In Search of the Market: Lessons from Analyzing Agricultural Transition in Central and Eastern Europe

Studies of the transition process remind us of Stiglitz's comparison between pathology and the economic analysis of institutions (1989): asking what went wrong and what did not is the essence of understanding the functioning of social systems. Thus, carefully conducted empirical studies of the transition process itself may yield elucidative results applicable not only to theory but also to institutional policy changes in transition. This paper presents the key findings of KATO, a comprehensive research project focussing on the transition process of agriculture in Central and Eastern Europe. From 1997 to 2000, the project empirically examined processes of liberalization and market development, privatization and property rights changes, as well as restructuring and path dependencies in three Central and Eastern Europe countries: Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Conclusions on three analytical levels are drawn: (1) the empirical design for analyzing rapidly changing and evolving institutions in transition economies, (2) the suitability of different theoretical approaches for understanding transition, and (3) policy recommendations targeting better governance and an improved institutional framework.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Market Access Strategies in the EU Banking Sector - Obstacles and Benefits towards an integrated European Retail Market

The integration process in the European banking sector considerably differs with regard to product types. Deep integration can be observed in the money market as well as the market for wholesale products. In contrast to that, a strong segmentation of national markets still exists in the field of retail products. In this context, the paper analyses market access strategies of European banks. The analysis is based both on aggregate sectoral data and on four company case studies (BSCH, Nordea Group, BNP Paribas and HSBC). It is explored to which extent different market access strategies contribute to the integration of the European retail markets. A clear result is that mergers and acquisition as well as cooperations and strategic alliances form the most important market access strategies. Direct cross-border sales and the establishment of branches and subsidiaries are of minor importance. All strategies are complicated by considerable natural and politically induced barriers to market access. In particular, such politically induced barriers are different national supervision of banks, different tax legislation, as well as national accounting and take-over principles. Here, further harmonizations are suited to accelerate the integration of European retail markets and thus to increase consumer benefits by lower prices and a higher product variety for financial services.European integration; cross-border banking; mergers and acquisitions

Deepening European Financial Integration: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Evaluation of Growth and Employment Benefits

This paper analyses some long-run macroeconomic effects of European financial integration. In particular we focus on the further reduction and abolition of cross-border barriers impeding the entry into the markets of banking and insurance products. We follow a theoretical as well as an empirical approach to make predictions about how deeper integration will affect growth and unemployment rates. In our growth model we show that enhanced foreign financial market penetration should increase the overall growth rate unambiguously. The empirical analysis includes a wide set of indicators, each of them capturing different aspects of financial development and financial market integration. On the basis of the estimations a weak growth impact of foreign market penetration can be identified. Hence, deeper financial integration generates a growth bonus. But the long-run growth effect is conditional on differences in institutional characteristics captured by country-specific effects. The analysis is supplemented by an analysis of the potential employment benefits of deeper financial integration. We show that the growth bonus can be transformed into an employment bonus, but also not without considering substantial country-specific differences.economic growth; unemployment; European integration

Financial integration within the European Union: Towards a single market for insurance

Our study analyses the extent of integration of the EU market for life and non-life insurance. The main integration indicator used is the market share (premium based) of foreign companies in domestic markets. For the calculation of this indicator, three different kinds of foreign presence are taken into account: foreign presence through merger and acquisitions, through branches and agencies and direct cross-border sales without physical presence. Whereas the static view reveals a high degree of national fragmentation the dynamic view indicates advancing integration. The results also show that integration is even less advanced for life than for non-life insurance and that mergers and acquisitions are the dominant strategy to access a foreign market. Besides summarising the liberalisation history of the European insurance sector and discussing consumer benefits from further integration, the study contributes to a better understanding of obstacles to insurance market integration.European Financial Integration; Insurance Sector; Internal Market

Actor and Institutional Dynamics in the Development of Multi-Stakeholder initiatives

As forms of private self-regulation, multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) have emerged as an important empirical phenomenon in global governance processes. At the same time, MSIs are also theoretically intriguing because of their inherent double nature. On the one hand, MSIs spell out CSR standards that define norms for corporate behavior. On the other hand, MSIs are also the result of corporate and stakeholder behavior. We combine the perspectives of institutional theory and club theory to conceptualize this double nature of MSIs. Based on a stage model that looks at the interplay of actor and institutional dynamics, we generate insights into why actors join a voluntary MSI, how the various motivations and intentions of the actors influence the standard development, and how these as well as the MSI design are subsequently influenced by both external (institutional) and internal (club) dynamics

Passion and compassion as strategic drivers for sustainable value creation: An ordonomic perspective on social and ecological entrepreneurship

Passion - in the sense of fervent commitment to action - and compassion - understood as sensitive openness for social and ecological concerns - are not a sure formula for business success. Whether social or ecological entrepreneurs, who find themselves under pressure from market competition, experience advantages or disadvantages, depends crucially on the level at which passion and compassion are brought into play. Competitive advantages are possible if entrepreneurial innovators engage in rule-finding discourses and in rule-setting processes that aim at setting free a previously neglected potential for value creation. To illustrate, this article makes use of a case study in order to elucidate the ordonomic 4-box-matrix, which is a valuable orientation tool for strategic management

Theoretical concepts for the process of European integration: A current overview

This article provides an overview of major theoretical concepts behind the process of European economic integration. At first, the classic theory of customs unions as formulated by Viner, Meade and others is explained taking also into account factor mobility in a customs union in the move towards a common market. The second part deals with the seminal contributions to monetary integration: the theory of optimum currency areas (OCA) referring to the work of Kenen, Mundell and McKinnon. Advanced approaches of OCA in the form of a broader cost-benefit-analysis in the context of political steps towards a monetary union in Europe and the potential for endogeneity of the OCA criteria are also discussed. Considerations on political economy aspects and fiscal federalism conclude the article.economic integration; monetary integration; European Union