Two or three decades from now, economic historians will note that a hallmark of successful transformation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was the speed in which it became a non-issue for the body politic. A corollary of this is the expectation that, as formerly centrally planned economies...

This paper studies the determinants of economic growth and the role of the public budget in European Union (EU) member states in Central and Eastern Europe, that joined the European Union in 2004, with a balanced data set from 1996 until 2012. A special focus is set on the relationship between...

The forces of the market and systems competition bring about economic and social convergence in Europe. There is no need for social policies at the EU level. Social harmonisation would distort migration flows and slow down the speed of economic convergence. National welfare states will be...

This paper shows that countries with weak banking system and fiscal institutions, should benefit from the presence of foreign banks, which can constitute a commitment and transparency device. Foreign banks can also reduce the probability of self-fulfilling speculative attacks. A strong presence...

This paper investigates capital market integration in the major Central European emerging economies by testing the covered and uncovered interest parity conditions vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar and the DM/euro. The results for the Central European economies since 1997 are contrasted against those...

The 2004 accession of Eastern European countries to the EU has generated concerns about the influx of low-skill immigrants to those countries which did not impose restrictions to immigration, namely Ireland, Sweden, and the UK. However, there is lack of recent systematic evidence on the level of...

Auf dem Kopenhagener Gipfel im Dezember 2002 haben die Staats- und Regierungschefs der EU-Osterweiterung zugestimmt. Ein historisches Projekt befindet sich nun in der Endphase, doch bestehen in der Öffentlichkeit und auch in Fachkreisen durchaus Bedenken hinsichtlich der EU-Beitrittsfähigkeit...