Flexicurity in EU Countries

Flexicurity is a new way of looking at flexibility and security on the labor market. It sets out from the awareness that globalization and technological progress are rapidly changing the needs of workers and enterprises. Companies are under increasing pressure to adapt and develop their products and services more quickly. If they want to stay in the market, they have to continuously adapt their production methods and their workforce. This is placing greater demands on business to help their workers acquire new skills. It is also placing greater demands on workers with regards to their ability and readiness for change. At the same time, workers are aware that company restructurings no longer occur incidentally, but are becoming a fact of everyday life. Protection of the specific job they have may no longer be sufficient, and might indeed be counterproductive. In order to plan their lives and careers, workers need new kinds of security that help them remain in employment, and make it through all these changes. New securities must go beyond the specific job and ensure safe transitions into new employment. Flexicurity is an attempt to unite these two fundamental needs. Flexicurity promotes a combination of flexible labor markets and a high level of employment and income security and it is thus seen to be the answer to the EU's dilemma of how to maintain and improve competitiveness whilst preserving the European social model. Flexicurity can be defined, more precisely, as a policy strategy to enhance, at the same time and in a deliberate way, the flexibility of labor markets, work organizations and labor relations on the one hand, and security –employment security and income security – on the other.flexicurity; flexibility; security; benefits; labour force

An Analysis of Actual and Potential Trade between the EU Countries and the Eastern European Countries

The Eastern Enlargement represents an opportunity for trade growth for all the European Union (EU) countries. In fact, trade between the EU and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) has increased considerably in the nineties. However, both benefits and losses from trade expansion do not equally affect all countries and regions inside the EU. This paper focus on the analysis of the potential bilateral trade flows between the EU and the CEEC and in special between the CEEC and the Southern European countries. The analysis is based on the gravity model approach using panel data from 1993 to 1999. It is possible to conclude that there is still scope for further expansion of the trade flows between some CEEC and some of the EU countries, in particular of some Southern countries

Foundation Focus (Issue 18): Workers in Europe: Mobility and Migration

[Excerpt] This issue of Foundation Focus looks at mobility and migration in the EU. It reviews the policy background and the practical issues that relate to movement between EU countries by EU citizens and into the EU from third countries. What is the extent of labour mobility within the EU? How can the fundamental rights of refugees and migrants from outside the EU be protected? How does intra-EU mobility impact on public services? What have social partners done to address the integration of third-country nationals and challenges for EU labour markets? What has already been learned about successful local integration policies for migrants? It draws on Eurofound’s extensive research findings in this area

Innovation and Economic Growth in European Union. Panel Data Analysis

JEL Classifications: O33, O30, O47This study examines the relationship between technological innovation and economic growth in European Union countries over the period 1993-2011. Using Blundell and Bond (1998) generalized method of the moments estimation technique, the study provides evidence that R&D expenditures and patent activities differ in terms of fostering economic growth between EU-15 and EU-13 countries. The main results indicate that there is no significant impact of R&D expenditures on the economic growth and that patent activities determine economic growth in EU-13 subsample and EU-28 as a whole. The study suggests that there may be no one particular recipe for growth for all EU countries and put into question whether setting common numerical targets in EU’s innovation policy makes economic sense

Far from dominating EU decision-making, France and Germany are among the least successful EU states at negotiating legislation and budget contributions.

A common assumption is that the largest EU countries get their way most often in negotiations within the EU’s institutions. Contrary to this perspective, Jonathan Golub finds that smaller states like Finland tend to be far more successful at negotiating EU legislation than countries like France and Germany. He also finds little evidence for the idea that Member States might ‘buy influence’ by trading legislative outcomes for contributions to the EU budget. Indeed, the same countries which are successful at negotiating legislation are also likely to pay less than their fair share into the budget

The Euro-Mediterranean Trade relations

In fact The EU is the most important trading partner for the Mediterranean countries accounting for about 45% of both MED exports (€40 billion) and imports (€42 billion) in 2004. This corresponds to approximately 5% of both the EU’s imports and exports, where The most important EU exports to the Mediterranean countries are in machinery and mechanical appliances (15%), electrical machinery (11%)and vehicles (8%),while EU imports from Med countries are dominated by fuels and oil (40%) and to a lesser extent by textiles (10%).foreign trade, EU, EU-Mediteraneean countries agreements

THE EU EASTERN ENLARGEMENT AND FDI: THE IMPLICATIONS FROM A NEOCLASSICAL GROWTH MODEL

This paper studies how the EU Eastern enlargement can affect the economies of the old and the new EU members and the non-acceded countries in the context of a multi-country neoclassical growth model where Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is subject to border costs. We assume that in the moment of the EU enlargement border costs are eliminated between the old and the new EU member states but they remain unchanged between the old EU member states and the nonacceded countries. In a calibrated version of the model, the short-run effects of the EU enlargement proved to be relatively small for all the economies considered. The long-run effects are however significant: in the acceded countries, investors from the old EU member states become permanent owners of about 3/4 of capital, while in the nonacceded countries, they are forced out of business by local producers.Foreign direct investment; EU enlargement; Neoclassical growth model; Transition economies; Three-country model

Report on the development of political institutions involved in policy elaborations in organic farming for selected European states

As organic farming has become an instrument of European agricultural policy the organic sector is required more and more to get politically active. This report presents results from the EU-funded project EU-CEEOFP on the development of organic farming institutions for the period of 1997-2003 in eleven European countries. Institutions of the organic farming sector in new EU member states are still developing and their relation with mainstream farming institutions is characterised by a state of competition. In (old) EU 15 countries and Switzerland this relation is more oriented towards co-operation and has been described as in a state of creative conflict. Countries with a high share of organic farming show signs of consolidation of their institutions. The report concludes with recommendations for a succesful development of organic farming institutions

Labour productivity in the Nordic EU countries - a comparative overview and explanatory factors – 1998-2004

This paper analyses the differences in hourly labour productivity growth rates and levels between the Nordic EU countries (Denmark, Finland and Sweden) and four larger euro area countries (Germany, France, Italy and Spain). Additional information for the euro area as a whole, the UK and the US is also provided. Given that the economic and social models developed in the Nordic EU countries are in many ways closer to those of the larger euro area countries than that of the US, the experience of these countries is particularly interesting. Since the mid-1990s, the Nordic EU countries, particularly Sweden and Finland, have experienced stronger labour productivity growth than the larger euro countries. Like in the US, innovation and technological changes have played a major role in explaining the higher labour productivity growth in the Nordic EU countries compared with the larger euro area economies. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) diffusion is a key element to explain these differences. A number of institutional indicators, relating to market regulation, human capital, R&D investments and venture capital, show that the Nordic EU economies are better positioned than some of the larger euro area countries to exploit the opportunities provided by ICT in terms of productivity growth. However, remaining labour market rigidities may not allow the Nordic EU countries to fully enjoy the benefits of ICT diffusion in terms of increased employment.

Proceedings of the Conference on Human and Economic Resources

This paper examines the hypothesis of conditional convergence within the fifteen countries of the European Union, which became member states before May 2004, and between the groups of the same fifteen member states of EU and the ten countries that became members with the last enlargement. Basic data input was GDP per capita for all EU countries, proxy variables were savings and depreciation rate. The data consisted of time series for 50 years (1950 – 2000) for EU-15 (old EU countries), while for EU-10 (new member states) the performance in terms of GDP from 1995 to 2007 (predicted values) was analyzed. The presence of beta convergence among EU-15 countries and EU-15 and EU-10 (new EU members) countries was investigated in the first part of the empirical analysis. Starting with graphical analysis, the growth of GDP for different countries during the studied period was compared to the starting level of GDP. If the points in the graph are negatively correlated, then this is a sign of presence of beta convergence. Afterwards, the presence of beta convergence was tested by using the same but formalized approach, the regression analysis. If the partial regression coefficient for GDP p.c. is positive and statistically significant, then the presence of beta convergence among selected group of countries can be confirmed with statistical certainty. In the last part of the empirical analysis the presence of sigma convergence was tested. This type of convergence can be calculated as standard deviation of logarithms of GDP p.c. in the group of countries. This procedure measures the dispersion around determined average. If the dispersion is decreasing, that means that the countries are becoming increasingly similar to each other, in terms of the GDP p.c., and one can confirm the (sigma) convergence. In both samples highly statistically significant beta convergence was confirmed. Furthermore, sigma convergence was discovered and proved. This confirms the hypothesis of convergence among the fifteen countries of the European Union in the period from 1950 to 2000. Additionally, convergence of ten EU newcomers to the average level of standards of living in the fifteen countries of the EU in the years from 1995 to 2007 is also discovered. Both confirm the existence of forces of convergence among the member states of the European Union. One of the main objectives of the European Union is real convergence among the member states. To achieve this goal the EU formed a cohesion policy and backed it up with important structural funds. Those are used to finance projects in less developed member countries, such as improving the infrastructure and educational system and to restructure less perspectives industries. In this paper, the real convergence among old and new member countries was proved, which proves that Europe did not fail to reach one of its basic aims.convergence, sigma convergence, EU