« Previous |
121 - 129 of 129
|
Next »
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
122. Urban and Industrial Pollution Programs: Czech Republic Case Study
- Author:
- Matthew Addison, Steven Gale, Keith Forbes, and Michael Gould
- Publication Date:
- 04-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Agency for International Development
- Abstract:
- In 1995 USAID Launched the Environmental Action Program Support Project. EAPS grew out of a 1993 international conference held in Lucerne, Switzerland, to develop a joint environmental action program. The project sought to decrease environmental degradation in six central and eastern European countries that were making the transition from centrally controlled economies and authoritarian governments to open markets and more democratic institutions. The Czech Republic was the first USAID-assisted country where EAPS was implemented.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Environment, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Switzerland, and Czech Republic
123. The Next Round of NATO Enlargement
- Author:
- Jeffrey Simon
- Publication Date:
- 10-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Since the revolutions of 1989–90 and the fall of the Berlin Wall, NATO has emerged as the backbone of Europe's security architecture. In response to the demands of outsiders for collaboration, NATO has consistently adhered to a strategy of inclusion to create a Europe whole and undivided. This was a conscious effort at the July 1990 London Summit, where NATO invited the Soviet Union and non-Soviet Warsaw Pact members “to establish regular diplomatic liaison with NATO,” and at the November 1991 Rome Summit, where it launched the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) to include them. When the Soviet Union disintegrated in January 1992, NATO decided to include former Soviet republics in the NACC, thus attempting to ensure a Europe free and whole. The same strategy prevailed at the Brussels Summit in January 1994, which launched the Partnership for Peace (PFP) comprising members of NACC and those members of the Conference (now Organization) on Security and Cooperation in Europe that were able and willing to contribute. The July 1997 Madrid Summit decision to invite the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to begin accession talks also was portrayed in terms of inclusion; the Alliance reaffirmed that it remained open to new members under Article 10, adding that “[N]o European democratic country . . . would be excluded from consideration.”
- Topic:
- Security and NATO
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Poland, London, Hungary, Brussels, and Czech Republic
124. OECD Short Term Indicators: November 1998
- Publication Date:
- 11-1999
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Gross Domestic Product: Volume series, seasonally adjusted except for Czech Republic and Portugal Leading Indicator: A composite indicator, based on other indicators of economic activity (employment, sales, income, etc.), which signals cyclical movements in industrial production from six to nine months in advance Consumer Price Index: Measures changes in average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services Current Balance: $ billion; not seasonally adjusted except for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States Unemployment Rate: % of civilian labour force – standardised unemployment rate; national definitions for Czech Republic, Iceland, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey; seasonally adjusted apart from Turkey Interest Rate: Three months, except for Greece (twelve months) and Turkey (overnight interbank rate) ..
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland, Australia, Switzerland, Korea, Mexico, Iceland, and Czech Republic
125. The Break-Up of Czechoslovakia: The Impact of Party Development on the Separation of the State
- Author:
- Abby Innes
- Publication Date:
- 01-1996
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- When Czechoslovakia separated into two independent republics on January 1, 1993, it was hailed as the "velvet divorce." Relief that a European "ethnic" conflict had been resolved without physical aggression was apparently so deep as to have blunted curiosity about the real issues underlying the conflict. This paper looks back into the file and, in particular, explores the impact of party political developments on efforts to mediate some form of constitutional compromise. The analysis is not intended as an account of the separation (which would necessarily delve deep into historical, cultural, and economic questions). The more specific aim is to consider the issues and institutional pressures that dominated party development between 1989 and 1993, and to evaluate their contribution to the split. The article concludes that the profoundly unpopular decision to separate the country emanated from irreconcilable views on the correct "transition" path rather than a deeply rooted nationalism on either side. Moreover, both Czech and Slovak electorates were, to a striking degree, "held hostage" to party choices of economic policy and a common state, presented as mutually exclusive possibilities.
- Topic:
- Politics, Ethnicity, Political Parties, and Post-Communism
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Czechoslovakia
126. Restructuring in the Czech Republic- Beyond Ownership & Bankruptcy
- Author:
- Gerald A. McDermott and Aydin Hayri
- Publication Date:
- 01-1995
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Restructuring of large industrial holdings in the Czech Republic (S-farms) depends on probes into new markets. The development and financing of probes generates internal holdups and stalemates among the government, banks, and S firms. The government tries to preserve the value of just-privatized S-firms while avoiding subsidies; banks, facing their delinquency, cannot force bankruptcy since keeping them as clients is as important as maintaining capital ade quacy. A compromise arises, 1MBR (intricate monitoring based restructuring), where the outside parties condition their involvement on a peculiar reorganization of the farm. We provide the empirical and theoretical underpinnings of IMBR, the emergence of which is neither deliberate nor accidental. (Keywords; Restructuring, privatization, incom plete contracts, monitoring) ·We use aliases for the names of their companies and their managers to protect their privacy. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Ford Foundation Conference on CR transition at CERGE-EI. Prague CR. May 1994. '!The research was conducted at CERGE-EI. Prague CR. where Hayri was a visiting professor and McDermott is a visiting re searcher. McDermott's dissertation research was supported by generous grants from the US-CR Fulbright Commission and the Center for European Studies. Harvard University. The authors would like to thank CERGE-EI for its gracious administra tive support and hospitality and the following people for insightful comments and help: Suzanne Berger. Ales Capek. Zhiyuan Cui. Jeremy Edwards. John Griffin, Miroslav Hrncir. Mike Jetton. Tony Levitas, Richard Locke. Ivana MazaIkova, Gerard Roland. Charles Sabel, David Stark. Frantisek Turnovec, and participants in a seminar at the University of Warwick.
- Topic:
- Privatization, Industry, Farming, Ownership, Debt Restructuring, and Bankruptcy
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Czech Republic
127. Governing Enterprises in Transition Economies: The Problem of Mixed Ownership in the Czech Republic
- Author:
- Raj M. Desai
- Publication Date:
- 01-1995
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This paper examines how formerly state-owned enterprises are governed in a post-Communist economy. Privatization was intended to clarify ownership rights by making private property the basis for productive relations. Inreality, gov ernments still own substantial percentages of share capital in "privatized" enterprises. and the question of who controls the company often remains unclear. Two dimensions of emerging corporate-governance structures are examined for enterprises under joint public-private ownership: contract enforcement and the influence of the state-as shareholder. The main argument is that these structures are determined according to government-investor negotiations over how to relinquish control of firms and privatize their cash flows, and proceeds in two steps. First, state authori ties and prospective investors commit to the terms of privatization. Second, instruments of contract enforcement and state influence emerge from these commitments through bargaining. Evidence from two industry cases in the Czech Republic-steel and petrochemicals-shows that contract-enforcement is delegated to a third party when a govern ment cannot credibly commit to all the privatization terms desired ex ante by investors who prefer long-term, Jarge bloc equities; additionally, the state's fiduciary influence will be limited if ministries and property agencies are politically unified. Delegating contractual responsibility while limiting state discretion will make progress in estab lishing property rights. • An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chi cago. September 1995 .. The author is grateful for comments from Peter Hall. Joel Hellman. Grzegorz Ekiert, and the par ticipants of the Seminar on Post-Communist Institutions (Russian Research Center). and the Workshop on East European Politics (Center for European Studies). Harvard University.
- Topic:
- Governance, Industry, Ownership, Post-Communism, and Democratic Transitions
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, and Czech Republic
128. Defensive Military Structures in Action: Historical Examples
- Author:
- Carl Conetta, Charles Knight, and Lutz Unterseher
- Publication Date:
- 05-1994
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project on Defense Alternatives
- Abstract:
- Examines three major cases in the last 80 years where defensive preparations, structures, and tactics were of decisive importance in major military operations. Originally published in Confidence-Building Defense: A Comprehensive Approach to Security & Stability in the New Era, Study Group on Alternative Security Policy and Project on Defense Alternatives, 1994.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Cold War, Armed Forces, Military Affairs, and History
- Political Geography:
- Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, and Belarus
129. Confidence-Building Defense: a comprehensive approach to security and stability in the new era
- Author:
- Carl Conetta and Lutz Unterseher
- Publication Date:
- 05-1994
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project on Defense Alternatives
- Abstract:
- Originally, this primer was written and then published in spiral-bound book format for a series of seminars sponsored by the Study Group on Alternative Security Policy (SAS) and the Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA). These seminars were held in 1994 in several of the newly sovereign states of Europe: the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Belarus. The primer remains one of the most comprehensive presentations of the concepts of Confidence-Building Defense including details of their application to the structuring and operations of national armed forces. It totals 116 pages with 94 charts and tables. Although some details of arms and tactics change over time, the fundamentals remain relevant to present-day international security and military planning. Unfortunately, in 1994 no suitable seminar host was found in Ukraine. Although not a panacea, confidence-building defenses could improve Ukraine’s defenses and national morale in the present crisis.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Armed Forces, and Strategic Stability
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Belarus