Sugar sector in Croatia: competitive or not?

The sugar sector is small in agricultural sector, occupying 1.5% of the cultivable land area and accounting for approximately 1.2% of agricultural GDP (excluding processing which probably accounts for a further 1%). It does, however, account for 6.5% of all budgetary payments to agriculture, showing its disproportionate dependence on taxpayers' money. Sugar production in Croatia is characterized by high production costs, struggling with a strong competition at the world market. Despite the results of the competitiveness study, in which the DRC calculation showed that sugar production is not internationally competitive, one of the basic characteristics of our foreign trade in sugar till 2003 was high exports. Sharp shift in the EU sugar policy will result in sugar price decrease due to the WTO rules, which will affect the Croatian sugar industry. Therefore, Croatia will have to apply measures for decreasing production costs and increasing production, with the final goal of price decrease for about 20%. For these reasons, it will be necessary to strive for the quota at the level of average production of three Croatian sugar - plants.Croatia, sugar, competitiveness, EU market, International Relations/Trade,

What Lies Behind Substantial Differences in COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Between EU Member States?

Background: Despite the billions of doses at disposal, less than three-quarters of EU citizens received a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021. The situation is particularly worrying in transition societies, which experience much stronger opposition to vaccination compared to their Western counterparts. To understand whether and to what extent this has to do with the socialist legacy, in this paper we explore wider economic, political, and cultural determinants of the COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the EU. Methods: Data from Flash Eurobarometer 494 conducted in May 2021 were used to model the attitudes of EU citizens toward COVID-19 vaccination. Based on their views and intentions, each of 26,106 survey participants was allocated into one of the following categories: (1) already vaccinated/plan to get vaccinated; (2) indecisive; (3) refuse vaccination. Multilevel multinomial logit was employed to understand what underlies the reasoning of each group. Results: The survey revealed that 13.4% of Europeans planned to delay vaccination against COVID-19, while 11.2% did not intend to get vaccinated. Although numerous demographic and socio-economic factors jointly shape their viewpoints, it is trust (in the authorities, science, peers, and online social networks above all) that strongly dominates citizens' reasoning. Given that most transition societies are witnessing the pandemic of distrust at various levels, this seemingly unrelated feature appears to be vital in explaining why newer member states record lower vaccination rates. Education was also found to play a pivotal role, which is reflected in an individual's ability to critically assess information from various sources. Conclusion: The study results clearly illustrate how long-lasting structural problems (specific for, but not confined to, transition countries) can manifest themselves in unforeseen circumstances if left unaddressed. It is hence of vital importance to learn the lesson and prevent similar issues in the future. Above all, this would require wide-ranging reforms aiming to repair the imperceptible psychological contract between citizens and the state authorities

Croatian Accession to the European Union: Economic and Legal Challenges

The Republic of Croatia, in comparison with most other transitional countries, is late with its preparations for future accession to the EU. The causes of this kind of situation are objectively grounded, the recent historical circumstances, as well as subjective in nature, the slowness and lack of political will to cope with this option. In recent times, particularly after the signing of the SAA, activity has been stepped up. In the adjustment process, Croatia will accept liberalisation of EU products and endeavour to retain certain privileges, depending on the sensitivity of the particular product. Further harmonisation of the agriculture legislation is required, although the major part of Croatian law relating to agriculture contains conditions and key measures found in the secondary legislation of the EU. In the paper, with the use of the methods of economic analysis and indicators of state intervention in agriculture and the costs of domestic resources, an evaluation is made of the advantages and limitations of Croatian agriculture. The results of comparative analysis give a more objective image of the domestic agricultural sector in the international environment. Adjustment of agrarian policy should lead to an improvement in the competitiveness of domestic agriculture and at the same time to a preservation of domestic natural resources.agriculture, resources, agrarian structure, family farms, agrarian policy,rural development, economic integration

Marginal abatement costs for reducing leaching of nitrates in Croatian agriculture

The aim of this paper is to estimate marginal abatement costs (MAC) of N-fertiliser tax policies which aim to prevent NO3 levels from rising. Estimates of MAC provide information on how large reductions in Nfertilisation rates should be before other measures are considered. Based on N-response experiments from Croatian field trials with maize, N-response curves were estimated and profit maximising N-doses were derived. Values of NO3-N concentration in lysimeter water from the same treatments were used to estimate an NO3-leaching function. A sample of 20 Croatian family farms was used to obtain records of producer and input prices as well as actual N-doses. Abatement costs and MAC for an N-tax, a product tax and an Nquota were estimated. The MAC for all the instruments are non-constant and increase at an accelerating rate. The MAC for N-taxes are positive for N-taxes lower than 60%, indicating a net return to society. Reduction rates in fertilisation up to this level should be achieved before considering governmental support for other measures. The N-tax has the lowest abatement cost and the lowest MAC for a particular level of reduction while the N-quota has a lower MAC than the product tax when total reduction levels are below 20 mg NO3 l-1

Dissecting the illicit practice of wage underreporting: some evidence from Croatia

Even though quasi-formal employment has become an integral part of European labour markets, not much is known about the functioning of this ingenious tax evasion scheme. To start to fill this gap, this paper elaborates the most important findings from qualitative interviews with 30 quasi-formal workers and 9 representatives of relevant institutions in Croatia. Among other important issues, this in-depth study, conducted during 2015 and 2016, aimed to explore the strategies that employers apply to ensure their workers’ collaboration, as well as the schemes through which they extract cash for the unreported portion of the wage. The study revealed that not only can this practice subsist independently from undeclared work, but in certain circumstances it can even rely on cash flows that are fully visible to the authorities. Furthermore, we show that many quasi-formal workers are actually happy with their employment due to the mistaken belief that they earn more money this way. In addition to its theoretical significance, this paper also provides valuable practical information that could assist the authorities in their fight against this phenomenon