The report analyses the fiscal and macroeconomic environment in the lagging regions and the relevant Member States of the EU, as a sound and sustainable macroeconomic framework is a necessary, but by itself not a sufficient precondition for investment and growth in the regions. It starts with...

This report is an annex to wiiw Research Report 421, 'Economic Challenges of Lagging Regions I Fiscal and Macroeconomic Environment'. It provides eight detailed country case studies, analysing the fiscal and macroeconomic environment in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania...

Although a certain amount of catching-up in the Western Balkans has been recorded in the construction of transport infrastructure in recent years, the railway density remains low and the motorway density is even lower. Also, the deficiency in energy infrastructure is substantial. The current...

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a vision to revive the ancient 'Silk Road' by means of massive infrastructure investments throughout Eurasia and Africa, was first presented by China's President Xi Jinping in 2013. China has identified the region of Central East and Southeast Europe (CESEE)...

This paper discusses the evolution of competitiveness, industrial and trade specialization of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs). It is shown that the paths taken by the different CEECs have been quite diverse and we attempt to show that a combination of a catching-up plus trade...

This study analyses the impact of knowledge assets on productivity and technical efficiency in the EU, as well as their role in the process of knowledge transfer. The analysis covers the role of the institutional and regulatory environment in affecting productivity and technical efficiency and...