Kosovo growth dynamics are encouraging but the level of economic activity is very low. Mass unemployment hints at macro-imbalances. Net transfers from migrants are pivotal for covering the huge trade balance deficit, as manufacturing exports are almost non-existent. Wages are low but increasing...

The European Commission has set a target date of 2025 for Western Balkan EU accession, while also outlining a broader new strategy which includes Brussels taking a more active role in solving political disputes in the region, and upgrading infrastructure as part of the Berlin Process. We welcome...

Die detaillierte Untersuchung von Unternehmensagglomerationen bzw. der räumlichen Ballung von Produktionsaktivitäten war ein wesentliches Analyseziel des Forschungsprojekts 'Die Bedeutung von Innovationsclustern, sektoralen und regionalen Innovationssystemen zur Stärkung der globalen...

This paper analyses the role of SMEs in regional development, focusing the particular case of This paper analyses the role of SMEs in regional development, focusing the particular case of Lublin Region in Poland. By using a questionnaire presented to firms that are operating in manufacturing and...

Railroad access can accelerate the technological progress in the industrial sector and therefore induce structural change and urbanization, the two common features of modern economic growth. I examine this particular mechanism in the context of Japanese railroad network expansion and modern...

Research findings of the latest round of the wiiw-GDN project on development in the Balkans are surveyed. Historical and structural deficiencies of development in the Balkan countries are discussed in detail with emphasis of the role of investment, integration, and structural and policy...

Some rural regions in Western Germany have experienced a very positive economic development in terms of employment and incomes in the past decade. This development, however, is in sharp contrast to the the enduring economic lag of many rural regions in Eastern Germany. This paper seeks to find...

Der vorliegende Thünen-Report diskutiert die Ergebnisse einer Analyse des Branchenstrukturwandels in Deutschland auf Kreisebene. Im Zentrum steht die Frage danach, in welchem Ausmaß wirtschaftliche Entwicklung strukturell determiniert ist. Theoretisch wird ausgehend von der neuen...

This paper empirically tests the hypothesis that landed elites may block technological change and economic development if they fear that they will lose future political power (Acemoglu and Robinson (2002, 2006, and 2012). It exploits a plausible exogenous change in the distribution of political...

Trade theory and economic geography suggest that the removal of trade barriers is likely to bring about more economic specialisation and potentially more diverse development paths between countries and regions. Thus, the deepening and extending European integration should be accompanied by an...