Asset and Liabilities Management. The Institutional Approach to ALM by Commercial Banks in Poland: a Special Focus on Risk Management

According to the early evidence, privatization and consolidation of banks have a strong favorable impact on the advancement of ALM and risk management methods. This paper examines various approaches to ALM by commercial banks in Poland. It elaborates results of the empirical survey of ALM and risk management techniques applied by banks in Poland. The survey was conducted in Spring 1999. The analysis shows that privatization of banks contributes to the improvement of efficiency and to better risk management. It creates a favorable climate for implementation of more advanced risk management and measurement techniques. The size of the Polish private banks has also a positive effect on diverse methodology and sophistication of risk management. The analysis implies the need for a further consolidation of Polish financial institutions. Therefore, this paper reinforces arguments in support of accelerated privatization and consolidation of the Polish banking system.ALM, Risk Management, Commercial Banks, Poland

Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in Perspective of Joining Common Agricultural Policy - with Some Fiscal Remarks

This paper discusses problems connected with the accession of Central European Countries (CECs) to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). A lot of attention is given to the analysis of the agricultural situation and prospects in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Also the evolution and the future of the CAP itself is broadly presented. Since the agricultural accession of CECs to the CAP will have an impact not only on the situation in the agricultural sectors in these countries but also on their overall economic situation, therefore some fiscal consequences are discussed in the end. The CECs problems with agriculture concern mainly the lack of modernisation (know-how), efficiency, and structural changes. The EU also has problems with agriculture. It is too costly . due to the high level of protection and overproduction (connected with storage of the costly surpluses) . and unequally developed (there are big differences in rural development among the Member Countries). The accession may, to some extent, solve CECs. and EU.s problems with agriculture, but under the condition, that the CECc will get ready to join the CAP structures, as much as it is possible. Therefore, generally, the pre-accession policies in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland should focus on investments in rural development and employment reductions since these policies guarantee improvement of agricultural productivity and improvement of agricultural to non-agricultural income ratio (which are the most desirable goals). It should be remembered, however, that the changes in agricultural sector need usually more time than the changes in other sectors so the agricultural accession of CECs to the CAP should come after the agricultural reorganisation. The pre-accession changes in agriculture will be co-financed by the EU. As far as budgetary effects are concerned, the pre-accession agricultural aid from the EU has little or no direct budgetary effects for the applicant countries. After the accession, the budgetary outflows from national CECs budgets to CAP will exceed budgetary inflows from CAP. This is because transfers from Member Countries to CAP come from national budgets but transfers from the CAP mostly do not come through the central national budgets but they are directed to the national paying agencies.agriculture, Common Agricultural Policy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland

Variations in Farm Performance: Evidence from the CEECs and Existing EU Member States

This paper attempts to shed light on the recent performance of farms in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland and to compare the findings from the CEECs with the EU situation. Utilising farm survey data, ratios of agricultural profitability and productivity have been estimated and clusters of farms with similar characteristics have been identified. Analysis indicates that the Hungarian farms have the best prospects amongst the analysed accession countries according to their profitability. The poor profitability and structural problems of Polish agriculture are highlighted. The family farms are less productive than corporate farms in the Czech Republic and Hungary despite the expectations at the outset of the reform that better incentives will boost their productivity.CEECs, farm performance, profitability, cluster analysis, Agribusiness,

D6.2 Report on combinations of conditions for successful and unsuccessful fostering of resilience in agricultural sectors

Farming systems (FS) operate in biophysical, political, social, economic and cultural environments which are often far from stable. Frequently or unfavourably changing conditions can affect FS performance, i.e., the delivery of FS functions (such as food production or ecosystem services). The aim of task 6.1 is to identify principles for an enabling environment to foster (rather than hinder) resilient farming systems in Europe. Task 6.2 will translate these principles into roadmaps that will contain recommendations for both public and private actors and institutions in the enable environment on how to support farming system resilience. A farming system is a system hierarchy level above the farm at which properties emerge resulting from formal and informal interactions and interrelations among farms and non-farm actors to the extent that these mutually influence each other. The environment can then be defined as the context of a farming system on which farming system actors have no or little influence. Hence, actors belonging to the environment may be food processors, retailers, financial institutions, technology providers, consumers, policy makers, etc. Fostering FS resilience is done through (re)designing institutions and building and mobilising resources in order to enhance resilience enabling attributes of FS (and remove resilience constraining attributes). These institutions can be both part of the FS and part of an enabling environment, consisting of private actors (such as food processors, retailers, banks, etc.) and public actors (government agencies). Four archetypical patterns according to which challenges are insufficiently addressed to foster FS resilience have been identified. Six general principles underpinning patterns that enable FS resilience have been formulated. An important challenge is that FS and enabling environments should always find a good balance between addressing challenges in the short run and dealing with challenges in the long run

How do Stakeholders Perceive the Sustainability and Resilience of EU Farming Systems?

An increasing variety of stresses and shocks provides challenges and opportunities for EU farming systems. This article presents findings of a participatory assessment on the sustainability and resilience of eleven EU farming systems, to inform the design of adequate and relevant strategies and policies. According to stakeholders that participated in workshops, the main functions of farming systems are related to food production, economic viability and maintenance of natural resources. Performance of farming systems assessed with regard to these and five other functions was perceived to be moderate. Past strategies were often geared towards making the system more profitable, and to a lesser extent towards coupling production with local and natural resources, social self‐organisation, enhancing functional diversity, and facilitating infrastructure for innovation. Overall, the resilience of the studied farming systems was perceived as low to moderate, with robustness and adaptability often dominant over transformability. To allow for transformability, being reasonably profitable and having access to infrastructure for innovation were viewed as essential. To improve sustainability and resilience of EU farming systems, responses to short‐term processes should better consider long‐term processes. Technological innovation is required, but it should be accompanied with structural, social, agro‐ecological and institutional changes

Maaseudun kehittämisohjelmien teema-arviointi. Ohjelmakausi 2000-2006

Kyseessä on vuosina 2000–2006 Suomessa toteutettujen maaseudun kehittämisohjelmien ALMA, ELMA, Pohjois-Suomen tavoite 1, Itä-Suomen tavoite 1, POMO+ ja LEADER+ -ohjelmien teema-arviointi. Maaseudun kehittämisohjelmien tavoitteena on ollut maaseudun työ- ja elinkeinomahdollisuuksien parantaminen, yhteisöllisyyden lisääminen, maatalouden rakennemuutoksen edistäminen ja maatilatalouden monipuolistaminen. Arvioinnin koordinointivastuu on ollut Helsingin yliopiston Ruralia-instituutilla

Evaluation of rural development programs after Poland’s accession to the EU: regional CGE approach

The paper evaluates effectiveness and efficiency of various measures of Rural Development Plan 2004-2006 and Sectoral Operational Program for Agriculture applied in Poland after 2004 accession to the UE. The main method used was a regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model called RegPol covering 16 Polish NUTS 2 regions and 15 sectors of the Polish economy. The paper proofs that among the most efficient measures are those granted in form of investment subsidies (e.g. investments in agricultural farms, support for processing companies, support for rural infrastructure, etc.) and among least efficient measures were those granted in form of direct income transfers (e.g. early retirement) and in form of land subsidies (support for less favored areas, or LFA). Based on the survey method the study also reveals an unfavorable situation where the most efficient measures in rural programs are the most difficult to absorb hence less popular among beneficiaries, while those least efficient are easy and thus more popular, especially in less developed regions. At the end largest support was granted to predominantly rural and predominantly agricultural regions, which however, were not very efficient. However, some cohesion effect had been achieved

Changes in Competitiveness of Farm Sector in Candidate Countries Prior to the EU Accession: The Case of Poland

Prior to the EU accession Polish agricultural sector was experiencing serious structural problems. Not surprisingly Polish agricultural negotiations with EU were the toughest. Polish officials wanted to convince domestic rural electorate that the farms will operate on the competitive basis in enlarged EU. This paper investigates, however, how the competitiveness has been evolving yet prior to the accession, given the strong pressures within which it had to operate. We asked if Polish farms were responsive to this pressure - that is whether they were able to increase their productivity sufficiently to counter negative forces at work and maintain their competitiveness. The research showed a gloomy picture of declining farm productivity together with deteriorating relative agricultural prices over 1996-2000 which revealed falling competitiveness in the sector. This can partially explain why the rural electorate in Poland was very much against the EU accession till the very end. The Polish experience can be useful for the next EU candidate countries