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1. The Impact of the State on the Quality of an Economic System: A Cross-Country Analysis

Author:
Maciej Bałtowski and Piotr Kozarzewski
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The paper discusses the role of the state in shaping an economic system which is, in line with the welfare economics approach, capable of performing socially important functions and achieving socially desirable results. We describe this system through a set of indexes: the IHDI, the World Happiness Index, and the Satisfaction of Life index. The characteris-tics of the state are analyzed using a set of variables which describe both the quantitative (government size, various types of governmental expenditures, and regulatory burden) and qualitative (institutional setup and property rights protection) aspects of its functioning. The study examines the “old” and “new” member states of the European Union, the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia, and the economies of Latin America. The main conclusion of the research is that the institutional quality of the state seems to be the most important for creation of a socially effective economic system, while the level of state interventionism plays, at most, a secondary and often negligible role. Geographical differentiation is also discovered, as well as the lack of a direct correlation between the characteristics of an economic system and the subjective feeling of well-being. These re-sults may corroborate the neo-institutionalist hypothesis that noneconomic factors, such as historical, institutional, cultural, and even genetic factors, may play an important role in making the economic system capable to perform its tasks; this remains an area for future research.
Topic:
Demographics, Economy, Economic growth, State, Economic Policy, Institutions, Trade, and Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, and European Union

2. How Not to Get Stuck in the Middle Lessons for the Commonwealth of Independent States from Central and Eastern Europe

Author:
Jakub Zowczak and Kamil Pruchnik
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to analyze how different models of transformation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased or decreased the risk of being stuck in the middle-income trap (MIT). The key finding is that the CEE and CIS countries are, from a definition point of view, not materially at risk of the MIT as out of nine selected MIT definitions, none of the CEE or CIS countries were “stuck” more than three times. At the same time, the CEE countries are more at risk of falling into the MIT than the CIS countries; however this is because the CIS is a poorer region and is not near the lower MIT thresholds. The CEE countries had a better start at the beginning of the transformation and on average implemented a better set of transformation models; however, some CEE countries are now struggling to permanently join the advanced countries and CIS countries are, on average, far behind that. The literature review on transformation models and the analysis of the “jumps” in the World Bank ranking classification suggest that while the MIT is not a concern for CEE or CIS countries, in order to speed up convergence, CIS countries might consider more shocks and consistently following free market related approaches. The study fills a gap in the literature on the MIT which has thoroughly analyzed the Asian and Latin American countries but has provided little analysis of the CEE and CIS countries.
Topic:
Finance, Economic growth, Economic Policy, and Trade
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe

3. The Catalan economy: Crisis, recovery and policy challenges

Author:
Xavier Cuadras-Morató
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
Catalonia is one of the richest regions in Spain. Until the outbreak of the international financial and economic crisis in 2008, it enjoyed a phenomenal economic boom – which then turned into a very severe depression, from which the region began to exit only in 2014. Consolidating the recovery and making the economy more competitive and resilient, and less volatile, are some of the key challenges of economic policy in Catalonia. Also, to improve the region’s social cohesion, policymakers should make sure that economic prosperity is more widely shared, and transform it into an effective tool for social progress.
Topic:
Demographics, Labor Issues, Economic growth, Social Policy, Global Financial Crisis, Economic Policy, Trade, and Recovery
Political Geography:
Europe, Spain, Catalonia, and European Union

4. Change in Economic Policy Paradigm: Privatization and State Capture in Poland

Author:
Piotr Kozarzewski and Maciej Bałtowski
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
Piotr Kozarzewski and Maciej Bałtowski analyse the causes and manifestations of Poland’s recent shift in economic policy towards a more active role of the state, and use privatization policy as an example. The authors examine the effects of the privatization policy and point to a large unfinished agenda in ownership transformation that has had an adverse impact on the institutional setup of the Polish state, creating grounds for rent seeking and cronyism, which, in turn, impede the pace of privatization. They find out that it is the increasing capture of the state by rent-seeking groups, and not, contrary to popular opinion, the global financial crisis, that most contributes to the growing statist trends of Poland’s economic policy. The publication is a part of a CASE Working Papers series.
Topic:
Privatization, Financial Crisis, Reform, State, Economic Policy, Institutions, and Macroeconomics
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

5. On Economic Growth in Europe, or, The Uncertain Growth Prospects of Western Countries

Author:
Aleksander Łaszek, Andrzej Rzońca, and Andrzej Halesiak
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
Growth in the European Union since the outbreak of the global financial crisis is slower (1) than before the crisis, (2) than the trend would indicate, (3) than forecast and (4) than in the United States. The factors driving its weakness lie more on the supply side than the demand side. The loss of potential output after the crisis was exacerbated by inequalities from before the crisis; fiscal stimulus from 2007-2009, increasing public expenditure despite the lack of fiscal space; excessive liquidity support for banks; and inflexibility of the market for goods at the moment the crisis broke out. The problems with growth may deepen and become permanent if social support for anti-market parties continues to grow. Extremist parties are supported by divergence among the countries of the “old” EU and the slowdown of convergence in the new member states, as well as tendencies related to inequality, in particular the reduction of households’ mobility between income groups. The 144th mBank - CASE Seminar Proceedings consist of the main paper "On Economic Growth in Europe, or, The Uncertain Growth Prospects of Western Countries" by Andrzej Rzońca and Aleksander Łaszek and the commentary "Economic Growth in Western Europe: The Investment Perspective" by Andrzej Halesiak.
Topic:
Economic growth, Investment, Economic Policy, Macroeconomics, and Trade
Political Geography:
Europe, Western Europe, and European Union

6. Economic policy and macroeconomic developments in Hungary, 2010-2015

Author:
Gábor Oblath
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The publication "Economic policy and macroeconomic developments in Hungary, 2010–2015" discusses the factors responsible for Hungary’s growth performance. In the 143rd mBank - CASE Seminar Proceedings Gábor Oblath argues that that the factors essentially responsible for Hungary’s growth performance over the last five or six years were mainly exogenous to Hungarian government policy. The acceleration of economic growth observed in 2014 was due to, in particular, exceptionally large transfers from EU funds, which have nothing to do with the government’s so called “unorthodox” economic policy. By contrast, the decline in the quality of the institutional environment of the economy is a direct consequence of both the spirit and the methods of the economic policy pursued.
Topic:
Government, Economic growth, Economic Policy, and Macroeconomics
Political Geography:
Europe, Hungary, and European Union

7. When will the global economy return to rapid growth?

Author:
Marek Dabrowski
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
More than six years have passed since the subprime mortgage crisis began in the US in the summer of 2007. In the following year, it spread to the entire world economy. Its consequences have not been fully overcome yet. Thus it’s not surprising that economists’ attention has been largely devoted to short-term, crisis-related issues like financial deleveraging and repairing the balance sheets of governments, corporations and households. For the macroeconomic policy debate, this means concentrating on demand management by using monetary and fiscal policy tools in order to return to a pre-crisis growth path. Rarely has the question been asked of whether or not this is a realistic goal, i.e., whether post-crisis growth can return to pre-crisis levels. An analysis of growth perspectives in the medium-to-longterm calls for using the neo-classical growth theory, according to which there are three factors at play: labor, capital and total factor productivity (TFP). In this brief we will try to figure out what their expected dynamics are and how much each of them can contribute to economic growth in the foreseeable future.
Topic:
Economic growth, Global Financial Crisis, Economic Policy, Macroeconomics, and Fiscal Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus and Global Markets

8. The EU’s Economic Policy Architecture after the Ratification of the Fiscal Treaty

Author:
Jørgen Mortensen
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
Abstract:
The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, adopted in March 2012 entered into force in January 2013 was presented as a reinforcement of the Stability and Growth Pact. The present Brief argues that this new Treaty does not seem to offer a definitive solution to the problem of finding the appropriate budgetary-monetary policy mix in the EMU and that it may complicate some aspects of the economic policy governance in the Eurozone. This E-brief is based on Jorgen Mortensen’s presentation at the EUROFRAME Conference 2013 "Towards a better governance in the EU?" held on May 24th, 2013.
Topic:
Economic growth, Economic Policy, Macroeconomics, and Eurozone
Political Geography:
Europe and European Union