Higher global grain output but still fairly high food prices (by Zdenek Lukas; pp. 1-4) Keywords: agricultural production, demand for food, food prices, biofuels Countries covered: Wider Europe Topics: Sectoral studies The speed of catch-up depends on human capital (by Roman Stöllinger; pp. 5-9) Keywords: catch-up, human capital, growth accounting, threshold regressions Countries covered: non-specific Topics: Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Two transitions: a brief on analyses and policies for MENA and CESEE (by Vladimir Gligorov; pp. 10-12) Keywords: transition, ...more

Poland: new government, but not-so-new policy? (by Leon Podkaminer; pp. 1-2 ) Keywords: fiscal policy, fiscal consolidation Countries covered: Poland Topics: Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Banks in Poland should be under domestic control (by Stefan Kawalec; pp. 3-10) Keywords: banking system ownership, deleveraging Countries covered: Poland Topics: Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy; Sectoral studies Bulgaria: fiscal space and competitiveness (by Vladimir Gligorov and Michael Landesmann; pp. 11-17) Keywords: competitiveness, fiscal policy Countries covered: Bulgaria ...more

Supply-demand imbalanced drive food prices (by Zdenek Lukas; pp. 1-6) Keywords: agricultural production, food supply and demand, food prices, inflation Countries covered: EU, New EU Member States Topics: Sectoral studies; Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy The gas and electricity sectors of the Western Balkan countries (by Vasily Astrov and Doris Hanzl-Weiss; pp. 7-12) Keywords: electricity sector, gas sector Countries covered: SEE Topics: Sectoral Studies; Regional Development Recent problems with private pension funds in Poland (by Lech Keller-Krawczyk; pp. 13-16) Keywords: pe...more

The objective of this study is to analyse employment developments in the gas and electricity sectors in seven Western Balkan Contracting Parties of the Energy Community. These are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99. In addition, the impact of the liberalization of the respective markets is examined (quantitatively and qualitatively) and the most likely trends for the future development are identified....more

Hungary: taking stock (by J. Kornai; pp. 1-12) Keywords: economic policy, reform Countries covered: Hungary Topics: Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Developments in trade and FDI in services in the Visegrad countries (by O. Pindyuk; pp. 13-20) Keywords: trade, services, FDI Countries covered: Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia Topics: International Trade, Competitiveness and FDI The labour market in Serbia: an assessment (by V. Gligorov, K. Ognjenovic, R. Stehrer and H. Vidovic; pp. 21-27) Keywords: labour market, unemployment Countries covered: Serbia Topics: Labour...more

The role of services in the new member states: a comparative analysis based on input-output tables (by D. Hanzl-Weiss and R. Stehrer; pp. 1-8) Keywords: NMS, input-output, services Countries covered: New EU Member States Topics: Sectoral studies Intra-Visegrad Group trade after the EU accession (by S. Richter; pp. 9-14) Keywords: trade, Visegrad countries, EU accession Countries covered: New EU Member States Topics: International Trade, Competitiveness and FDI FDI among the Visegrad countries before and after EU accession (by G. Hunya; pp. 15-23) Keywords: FDI, Visegrad countri...more

This report tracks the major geo-economic and geo-strategic ruptures between the EU and Russia on the future patterns of gas supplies and shipping routes to the EU and the Western Balkans. It identifies the objectives and interests of the actors involved in this struggle: Russia, the EU, various EU members, the countries of the Caspian Basin (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan) and the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Egypt) as well as the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya). It analyses in great detail the colliding interests of all actors at the intersection of business and (...more

Using input-output analysis, this research project investigates the role of services in the Central European new EU member states (NMS) – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia – and compares it to that in Austria. The role of services includes not only their position in the production structure per se but also their increasing importance as an intermediate input for manufacturing and other services. As services were underdeveloped under the former system in the new EU member states, it is interesting to look at their features and changes over time. The analysis ...more

Content The wiiw Industrial Database Eastern Europe is an indispensable tool for analysing industrial restructuring and changing patterns of specialization in Eastern Europe covers 13 countries, a long time span and a wide range of indicators allows for a comparison across countries, individual industries and over time data provided according to NACE Rev. 1 classification The database contains about 14,500 time series on industry in Central, East and Southeast Europe. The 13 countries currently covered are: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, La...more