This paper analyses some of the current problems emerging in the Baltic economies with special reference to Estonia and the agricultural sector. The prime objectives are to put forward suggestions for improving the agricultural investment, and to improve the marketing towards the modern...

This paper looks both backward and forward. It starts by comparing the accession countries with the EU and by comparing the EU’s 2004 eastern enlargement with previous enlargements. It appears that the EU became poorer by every single enlargement. The EU’s GDP per capita decreased each time...

Provincial governments in the Netherlands have only one general tax at their disposal. However, it has become an insufficient source of revenue for this level of government in the Dutch system. To increase the revenue raising capacity of the provincial governments, thirteen broad-based general...

The rapid growth of Chinese tax revenues in the past decade is often considered “unnatural” relative to GDP growth. In this paper we investigate this seemingly unnatural growth by presenting different models of the relationship between the annual growth of tax receipts and GDP. The models...

The Dutch social protection system has been under reconstruction from the early 1980s. After describing the structure of the current system and addressing recent developments as to the treatment of families and individuals, the paper presents three scenarios that could develop in future years....

This paper addresses the run up to the recent European Union enlargement. It considers the accession of 10 Eastern European countries in view of the pre-existing economic conditions. The paper also raises the question how the new member states can tackle their deficit problems. In particular,...

For many years, foreign funded companies in China enjoyed a relatively low tax rate and a series of preferential policies which were aimed at encouraging foreign direct investment in China. By adopting a new law in 2007, however, the National People's Congress proclaimed the end of the dual...

The European Union has not defined its limits in geographical terms. Each enlargement has led and will lead to a decrease of the European Union’s per capita GDP. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the transition countries went through a long and deep recession. However, they have reached a...

This paper analyzes the economic developments in countries bordering the Black Sea. Of the three former soviet republics bordering the Black Sea, Georgia showed the best economic per-formance, in particular in the late 1990s. The economic performance of Russia and Ukraine is poor. Their...

This paper presents an analysis of the procurement of transportation services for the disabled by the town of Ridderkerk. The method used consisted of a study of the town’s files and interviews with 11 persons involved. The tender specifications were peculiar in that they required bidders to...