The evolution of corporate management a mixed system?

FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT AND THE FORMATION OF THE FISH PRODUCTS MARKET IN UKRAINE AND IN THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

1. Introduction After the restoration of independence Estonia chose, compared to the other Central and Eastern European countries the most liberal way of development (Knell and Srholec 2007, Holmes et al. 2008). The latter was chosen for rebuilding the state as a whole, as well as designing the new media landscape. If to benchmark Estonian outcome with other Baltic states, new democracies in Central and Eastern European countries and 'old' Western European states, the question arises--are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with low daily viewing numbers of PSB on media landscapes far ahead of the rest of Europe, or are these countries so badly falling behind that (Western) European standards can never be achieved? This research shows that a country's economic development (valued as Gross Domestic Product) is one characteristic which has a strong correlation with PSB performance in the past and most probably also in the future. When analyzing the development of the public service broadcasting, according to the concepts of Blumler and Gurevitch (1995), the main characteristic of Baltic broadcasting landscape can be presented: media policy bias towards economic welfare of commercial broadcasters, whereas the public service interests are secondary. The implementation of the European Union media regulation and the economic situation of television stations, conditioned by the size of the Estonian television market, led to the enforcement of the legislation which was economically advantageous and protectionist towards commercial TV-stations owned by international corporations. As a result, profit for private television companies was guaranteed but, at the same time, the value of the offered contents diminished. From the end of the 1980s, Eastern and Central European countries had the noble aim of changing from the communist regime towards free democratic welfare states. Among important aspects of development were changes in media systems. In transition states, commercial broadcasters were founded, state-owned print media was mainly privatized, state radio and television companies were turned into public service broadcasters. It has been challenging to reform vast communist party propaganda machines into efficient public service media. The European Union legislation had major impact on this process (Harcourt 2003, 2005, Jakubowicz 2003, 2004a, 2007a, 2008a, Joesaar 2005). 'Europeanization', as defined by Jakubowicz (2009), took place. Even when the Pan-European media policy aims--preserving cultural diversity and safeguarding media pluralism--were common, the ways chosen by countries and the achieved results vary a lot (Jakubowicz 2007a, 2007b, 2009, Ognyanova 2009, Richter 2009, Svendsen 2002, Wyka 2009). EU media policy is grounded on common market ideology. The former Television Without Frontiers Directive (TVWF), now the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), does not take into account country-specific circumstances such as size of the national (and media) market, economic conditions, cultural and historical specific context. However, these are important factors which have a strong influence on media development and performance. Implementation of the same EU legal framework in different circumstances gives in different member states different results. The size of the market determines available resources. In smaller member states there are fewer resources available for national channels compared to niche channels of large states (Doyle 2002). In the first place, commercial broadcasters focus on broadcasting main stream programming. If a market is big enough for profitable business, and resources are available, the launch of niche channels will follow. Due to the market limitations, it is unprofitable to launch niche channels on smaller markets. The diversity of programming offered will be lower in smaller states than on large markets. Therefore PSB on a smaller market is even more responsible for delivering diversity programming and for high-quality information. …

The 1691G>A FV variant has been described as a common genetic risk factor in venous thromboembolism. The purpose of this study was to provide a further frequency value for 1691G>A FV in Poland and to collate summary data from Central (Poland, Czech, Slovakia), Eastern (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine) and South-Eastern (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria) European countries. For this purpose in 2007 the 1691G>A FV variant was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism from DNA collected in 2005-2006. We studied 650 subjects: 400 newborns and 250 older individuals (mean age 46.1 y) from Poland and compared results with reports from other countries, as well as with the frequency trend of 845G>A HFE across South-Eastern European countries using centroid cities. From our 1691G>A FV study we identified 626 GG homozygotes, 23 GA heterozygotes, and 1 AA homozygote (n = 650), giving an A allele frequency of 1.9%, and a summed frequency value for Poland of 2.0% (n = 1588); the frequency in Central European countries was 3.9% (n = 4559), mostly due to the high value in the Czech Republic: 5.1% (n = 2819); the South-Eastern European countries had 2.5% (n = 2410). Among the Eastern European countries the 1691G>A FV allele frequency was 1.9% (n=791), between the South-Eastern and Eastern European countries there was no significant difference (p=0.17). We confirm that the 1691G>A FV allele frequency in Poland, as well as other countries compared, is significantly lower than that in Czech.

Objective: Significant political changes—accompanied by economic changes and social restratification—occurred in Eastern and Central European countries in the 1990s. The main purposes of this study were to assess how prevalence of overweight and obese children changed in Hungary during this transitional period; and to compare the prevalence data of childhood overweight in Central and Eastern European countries, where a similar political and socioeconomic environment existed before the transition and similar changes occurred during the transitional period.Subjects and methods: Representative samples from the first (1983–1986) and second (2003–2006) Hungarian growth studies were used to assess the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Hungary. The most frequently used indicators of social welfare were used to estimate economic and health status as well as nutritional supply in the transition countries, while data on prevalence of childhood overweight in the studied countries were collected by a search of epidemiological surveys from the region.Results and conclusion: Frequency of overweight and obese children in Hungary increased between the 1980s and the beginning of the 2000s. Prevalence of childhood overweight was very similar in those Central and Eastern European countries where economic, nutritional or health indicators of general welfare were at a similar level.

Resources and management strategies for the use of radiotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer in Central and Eastern European countries: Results of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) survey

This chapter characterizes the contemporary role of the Eastern and Central European countries in the international tourism and as the source of the tourist movement and the income and expenditure balance in the foreign tourism. Among the Central and Eastern European countries, there are 20 former socialist countries. Some of them came into existence as a result of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia disintegration. Their total surface adds up to 64% of the Europe area. Tourist potential of the Central and Eastern European countries is significant, expressed by, among the others, a high number of national parks, natural and cultural UNESCO heritage objects and by the capacity of the accommodation units (2014, 2.7 million of beds). The size of the international incoming tourism is illustrated with data for 2005 and 2013 concerning the number of foreign visitors (280 million and 308 million), foreign tourists (280 million and 99 million of people) with overnight stays (95 million and 103 million) and financial income arising from attending them (34 billion euro and 85 billion dollars). Outbound tourism of Central and Eastern Europe inhabitants in 2005 and 2013 amounted to 129 billion and 124 billion of departures and expenditures of 31 billion euro and 99 billion euro. The financial balance taking into account the income from attending international tourism as well as the inhabitants’ own expenditures spent for outbound departures amounted to +3 billion euro in 2003 and –14 billion dollars in 2013.

Inter- and intra-industry linkages as a determinant of FDI in Central and Eastern Europe

Objectives: This paper summarises the findings of a report by Acedański et al. (2023) that focuses on the relationship between science and economic growth. The report was commissioned by the Conference of Rectors of Economic Universities (KRUE) and prepared by researchers from five public economic universities in Poland. The authors of the report and the KRUE aim to share their message with a wide audience that includes policymakers, academic experts, and students. Additionally, the article analyses the impact of research and higher education spending on convergence processes in Central and Eastern European countries. Research Design & Methods: The study examined different indicators, including government expenditure on basic research, higher education, and research and development. We utilised SURE models and observed that there was notable diversity in the convergence processes among the analysed countries. Additionally, we found a correlation between research spending and the rate of catching up. However, it is important to note that this relationship is not universal and varies across countries, even those within the same region. Findings: Acedański et al. (2023) report quantifies the relationship between science, higher education, GDP, and economic development in Poland. The report states that science and higher education sectors positively impact local economies, and individuals with higher education contribute the most to human capital resources in the economy, leading to GDP growth. However, Poland has a funding gap in research and science compared to highly developed countries as well as many Central and Eastern European countries. The report suggests that investment in a country’s education and higher education system is essential for generating developmental impulses and supporting its economy. Implications / Recommendations: The impact of scientific activity depends heavily on funding, especially through higher education institutions. In Poland, the salaries of academic teachers have decreased compared to other professions, and their position in the wage distribution is the worst it has been in the past two decades. Investing in a country’s education and higher education system is essential to support the economy. Acedański et al. (2023) suggest that a 0.1 percentage point increase in research and development expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, can lead to a 0.8 to 1.3 percentage point increase in GDP growth. However, the conclusion was based on panel data from EU countries, and the impact of scientific research on GDP may differ when analysing Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. In this paper, we also present an extended analysis of the impact of science and education on economic growth through the lens of convergence processes. We show that the relationship above is not straightforward and represents substantial variability across countries, even those of the same region. Contribution / Value Added: Firstly, the report by Acedański et al. (2023) emphasises the importance of the science and higher education sector for economic growth. Their empirical research helps quantify the relationship between science, higher education, GDP, and economic development, offering a deeper understanding of this connection. The report complements previously published analyses and research on the topic. Secondly, our regional research shows that the convergence processes vary greatly among the analysed countries. The inclusion of spending on science, research, or higher education in the convergence equations has a varied impact on the assessment of the pace of the catching-up processes in the CEE region.

The Central and Eastern European countries' developments regarding the use and spread of Latin differ so widely that they seem to be on different planets. In the north, Poland was an important country for Latin literature. Neo-Latin literature enjoyed considerable longevity, from the second half of the fifteenth century until deep into the seventeenth. Most of the Polish dramas in Latin were written by Jesuits. All plays were meant for performance, with the possible exception of the humanist plays by Simon Simonides and Joannes Joncre. Stender-Petersen and Winniczuk both discerned several dramatic subgenres, viz. historical, moral, hagiographical and demonic drama. One thing all the countries have in common is that Latin drama was an international and pan-European genre that, along with students and other humanists, crossed borders, from Western to Central and Eastern Europe (and vice versa) as well. Keywords: Central European country; demonic drama; Eastern European country; hagiographical drama; Latin drama; Neo-Latin literature; Polish dramas

This paper aims to assess the economic development and development policies in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in 1990–2005, from the collapse of the USSR to the enlargement of the European Union. A great number of authors have generally seen the transition as a very positive process. They have concluded that the reform policies focusing on macroeconomic and price stability have been the key to success for CEE economies. A reliable economic environment is, of course, instrumental for longer-term economic success, as exemplified by the prolonged crisis in most of the former Soviet Union. Our analysis of the economic development and competitive advantages in the region, however, leads to the conclusion that the specific approach to transition that the Central and Eastern European countries followed came at a rather high cost. Comparative neglect and weakness of a set of policies crucial for longer-term development, such as science, technology and innovation policies, has led to deterioration in the last decade rather than the strengthening of the competitive advantages of Central and Eastern European economies. Furthermore, we argue that, in most cases, CEE countries have unfortunately overlooked or misjudged a number of development challenges, and have thus implemented policies that have generated growth at the cost of rapidly increasing risks. This is how the financial fragility of several Central and Eastern European countries has recently increased drastically, and the region seems to have virtually arrived at the brink of economic collapse. Since the CEE countries joined the European Union, the CEE governments have gradually moved towards acquiring a more active role in economic development. These policies need, however, to be strengthened considerably and reinforced by macroeconomic policies that curb current excessive dependence on foreign-financed growth.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) experts in Europe are facing rapidly rising demands of excellence due to the increasing complexity of MS therapy and management. A central European expert board of MS experts met to identify needs and obstacles with respect to raising quality of MS care in central and Eastern European countries. There are substantial variations across countries regarding delivery of care and its cost structure, as well as access to treatment. To date, Eastern European countries are often less able to afford reimbursement of immunomodulatory agents than Western countries. Overall, approximately 40% of working-age patients are not working due to MS. Costs rise steeply with increasing disability; indirect costs constitute the bulk of the financial burden in patients with severe MS. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessment is meanwhile obligatory as the diagnostic interface in the management of MS patients. Recommended measures directed at improving quality of care include the collection of patient data in registries, enhanced education of healthcare professionals, implementation of national strategies aiming at reducing regional variation, optimization of approval processes, and removal of administrative barriers. Local partnerships with authorities such as those that represent the interests of employees can contribute to leverage the importance of epidemiological data. The need for education extends to (neuro)radiologists who are responsible for reporting MRI findings in expert quality. Dissemination of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging in MS (MAGNIMS) protocol would be an important step in this context. Also, clinical freedom of choice is rated as essential. Physicians should have access to a range of treatment options due to the complexity of disease. Guidelines such as the upcoming EAN-ECTRIMS clinical practice guideline also aim at providing a basis for argumentation in negotiations with national health authorities.

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have much to gain from implementing policies that increase investment, support the development of human capital, and promote the legal, regulatory, and policy framework needed for market mechanisms to function. The faster they implement such changes, the faster they will bridge the income gap between them and the countries of the European Union - and the more likely their chances of successful integration. Joining the European Union (EU) is perhaps the key political and economic objective of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries as they approach the 21st century. But how successful the CEE countries are in achieving this goal depends not only on how well and quickly they adapt their legal and regulatory systems to EU requirements but on how well and quickly they bridge the wide income gaps between CEE and EU countries. Using a model and cross-section data to develop estimates, Barbone and Zalduendo investigate how appropriate structural policies adopted before and after accession to the EU can help CEE countries bridge this income gap. They have much to gain from implementing policies that increase investment, support the development of human capital, and promote the legal, regulatory, and policy framework needed for market mechanisms to function. The faster they implement such changes, the faster they will bridge the income gap between them and the EU countries - and the more likely their accession to the EU will be successful. This paper - a product of Country Department II, Europe and Central Asia - is part of a larger effort in the department to examine issues related to accession to EU by Central and Eastern European countries. Luca Barbone may be contacted at lbarbone@worldbank.org.

This paper analyze economic growth during the transition from centrally planned to market economy in Central and Eastern European and former Soviet Union countries. It provides a descriptive analysis of regional growth performance vis-a-vis countries at similar levels of different factors that have been identified in the cross-country literature as being associated with economic growth. Several points of controversy emerged within the overall stately, particularly over so-called shock therapy, and over sequencing. Rapid policy action was possible in some areas of reform - price and trade liberalization, and inflation stabilization, and perhaps small scale privatization - but in others it was clear that reform would take a long time. The controversies over shock treatment related mainly to macroeconomic stabilization and the pace at which privatization could be attempted, and to a lesser extant, over the pace of trade liberalization for some reason there was less controversy over the pace of trade liberalization. On sequencing the argument was that some reforms were preconditions for others - for instance that privatization would fail unless the right legal framework or financial system or both were in place, or that price decontrol should non take place until macroeconomic stabilization could be assured. After a brief assessment of the extent to which economic growth has been associated with progress on different measures of well being, the paper concludes with a list suggested issues to be investigated in the context of specific country studies.

On April 26, 2012, Wen Jiabao, then Premier of the State Council of China, met in Warsaw, Poland, with the leaders of 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC), and the China–CEEC cooperation was formally established. The China–CEEC Cooperation Secretariat was established in September 2012 and is located at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. As a coordination agency to advance cooperation, the Central and Eastern European countries appointed national coordinators to coordinate with the Secretariat. The 16 Central and Eastern European countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In 2019, Greece officially joined, becoming the 17th participant of the Central and Eastern Europe cooperation. On November 26, 2013, the second China–CEEC Leaders’ Meeting was held in Bucharest, Romania. Premier Li Keqiang and the leaders of 16 Central and Eastern European countries jointly released the “Bucharest Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries”, which made it clear that the Meeting of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European countries will be held every year, and the National Coordinators’ Meeting will be held twice a year.

The study assesses the development of the cooperative banking sector in selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries against the average statistics of the segment in those countries. It also compares it to the largest European cooperative banking group in Germany. The article presents the results of an analysis of the cooperative banking sectors between 2016 and 2021 in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Germany, all of which are members of the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB). The selection criterion was based on the availability of detailed data on cooperative banks published by the EACB on a temporal and spatial basis. The empirical basis for the issues addressed in the article is a review of the reference literature and the comparative analysis of the development of the cooperative banking sector using a synthetic development indicator for the period 2016–2021. According to the theoretical and empirical analysis, Romania demonstrates the lowest level of development of the cooperative banking segment. In turn, the Polish and Bulgarian cooperative banking sectors represents a higher level of development than the Romanian one. Hungary has reached the highest level of development in the group of Central and Eastern European countries. While comparing the CEE countries to the German cooperative banking sector, their development was almost one and a half times lower and, in the case of Romania, three times lower.