The Impact of Foreign Direct Investments on Labour Productivity: A review of the Evidence and Implications

The paper presents several results concerning the impact of foreign direct investments on labour productivity in different countries. The focus is on the labour productivity differences that exist between the foreign and domestic companies and on the way these differences evolve in the host country. Results show that national companies generally increase their labour productivity due to the technological and managerial competences that they borrow from the foreign companies established in their country and also because: firstly they have to protect themselves from the new competition and secondly they must comply with the growing demand coming from the new investors. Due to their higher labour productivity, foreign firms offer higher wages to their employees. This also determines a growth in the salaries of national companies’ skilled workers. Therefore the wage inequalities and skill differences grow in countries that receive FDI, as to resume the critics. However the overall effect of a growing productivity is most oftenly translated into job creation and regional development.foreign investments, labour productivity, spillovers

Regional Patterns of Pesticide Consumption Determinants in the European Union

This article contributes to the discussion about the socioeconomic factors that reinforce pesticide dependence in the European Union and hinder the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices in light of the European Union’s Green Deal objective of reducing the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030. The analysis has a two-pronged purpose: (1) to identify the determinants of pesticide consumption in the European Union by conducting a set of four seemingly unrelated regressions and (2) to emphasize the existence of regional patterns across EU countries formed by the factors that significantly impact pesticide consumption based on a cluster analysis. Per capita GDP, selling prices, population, and real income positively influence pesticide use, whereas subsidies and organic agricultural area negatively influence them. Pesticide use is most affected by GDP per capita and least affected by subsidies. Cluster analysis highlights regional differences reflected in three clusters: (1) the most recent EU member states, (2) the European countries with large population levels, and (3) the countries with the highest GDP per capita. Our findings may contribute to the EU’s capacity to generate policy changes at the member state level and can be built into recommendations to address the persistent overuse of pesticides

Regional Patterns of Pesticide Consumption Determinants in the European Union

This article contributes to the discussion about the socioeconomic factors that reinforce pesticide dependence in the European Union and hinder the transition to more sustainable agricultural practices in light of the European Union’s Green Deal objective of reducing the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030. The analysis has a two-pronged purpose: (1) to identify the determinants of pesticide consumption in the European Union by conducting a set of four seemingly unrelated regressions and (2) to emphasize the existence of regional patterns across EU countries formed by the factors that significantly impact pesticide consumption based on a cluster analysis. Per capita GDP, selling prices, population, and real income positively influence pesticide use, whereas subsidies and organic agricultural area negatively influence them. Pesticide use is most affected by GDP per capita and least affected by subsidies. Cluster analysis highlights regional differences reflected in three clusters: (1) the most recent EU member states, (2) the European countries with large population levels, and (3) the countries with the highest GDP per capita. Our findings may contribute to the EU’s capacity to generate policy changes at the member state level and can be built into recommendations to address the persistent overuse of pesticides