Central And Eastern European Countries Countries Research Articles

Entrepreneurial intentions of students from Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine: The role of perceived entrepreneurial education results

Purpose: Our main aim is to establish which factors influence entrepreneurial intentions, with a particular focus on the role of entrepreneurial education and university support in Central and Eastern European countries (CEE). An additional aim is to determine the differences in these perceptions between students from seemingly similar but rather different CEE countries. Methodology: We based our study mainly on two theory constructs, namely the entrepreneurial support model (ESM) and entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE). Both concepts often appear in research on entrepreneurial intentions, but they are not used together. Moreover, we proposed a new education-related factor – perceived entrepreneurial education results (PEER). To verify hypotheses quantitative research was conducted using surveys among 2,085 first-year undergraduate students from three technical universities in three countries: Latvia, Poland and Ukraine. Findings: The results of the study indicate that entrepreneurial self-efficacy, perceived entrepreneurial education results, and perceived educational and relational support all influence the intention of students to launch a venture. The research did not provide support for the hypothesis of an impact of perceived structural support (PSS) on intentions. The impact of perceived educational and relational support appeared to be less important than the impact of ESE and PEER on intentions. Additionally, we identified that there are significant differences between students from the analysed countries. Implications for theory and practice: Our research has identified a new factor, not previously used in studies of entrepreneurial intentions, that is, perceived entrepreneurial education results. This new factor can be used in research as a complement to self-efficacy and it refers to hard skills related, in this particular case, to entrepreneurship. The results show the importance of the national context, implying the need to take this into account when modelling support policies at a national level. The findings can be used to remodel how this knowledge is delivered to young people. Originality and value: Firstly, we proposed the inclusion of a new education-related component called perceived entrepreneurial education results, which can examine the perceived results of education at any level, in our case, at the secondary school level. Secondly, we showed the stronger influence of factors related to perceptions of one's own skills than perceptions of support from the environment. In addition, we demonstrated that making judgements or recommendations about entrepreneurial support, for rather similar countries, should be considered separately. Furthermore, we conceptualised the three aspects ESE, PEER and ESM in a new way. Finally, we also proved that the role of individual factors varies from country to country, even if the countries belong to the same cultural background and share a similar past experience.

Convergence patterns in income and manufacturing productivity in EU: does the latter drive the former?

ABSTRACT While exploring convergence in real income and in manufacturing productivity of the central and eastern European countries (CEE) and the southern EU counties with the developed EU ones, testing and clustering methodology and sigma convergence are used. We found that CEE countries strongly converge, both in real income and manufacturing productivity, with developed EU countries, while the southern EU countries do not. Moreover, the convergence pattern in real income follows that in manufacturing productivity in both peripheral EU groups suggesting that the underlying productivity clubs determine the formation of income clubs. The observed time pattern of sigma convergence also suggests that manufacturing productivity drives economic growth, as (non)convergence of the former preceded (‘caused’) that of the latter. Aforementioned findings are robust, since they are supported by the results obtained both by the Phillips and Sul (2007) approach and sigma convergence.

Investments in the Industrial and Logistics Real Estate Sector in Poland Compared to the CEE Countries

Purpose – The aim of this article is to assess Poland’s position and its potential in the light of investments undertaken in the industrial and logistic real estate sector of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) as well as to identify the changes contributing to changes within the nature of such investments. Having considered the categories of facilities, supply and demand, also investment capitalization rates and the value of rents the given sector has been subjected to a thorough analysis. Research method – The goal was achieved using quantitative secondary data, also the primary research was conducted among managers using the IDI method. The study was concerned with the trends of changes in the nature of investments in the sector in question in the CEE region in the context of nearshoring, shortening of value chains, and the pandemic. Results – Some mechanisms and determinants, which have been declared important until recently, are insufficient to explain the currently selected options for investments location. The growing popularity of, e.g., q-commerce and the need to provide recipients with the shortest possible delivery time requires the improvement of the supply chain and logistics networks, which is associated with warehouse investments closer to the customer’s location. Originality /value /implications /recommendations – The study concerns an important aspect of investment in service infrastructure. Despite the fact that the Polish commercial real estate market is very popular with foreign investors, mainly from China, the question arises how long Poland will remain the leader in Central and Eastern Europe, taking into account the differences in the capitalization rate or the level of rents in the selected countries.

SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE PENSION SYSTEM AND STATE SUPPORT FOR FUNDED PENSIONS IN CEE COUNTRIES

Pension systems around Europe are being reformed for several decades already. Main objectives of the reforms are to enable people to have adequate income at retirement and to ensure the system’s financial sustainability. Many European countries implemented policies aiming at diversification of financing sources of income at older age: risk-sharing between pay-as-you-go and funded pensions is expected to help in achieving social policy objectives towards pension systems. Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) face even more challenges in ensuring adequate income at retirement. First, CEE countries were required to transform radically their economies in 1990s towards market economy, including old age pension systems. Second, in order to ensure diversified future old age pension income and attract more financial means to the system, introduction of funded pensions from scratch and ensuring as wide as possible coverage with funded pension schemes was of primary importance also. The paper discusses latest developments of retirement pension systems in Europe and state involvement in private pension schemes. In doing so, the focus is on the introduction of funded private pension schemes in selected CEE countries. In spite of initially chosen different paths for the reforms, inconsistent state policies towards funded pensions in the CEE countries resulted in similar outcomes of the reforms. The paper starts with discussion on main objectives of pension systems – enabling people to have adequate income at retirement and ensuring financial sustainability of the systems. Further, possibilities to achieve the objectives of pension reforms are analysed – diversification of income at retirement. Third part of the paper discusses prevailing debates on future of welfare state as such and individualisation trends within different European welfare state models. These debates and perceptions of population about responsibilities of a state for individual welfare affect direction of reforms and future shape of old age pension systems. Fourth part of the paper deals with state policies and tools that are used for encouragement of participation in supplementary pensions. Final part of the paper presents more detailed outline of the pension reforms in selected CEE countries and summarises particular challenges of their pension systems. The paper ends with a discussion on policy implications in relation to latest developments of pension systems in CEE countries.

THE OPEN BALKAN AS A DEVELOPMENT DETERMINANT OF THE WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

The paper starts from the concept of the Open Balkan as a community of countries in the Western Balkans, aimed at strengthening their economic cooperation and development for faster integration in the European Union. Significant attention is paid to the analysis of the interdependence of (in)stability of the state and the economic development of small countries. The position of the Open Balkan and its members is also analysed on the basis of the selected global composite indices. An important subject of the analysis is also the condition of institutional capacities of the members of the Open Balkan and their institutional cooperation from the perspective of faster progress towards the European integration. Two main hypotheses have been tested in the paper: (H1) CEEs countries are not a homogeneous group of countries; and (H2) The Western Balkans is a relatively homogeneous regional integration. To test the convergence hypothesis between 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs), annual data from World Bank’s database on the value of real gross domestic product per capita (in constant dollars 2017, PPP) in the period 2000-2026 were used (projected values for the period until 2026). We employed the method developed by Phillips & Sul (2007) that allows identification of clusters of convergence on the basis of an algorithm that is data-driven and thereby avoids a priori classification of the data into subgroups. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that Serbia is the “locomotive” of the Western Balkans and that all countries in this area should join the regional initiative for cooperation, the Open Balkan.

R&D subsidies and productivity in eastern European countries

This paper shows that R&D subsidy policies at the European Union (EU) and national levels stimulated labor productivity in Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) in the years after their entry to the EU. However, the average impact of national funding on labor productivity was higher for countries in the Western control group than in the CEEC sample. EU R&D subsidies compensated the CEEC in part for the greater innovation impact of Western economies. Although they crowded out some R&D subsidies by local governments at the country level, the EU subsidies crowded in many national and local subsidies at the firm level. Local/regional state innovation aid to enterprises encouraged no increase in labor productivity in all but one of the sample CEEC countries. These impacts are assessed in a sequential structural econometric model estimated using Eurostat’s collection of Community Innovation Surveys covering the years 2006–2014.

The Future is Near: On the Prospects of Central Bank Digital Currency Adoption in Central and Eastern European Countries

Central banks around the world have started exploring the possibility of issuing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). A CBDC would be similar to digital cash and could, in theory, substitute for commercial bank deposits as the money used by households and businesses. This paper explored the potential implications for financial stability and monetary policy stemming from potential CBDC adoption in Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs). We conducted an empirical analysis using publicly available data from the European Central Bank’s database to assess how introducing a CBDC could impact the business models of the largest CEE banks. Our findings indicated that a CBDC could support financial stability by accelerating the adoption of digital payments in CEEs, improving anti-money laundering, and thus supporting banks’ ability to finance the economy. We found that the impact of a CBDC on the profitability of commercial banks would be impacted more by any change in interest rates than by the quantity of CBDC replacing stable bank funding. Furthermore, a CBDC could be beneficial for monetary policy by improving the control over inflation and accelerating the implementation of countercyclical instruments when classical monetary policy instruments are no longer effective. Hence, non-Euro CEE countries would benefit the most from the introduction of a CBDC.
 Keywords: central bank digital currencies; financial stability; monetary policy; financial institutions

The importance of worldwide governance indicators for transitions toward sustainable bioenergy industry

This study examined the impact of worldwide governance indicators on the sustainability of the bioenergy industry in selected European countries for the period 1996–2018. Applying the Fixed Effect (FE) Model, the results reveal that the bioenergy industry can significantly grow by improving the quality of worldwide governance indicators in European countries, especially in Western European Countries (WEC). Government effectiveness, rule of law, regulatory quality, and voice and accountability are found to be increasing the growth of the bioenergy industry. Precisely, the results further show that the magnitude of the effect of government effectiveness, voice and accountability, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on bioenergy output is higher in Western European Countries (WEC) as compared to the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Also, the findings further elaborate that the significant positive impact of regulatory quality and rule of law on bioenergy output is higher in CEEC countries compared to the WEC countries. The finding implies that the growth of the bioenergy industry in European countries can be effectively increased by improving the practice and quality of worldwide governance indicators. The study recommends for European countries to increase the efficiency of worldwide governance in their bioenergy industry to increase the sustainability of bioenergy production and reduce Dioxide Carbon (CO2) emissions. Policymakers in these countries should also invest more in worldwide governance to increase its effectiveness and transparency in the bioenergy industry. The authorities should equally emphasize the effectiveness and transparency of worldwide governance indicators to attain bioenergy security and lessen the dependence on fossil fuels.

New patterns in the position of CEE countries in global value chains: functional specialisation approach

Research background: High servitisation of manufacturing makes it impossible to separate services from manufactured goods properly, which implies difficulties in the assessment of the position of the country on the smile curve, i.e. in the proper assignment of products or services to one of the industrial process steps: pre-production, pure fabrication or post-production services. Therefore, we propose to use the business functions of industries identified with the aid of labour market data rather than the industrial classification of products in order to create a more appropriate measure of the position of countries in GVCs.
 Purpose of the article: We aim to identify and analyse the patterns of functional specialisation for eight Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) ? the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia ? both at the country and industry level. In addition, we analyse functional specialisation patterns for Germany, which serves as a reference country.
 Methods: To assess functional specialisation patterns, we employ the methodology proposed by Timmer et al. (2019a). It allows us to obtain functional specialisation indices for four different business functions ? management, R&D, marketing, and fabrication. To compute them, we combine two sources of data ? domestic value added from decomposed sectoral input-output tables (the World Input Output  Database) and the Occupations Database built up by Timmer et al. (2019a).
 Findings & value added: Our research shows a very heterogeneous pattern in CEEC countries' position in GVCs by taking into account their functional specialisation at the countries and industries levels. Poland and Slovakia focus primarily on low value-added fabrication processes, the Baltic countries and Slovenia specialise in management services, Hungary and Latvia gain in marketing services, and the Czech Republic and Slovenia win in R&D activities. We indicate that some CEE countries (Poland, Slovakia) could be stuck in a functional trap, and our approach could be a valuable tool for assessing the process of coming out of it.

A comparative analysis of the efficiency of life and non-life sectors in selected CEE countries

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyze overall technical efficiency (OTE), pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) of both life and non-life insurance sectors in three Central and Eastern European countries (CEE), i.e. Croatia, Hungary and Poland, in 2018. Methodology: The efficiency of insurance sectors is estimated by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA), while a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) is performed to find out whether there exists any statistically significant difference between the estimated levels of the efficiency of non-life and life insurance sectors in the observed CEE countries. Results: Out of 34 non-life Polish insurers, only two (6%) were overall technically efficient, while the remaining 32 were inefficient. Croatia and Hungary achieved better results with three (20%) and seven (43.7%) efficient insurers, respectively. However, when observing the life insurance segment, half of the Croatian life insurers were efficient according to the CCR model, while six (23%) Polish and three (23%) Hungarian efficient insurers were recorded. Conclusion: Research reveals that the Hungarian non-life insurers are the most efficient ones in terms of OTE, PTE and SE. They are followed by the Croatian insurers, leaving the Polish insurers behind. Regarding the life insurance sector, the domination of the Croatian insurers is recorded, while the Hungarian ones were found to be the least efficient. Moreover, inefficiency in both life and non-life sectors (except for the Hungarian life sector) is more related to scale than to managerial inefficiency. Finally, ANOVAs and Tukey post hoc tests revealed a statistically significant difference among considered groups of insurers.

Institutional competitiveness of Central and Eastern European countries and the inflow of foreign direct investments

Motivation: Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) in spite of a long period of European Union membership and integration with the developed economies of Western Europe are still on the path of convergence, i.e. pursuing the highly developed countries in terms of, among others, GDP per capita. Assuming that the FDI inflow carries numerous benefits for the economic growth of the recipient country, those economies still compete against one another for foreign capital. One of the factors that attracts FDI is high quality of institutional surrounding.
 Aim: assessment of institutional competitiveness of the selected CEE countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary) as well as verification of the relationship between institutional competitiveness and the FDI inflow to the analyzed economies.
 Materials and methods: The article reviews positions obtained by the selected CEE countries in the ranking of competitiveness published by Global Economic Forum (Global Competitiveness Report). The analysis and assessment of CEE countries competitiveness focused around the institutional quality assessment. Quantitatively, the connection was revealed between competitiveness ranking in the field of institutions and FDI inflow per capita and FDI as % of GDP to the economies under consideration.
 Results: the analysis of the global competitiveness index (GCI) allows to notice that among the CEE countries, Estonia is characterized with the highest institutional competitiveness. The detailed analysis indicated that low social capital quality decreases institutional competitiveness in case of all analyzed economies. The conducted quantitative analysis of the potential link between the GCI?Pillar 1. Institutions index and the inflow of foreign direct investments to CEE countries indicates the positive correlation of those variables. Higher index values (institution quality assessment) corresponds to the higher FDI per capita level and FDI calculated as GDP percentage.

The end goal of the post-communist transition in Bulgaria: societal transformation or EU membership?

The end of the Cold War resulted in an unprecedented geopolitical situation in Europe, presenting a challenge to the security in the continent and the integration achieved so far. The only solution to this geopolitical problem was the integration of the post-communist Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) into the European Union (EU). The CEE countries therefore had to undergo deep societal reforms, while simultaneously pursuing a new foreign policy agenda away from the orbits of Russia. The EU was perceived as a solution to all existing problems. The results of the research conducted in Bulgaria, presented in this article, demonstrate that preparation for meeting the membership criteria which on the surface seemed to correspond to the aims of the transition, substituted the due structural reform. Thus, the EU accession instead of being an instrument for achieving sustainable long-term goals, became an end goal in itself, as if it would be an international testimony of a successful transition. The reforms carried out became a formality, were partial and superficial, and therefore reversible. As a result, the rule of law is deteriorating, and we can observe a facade democracy.

Accession impact and outlook for Croatian and EU crop and livestock markets

Aim of study: To investigate the impact of Croatia’s accession to the EU on its agricultural sector, its market outlook and the EU’s key agricultural products up to 2030.Area of study: Croatia and European Union member statesMaterial and methods: Comparative approach was used in order to identify similarities of the changes that took place when other Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) acceded to the EU (results of previously conducted research) with the changes that happened in Croatia (historical data between 2010 and 2016). The second approach involved the AGMEMOD partial equilibrium model, which has been used as a comprehensive tool to model the complex outlook of Croatian agricultural markets. The results of the Croatian outlook were compared to the EU’s AGMEMOD outlook results in order to identify future trends in key agricultural market development (production, yield and net trade) and whether these newly established trends were comparable with EU trends.Main results: The changes that took place in the Croatian agricultural sector during and after the EU accession period are not significantly different from the trends and changes observed in other Central and Eastern EU member states. Similarities can especially be found in neighbouring CEEC countries (Hungary and Slovenia), which kept their producer prices close to EU levels prior to accession. Furthermore, the results indicate a similarity with CEEC trends in terms of the strengthening of crop production compared to livestock.Research highlights: Positive effects of EU integration on the Croatian agricultural sector took place after a few years of adjustment. Simulations of future market developments indicate many similarities between Croatia and EU 13 member states.

Development of the Agricultural Innovation Brokerage Concept in Eastern European Countries, Based on a Hungarian Situation Analysis

Abstract The Agro-innovation Broker (AIB) concept was introduced by the European Commission solely to increase the vast spread of innovative solutions in Agriculture. The concept can be perceived as an intermediary between the demand and supply of agricultural research and extension services. This paper’s results are derived from the international research work that aims to develop a training curriculum in the field of agricultural innovation services with effective materials to boost capacity building actions in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE). Based on consultations with stakeholders, the Hungarian situation analysis allowed comparison with other CEE countries and the expansion of an AIB vocational training curriculum. It helps to better understand the needs of agricultural innovation services through a clear view of advisors’ competences. Our results suggest that apart from the similar knowledge requirements and skills of AIBs across CEE countries, country-specific expectations and needs should be addressed in AIB training.

External financing in Central and Eastern European countries after the global financial crisis

The aim of the paper is to analyse changes in the financial account of the balance of payments in 11 Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) during the years 2007-2017. The analysis comprises changes in the value of the financial account's components. The economic crisis reversed existing tendencies in net capital flows to CEE countries. They transformed from net recipients of capital to providers of capital to the rest of the world. This situation is completely different than the pre-crisis period when CEE countries experienced significant net inflows of mainly direct invest- ment, with capital moving ‘downhill', mostly from richer EU countries. The fall in the surplus on the financial account of the balance of payments was determined mainly by a large drop in net other investments and even their outflow, especially during 2012-2015. The net outflow of capital was also caused by the accumulation of reserves by central banks. In relation to other transactions of the financial account, a slowdown in net capital inflows was recorded. The lowered surplus on the CEE countries' financial balances can have an effect on their external stability, however, they have seen a reemergence of inflows in recent quarters, including in non-FDI flows.

The regional innovation policy’s forming mechanisms in Central and Eastern European countries with transitional economics

The paper deals with theoretical foundations of transformation processes in the regional innovation policy of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEE). The paper’s aim is to analyze the main principles of the transformational processes in the regional innovation policy of the CEE countries, as well as to substantiate the theoretical basis for the innovation development’s modern stage. Today, mechanisms for the formation and implementation of regional innovation policy cannot be carried out only on the basis of market self-regulation. The development and implementation of regional innovation policy is now an important task for its socio-economic development. Therefore, the main objective of today is the problem of finding effective tools for the development of an innovative economy at the regional level. Thus, the relevance of the research topic is no doubt. The special emphasis in the paper is on the analysis of neo-Schumpeterian approach as a theoretical basis for the regional innovation policy’s formation and implementation in CEE countries. The introduction of this approach is the paper’s scientific novelty. The paper uses general scientific and specific scientific methods , namely analysis’ and synthesis’ methods, statistical analysis, logical and empirical cognition, and applied a systematic approach in the presentation of the material, which made it possible to solve the paper’s tasks. Conclusions. Analyzing all of the above, the CEE’s economies at different development’s stages differ in their ability to use and create knowledge. The neo-Schumpeterian approach is suitable for most transition economies. In extreme cases, simply adopting an innovative policy for developed countries and transferring them to countries with economies in transition may be a more restraining factor than activity as a catalyst for the growth of knowledge. Similarly, greater attention should be paid to improving the formation of human capital in universities, which focuses heavily on academic patenting rather than education and training of future entrepreneurs and labor force.

The Determinants and the Size of International Migration in Central and Eastern Europe After 2004

Migration is a very important socio‑economic issue in the contemporary world. One of the interesting and pertinent research problems worth considering concerns the scale and nature of migration from countries which entered the European Union in 2004 and in the subsequent years. As a result of integration within the European Community, the citizens of member states acquired citizenship within the entire European Union (which is complementary to citizenship in the country of origin). The right of free movement led to the emergence of the migration phenomenon within the territory of the European Union. A well educated and young labour force may be an influential factor in the social and economic development of the European Union members. The enlargement of the EU led to a significant increase in the number of part‑time/temporary migrants. According to statistical data, the number of emigrants from the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE) to the more prosperous European countries increased from 1,66 million in 2004 to 7,3 million in 2016. Within the context of the scale of economic migration from the CEE, questions should be asked about the determinants and economic consequences of this mobility. The main objective of this article is a diagnosis and evaluation of the determinants and size of migration from the CEE. The analyses are based on Eurostat data. The determinants of migration are presented from the point of view of the push and pull factors theory and related to the situation in the European labour market. An analysis of the size of migration outflow from the CEE countries made it possible to classify them into three groups: countries with a high emigration potential (Latvia, Lithuania, Romania), a moderate emigration potential (Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Slovakia) and a low emigration potential (the Czech Republic, Slovenia). The economic consequences of migration are shown from the perspective of remittances received from working abroad.

Transmission of Shocks through Stock Markets Channel: The Case of the CEECs

Abstract Many scientists and economists state that the degree of global integration of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) stock markets is very low. However, the recent turmoils in the major financial centers in USA, China, etc. raise the question about the possible transmission of the global shocks to the CEECs stock markets despite the low degree of financial integration. The main research questions are: can the spillover effect transmit from the major stock markets on the CEECs stock markets and what type of shocks cause the cross-border contagion risk transmission to the CEECs stock markets? The objective of this study – to identify the transmission of global shocks through stock markets channel in the CEECs. The research methods: the systemic, logical and comparative analysis of the scientific literature and statistical methods: Dynamic Conditional Correlation Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (DCC-GARCH) model. The empirical results of this study suggest that the highest degree of global and regional integration of the stock markets was observed in Poland's, Czech Republic's, and Hungary's stock markets that can be explained by higher development level of these stock markets comparing to other CEECs. The collapse of Lehman Brothers bank in United States in 2008 was the most significant shock transmitted to CEECs stock markets. The empirical results also suggest that the transmission of other systemic shocks (e.g. the Middle East financial markets crash (May 2006), Greek debt crisis (April 23, 2010), Portugal's debt crisis (May 16, 2011)) was also observed on some of the CEECs countries.

Housing Market Information in CEE countries

The paper aims to show how the historical development of CEE countries and their institutional framework has influenced the quality of information on housing markets. Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) have undergone the serious economic and institutional transformation. The functioning of the residential sector was changed by introducing the new institutions, regulations, housing finance institutions and internet. The newly established residential markets, the actors operating on these markets, and the governments (both national as well as EU) have generated the demand for better information. This was partially fulfilled, yet the quality of the information on the residential markets is still lagging behind the developed Western economies. Moreover there is clear lack of the historical market data, which make the decision making regarding the regulation of the markets and the mortgage provision more risky. The global economic crisis has uncovered the economic vulnerabilities of the CEE and their residential markets. At the same time the crisis created the serious pressure for more responsible investments and higher efficiency, and the triggered demand for higher quality and more comprehensive information on the residential markets.

Young Workerss Job Insecurity and Employment Uncertainty in Times of Crisis: Exploring the Impact of Governance, Economic Resources and Trust in Central-Eastern and Western Europe

The paper is concerned with a better understanding of the job insecurity and labour market uncertainty youngsters confront on the labour market in Europe shortly before and during the Great Recession. The main thrust of the paper is to explore youth insecurity and uncertainty in notably the Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) compared to Western European countries with a particular focus for the role played by young people’s skills, the level of trust in society, and for the ways of governance as indicated by the social models the countries represent. We use the European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) and the European Social Survey (ESS). We ran discrete choice logistic and probit regression models on the three variables of interest: objective and subjective job and employment insecurity. At the individual level the findings substantiate the existence of strong correlates between people’s skills, their level of social and institutional trust and objective and subjective job and employment insecurity. At the country level we show that the observed insecurity gaps between insiders and outsiders are strongly skill-based notably in the Nordic countries as well as strongly age-based notably in the Southern regimes. The patterns of insecurity and uncertainty in the CEE countries are skill-based and age-based at the same time, and mirror their relative low levels of trust and their high levels of job insecurity in some countries and employment insecurity in others.