The educational attainment, labour market participation and living conditions of young Roma in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania

This paper investigates the educational attainment, labour market participation and living conditions of young Roma adults in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania based on data from the generations and gender surveys and other sources of information. It shows that in spite of a small improvement in the educational attainment of young Roma in comparison to the generation of their parents, the educational achievement and employment gaps have increased considerably during the post-communist period. The paper also compares living conditions of the Roma with other population groups. It concludes with a discussion of policy challenges.minorities, Roma, discrimination, employment, education, transition

The Contemporary Relevance of Marx's Economics: Theory and Evidence

This paper examines the validity of Marx's fundamental propositions in a nonantiquarian setting. Marx predicted three long-period tendencies of capitalist development of production technology towards (1) full automation, (2) destruction of the ecological base of the production system, and (3) falling rate of profit. A contemporary production model in the Leontief-Marx-Sraffa tradition is developed and applied to Canadian interindustry data of the 1961-80 period in order to assess the relevance of these hypothetical statements. On the basis of this application, it appears that all three tendencies manifest themselves in the industrial evolution of the Canadian economy.

Middle Age Preschoolers' Cognitive Interest's Formation in Observing the Nature

Kvalifikācijas darba temats „Vidējā pirmsskolas vecuma bērnu izziņas intereses veidošanās dabas vērojumos”. Darba autore: Viktorija Cekota Zinātniskā vadītāja: Kvalifikācijas darba apjoms: 62 lpp., 8 tabulas, 21 attēls, 6 pielikumi, izmantoti 37 literatūras avoti. Kvalifikācijas darbā ir veikt teorētiskais un empīriskais pētījums, kura mērķis ir izpētīt iespējas veidot bērnu izziņas interesi dabas vērojumos. Kvalifikācijas darba teorētiskajā daļā tika veikta literatūras analīze par izziņas intereses būtību un tās veidošanas iespējām vidējā pirmsskolas vecuma bērniem, raksturoti dabas vērojumi, kā bērnu izziņas intereses veidošanās nosacījumi. Kvalifikācijas darba empīriskajā pētījumā tika pārbaidīta izvirzītā hipotēze, ka vidējā pirmsskolas vecuma bērnu izziņas intereses veidošanās būs efektīvāka, ja: bērni tiks iesaistīti dabas vērojumos, kas atbilst bērnu interesēm un vecuma attīstības īpatnībām; dabas vērojumos tiks ņemta vērā bērnu pieredze. Izvirzītā hipotēze empīriskā pētījuma rezultātā tika apstiprināta. Tāpat kvalifikācijas darbā tika izveidotas rekomendācijas pirmsskolas izglītības iestādes skolotājām par bērnu izziņas intereses attīstīšanas iespējām dabas vērojumos, izdarīti secinājumi un piedāvāti priekšlikumi. Atslēgas vārdi: IZZIŅAS INTERESE, DABAS VĒROJUMI, VEIDOŠANĀS. Kvalifikācijas darbs praktiski var būt lietderīgs pirmsskolas skolotāju darbā ar vidējā pirmsskolas vecuma bērniem izziņas intereses veidošanā un pilnveidošanā.The theme of qualification paper is “Middle age preschoolers' cognitive interest’s formation in observing the nature". The author of paper: Viktorija Cekota The adviser: The volume of qualification paper: 62 pages, 8 charts, 21 pictures, 6 appendices, 37 literature sources. The aim of the research to explore the possibilities of the child's cognitive interests formation in observing the nature. The research has two parts: theoretical and practical. In the theoretical part of qualification paper has been researched the literature about cognitive interests and developing possibilities of middle aged preschoolers, the characteristic of observing the nature as the circumstance of formation of child's cognitive interests. In the practical part the author has been validated the hypothesis that middle age preschoolers’ cognitive interests formation can be effectively, if: child is involved in observing of nature that corresponds to child's interests and common development; child's experience has been considered. The hypothesis has been validated as a result of the research of practical part. The recommendations to preschool teachers about possibilities of the child's cognitive interests formation in observing the nature has been made, conclusions have been drawn, and suggestions have been offered. The key words: COGNITIVE INTERESTS, OBSERVING THE NATURE, FORMATION. The results of research could be used in the kindergarten in middle age preschoolers' cognitive interest’s formation

The political economy of disarmament in the 1990s

Summary in EnglishAvailable from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, Duesternbrook Weg 120, D-24105 Kiel A 191635 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Central Asia

UNITED NATIONSThe UNECE series of Discussion Papers is intended to make available to a wider audience papers on matters of topical interest that have been prepared by the staff of the secretariat or commissioned by the secretariat from external experts. The purpose of the Discussion Papers is to contribute to the analysis and discussion of economic developments and policies in the UNECE region. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the secretariat or of the member governments of the UNECE

Technological Change in Canada (1961-80): An Application of the Surrogate Wage Function.

This paper applies C. Ozol's surrogate wage function to Canadian input-output data to analyz e the general properties of technological change during the 1961-80 p eriod. Technological change manifests itself in the shifts of the est imated surrogate wage curves which indicate the changing capital and labor intensities of the production system. The empirical results of this study imply that technological progress in Canada is generally l abor saving over the entire 1961-80 period and capital saving over th e 1961-66 period. The actual tendencies of the technological evolutio n investigated appear to be explained by the continuous mechanization of the production process.

Les problèmes de main-d'œuvre en Tchécoslovaquie

Manpower Problems in Czechoslovakia. The paper focuses on labor shortages in Czechoslovakia and their treatment. In the first part, factors which brought about declining growth rates of gainfully active population are discussed, and then the reasons for the ineffective utilization of labor. In the second part, government provisions aimed at coping with labor shortages are analyzed. The provisions pursue two goals — increase in labor supply and improvement in the utilization of the labor force. For the purpose of the latter goal a mix of administrative and non-administrative methods is used. Incentives used for individuals and enterprises (by wage regulation) are discussed and evaluated in some detail.L'article est consacré à la pénurie de main-d'œuvre en Tchécoslovaquie et aux mesures prises pour tenter d'y remédier. Dans la première partie, les facteurs ayant provoqué un déclin des taux d'accroissement de la population active sont analysés ainsi que les causes de l'utilisation inefficace de la main-d'œuvre. Dans la seconde partie, on traite des mesures gouvernementales destinées à faire face au manque de main-d'œuvre. Les mesures poursuivent deux objectifs : accroître l'offre en main-d'œuvre et améliorer l'utilisation de celle-ci. En ce qui concerne ce dernier objectif, on applique des méthodes à la fois administratives et non-administratives. Les stimulants concernant les individus et les entreprises (par la régulation des salaires) sont discutés et analysés de manière relativement détaillée.Adam J., Cekota Jaromir. Les problèmes de main-d'œuvre en Tchécoslovaquie. In: Revue d'études comparatives Est-Ouest, vol. 11, 1980, n°4. pp. 73-93

Coping with Population Ageing in Hungary

This paper examines economic challenges posed by the combination of an ageing and declining population in Hungary and develops policy-oriented recommendations for addressing them. The authors identify the scale and specific properties of the demographic problem in Hungary where the population started to decline earlier than in any other OECD country. Public support for the elderly is provided by the social-security pension system and the healthcare system. While the former was reformed with partial success in the late 1990s, the latter developed less successfully, threatening to generate massive deficits in the long run. Projections indicate that even the public pension system may become unsustainable, unless the authorities restore the parameters of the original reform and encourage successfully higher labour force participation. In this context, measures to improve employability of the numerically strong and growing Roma minority are particularly pertinent. The healthcare sector ... Le problème du vieillissement démographique en Hongrie Le présent document examine les problèmes économiques posés par la conjonction du vieillissement et de la diminution de la population hongroise et propose des recommandations d'action pour y remédier. Les auteurs analysent l'ampleur et les caractéristiques du problème démographique en Hongrie, où la population a commencé à se réduire plus tôt que dans les autres pays de l'OCDE. Les personnes âgées bénéficient d'aides de l'Etat par le biais du système d'assurance sociale au titre des pensions et du système de santé. Si le premier a été réformé avec un certain succès à la fin des années 90, l'évolution du second est plus préoccupante et risque de se traduire par de très importants déficits à long terme. Si l'on en juge d'après les prévisions, le système public de pensions pourrait lui-même ne pas être tenable en longue période, à moins que les autorités ne modifient les paramètres de la réforme initiale et n'obtiennent une élévation du taux d'activité. Dans ce contexte, des mesures ...Hungary, population ageing, health care, pensions, long-term projections, prévisions à long terme, vieillissement démographique, pensions, services de santé, Hongrie