Theoretical models of growth reveal that either exogenous or endogenous, technology is the main driving force behind the long-run economic growth. Furthermore, in the endogenous growth framework, diffusion of technology is the basic mechanism of per capita income convergence among countries....

We discuss past performance and future challenges for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We highlight the successful convergence process of those countries, not least thanks to their integration into European and global value chains. As the external environment changes, so...

The study reveals that there is a relationship between foreign direct investments, trade, and growth rate of per capita GDP for Bangladesh with the help of annual time series data for 1973 to 2014. The Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) analysis shows that there is a long-term relationship...

This paper elaborates the economic impacts of the foreign direct investments (FDI) on the case of Macedonian economy. Most developing countries consider FDI a vital source for their development. Anyway, it is quite difficult to measure the economic effects of FDI over the host country, having in...

Purpose: The goal of the paper is to investigate the long run effect of both foreign direct investments and domestic investments on the unemployment in 21 emerging economies over the period 1994-2014. Design/methodology/approach: The effect of domestic and foreign direct investments on...

We study the global diffusion of culture through multinationals, focusing on gender norms. Using data on manufacturing firms in China over 2004-2007, we find that foreign affiliates from countries with a more gender-equal culture tend to employ proportionally more women and appoint female...

Focusing on Austria and five countries in Central Europe [the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (CEC-5)], the paper reviews selected economic developments related to the enlargement of the European Union. Over the past decade, Austria has enjoyed disproportionate gains from...

The EU, on the one hand, and Russia and Ukraine, on the other, are very unequal partners in nearly all respects - a fact manifesting itself also in their economic relations. The EU is a relatively important trading partner for Russia and (although less so) for Ukraine. However, apart from being...

Countries belonging to the European neighbourhood are highly diverse. Their diversity is multidimensional (geographical, socio-economic, political, cultural, religious, etc.) and the individual dimensions all have important implications for EU policies towards the region(s), for EU institutional...

This volume was prepared by Sebastian Benz while he was working at the Ifo Institute. It was completed in December 2013 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich. It includes five self-contained chapters. All chapters discuss different...