Comparative Economic Research. Central and Eastern Europe
The journal seeks to publish original comparative research, as well as results of empirical, comparative economic and social studies related to Central and Eastern European Countries.
Determinants of Foreign Aid: The Case of Poland
This study examines the determinants of Poland’s bilateral official developmental assistance (ODA) per capita allocation between 2013 and 2023 across 127 recipient countries. Employing panel data and multiple regression models, the analysis evaluates whether Poland, as a European Union post-accession donor with a post-communist transition background, allocates aid primarily based on recipient need or donor interest. The results indicate that Poland allocates significantly higher per capita aid to Eastern Partnership countries, reflecting strong regional solidarity rooted in historical ties. Within this regional context, aid allocation exhibits a non-linear income pattern, with middle-income recipients receiving the most support. Contrastingly, among non-Eastern Partnership recipients, income plays a minimal to negligible role in Poland’s aid allocation decisions. Trade relationships are relevant within the regional context, whereas democracy promotion shows no significant influence on aid allocation. The analysis further reveals that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had a significant impact on Poland’s aid allocation to Eastern Partnership countries. Overall, these findings provide partial support for the dual-track hypothesis identified in the literature on emerging Asian donors. The results suggest that Poland’s ODA follows a regionally focused strategy that combines geopolitical concerns with transition solidarity, rather than being driven by humanitarian or commercial motives.
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
International R&D Collaboration in Response to Global Disruptions: A Comparative Bibliometric Analysis of Research Networks
This study examines the international research and development (R&D) collaboration related to global crises or disruptions, focusing on its role in addressing challenges arising from diverse crises. Bibliometric analysis of 160 peer-reviewed articles identified patterns of collaboration and mapped global research networks. We adopted a comparative analytical framework to examine differences in research collaboration focus and forms across multiple types of disruption or crisis. The results show that R&D collaboration related to disruptive events was concentrated in research centers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, with the strongest links between the United States and China and between China and the United Kingdom. Other countries occupy more peripheral positions in global collaboration networks, reflecting lower overall engagement in research on the topic. In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Czechia stands out as one of the few countries whose research activities on collaboration during turbulence are internationally visible. Existing networks of connections between research centers are mostly bilateral, with researchers from CEE and the Global South being underrepresented. Furthermore, six thematic areas related to crises emerged as focal points for R&D collaborations: environmental crises, health emergencies, technological change, economic shocks, institutional instability, and humanitarian challenges. By identifying patterns of international R&D collaboration related to destabilizing events, the results of the analyses may inspire more effective responses to global challenges and support the development of more resilient and crisis-responsive R&D strategies.
State-owned Banks and Profitability in Central and Eastern Europe: Testing the State-owned Banks Advantage Hypothesis
This paper presents and tests an original state-owned banks advantage hypothesis, according to which the nationalisation of a part of the banking sector may positively influence the financial results and reduce risks associated with banking activity. The hypothesis was tested using a model comparing three groups of banks: state-owned banks, foreign owned banks, and domestic privately owned banks. The estimation of model parameters was carried out using a fixed-effects panel data analysis for banks based in Central and Eastern European countries over the period 2014–2020. Based on the models for ROA and, separately, ROE, a statistically significant negative relation was observed in the returns generated by state-owned banks compared to private domestic and foreign banks. The results also indicate a higher business risk for state-owned banks, measured by the level of non-performing loans, which is likely to be related to involvement in projects that are not always profitable but often involve higher credit risk. Therefore, we argue that elements of a country’s economic or social policies matter when conducting business but negatively affect the performance of state-owned banks. The results of the model also demonstrate that a bank’s market size negatively affects its performance.
Green Finance’s Impact on Economic Resilience – The Moderating Role of Market Integration
This study examines whether and how green finance enhances economic resilience in emerging economies and evaluates the moderating role of market integration in this relationship. Using the System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) estimation to address issues of endogeneity and lagged dependent variables, the empirical results indicate that green finance exerts a positive and statistically significant influence on economic resilience. Furthermore, a high level of market integration enhances the effectiveness of green finance in strengthening a country’s ability to withstand and recover from economic, social, and environmental shocks. Based on these findings, the study recommends that emerging economies promote the development of green finance by establishing clear policy frameworks, advancing sustainable financial instruments, and encouraging the flow of green capital into the real economy. Simultaneously, efforts should be made to deepen market integration through trade liberalization, regional financial cooperation, and improvements in the investment climate, to fully leverage the spillover benefits of globalization and reinforce the foundation for economic recovery amid increasing global uncertainties.
The Consequences of Remote Work – a Comparison of Four Central European Countries
The article examines the similarities and differences in how employees across four Central European countries evaluate the consequences of remote work. The primary objective is to cluster these consequences into closely interrelated advantages and disadvantages that form directly unobservable factors. The research was carried out using a diagnostic survey method that comprised 1,022 respondents from four countries: Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The respondents evaluated the positive and negative outcomes of remote work. To achieve the research objective, principal component analysis was used. Six factors common to all the studied countries were identified. Two of these factors are positive, and four are negative, with respondents placing greater weight on the advantages than the disadvantages. Factors such as cost savings and the positive impact on work life, non-work life, and health were indicated as primary advantages. However, perceptions of some advantages varied across the four countries. The issue of exclusion was the most frequently cited disadvantage. The research provides reliable information concerning the comparative assessments of the consequences of remote work. Its significance lies in demonstrating that a broad spectrum of individual outcomes can be distilled into six underlying factors. They contribute to the existing literature on remote work and offer practical insights for both management and remote workers.
How Climate Resilience Shapes Sovereign Credit Risk: A Cross-Country Comparative Study
This article aims to identify the impact of a country’s climate risk resilience on its sovereign credit rating, and to answer whether a country’s vulnerability can be mitigated by its readiness. The analysis also examines the robustness of the identified relationships, assessing their relevance to both investment-grade and speculative-grade countries. The study is based on a cross-country sample of 67 countries. It examines the relationship between sovereign credit ratings issued by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s and the ND-GAIN climate risk index, including the effects of its vulnerability and readiness components. To examine the link between sovereign credit ratings and climate resilience, we employ a cluster analysis based on climate vulnerability, adaptive capacity, and sovereign credit ratings, complemented by a linear regression model. The results indicate a positive relationship between climate resilience and sovereign credit rating. Vulnerability to climate risk negatively affects the rating, whereas the positive impact of climate readiness is more pronounced in countries with higher credit ratings than in those with lower ratings. The conclusions offer new insights into the determinants of sovereign credit ratings and the impact of climate risk on a country’s credibility, providing important implications for climate policy and for the methodologies used by credit rating agencies to assess sovereign ratings.
Navigating Energy Transition: Driving Energy Efficiency Improvement in EU Industry
This study examines the primary determinants of energy efficiency improvements within the European Union’s (EU) industrial sector from 2004 to 2023. The analysis is situated within the strategic framework of the European Green Deal and the “Fit for 55” package, which addresses the challenge of accelerating the industrial energy transition while maintaining global competitiveness. Utilizing a Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model, this research accounts for cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneous short-run dynamics across Member States. Empirical results reveal that economic growth and rising energy prices act as significant drivers of industrial energy efficiency in both the short and long run. Conversely, higher CO₂ emissions are associated with lower efficiency, reflecting persistent reliance on carbon-intensive production. These findings underscore the need to align economic modernization with price-based incentives to meet EU climate goals.
Climate Change Adaptation and Economic Resilience in Central and Eastern Europe: A Comparative Institutional and Policy Analysis
This article explores how a group of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, including Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Baltic States, are navigating the challenge of adapting to climate change. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all account, it looks at what adaptation really means in practice: how institutions are stepping up (or falling short), how EU funds are being put to use, and how different sectors, particularly agriculture, are responding on the ground. The analysis focuses on the structures, tools, and behavioral patterns that shape climate resilience, paying close attention to micro-level decisions by farmers, households, and small businesses. Drawing on institutional and policy analysis, as well as insights from behavioral economics, the paper highlights both the momentum and the stumbling blocks facing adaptation across the region.
Youth Unemployment in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Is Okun’s Law Applicable?
This article investigates the empirical validity of Okun’s law regarding youth unemployment in 11 Central and Eastern European countries between 2000 and 2023. Using panel data disaggregated by age cohorts and gender, the study employs robust linear regression models (RLM) with Huber loss functions and two-way fixed effects models (TWFE). Focusing primarily on the 15–24 age cohort, the results confirm a statistically significant, negative relationship between economic growth and youth unemployment, with considerable heterogeneity across countries and gender groups. While Okun’s law holds strongly in the Baltic states and Poland, the relationship is notably weaker in Hungary and Romania. The study also shows that higher shares of temporary employment and higher Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) indices for regular employment reduce the sensitivity of youth unemployment to changes in GDP, whereas higher youth enrolment rates and higher EPL indices for temporary employment increase this sensitivity.
Determinants of Fintech Fundraising in Europe
The study examines how the sub-indices of the Global Innovation Index (GII) affect the total value of fintech (financial technology) start-up fundraising in thirty-five European countries, including an eleven-country subsample from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Using annual panel data for 2013–2022. Fixed-effects models were estimated for the full sample, while random-effects models were used for the CEE countries. In these models, total fintech fundraising is the dependent variable, and the five GII subindices are the independent variables. The coefficients for Knowledge Workers, Knowledge Impact, and Business Environment are negative and statistically significant, and their effect sizes are even larger in the CEE subsample. The results suggest that improvements in the analysed factors do not necessarily lead to increased market funding for start-ups. The findings indicate that strengthening these dimensions of innovation does not automatically boost market funding for fintech start-ups. The study enriches the fintech fundraising literature by showing that improvements in the analysed factors do not translate into greater market funding for start-ups. As the study is limited to European data from 2013 to 2022, future research could extend the geographic scope or incorporate additional variables.
How Financial Inclusion Affects Environmental Pollution: Using a Threshold and the DID Model
This study investigates the nonlinear impact of financial inclusion on environmental pollution across 61 developing countries from 2005 to 2022. Using a threshold regression model, the findings reveal a critical threshold at which the impact of financial inclusion changes direction. Below this threshold, financial inclusion tends to increase carbon emissions; however, beyond this point, the relationship reverses, with financial inclusion contributing to pollution reduction. To gain deeper insights, the study further applies the Difference-in-Differences (DID) method. The DID results indicate that the effect of financial inclusion is heterogeneous and depends on the level of financial development, national income, and the timing of each country’s participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change. These findings underscore the multidimensional nature of the relationship between financial inclusion and the environment, which is significantly influenced by country-specific economic and policy factors. In addition, the study finds that national income and urbanization levels are associated with increased pollution, while credit to the private sector plays a mitigating role in reducing emissions. These results have important implications that policymakers should consider when designing strategies that promote financial inclusion while aligning with Sustainable Development Goals.
Fiscal Support, QE and Income-smoothing in European Banks during the COVID-19 Crisis
This study examines how fiscal and monetary policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis influenced banks’ income smoothing through loan-loss provisions (LLPs) in the European Economic Area (EEA). Using a panel of 1,122 commercial banks from 29 countries between 2011 and 2020, we investigate whether the intensity of income smoothing varied with the scale of public support. Fiscal liquidity measures and the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) serve as proxies for government and monetary interventions. The results show that both fiscal and monetary support reduced average LLP levels but simultaneously strengthened the link between earnings and provisioning, indicating increased income-smoothing behavior during the pandemic. This pattern reflects two complementary mechanisms: the crisis-severity channel, where larger policy interventions corresponded to deeper economic stress, and the moral-hazard channel, where public backstops expanded managerial discretion in provisioning. Overall, the findings suggest that large-scale stabilization policies mitigated credit risk and preserved financial stability but also encouraged more discretionary accounting behavior, underscoring a potential trade-off between crisis management and the transparency of banks’ financial reporting.
Cryptoassets as a Threat to State Sovereignty in the Field of Enforcement and Insolvency
Cryptoassets, as a novel manifestation of financial technology, pose a challenge to traditional legal frameworks, especially in their decentralised nature and the unique way they are held and transferred. Their emergence requires a re-examination of regulatory principles and mechanisms of rights protection in an environment where decentralisation signifies the absence of centralised control. This article examines cryptoassets as a potential threat to state sovereignty within the domains of foreclosure, enforcement, and insolvency. It analyses the legislative challenges arising from the increasing prevalence of cryptoassets and evaluates the applicability of traditional enforcement law instruments to these new technological contexts. This article also integrates empirical findings from the Czech legal environment into the broader theoretical discourse on financial crime and the erosion of state authority caused by decentralised financial systems operating across national jurisdictions Particular attention is devoted to the technical characteristics of cryptoassets, their legal classification, and the practical obstacles encountered in enforcement and insolvency proceedings, especially in situations where debtors refuse or are unable to provide access to their digital assets. The analysis also incorporates available statistics on enforcement proceedings and evaluates the Czech legal framework governing cryptoassets, focusing on its implications for the effectiveness of enforcement and insolvency processes. The research employs both primary and secondary methods, including legal and technical analysis, modelling of real scenarios, and an examination of the relevant legislative instruments.
Digital Transformation Success in the UAE: The Impact of Leadership, Organizational Flexibility, and Strategic Planning Based on Structural Equation Modeling
This study explores the relationship between leadership, organizational flexibility, and strategic planning, and the power of these elements to promote successful digital transformation in the context of the United Arab Emirates. This quantitative study involves the use of surveys and questionnaires that were distributed to 1000 mid-to-senior-level managers. Data on 600 valid answers (representing a response rate of 60%) were analyzed with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS software. The research examines three primary concepts: Leadership, Organizational Flexibility, and Strategic Planning, and how they influence the achievement of Successful Digital Transformation. The findings reveal that 82% of participants said that visionary leadership is essential for digital transformation, 78% stressed the need to effectively communicate goals, and 81% emphasized motivating employees. Furthermore, 75% of the participants said that their businesses had the capacity to adjust to changes, while 73% acknowledged the presence of flexible work practices, and 80% emphasized the need for cross-functional cooperation. Of the 77% of respondents who stated that their firms have a clearly defined digital strategy, 79% had aligned their digital strategy with their company goals, and 74% had included quantifiable targets and key performance indicators (KPIs). These results emphasize the significance of integrating artificial intelligence and data analytics with effective human leadership and strategic planning. It is suggested that organizations enhance their leadership capabilities, foster a flexible culture, and develop comprehensive digital strategies to reap the benefits of digital transformation to the maximum.
Energy Security and Sustainable Development of the Energy Sector: Comparative Analysis of the Visegrad Group Countries
A sustainable energy sector is crucial for a country’s stable and environmentally friendly socioeconomic development. Economic security (ES), the basis for the functioning of the state, is one of the major factors affecting the development. The objective of this article is to examine how ES influenced the sustainable development of the energy sector in the Visegrad Group countries, i.e., Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Czechia, over the period spanning from 2008 to 2020. To evaluate a meaningful relationship between the indicators (p < 0.05), we used correlation coefficients, the ordinary least squares method, and the seemingly unrelated regression model. The findings indicate that ES impacts the sustainable development of the energy sector, where positive results can be achieved by implementing coordinated macroeconomic policies. Green energy sources and renewable energy are crucial in this process.
Do Exchange-Rate Fluctuations Have Asymmetric Impacts on Visegrad–German Sectoral Trade?
Understanding the determinants of trade flows between countries is of particular interest to policymakers, central bankers, business owners and investors. The study examines the long-run impact of the real exchange rate, exchange-rate volatility, and output on the trade balances of 10 SITC (Standard International Trade Classification) sectors between three Visegrad countries and Germany. Because the linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach shows little effect across countries and sectors, we decompose the impacts into positive and negative changes via the Nonlinear ARDL approach. The paper adds value in the following respects. The first is that while the overall macroeconomic determinants have a relatively weak connection to these trade balances, the strongest connections are in the primary-product-producing sectors. The second finding is that while most of these trade flows often depend on the country, the sector analyzed, and the method used, there are interesting, stylized results, including the region’s chemical sector and manufacturing in Hungary, for example. The third finding is that nonlinear models show cointegration between the real exchange rate and the trade balance in Visegrad-Germany trade for a higher number of industries, even though the long-run coefficients continue to be insignificant in many cases.
The Role and Significance of EU Guidelines on Non-financial Reporting for SMEs
This study investigates the role and impact of non-financial reporting (NFR) regulations on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union. While large enterprises are the primary focus of directives such as the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), SMEs are increasingly affected due to supply chain dependencies and financial incentives. The research aims to assess SME awareness, challenges, and expected benefits related to NFR adoption. The study is based on an empirical survey of 151 SMEs in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, utilizing statistical methods such as correlation analysis and regression modeling to evaluate attitudes toward compliance and perceived barriers. The findings reveal that while SMEs acknowledge the growing relevance of NFR, resource limitations and lack of expertise hinder effective implementation. Nevertheless, SMEs that have proactively adopted NFR practices report benefits, including enhanced stakeholder relationships and a competitive market advantage. The study highlights the necessity for targeted policy interventions, including financial support, simplified compliance frameworks, and dedicated training initiatives to facilitate SME adaptation to sustainability reporting standards. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion on sustainability reporting by focusing on SMEs, a sector often neglected in NFR policy discussions. The study also provides empirical insights into how regulatory developments shape SME behavior, offering recommendations for policymakers on supporting sustainability transitions in the SME sector.
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
ESG factors (environmental, social, governance)
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Fiscal (Un)Sustainability in Practice: Local Government Finance in Visegrad Economies
The objective of this study is to evaluate the fiscal sustainability of Local Government Units (LGUs) in the Visegrad Group economies (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia; the V4), focusing on three key hypotheses: (1) LGUs in the V4 are involved in so-called Ponzi games; (2) the adverse effects of such games intensified during the economic recession, the COVID-19 crisis, and the war in Ukraine; (3) primary budget balances of LGUs impact the stabilization of their debt levels. The study spans 2001–2022, encompassing significant economic disruptions. The analysis utilizes fiscal sustainability assessments, including the primary gap indicator and criteria for Ponzi-like behaviors. Key findings reveal varying degrees of fiscal sustainability across the V4, with notable disparities in resilience and debt management. The implications and recommendations emphasize the need for enhanced fiscal discipline, targeted policy adjustments, and transparent governance frameworks to address identified vulnerabilities. The paper offers a comprehensive examination of LGU fiscal sustainability in Central European economies, offering insights for policymakers and enriching the discourse on public finance management in post-transitional economies.
Organic Animal Products in the EU to Support Sustainable Consumption
A critical analysis of the research discourse on the development of organic farming is imperative if it is to contribute to the spread of sustainable consumption patterns, as indicated in the European Green Deal (EGD). However, there is a notable dearth of research from a macroeconomic perspective. What and how much we consume affects human health and the environment. Therefore, there is a need to increase consumer awareness of the consequences of food choices, as organic animal products can contribute to sustainable consumption and production. The study aims to determine the level of development of the production of organic animal products in European Union (EU) countries. Synthetic indicators of the development level of EU countries in 2016 and 2020 were constructed based on the Principal Components Approach (PCA) using Eurostat data. A survey and literature review shows that countries at the top of the ranking, such as Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Austria, have active policies to support the development of organic agriculture on both the supply and demand sides. On the other hand, a divergence in the factors that influence the development of organic agriculture was also observed in the top-ranked countries. Therefore, the development of organic agricultural production, including organic animal products, requires the diffusion of experiences across the EU to support the multifaceted OAFR (organic agriculture and food research) paradigm and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Evaluating the Suitability of the Simplified Pairs Trading Strategy for Short-term Equity Market Trading
Pairs trading has been a successful tool for traders since its inception in the 1980s and has evolved significantly with the introduction of algorithmic, machine, and AI trading. This evolution has compli­cated the implementation of this strategy that traditionally benefits institutional or specialized investors. Despite this, the simplicity of pairs trading remains accessible, indicating potential benefits for ordinary traders. By focusing on the strategy’s fundamental principles and employing a real-time market test on a popular trading platform, the study aims to reveal its applicability and efficacy for short-term equity trading. Utilizing basic trading platform tools and Excel functions, the research aims to demonstrate a simplified approach to pairs trading. The findings will provide insights into the strategy’s effectiveness, providing non-expert traders with a viable approach to navigate today’s volatile markets through a simplified yet effective pairs trading model. The experiment’s findings highlight varying performances across different stock pairs, with notable differences in volatility. While five out of 11 pairs achieved positive returns, only two met the closure criteria within the short-term horizon, suggesting that a longer trading period and a more diversified pair’s portfolio may be necessary to fully capture expected price convergence.
The Green Economy for a Sustainable Future: Experience from the Visegrad Group Countries
The objective of this paper is to identify the significance of the green economy for a sustainable future and compare the situation and developments in achieving the European Green Deal (EGD) in the Visegrad Group (V4) countries. To achieve this objective, the paper focuses on the challenges, risks and opportunities of implementing green economy policies. Comprehensive data analysis is conducted, and a European Green Deal Index (EGDI) for the V4 countries is developed. The Eurostat database is used to monitor 18 key indicators in the V4 countries from 2015 to the latest year available. The results show that Slovakia is the best-performing V4 country with the highest EGDI score, while Poland shows the most significant improvement, mainly in the category Enabling a green and just transition. Between 2015 and 2023, Slovakia and Czechia experienced negative trends in the percentage of the population unable to keep their home adequately warm for financial reasons. The paper highlights the social dimension of the EGD and the green economy as well as the importance of a just transition concept across the whole European Union since increased household spending on the green transition could affect public support.
The Pan-European Personal Pension Product – Managers’ Challenges and Savers’ Expectations
The Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP) is a strategic initiative of the European Union (EU) aimed at creating a harmonized, portable pension savings framework that addresses the challenges of population aging, increased labor mobility, and the widening pension gap across Member States. This article investigates the implementation and performance of the PEPP in four EU countries – Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, and the Czech Republic – through a mixed-methods research design. The study combines a legal and comparative analysis of national pension systems with qualitative interviews conducted with PEPP fund managers and quantitative surveys of PEPP savers. The findings reveal significant disparities in regulatory approaches, tax treatment, and supervisory frameworks between countries, which affect both the attractiveness and functionality of PEPP. Despite the shared design principles of transparency, safety, and cost-efficiency, savers’ expectations differ notably across countries – especially in relation to customer service, information delivery, and minimum return expectations – while also being shaped by sociodemographic factors. The qualitative research highlights that fund managers face challenges such as regulatory fragmentation, high administrative burdens, and competition from national products with more favorable tax treatment or employer-based incentives. At the same time, digital tools and passive investment strategies are seen as key to enhancing PEPP’s scalability and efficiency. The article concludes that for PEPP to succeed as a truly pan-European product, further regulatory harmonization, consistent tax incentives, and comprehensive financial education efforts are essential. The authors also propose that increased provider competition and adaptive national policies could accelerate the product’s uptake. The study offers practical insights for EU policymakers, national regulators, and financial institutions aiming to promote inclusive and sustainable retirement savings across the continent.
The Saving–Investment Relationship Re-visited: Capital Mobility and Current Account Deficit Sustainability
The study examines the degree of current account deficit (CAD) sustainability and capital mobility for a panel of 97 countries over the period 1980–2020. To this end, the study adopts a novel interpretation of the Feldstein–Horioka coefficient in the context of CAD sustainability and examines the relationship between savings and investment using the Dynamic Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (DCCEMG) estimator. The findings reveal that all country groups exhibit “weakly” sustainable CADs. The estimates of the short-run coefficients reveal that short-run capital mobility is high in all country groups, whereas long-run capital mobility is relatively moderate or low. The rolling-window analysis shows that the 2007–2008 global financial crisis caused a significant drop in both capital mobility and CAD sustainability. In the post-crisis period, short-run capital mobility and CAD sustainability remained on a downward trend in most regions, whereas long-run capital mobility started slowly recovering. By providing a comprehensive regional analysis across six major world regions, this study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the evolving dynamics of international capital flows and regional variations in external balance sustainability.
Enhancing Resilience in International Supply Chains: The Role of Sustainable Development in a VUCA World
In today’s VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) world, which exerts strong pressure on international and global supply chains, academia and business are actively seeking new strategies to foster their sustainable and uninterrupted development. The results of our study, using statistical methods such as analysis of variance, show that the implementation of sustainable development principles in supply chain management positively affects the resilience of supply chains to sustainability risk across the pre-disruption, during-disruption and post-disruption phases. This, however, is contingent on a process-based approach to supply chain management and a high level of managerial awareness of the various types of risks to supply chains. Furthermore, our findings confirm that the key organizational characteristics are significant determinants of this resilience. Specifically, we observed that company size, the origin of the capital, and the degree of internationalization all affect supply chain resilience across the three disruption phases. Sustainable and resilient (SUS-RES) supply chains, which employ proactive, concurrent, and reactive approaches, are particularly noticeable in the supply chains of large enterprises with foreign capital or foreign branches. This suggests that managing international supply chain sustainably can also improve their resilience.
The Role of Broadband Usage and Telecommunications Competition in Driving Economic Growth and Labour Productivity: A Comparative Regional Analysis of MENA and Europe
This study compares the impact of using fixed and mobile broadband services and competition in the telecommunications sector on economic growth and labour productivity across 20 countries in Europe and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region from 2015 to 2021. Broadband usage is measured by the amount of data consumed, while sector competition is assessed using the ICT regulatory tracker index. Two econometric models were employed and applied to two samples: Group A (European countries) and Group B (MENA countries). The results show that broadband use has positive and significant impacts on economic growth and labour productivity in the two groups, but the effect in the European countries was higher. However, the study also finds that competition in the telecommunications sector produces divergent results between the two groups. The study recommends adopting policies to enhance the deployment and affordability of fixed and mobile broadband usage and services. Additionally, since competition serves as a catalyst for broadband usage, enhancing competition in the telecommunications sector is also advised.
Common and Unique Features in the Development of Startup Ecosystems in Latvia, Ukraine, and Georgia
This research presents a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the startup ecosystems in Latvia, Ukraine, and Georgia. It identifies the key factors that foster their development and growth, and highlights the primary obstacles and challenges that confront startups in these countries. The authors used the following methods to achieve these objectives: correlation and regression analysis to examine funding trends and success factors, comparative analysis of key ecosystem parameters, as well as methods of analysis and synthesis. The novelty of the study lies in its identification of the most important factors that influence startup development in the three countries, the construction of a correlation and regression model of startup financing, and the comparative analysis of startup ecosystems. Comparing the startup ecosystems of the three countries revealed both common and unique features of each country, emphasizing how differences in political, economic, and cultural conditions shape startup development.
Social Justice in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe
The article aims to compare the level of social justice in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in terms of the individual indicators that constitute the Social Justice Index and to determine their level of convergence with the European Union average. The paper also describes changes in this area of social justice in recent years and examines the relationship between social justice and industrial democracy. The analysis was based on statistical data from Eurostat and the results of a study conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, the European Institute for Gender Equality, and the Legatum Institute. The findings show that Romania achieves the worst results in most indicators in the Social Justice Index, but many of them have improved significantly in recent years. Slovenia, Czechia and Slovakia are the most successful in preventing poverty and equalising income. The degree of gender equality in all CEE countries was lower than the EU27 average. Finally, CEE countries that promote social dialogue and employee participation rights also have higher levels of social justice.
The Clash of Civilisations? Religion as a Major Component of Cultural Differentiation on the Example of Belarus and Poland
This comparative study investigates the role of religion as an important factor in shaping political and economic mental models, focusing on the contexts of Belarus and Poland. It builds upon Samuel Huntington’s thesis, which posits that cultural and religious differences are fundamental to civilisational conflicts. By analysing how Catholicism and Orthodoxy have shaped the divergent mentalities of these neighbouring nations, this research highlights the long-lasting influence of religious traditions on societal development. Employing a mixed-methods approach, including CATI surveys, statistical analyses, and historical comparisons, the study identifies significant differences in political and economic behaviours between Belarusians and Poles. These disparities underline the long-term impact of religion on attitudes toward power, property, and individualism. The findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of how religious values not only define societal norms but also shape national trajectories and contemporary geopolitical alignments. This research underscores the enduring relevance of religion in explaining cultural dynamics and civilisational divides in Eastern Europe.
Gendered Wage Penalties for the Overeducated: The Experiences of Young Men and Women in Ten European Countries
In this study, we examine the impact of overeducation on wages and wage penalties among 19,000 young men and women aged 18–35 in ten European countries. Using data from the Cultural Pathways to Economic Self-sufficiency and Entrepreneurship (CUPESSE) project and controlling for some endogeneity from omitted ability variables and employment selection, we find that women’s wages and wage penalties align with job search theory, while men’s observed wage offers are consistent with job competition theory. However, once selection is accounted for, wage penalties incurred by young men do not follow the predictions from this theory. Despite lower baseline wages, women in many countries face larger overeducation penalties than men, a pattern shaped by institutional regime type and gender norms. We offer possible explanations for this disparity and conclude with policy recommendations to address overeducation penalties.
How Enterprises from Czechia, Poland and Slovakia Engage in Reporting CSR Activities during Crises
The objective of this article is to analyse selected topics included in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of companies from three Visegrad Group countries: Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia. The study focuses on the emphasis that these companies place on the topics discussed and the extent to which they include them in their CSR reports to stakeholders. The study adopts a quantitative design, using an online questionnaire to explore CSR reporting in the Visegrad countries, with a sample size of 375 companies. It employs statistical tools like the Shapiro–Wilk normality test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Bonferroni post hoc test to analyse data on CSR reporting across different company sizes and sectors. Despite potential methodological limitations and bias, the survey identifies differences in CSR reporting practices among companies in the three countries. The leader in CSR reporting in the region is Slovakia, which can serve as an example of good CSR reporting practices. Czechia shows moderate commitment to CSR reporting activities, while companies in Poland are the least engaged. The discrepancies are due to differences in regulations, levels of public awareness, and business priorities. The results of the study will be valuable to researchers, managers and policymakers in developing tools to support companies in introducing new reporting standards and providing information on actions taken during a crisis. The novelty of this article is the analysis, at the enterprise level, of the type of CSR activities of selected companies from Visegrad Group countries from the perspective of the anti-crisis measures they have taken. This research fills a gap in the literature and provides a basis for discussing the legitimacy of socially responsible activities in contexts extending beyond a single crisis.