What is the link between the financial cycle - financial booms, followed by busts - and the real economy? What is the direction of this link and how salient is this connection? This unique book examines these fundamental questions and offers a paramount contribution to the debate surrounding the...

International linkages in the context of global and regional integration -- Trade integration of the Central and Eastern European countries and China : has it reached potential? -- Patterns and determinants of production fragmentation in world manufacturing trade -- Going global : trade,...

The expert contributors focus on global imbalances and accompanying policy challenges, competitiveness and trade, the sustainability of current growth strategies, and banking and financial stability in the light of the global economic and financial crisis. They provide a multi-disciplinary...

"In the global financial crisis, competitiveness gaps between euro area countries caused additional strain. This book discusses the various dimensions of competitiveness, with a special focus on emerging Central, Eastern and Southeastern European countries. For Europe to proceed with convergence...

Part I framing the discussion on the competitiveness challenge -- 1. Boosting European competitiveness / Marek Belka, Ewald Nowotny, Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald and Pawel Samecki -- 2. Harnessing foreign direct investment to boost economic growth / Beata S. Jarvorcik -- 3. Correcting external...

Against the background of increasing competition and other significant structural changes implied by globalisation, maintaining and enhancing competitiveness has evolved into one of the prime concerns in most countries. Following up on previous work (see in particular ECB Occasional Papers No....