The Diversification of Tourism Space in Central Pomerania

Although it is among the most frequently used notions in the study of tourism, the concept of tourism space is understood in a variety of ways. Similar to the term ‘geographical space’, it is often used intuitively, often in quite dissimilar contexts. This paper provides an analysis of the concept of ‘tourism space’ from the perspective of geography, based on a phenomenological approach

International trade in services. A growing contribution to Belgium’s current balance

Service activities hold an ambiguous position in the economy. Although they represent a dominant share of activity and employment, they have only a minor position in international trade. Generally speaking, trade in services has therefore attracted less interest than trade in goods in the context of competitiveness policy, and economic research has paid less attention to it. Yet despite the low gross volume of international trade in services, the services balance has grown in Belgium over the past fifteen years. Compensating in part for the deteriorating balance of trade in goods, net exports of services have gradually become the primary driver of the current account balance. Belgium’s central position in the European economic fabric is one of the main contributory factors in the good performance of Belgium’s trade in services. This has led to the development of trade and logistics services, particularly thanks to the importance of the port of Antwerp in maritime traffic. Given its central position combined with the quality of its human capital, Belgium is also the location for the headquarters of the European institutions and several multinational bodies, and that is another decisive factor in the growth of service exports. However, Belgium’s good general performance in trade in services is not seen in all service categories. In particular, services connected with information and communication technologies have not grown particularly strongly. Yet these services constitute a growth catalyst that could benefit the whole economy, and the human capital needed for such a development is available in Belgium.services, competitiveness, market share, transport, services for public authorities, business services

Sines industrial and logistics zones: FDI determinants applied to Sines and its peers

The goal of this case study is to identify the FDI location determinants according to the most recent scientific studies and match those location determinants with the ones that can be found at Sines’s Cluster. Firstly I had to define the main competitor countries and in order to keep things simple I only chose six countries: Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Egypt and Morocco. The countries Spain, Egypt and Morocco are direct competitors for FDI attraction while Germany and Netherlands compete in terms of containers transhipment. The information was gathered by searching on database like OCDE, World Bank and Bloomberg but also by talking with AICEP Global Parques and with Port Authority of Sines. From my theoretical research reducing total costs of the supply chain is crucial nowadays therefore Portugal can win from this since has a better relation between labour costs and qualified labour than Spain. Morocco has a poor infrastructure reducing its attractiveness but the labour is low qualified and cheap therefore might be good for labour intensive industries. Regarding the Eastern Europe countries, after analysing the location determinants they are inferior to Portugal. Germany and Netherland are better than the rest of the countries analysed in almost all aspects, except in labour costs. Portuguese Government should try to lower Tax in order to increase the competitiveness of the cluster versus the Eastern Europe clusters and also should work to attract a logistics third party in order to increase the efficiency of the cluster.O objectivo deste caso de estudo do Cluster de Sines é identificar os determinantes de localização de acordo com a pesquisa mais recente e comparar com os determinantes de localização que o cluster de Sines tem. Em primeiro lugar foi necessário definir os países que competem directamente sendo restringidos a seis: Alemanha, Holanda, Espanha, Polónia, Egipto e Marrocos. Os países Espanha, Egipto e Marrocos são os principais concorrentes de Portugal em relação à atracção de investimento directo estrangeiro já a Alemanha e Holanda são concorrentes em relação ao transporte de contentores (transhipment). A informação foi recolhida através da pesquisa nas bases de dados da OCDE, Banco Mundial e Bloomberg mas também através de entrevistas com a AICEP Global Parques e Autoridade Portuária de Sines. Com base na pesquisa teórica reduzir os custos totais da cadeia de abastecimento é fundamental e Portugal pode ganhar com isso pois tem melhor relação custo da mão-de-obra versus qualidade da mão-de-obra que a Espanha. Em relação a Marrocos, as infra-estruturas são fracas o que reduz a atractividade deste mas a mão-de-obra é barata e pouco qualificada o que é ideal para indústrias intensivas em mão-de-obra. Quanto aos países do leste da Europa tem uma atractividade mais baixa que Portugal quando considerados todos os determinantes de localização. Já a Alemanha e Holanda são melhores que os restantes Países analisados em todos os aspectos expecto nos custos de mão-de-obra. O Governo Português precisa de reduzir os impostos para que o Cluster de Sines consiga rivalizar com os restantes clusters concorrentes e também devia debruçar-se sobre a necessidade de um operador logístico no cluster de forma a aumentar a eficiência do mesmo

OECD\u27s FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index: Revision And Extension To More Economies

This paper provides a revised measure of regulatory restrictions on inward foreign direct investment (FDI) for OECD countries and extends the approach to 13 non-member countries. The methodology is largely similar to that adopted in the previous version of the OECD indicator and covers three broad categories of restrictions: limitations on foreign ownership, screening or notification procedures, and management and operational restrictions. The FDI restrictiveness indicator captures statutory deviations from national treatment , i.e. discrimination against foreign investment. When combined with other factors having an influence on foreign investment decisions, it has proven to be a good predictor of countries\u27 inward FDI performance

New culture-oriented economic development trajectories: the case study of four Dutch cities

Culture is a key ingredient of post-industrial, information-intensive economic activity. Culture-oriented economic development (COED) is emerging as a dominant paradigm, integrating the symbolic and creative elements into any aspect of the urban economy, pursuing distinction, innovativeness, and a higher level of interaction between localised individual and collective knowledge and globalising markets. This article presents a dynamic analysis of the effects of culture on the economic development trajectories of European cities. It may contribute to shed more light on the relevance of cultural industries for spatial development, addressing issues such as: cultural endowment, identity and urban competitiveness; dispersed vs. concentration; cultural participation and social inclusion. The analysis uses data collected within the ESPON project 1.3.3 and other information of qualitative and quantitative nature collected by EURICUR in occasion of a study of a sample of European cities . In this paper we present the investigation conducted in the three largest Dutch cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague, which are part of the city-region of the Randstand, and the fifth largest Dutch city, Eindhoven, one the most important economic and educational centres in the Netherlands.Cultural industry, urban economy, creativity, sustainable development, The Netherlands

The port attractiveness index: application on African ports

The overall operational reputation of a port is based on objective factors, including infrastructure endowments and efficiency in the logistics chain as well as on perceived subjective factors such as reliability, and level of corruption. In this work we analyze the concept of port attractiveness, starting with the hypothesis that subjective port determinants (i.e., user perception) and objective/endogenous and exogenous factors can be quantified together. We thus determine the Port Attractiveness Index and test it using 41 container ports of 23 African countries for the period 2006-2010. We apply a bottom-up approach to investigate the structural relationships among the three sets of determinants (endogenous, exogenous and subjective) that impact on port attractiveness. Our methodological approach employs structural equation modeling. Results indicate that subjective factors are indeed influential variables for port attractiveness. Moreover, when examining port attractiveness and investment strategies, we demonstrate that in many cases in African ports governments should implement soft infrastructure as a first step rather than investing in hard infrastructures

Foreign Direct Investments, Regional Incentives and Regional Attractiveness in Greece

The aim of this paper is to analyze the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) activity in Greece. The paper starts with defining the main FDI terms and giving a general literature review corresponding to the FDI allocation. Then, there is a description of recent trends in FDI activity both worldwide and Greece. Especially FDI investments in Greece are analyzed presenting the magnitudes of inflows, outflows, inward stock, outward stock, as well as foreign mergers and acquisitions, in terms of sales and purchases. The second part of the paper describes the regional and sectoral allocation of FDI in Greece, emphasizing whether the investment incentive scheme contributes to the attraction of FDI in specific regions, or the growth rate of each region is the main motive for locating foreign investment capital. The analysis is based on the most recent statistical data covering magnitudes until 2002.

Location decision for foreign direct investment in ASEAN countries (A TOPSIS Approach)

TOPSIS approach is applied to select the most suitable ASEAN countries for attracting FDI inflows. The proposed approach also provides a relatively simple tool for this strategic decision making problem. Within the model, ten indicators are defined as determinants of FDI inflows. By using TOPSIS method, the capacity and attraction of ASEAN countries is evaluated and given final rank for period 2000-2005. Results indicate that Singapore is the most attractive for investment among ASEAN countries while ranking of some countries have changed during these years.Foreign direct investment, ASEAN, Ranking, TOPSIS

The contribution of the Port of Sines for its regional economic growth and development

JEL Classification: F230; L900This project concentrates on the stakeholder perspective on the factors that may contribute the most for the economic growth and development of the region of the port of Sines. Through an analysis of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) determinants, agglomeration economies and clusters and attractiveness factors in ports, it was possible to establish a framework to discuss this theme. Following this chapter, and to frame to literature review in this specific case, a brief characterization of the Port of Sines is presented. In the process of contacting the stakeholders, there was a design of the interview guide, and its aftermost application. The results of these interviews were subjected to a content analysis, which was subsequently discussed regarding the literature review done in the first chapter. The information retrieved from the contact with the stakeholders about the development of the port region allowed to perceive three main pillars: 1) Development of infrastructures (Railway to Spain; expansion of the container terminal; more road connections) 2) Attracting Investors (Creation of a logistics hub; increase competitiveness in order to attract more maritime traffic) 3) Development of supporting activities to the port (Stakeholder management; new training facilities; development of R&D)Este projeto concentra-se na perspetiva dos stakeholders quanto aos fatores que mais podem contribuir para o crescimento económico e desenvolvimento da região do Porto de Sines. Através da análise de determinantes de IDE (Investimento Direto Estrangeiro), economia de aglomeração e clusters e fatores de atratividade em portos, foi possível enquadrar a discussão deste tema. Após este capítulo, para enquadramento da revisão literária no caso específico a ser abordado, é apresentada uma breve caracterização do Porto de Sines. No processo de contacto com os stakeholders, houve a elaboração de um guião de entrevista e a sua posterior aplicação. Os resultados destas entrevistas foram sujeitos a uma análise de conteúdo, que foi subsquentemente discutida tendo em consideração a revisão literária feita na primeira parte. As informações obtidas através do contacto com os stakeholders sobre o desenvolvimento da região do porto, permitiu interpretar três principais eixos: 1) Desenvolvimento de infraestruturas (Linha férrea para Espanha; expansão do terminal de contentores; mais estradas) 2) Atrair investidores (Criação de um hub logístico; aumentar competitividade para atrair mais tráfego marítimo) 3) Desenvolvimento de atividades de apoio ao porto (Gestão de stakeholders; novos estabelecimentos de ensino; desenvolvimento de I&D