Dwelling in Visaginas: the phenomenology of post-socialist town

http://www.ester.ee/record=b4422102~S1*es

Dynamics of real labour productivity and real compensation in Latvia

Relationship between labour productivity and wages is an important issue not only for economists, but also for policy makers. In the last decades, we have witnessed that in the EU15 wage growth has been lagging productivity growth. At the same time in Latvia, also in some other central and eastern European member states, wages increased more than productivity, rising concerns about disbalance in the economy. However, comparison of wage level and productivity level in Latvia and respective levels in the EU15 shows that wage level in Latvia is much below the EU15 average value in absolute terms, but also in relation to productivity level. To understand whether dissimilarities in wage and productivity development are dangerous for Latvia's economy, it is worth looking at the situation in different economic sectors, as well as make comparisons with other EU countries. The aim of the paper is to investigate the dynamics of real labour productivity and real compensation in Latvia in different economic sectors and compare with the other EU member states. The empirical analysis was conducted with comparative analysis and panel data regressions for the period from 2000 until 2017. For robustness checks, different alternative specifications compared. Our results confirm significant linkage between real labour productivity and real compensation, but not one-to-one, and the gap persists. The gap between these two variables depends on cyclical conditions, the different economic sector with their specifics, the Russian sanctions and labour market structure. The finding of the study is a necessary input for the further microanalysis of the industry which would lead to better policy-making regarding productivity improvements in Latvia

Dynamics of real labour productivity and real compensation in Latvia

Relationship between labour productivity and wages is an important issue not only for economists, but also for policy makers. In the last decades, we have witnessed that in the EU15 wage growth has been lagging productivity growth. At the same time in Latvia, also in some other central and eastern European member states, wages increased more than productivity, rising concerns about disbalance in the economy. However, comparison of wage level and productivity level in Latvia and respective levels in the EU15 shows that wage level in Latvia is much below the EU15 average value in absolute terms, but also in relation to productivity level. To understand whether dissimilarities in wage and productivity development are dangerous for Latvia's economy, it is worth looking at the situation in different economic sectors, as well as make comparisons with other EU countries. The aim of the paper is to investigate the dynamics of real labour productivity and real compensation in Latvia in different economic sectors and compare with the other EU member states. The empirical analysis was conducted with comparative analysis and panel data regressions for the period from 2000 until 2017. For robustness checks, different alternative specifications compared. Our results confirm significant linkage between real labour productivity and real compensation, but not one-to-one, and the gap persists. The gap between these two variables depends on cyclical conditions, the different economic sector with their specifics, the Russian sanctions and labour market structure. The finding of the study is a necessary input for the further microanalysis of the industry which would lead to better policy-making regarding productivity improvements in Latvia

Nature reserve Aklais mire

Aklā purva veidošanās, biotopi, augi un dzīvnieki

Digital competence rating and economic development in the EU

Diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) in different areas has accelerated the growth of the global economy. It has large impact to the business by transforming processes, creating new services, industries. ICT development requires new technologies and new approaches to innovate and integrate. The European Commission stated: "The Internet and digital technologies are transforming the lives we lead, the way we work – as individuals, in business, and in our communities as they become more integrated across all sectors of our economy and society". The access to high-speed digital infrastructures, skills of the effective usage of highly developed digital technologies represents the prerequisite productivity and the social inclusion in the digital economy. Development of new technologies and applications demands respective skills and competences of the citizens. That also leads to problems related to measurement of the level of digitization of the economy. There are several institutions that evaluate digital competences. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), developed by the European Commission, is a composite index that summarises relevant indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU member states in digital competitiveness. The aim of the paper is an empirical verification of the assumption that ICT factors (measured by DESI components) affect national economic development. This study uses statistical and econometrical methods to examine the relationship between ICT factors, digital competence indicators and economic development in the EU through statistical evidence. A panel data analysis confirmed significant linkage between ICT factors (infrastructure, competence, investment and trade size) and economic growth in the EU countries. Taking into consideration the digitalization trends, could be stated that there is still a huge potential for progress and growth

The reasons for the establishment of the Health psychology in Latvia

Health Psychology, based on biopsychosocial approach, addresses the issues of individual, group and society's physical, social and mental health. Today, in Europe and the U.S., it has been defined as one of the branches of psychology. Also, it has started in positioning in Latvia. This paper discusses the necessity of establishing and development of the field and education of health psychology in Latvia, clarifies the meaning and the framework of the health psychology, as well as offers a description of the scope of specialists’ activity and the tendencies of research in this field

Emotional geographies of activism during the Donbas war in Ukraine

The Euromaidan protests that swept Ukraine in the winter months of 2013 – 2014 marked the beginning of unprecedented crisis, including Russia’s annexation of Crimea and a start of the protracted armed conflict in the Donbas region. The classical geopolitical analysis that has dominated much of the literature on these events privileges certain apparently ‘bounded’ sites, geographical scales and bodies; while obscuring others and rendering them seemingly irrelevant to these sweeping changes. Inspired by a theoretical framework of feminist geopolitics that is sensitive to the ‘emotional turn’ within geography, this thesis redresses this imbalance by bringing sharply into focus the emotions of activists as an alternative spatialisation of the geopolitical. Bringing three distinct geographical literature sets into conversation (feminist geopolitics, emotional geographies, geographies of protest and activism), this thesis asks: What emotional geographies are revealed by focusing on activism during the Donbas war in Ukraine, and how do these emotional geographies contribute to a more nuanced understanding of this geopolitical crisis? To answer this question, this dissertation draws on empirical material collected during fifteen months of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in Ukraine (April 2015 – July 2016). This work traces connections between intimacy and geopolitics in the everyday lives of activists, demonstrating how these scales are interconnected through the emotional intensities of fear, anxiety, blame, and care