Modeling the Regional Demoeconomic Development

The demographic and economic development of a country as well as of a single region are closely linked together. The available labor resources and migration processes are essential factors for the economic growth. On the other hand, demographic growth and migration are strongly influenced by the economic development. The joint modeling of the demographic and economic development is an important problem taking into consideration the intensive urbanization in many countries of the world. In this paper a regional demoeconomic model is described and some results of its practical application are presented. Although the model is quite simplified it gives some insight into the mutual influence of the demographic and economic factors for the development of the region

Convergence in Per Capita Income Levels, Productivity Dynamics and Real Exchange Rates in the Candidate Countries on the Way to EU Accession

One of the greatest challenges of the present round of eastern enlargement of the EU is the unprecedented gap in per capita incomes between incumbents and candidate countries and even under favorable future growth assumptions, the candidate countries still face a long process of catching up. During a catch up process there emerges an essential and fundamental economic link between nominal and real variables and hence real convergence cannot be de-coupled from nominal convergence. The link between the two surfaces in the dynamics of the real exchange rate through the "Balassa-Samuelson effect". This paper analyzes convergence in per capita income levels between present EU-member states and candidate countries and some of the implications of this process for the candidate countries addressing three main groups of issues. The first one is related to the empirical measurement of a catching precess and convergence between candidate countries and EU-member states and the paper provides some broad measures of these income gaps and their dynamics during the past decade. The second group of issues is that of the sources and economic fundamentals of a catch up process. It is argued that for a catch up process to be self-sustained, it must be based on differential productivity growth in which productivity in the candidate countries grows faster than that in the incumbent EU-member states. The third group of issues is related to the dynamics of the real exchange rate during a productivity catch up process and the implications of the Balassa-Samuelson effect. The paper analyzes the dynamics of the real exchange rates in the candidate countries and attempts to test empirically the Balassa-Samuelson effect in these countries. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the policy implications of the dichotomy "real-empirically the Balassa-Samuelson effect in these countries. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the policy implications of the dichotomy "real-cum-nominal convergence" and of the emerging "catch up inflation" for the candidate countries on the way to EU accession

The Belarus Economy: The Challenges of Stalled Reforms. wiiw Research Report No.413

Twenty-five years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus stands out as a special case in transition blending, on the one hand, signs of relative prosperity, socially oriented policies and sprouts of entrepreneurships and, on the other hand, remnants of the communist past. The core of the Belarusian economic model throughout most of this period was a combination of external rents and soft budget constraints on the state-owned part of the economy backed by a strong system of administrative control. In periods of favourable external conditions this mix provided for relatively high rates of economic growth and allowed the authorities to maintain a ‘social contract’ with the population targeting close to full employment. But this model also led to the persistent accumulation of a quasi-fiscal deficit which time and again came to the surface, and its subsequent monetisation provoked macroeconomic and currency turmoil. At present, Belarus’ economic model has run up against its limits and policy changes seem inevitable

Perspectives for artificial insemination and genomics to improve global swine populations

Civilizations throughout the world continue to depend on pig meat as an important food source. Approximately 40% of the red meat consumed annually worldwide (94 million metric tons) is pig meat. Pig numbers (940 million) and consumption have increased consistent with the increasing world population (FAO 2002). In the past 50 years, research guided genetic selection and nutrition programs have had a major impact on improving carcass composition and efficiency of production in swine. The use of artificial insemination (AI) in Europe has also had a major impact on pig improvement in the past 35 years and more recently in the USA. Several scientific advances in gamete physiology and/or manipulation have been successfully utilized while others are just beginning to be applied at the production level. Semen extenders that permit the use of fresh semen for more than 5 days post-collection are largely responsible for the success of AI in pigs worldwide. Transfer of the best genetics has been enabled by use of AI with fresh semen, and to some extent, by use of AI with frozen semen over the past 25 years. Sexed semen, now a reality, has the potential for increasing the rate of genetic progress in AI programs when used in conjunction with newly developed low sperm number insemination technology. Embryo cryopreservation provides opportunities for international transport of maternal germplasm worldwide; non-surgical transfer of viable embryos in practice is nearing reality. While production of transgenic animals has been successful, the low level of efficiency in producing these animals and lack of information on multigene interactions limit the use of the technology in applied production systems. Technologies based on research in functional genomics, proteomics and cloning have significant potential, but considerable research effort will be required before they can be utilized for AI in pig production. In the past 15 years, there has been a coordinated worldwide scientific effort to develop the genetic linkage map of the pig with the goal of identifying pigs with genetic alleles that result in improved growth rate, carcass quality, and reproductive performance. Molecular genetic tests have been developed to select pigs with improved traits such as removal of the porcine stress (RYR1) syndrome, and selection for specific estrogen receptor (ESR) alleles. Less progress has been made in developing routine tests related to diseases. Major research in genomics is being pursued to improve the efficiency of selection for healthier pigs with disease resistance properties. The sequencing of the genome of the pig to identify new genes and unique regulatory elements holds great promise to provide new information that can be used in pig production. AI, in vitro embryo production and embryo transfer will be the preferred means of implementing these new technologies to enhance efficiency of pig production in the future