite the fact that SMEs affect the generation of new jobs, poverty reduction and economic growth, SMEs in Kosovo still face various and serious challenges in business development. Among other difficulties, there is access to finance, as well as the possibility of investing from external sources, as internal sources of funding are always insufficient. Due to the strategic importance of the manufacturing industry sector in the economy of a country and knowing that for each job contributes 2.3 new jobs in the total economy, we have selected this research which also corresponds to objective 9 of sustainable development and specifically target 9.3 that promotes increased access of small industrial enterprises and other enterprises, especially in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable loans, and their integration into value chains and markets. Referring to this importance, we conducted research in 103 Kosovo regional manufacturing companies in various sectors. The survey was structured with 16 questions which will be presented in detail in this research and which confirm that the increase of financing in the productive sector contributes to the sustainable economic development of Kosovo and to the reduction of unemployment.

Keywords: Financing, Sustainable Development, SMEs, Regional Industry, target

JEL classification: A10, E43, F65, F66, H60, L60, M10, R10

 pp. 117-126

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THE LABOUR MARKET IMPACT IN THE DOURO VITICULTURE: A FUZZY CLUSTER DISTRIBUTION APPROACH

Cátia SANTOS

Research fellow. University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) and Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD)

cisantos@utad.pt

Aníbal GALINDRO

Research fellow. University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) and Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD)

anibalg@utad.pt

Ana MARTA-COSTA

Corresponding author. Assistant Professor. University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) and Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD), Portugal, www.utad.pt

amarta@utad.pt

Abstract

Demography and the labour market dynamics are recognized as a key factor for the development of a region. Performing labour market insights can be even more disjointed on mountain and steep slope regions where the hand labour is usually sparse and scarce. This study intends to find the labour influence into the core variables of a vineyard productive system such as production or overall revenues and realize their importance in the sustainability of the Douro region. Simultaneously, the sensibility of each variable upon external shocks was determined. The data was collected performing face-to-face inquiries directly from 50 Douro vine-farms and the Fuzzy Average with Fuzzy Cluster Distribution methodology was used for rank the variables. The results have shown that the labour costs seem to be the most influential variable on the vineyard production followed up by the steepness and terrain orientation. Nonetheless, the familiar labour also gains some prominence when the revenues are selected as the core variable. This study showed that the labour force plays an important role on the grape farm output and due to the current demographic trend in the region, the hand labour availability might be an alarming problem that threatens the sustainability of the Douro.

Keywords: Douro Region, fuzzy cluster distribution, labour influence, population dynamics, sustainable development

JEL classification: J43, Q12, Q19
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THE ROLE OF SMES IN SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL BUSINESS INTEGRATION: THE CASE OF LUBLIN REGION (POLAND)

Anna ARENT

Faculty of Management – Lublin University of Technology, Poland, http://en.pollub.pl/
a.arent@pollub.pl

Matylda BOJAR

Faculty of Management – Lublin University of Technology, Poland, http://en.pollub.pl/
m.bojar@pollub.pl

Francisco DINIZ

Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD); Quinta dos Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal, http://www.cetrad.info/
fdiniz@utad.pt

Nelson DUARTE

School of Management and Technology of Felgueiras – Polytechnic of Porto – CIICESI, www.estgf.ipp.pt, and CETRAD http://www.cetrad.info/, Portugal
nduarte@estgf.ipp.pt

Abstract

This paper analyses the role of SMEs in regional development, focusing the particular case of Lublin Region in Poland. This study aims, in a first stage, to analyse entrepreneurs’ view of their role in local and regional development, by the adoption of sustainability strategies. After that, it will also be explored the relation between sustainable development and other variables such as: business local integration, firm age, number of years in the actual location, or firm legal form. The methodology adopted was the questionnaire, in order to get entrepreneurs opinion. 314 questionnaires were answered by managers from SMEs operating the in region of Lublin, acting the in the manufacturing and construction sectors. Results show the economic perspective as the major concern of entrepreneurs. Most of firms present a proactive attitude towards to sustainable development – older firms present a greater concern with social and environmental issues. It was also identified the existence of high levels of local integration. However, firms that are operating behind regional frontiers are promoting a more efficient local development than local acting firms.

Keywords: SMEs, Sustainable Development, Local/Regional Development

JEL classification: M10, O14, O18, O44

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