Azerbaijan in Transition

Jens Hölsche

The effects of Brexit on the EU, the UK and Dorset – a migrant’s account

The lecture evaluates the economic effects of Brexit on the EU taking Frankfurt as an example, the UK and in particular Dorset. Dorset stands out as having voted pro leave well above UK average. The lecture argues that Brexit is against the interest of Dorset businesses except for the tourism sector. The overall effect on the UK is presented as negative for the economy, whereas there will e a small positive effect on the EU. Much will however depend on whether there will be a hard Brexit or transitional arrangements can be established

20 Jahre wirtschaftstransformation - Fortschritte und fehlschläge

Eine Bestandsaufnahme von 20 Jahren Writschaftstransformation im ehemaligen Ostblock inmitten der Weltwirschaftskrise stellt eine besondere Herausforderung dar, weil Effekte der globalen Krise von den Wirkungen des Transformationsprozesses eo ipso unterschieden werden müssen. Andererseits wird die Aufgabe dadurch vereinfacht, daβ in der Krise strukturelle Stärken und Schwächen in den Transformationsländern klarer zutage treten. Die Stimmung in der Region ist insgesamt schlecht und die anfangs euphorischen Erwartungen in der Bevölkerung im Hinblick auf die Verbesserung der wirtschaftlichen Lage sind bitter enttäuscht worden. Jedoch gibt es Unterschiede. Im Rückblick lassen sich Unterschiede in den Ergebnisen der Transformation auf die Umsetzung wirtschaftspolitischer Konzepte in den jeweiligen zurückführen

Euro - Quo vadis?

Article is in Germa

Comparative Analyses of the Banking Environment in Transition Countries

This paper investigates the dynamics of the banking environment in early and late transition countries for the period 2000-2012. We consider macroeconomic, governance, economic freedom, financial depth, industrial, bankspecific, and CSR variables to compare the banking environment in transition countries. Our analyses show the presence of differences in the banking environment of two groups of transition countries: however, this gap shrunk over the period 2000-2012. The late transition countries have lower scores in the variables ‘Investment’ and ‘Financial freedom’, implying that in the future the governments of these countries may focus on improving the investment and financial climate

Antecedents of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Banks of Central Eastern Europe and in the Countries of the Former Soviet Union

This article explores the determinants of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) in the banking sector of the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), as well as those of the former Soviet Union (FSU). Our panel fixed-logit results for 237 banks, covering the period 2000–2012, show that while financial performance is not associated with CSR, larger banks are more likely to engage in CSR. Additionally, a government’s effectiveness and its regulatory quality increase the likelihood that the banks will engage in social activities. A range of possible approaches that governments can take to encourage social activities in the banking sector of transition countries are provided. Overall, our results are consistent with the theory that the necessary conditions must be in place to support CSR, which seem to be absent in the countries under investigation

Regulations, market power and stability in the banking sector of transition countries

This study explores the channels through which the regulations impact on stability in the banking sector of the transition countries. We argue that the channels through which the different regulations affecting stability vary between EU-member and non-EU transition countries. Our study considers 370 banks from 20 transition countries for the period 2001–2013, where 11 are EU-member (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) and 9 are non-EU (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine) states. Our results show that higher economic growth and less competitive conditions would lead to a more stable banking sector in early (EU-member) transition countries. Moreover, the stabilization effect of different regulations suchas capital requirement, activity restrictions and supervisors (mainly Central Banks and other government bodies) is higher to the banks with higher market power. For non-EU transition countries we find that higher inflation rates significantly impact on higher levels of risk taking. However, capital requirements have a stabilization effect and thus its higher level leads to more stable banking sectors in both groups of countries. Overall, our results are consistent with the theory that the outcome of the regulations-reforms varies across countries according to their institutional development and therefore the impact of banking regulation is different between EU-member (early) and non-EU member (late) transition countries

Social Corporate Responsibility in Transition Countries

This article explores the determinants of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) in the banking sector of the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), as well as those of the former Soviet Union (FSU. Our panel fixed-logit results for 237 banks, covering the period 2000–2012,show that while financial performance is not associated with CSR, larger banks are more likely to engage in CSR. Additionally,a government’s effectiveness and its regulatory quality increase the likelihood that the banks will engage in social activities. A range of possible approaches that governments can take to encourage social activities in the banking sector of transition countries are provided. Overall, our results are consistent with the theory that the necessary conditions must be in place to support CSR, which seem to be absent in the countries under investigatio