National Celebrations from an Outsider’s Perspective. May 17th in Bergen as an Expression of Social Memory

The focus of this paper is the social memory dimension of May 17th, the Norwegian Constitution Day, as organized and acted out in Bergen in 2005. The celebrations are approached through Pierre Nora's concept of "realms of memory". The author places emphasis on the participants' sensory and bodily experience. She also discusses the way her outsider's gaze into May 17th reflects the way she experienced national holidays in Croatia. The event is perceived from two different perspectives: by following in the foot-steps of the main orgabizers, the May 17th Committee members, and by experiencing the day in the company of members of a family living in Bergen. In that way, the author obtained some insight into the official discourse about May 17th, as well as into one private interpretation of the occasion. For these informants, rememberance and the national component played a significant part of their celebrations. The author concludes that not only motifs relating to 1814, the year of the drafting of the new constitution at Eidsvoll, were noticeable at the celebrations. Motifs evoking the Viking era and WW2 were also present. This is why the author concludes that it is the glorious past that societies remember during contemporary May 17th celebrations

Nadilaženje nove makroekonomske ortodoksije u eurozoni: post-kejnezijanski pogled

The main aim of this paper is to empirically test the endogenous money hypothesis for the Eurozone. Based on data on loans to private sector, deposits, monetary aggregates, prices and GDP we use three empirical approaches to test the hypothesis: (i) moving correlation; (ii) Granger causality tests and (iii) original framework for the analysis based on the structural VAR model. The empirical results confirm our main hypothesis on the endogeneity of money in the Eurozone as they show that the commonly accepted neoclassical relations between monetary variables, inflation and economic activity are reversed in case of Eurozone and that the direction of influence goes from loans to deposits and from real sector of the economy towards the monetary sector. The basic conclusion from carried out research is that ECB should implement measures directly aimed at stimulation of domestic demand (monetary-supported tax cut).Temeljna svrha ovog rada je empirijski testirati hipotezu endogenosti novca u eurozoni. Na temelju podataka o kreditima privatnom sektoru, depozitima, monetarnim agregatima, cijenama i BDP-u autori u radu koriste tri empirijska pristupa za testiranje hipoteze: (i) pomičnu korelaciju; (ii) Grangerov test uzročnosti i (iii) originalni metodološki okvir temeljen na strukturnom VAR modelu. Empirijski rezultati potvrđuju našu temeljnu hipotezu o endogenosti novca u eurozoni budući da pokazuju kako su općeprihvaćeni neoklasični odnosi između monetarnih varijabli, inflacije i ekonomske aktivnosti u slučaju eurozone preokrenuti te kako se smjer utjecaja kreće od kredita prema depozitima te od realnog sektora prema monetarnom sektoru. Temeljni zaključak provedenog istraživanja je da bi Europska središnja banka trebala implementirati mjere direktno usmjerene na poticanje agregatne potražnje (monetarno-financirano porezno rasterećenje)

HRVATSKI PUT PREMA ERM 2: ZAŠTO, KAKO I ŠTO MOŽEMO NAUČITI OD DRUGIH ZEMALJA?

In this paper we analyze different aspects of Croatian path to the monetary union and its current readiness to join the ERM 2 mechanism. Firstly, we present and discuss costs and benefits of euro adoption. Second, we use descriptive analysis to determine Croatia’s current position in relation to convergence criteria and discuss the possible timing of Croatian accession to the ERM 2. Thirdly, we analyze experiences of two NMS peers, Slovenia and Slovakia, before and after joining ERM 2 and highlight key lessons for Croatian policy makers. As Croatia is highly euroised (high FX risk) small and open economy, strongly integrated in EA trade and financial chains, with limited possibilities of monetary policy, the benefits of euro adoption would outweigh all commonly mentioned costs. Regarding convergence criteria, the biggest obstacle of Croatian access to ERM 2 mechanism is the level of public debt but recent developments and adjustments of SGP suggest that Croatia could satisfy the adjusted fiscal criteria already in several years. Experiences of Slovenia and Slovakia show that determined steps towards the euro (primarily ERM 2) can serve as an important policy credibility anchor and put a positive pressure on policy makers to preserve internal and external stability of the country and implement various structural reforms in order to achieve convergence with the euro zone members.U ovom radu autori analiziraju različite aspekte pristupanja Hrvatske europodručju i ocjenjuju trenutačnu spremnost Hrvatske za ulazak u tečajni mehanizam ERM 2. Prvo, u radu se sažeto prikazuju potencijalni troškovi i koristi od uvođenja eura kao nacionalne valute. Drugo, koristeći metodu deskriptivne statistike, autori utvrđuju trenutačnu poziciju Hrvatske u odnosu na konvergencijske kriterije te određuju potencijalni (realističan) trenutak ulaska u tečajni mehanizam ERM 2. Treće, autori analiziraju iskustva usporedivih zemalja članica Nove Europe, Slovenije i Slovačke, prije i nakon ulaska u ERM 2 te ističu ključne pouke za nositelje politike u Hrvatskoj. Budući da je Hrvatska visoko euroizirana, mala, otvorena ekonomija, snažno integrirana u trgovinske i financijske tokove europodručja te da već ima ograničen suverenitet monetarne politike, u radu se zaključuje kako potencijalne prednosti uvođenja eura nadmašuju sve potencijalne troškove. Što se tiče konvergencijskih kriterija, najveća prepreka ulasku u ERM 2 predstavlja visoka razina javnog duga, ali nedavne izmjene Pakta o stabilnosti i rastu te uvođenje novog kriterija duga omogućavaju Hrvatskoj da zadovolji i novi kriterij duga u sljedećih nekoliko godina. Iskustva Slovenije i Slovačke pokazuju da odlučan put prema euru (prvenstveno boravak u ERM 2) može poslužiti kao važno sidro kredibiliteta ekonomske politike i potaknuti nositelje politike da očuvaju internu i eksternu stabilnost zemlje te implementiraju različite strukturne reforme kako bi ostvarili što veći stupanj konvergencije prema zemljama euro područja

Kulture sjećanja, krajolici zaborava: primjer Partizanskog groblja u Mostaru

The war and political turmoil in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s had an impact on the creation of new cultural and political identities, but also mnemonic systems. In order to delineate the social dynamics we considered the changes that the spaces shaped during socialism as places of memory had gone through. By researching that process, the creation of the landscapes of forgetting is being analysed. The paper focuses on the Partisan Cemetery, a monument from 1965 in Mostar. It sheds light on the changes in spatial planning practices, but also everyday practices related to the memorial cemetery. In conclusion, younger generations of Mostar residents’ narratives on the Partisan Cemetery and its (possible) usages are analysed.Ovaj se članak bavi materijalizacijama sjećanja kojima se pristupa kao važnim sastavnicama politika pamćenja. Naglasak je pritom na spomenicima kao objektima koji se proizvode u skladu s aktualnim društvenim trenutkom kako bi se poželjno sjećanje na odabrane povijesne epizode od nacionalnog značenja upisalo u prostor i učinilo dijelom svakodnevice. Komunikacija između materijalnosti u prostoru i ljudi koji joj pridaju ili oduzimaju značenje ključ je etnološkog i kulturnoantropološkog proučavanja spomenika. Temeljno pitanje koje se ovim radom problematizira glasi: što se događa s materijalizacijama sjećanja na onu prošlost koja, promjenom političkog poretka, više ne predstavlja jedan od simboličkih temelja države te, u novim okolnostima, postaje marginalnom i nepodobnom? Procesi koji se tada zapažaju u prostoru mogu se definirati kao tvorba krajolika zaborava. Navedena se pitanja osvjetljavaju na primjeru spomeničkog kompleksa Partizansko groblje, autora Bogdana Bogdanovića, koje je podignuto u Mostaru 1965. godine kao spomen na borbu za oslobođenje grada protiv njemačkog Wehrmachta. Dok je ovaj spomenik u socijalističkoj prošlosti Bosne i Hercegovine, u skladu s ondašnjom ideologijom, predstavljao značajno spomen-mjesto vezano uz Narodnooslobodilačku borbu, tijekom ratnih događanja u devedesetim godinama prošlog stoljeća potonuo je u kolektivni zaborav. Zbog zapuštenosti i devastiranosti, Partizansko groblje pretvara se u mjesto na kojem rez sa socijalističkom prošlošću postaje vidljivim. Dinamički odnos političkih strategija, spomeničke baštine grada Mostara i građana u različitim razdobljima promatra se višeglasno, pri čemu se nastoji prikazati kontekst nastanka, ali i suvremenog (ne)korištenja spomeničkog kompleksa. Iz toga se razloga istraživanju pristupilo primjenom različitih kvalitativnih metoda, pri čemu se primat daje terenskom radu: promatranju ljudskih praksi na samom Partizanskom groblju te intervjuima sa stanovnicima Mostara. Naracije mlađih Mostaraca upućuju na to da se ova lokacija može promatrati i onkraj etničkih podjela u gradu i državi te da i dalje predstavlja bitnu točku u mentalnim mapama građana

Kako fikciju pretvoriti u stvarnost: stvaranje dvaju mjesta u književnoj geografiji (Sažetak)

The authors discuss the creation of literary places, based on people’s perceptions of a locality arising from their relations to particular writers and their texts. The analysis is grounded on two case studies: Ogulin in Croatia, which is the birthplace of Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, a renowned writer of fairytales, and Sel in Norway, the place where Sigrid Undset’s heroine of the historical novel Kristin Lavransdaughter spent her youth. Both cases rely on materializing the writers’ fictional universes within specific localities. Although they emerge in different contexts, these literary places exhibit common determinants that provide additional insight in the placemaking process.Autorice raspravljaju o kreiranju književnih mjesta, zasnovanih na ljudskim predodžbama o lokalitetima koje proizlaze iz njihovih veza s piscima i književnim tekstovima. Dvije studije slučaja predstavljaju temelj za analizu: Ogulin u Hrvatskoj, rodno mjesto glasovite autorice bajki Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić, te Sel u Norveškoj, mjesto u kojem je mladost provela Kristina, Lavransova kći, junakinja istoimenog povijesnog romana spisateljice Sigrid Undset. U oba je primjera riječ o materijalizaciji fiktivnih svjetova tih književnica unutar konkretnih lokaliteta. Premda se konstruiraju u različitim kontekstima, ta književna mjesta pokazuju i zajedničke odrednice koje nam pružaju dodatan uvid u procese stvaranja mjesta

Design of fiscal consolidation packages and model-based fiscal multipliers in Croatia

The widening fiscal deficits and the increase of public debt triggered by the COVID-19 crisis suggest that fiscal policy makers will have to engage in substantial fiscal consolidation in order to stabilize public finances in the mid run. However, the implementation of a fiscal consolidation package, if it is not properly designed, can be detrimental for growth and even lead to a self-defeating outcome. To avoid this undesirable scenario, fiscal policy makers should rely on growth-friendly consolidation packages. We have built semi-structural macro-fiscal model of the Croatian economy to retrieve fiscal multipliers, analyse the design of the policy package and provide model-based evaluation of the macroeconomic effects of this consolidation episode. Our results indicate that the fiscal consolidation implemented during the EDP was not growth-friendly and that it was partially self-defeating. We hope that our results can help fiscal policy makers to avoid similar policy mistakes in future fiscal consolidations.</p

Macro and micro effects of fiscal policy - experience from the Covid-19 pandemic: introduction to the thematic issue of Public Sector Economics

Guest editors Milan Deskar-Škrbić and Darjan Milutinović selected articles that provide analytical background for discussions on the economic and fiscal effects of the pandemic recession