The Agrarian Trade Transformation in the Visegrad Countries

This paper identifies and analyzes the changes that have occurred in terms of territorial and commodity structure of agrarian trade (exports) of countries of the Visegrad Group (or V4 -i.e. Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia) in the period 1993-2008. In terms of methodological approaches, the analysis is divided into several parts dealing with the development of the agrarian trade of the Visegrad Group in terms of commodity and territorial structure, as well as from the perspective of the sensitivity of agrarian trade (exports) to the changing economic environment. The paper concludes that in recent years, both the value and volume of V4 export and import operations increased significantly. In the case of exports, individual countries have managed increasing its volumes of exported sophisticated products. The share of current EU members on the value of V4 agricultural trade is increasing at the expense of trade with "third countries". EU accession and its common market forced all analyzed V4 countries to restructure the export commodity structure and most of them (excluding Hungary) have been able to export in the EU market sophisticated products with higher unit prices. It is expected that with the intensification of V4 integration within the EU single market, prices of agrarian exports will rise further. V4 countries are going through a gradual process of specialization of exports of a limited number of aggregate commodity groups. Various specific factors might cause an overall restructuring of the agrarian sector and foreign trade activities in the V4 countries.Agrarian Trade, Visegrad Countries, European Union., International Relations/Trade,

The influence of official development assistance on economical development of the selected groups of developing countries around the world

The current financial crisis influenced the whole economy around the world. Almost all sectors of human activities and all countries are affected by its impacts. While in the past all kinds of crises had an effect on developing countries and in case of developed countries only selected sectors of the national economy were involved, the current crisis, which started in the second half of 2008, seriously affected not only developing countries but also developed countries. During the last several decades, we became witnesses of a permanently increasing gap between developing and developed countries. While only few developed countries with about 1.2 billion people produced about 80 % of the world GDP, the rest of the world represented by developing countries with about 5.8 billion people produced only 20 % of the world GDP. Many different ideas were proposed to improve the situation in case of developing countries and to eliminate the gap between the rich “North†and the poor “Southâ€. All initiatives are based on a cooperation between developed and developing countries. This cooperation is based not only on the economical and political cooperation, but also on a very intensive developing aid provided by developed countries and international institutions. The aid is offered in many forms (financial, food or development aid). The main aim of our paper is to evaluate the value and flows of possible forms of aid which were offered to developing countries in the period before the financial crisis and the next step is to estimate how the current financial crisis affects developing aid flows.Aid, development assistance, economic growth, developing countries, Political Economy,

What is the structure of the coffee market: Can the real poor benefit from the coffee trade?

This article deals with the trade with coffee. The primary aim of the paper is to analyse the international coffee trade. Because coffee belongs to the cash crops we have focus on the production. We have analysed the structure of the trade concerning the green (not roasted) coffee, roasted coffee and coffee extracts, essences or concentrates. The analyses of production show enormous differences between developed and developing countries on the supply side. Dissimilarity appeared in the price system. Our results show that developing countries (especially least developed countries) cannot fully benefit from the international trade because they are placed just on the lowest level of the production vertical line. The results prove that there must exist strong influence of the supply chains. This is connected with the export of roasted coffee and import of the green coffee.Coffee market, international trade, prices, supply chains, developing countries, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Relations/Trade, GA, IN,

Is there any future for cash crops in developing countries? The case of vanilla.

A generally used term for easy marketable commodities usually with high prices is cash crops As a result of it these commodities are produced by many developing and especially least developed countries (LDC). These crops have witnessed fluctuation in prices during the last decade. We can suppose that these products would be the domain of developing countries nevertheless the opposite is true. Vanilla is a very good example of those products especially because just very few producers exist. We can suppose that vanilla trade would be the sphere of very few producers and beside that the agents would deal mostly with the demand site on the international market. However, the international vanilla market shows slight differences. Nevertheless, it can be grown just in very few areas. Madagascar belongs between the most well known producers. The aim of this paper is to analyse the international vanilla trade with regards to the production and consumption side and specifics of cash crops in general. International vanilla trade is even higher than the production itself. These results indicate that vanilla is being re-exported and the trade is not just a normal commodity trade but being use as a investment instrument as well.Cash crops, vanilla, international trade, RCA., Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, GA, IN,

Would Russian solar energy projects be feasible independent of state subsidies?

This paper explores the critical question of the sustainability of Russian solar energy initiatives in the absence of governmental financial support. The study aims to determine if Russian energy companies can maintain operations in the solar energy sector without relying on direct state subsidies. Methodologically, the analysis utilizes established investment metrics such as Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Discounted Payback Period (DPP), tailored to reflect the unique technical and economic aspects of Russian solar energy facilities and to evaluate the influence of sector-specific risks on project efficiency, using a rating approach. We examined eleven solar energy projects under ten different scenarios to understand the dynamics of direct state support, exploring variations in support cessation, reductions in financial assistance, and the projects' resilience to external risk factors. Our multi-criteria scenario assessment indicates that, under the prevailing market conditions, the Russian solar energy sector is not yet equipped to operate efficiently without ongoing state financial subsidies. Interestingly, our findings also suggest that the solar energy sector in Russia has a greater potential to reduce its dependence on state support compared to the wind energy sector. Based on these insights, we propose energy policy recommendations aimed at gradually minimizing direct government funding in the Russian renewable energy market. This strategy is designed to foster self-sufficiency and growth in the solar energy sector.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

COVID-19 Resilience Index in European Union Countries Based on Their Risk and Readiness Scale

© 2023 Aboelnaga et al.Addressing risks and pandemics at a country level is a complex task that requires transdisciplinary approaches. The paper aims to identify groups of the European Union countries characterized by a similar COVID-19 Resilience Index (CRI). Developed in the paper CRI index reflects the countries’ COVID-19 risk and their readiness for a crisis situation, including a pandemic. Moreover, the study detects the factors that significantly differentiate the distinguished groups. According to our research, Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta, and Poland have the lowest COVID-19 Resilience Index score, with Croatia, Greece, Czechia, and Slovakia following close. At the same time, Ireland and Scandinavian countries occupy the top of the leader board, followed by Luxemburg. The Kruskal-Wallis test results indicate four COVID-19 risk indicators that significantly differentiate the countries in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the significant factors are not only COVID-19-related factors, i.e., the changes in residential human mobility, the stringency of anti-COVID-19 policy, but also strictly environmental factors, namely pollution and material footprint. It indicates that the most critical global environmental issues might be crucial in the phase of a future pandemic. Moreover, we detect eight readiness factors that significantly differentiate the analysed country groups. Among the significant factors are the economic indicators such as GDP per capita and labour markets, the governance indicators such as Rule of Law, Access to Information, Implementation and Adaptability measures, and social indicators such as Tertiary Attainment and Research, Innovation, and Infrastructure.Unfunde

Understanding the socio-economic causes of deforestation: a global perspective

IntroductionThis paper investigates the links between deforestation and key economic, social, environmental, and geographical variables. We focus on per capita GDP, total forest cover, and the population across a diverse sample of countries from five continents for the last three decades.MethodsThis study utilizes a regression model using panel data to show the impact of key economic, and social variables on deforestation. Also, set of dummy variables is introduced in the paper. To enable the investigation, we use a set of dummies to capture their influence. The random effect specifications are used in this investigation. The research focuses on a period ranging from 1990 to 2020.ResultsResults show how different socio-economic variables influence deforestation. For example, disruptive events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crisis had a negative effect on forest area development across all models. GDP per capita has different impact depending on the size of a country. Former colonies seem to have more deforestation.ConclusionsThe global environmental challenges posed by human activities and their impact on the state of forest have become increasingly evident. It is necessary to undertake policy and governance reforms to establish a solid legal framework, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and foster transparency and accountability. The promotion of sustainable agriculture and agroforestry practices can substantially alleviate pressure on forests. Furthermore, it is necessary to mitigate disruptive events like pandemics by establishing specific strategies and creating contingency plans

Development of Agricultural Trade of Visegrad Group Countries in Relation to EU and Third Countries

Despite the continually growing value of agricultural trade of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, agricultural trade in the case of all of the countries of the Visegrad group represents only a marginal part of the total merchandise trade. The agricultural trade of the individual analyzed countries is, both in terms of the commodity structure as well as the territorial structure, very distinctly concentrated. The overwhelming majority of agricultural trade – export as well as import – je conducted in relation to EU countries. These countries participate in agricultural trade of individual countries of the V4 group with a share of over 80%. If we focus on the actual objective of the article, which was to identify the comparative advantages of agricultural trade of the V4 countries in the area of commodity structure and territorial structure, both in relation to the global market, as well as in relation to EU27, the following may be stated. The agricultural trade of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary as a whole does not have comparative advantages either on the global market or on the internal market of the EU countries. However, Poland as the only representative of the V4 countries has comparative advantages in the field of agricultural trade, in relation to both the internal market of the EU countries, as well as in relation to the global market (to the market of third countries). If we focus on the territory of the EU27 countries, which represents the main trading partner of all of the analyzed countries, both in terms of exports as well as in terms of imports, it may be stated that despite the fact that the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary do not have comparative advantages in the area of agricultural trade in regard to the EU as a whole, they are able to achieve comparative advantages at the level of bilateral relationships with individual member countries of the EU. This paper is part of a research project carried out within the framework of the grant no. 6046070906, funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic

The influence of official development assistance on economical development of the selected groups of developing countries around the world

The current financial crisis influenced the whole economy around the world. Almost all sectors of human activities and all countries are affected by its impacts. While in the past all kinds of crises had an effect on developing countries and in case of developed countries only selected sectors of the national economy were involved, the current crisis, which started in the second half of 2008, seriously affected not only developing countries but also developed countries. During the last several decades, we became witnesses of a permanently increasing gap between developing and developed countries. While only few developed countries with about 1.2 billion people produced about 80 % of the world GDP, the rest of the world represented by developing countries with about 5.8 billion people produced only 20 % of the world GDP. Many different ideas were proposed to improve the situation in case of developing countries and to eliminate the gap between the rich “North” and the poor “South”. All initiatives are based on a cooperation between developed and developing countries. This cooperation is based not only on the economical and political cooperation, but also on a very intensive developing aid provided by developed countries and international institutions. The aid is offered in many forms (financial, food or development aid). The main aim of our paper is to evaluate the value and flows of possible forms of aid which were offered to developing countries in the period before the financial crisis and the next step is to estimate how the current financial crisis affects developing aid flows

Development of Visegrad Countries’ Agricultural Trade in Relation to Agricultural Production Development

The paper is devoted to the analysis of Visegrad coutries’ agricultural production and trade relationship. The objective is to analyze changes in agricultural production in relation to individual countries’ agricultural foreign trade performance and to identify the most important changes in area of Visegrad members’ agrarian production and trade performance and competitiveness. During the period 1993 – 2010, Visegrad countries’ agricultural production and trade were significantly affected. The volume of agricultural production was reduced especially in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The reduction of agricultural and foodstuff production volume in the Czech Republic and Slovakia resulted in the significant growth of imports. Hungarian trade was also negatively affected by its agricultural sector and foodstuff industry stagnation. Only Poland was able during the analyzed time period significantly improve its production and trade performance. Agricultural trade of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary does not have comparative advantages in relation to the EU and third countries market. Only Poland does have comparative advantages in the field of agricultural trade, both in relation to the EU market, as well as in relation to the global market. This paper was supported by the institutional research intentions MSM 6046070906