Foreign direct investment and economic development:an interactive relationship

With the increasing importance of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), there have been substantial studies on this issue, both empirically and theoretically. However, most existing studies focus on either the impacts of FDI presence or the determinants of FDI inflows, ignoring the fact that inward FDI and economic development may simultaneously affect each other. This thesis sets out to examine the interactive effects between FDI and economic development. The whole thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter One is an overall introduction to the thesis. Chapter Two presents a theoretical study and chapter Two and Three provide two empirical studies. Chapter Five concludes. Chapter Two presents a theoretical two-sector model that features the importance of human capital in attracting foreign investment. This model theoretically explains why FDI is more likely to occur among countries that are similar in terms of human capital and technology. On the other hand, MNCs must train local employees to work with firm-specific technology and hence improve the technological skills of local workers. In Chapter Two, an empirical model is constructed to detect whether the productivities of foreign and local firms impact each other. The model is tested on China’s data at the industry level. The results indicate that productivity growth of local and foreign firms are jointly determined. Evidence also suggests that the extent to which spillovers occur varies with difference technology levels of local firms. Chapter Four investigates the relationship between FDI and economic grown based on a panel of data for 84 countries over the period 1970-1999. Both equations of FDI inflow and GDP growth are examined. The results indicate that FDI not only directly promotes economic growth by itself, but also indirectly does so via its interaction terms. There is a strong positive interaction effect of FDI with human capital and a strong negative interaction effect of FDI with technology gap on economic growth in developing countries.

An appraisal of employment problems and policies at the micro-economic level

This study has concentrated on the development of an impact simulation model for use at the sub-national level. The necessity for the development of this model was demonstrated by the growth of local economic initiatives during the 1970's, and the lack of monitoring and evaluation exercise to assess their success and cost-effectiveness. The first stage of research involved the confirmation that the potential for micro-economic and spatial initiatives existed. This was done by identifying the existence of involuntary structural unemployment. The second stage examined the range of employment policy options from the macroeconomic, micro-economic and spatial perspectives, and focused on the need for evaluation of those policies. The need for spatial impact evaluation exercise in respect of other exogenous shocks, and structural changes was also recognised. The final stage involved the investigation of current techniques of evaluation and their adaptation for the purpose in hand. This led to a recognition of a gap in the armoury of techniques. The employment-dependency model has been developed to fill that gap, providing a low-budget model, capable of implementation at the small area level and generating a vast array of industrially disaggregate data, in terms of employment, employment-income, profits, value-added and gross income, related to levels of United Kingdom final demand. Thus providing scope for a variety of impact simulation exercises.

Local economic development initiatives and the transition from training and enterprise councils to new institutional structures in England

Current British government economic development policy emphasises regional and sub-regional scale, multi-agent initiatives that form part of national frameworks to encourage a 'bottom up' approach to economic development. An emphasis on local multi-agent initiatives was also the mission of Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Using new survey evidence this article tracks the progress of a number of initiatives established under the TECs, using the TEC Discretionary Fund as an example. It assesses the ability of successor bodies to be more effective in promoting local economic development. Survey evidence is used to confirm that many projects previously set up by the TECs continue to operate successfully under new partnership arrangements. However as new structures have developed, and policy has become more centralized, it is less likely that similar local initiatives will be developed in future. There is evidence to suggest that with the end of the TECs a gap has emerged in the institutional infrastructure for local economic development, particularly with regard to workforce development. Much will depend in future on how the Regional Development Agencies deploy their growing power and resources.

A fittség (m)értéke. A fizikai inaktivitás nemzetgazdasági terhei Magyarországon (The value (degree) of fitness. The national economic costs of physical inactivity in Hungary)

Az elmúlt években Magyarországon is fokozatosan nőtt az érdeklődés az életminőség vizsgálata iránt. A 2004-2006 közötti időszakra készült első Nemzeti Fejlesztési Terv fő célkitűzése a lakosság életminőségének javítása volt, de célját nem érte el, mivel a WHO 2010 májusában közzétett statisztikája szerint a magyarországi életminőség-mutatók az európai rangsor végén találhatók. Elszomorító az Eurobarométer 2010. évi reprezentatív kutatásának eredménye: a népesség 77 százalékának életmódja mozgásszegény, fizikailag inaktív. Kutatásunk során azt a ténylegesen hiánypótló célt kívántuk elérni, hogy meghatározzuk és számszerűsítsük a mozgásszegény életmódból adódó nemzetgazdasági terheket, valamint megbecsüljük a fizikai inaktivitás csökkentésével elérhető megtakarítások számszerűsíthető mértékét. Az Országos Egészségbiztosítási Pénztár (OEP) és egy saját országos kérdőíves kutatás (n = 1158) adataira támaszkodtunk. A fizikai inaktivitás betegségeire vonatkozó megtakarítási lehetőségeket tételesen határoztuk meg, majd megállapítottuk az inaktivitásból származó gazdasági terheket, aminek alapján a döntéshozók elkészíthetik a fizikai inaktivitás csökkentésre alkalmas akcióterveiket. Ezzel nemcsak a lakosság "közérzete" javulhat számottevően, de komolyabb költségeket is meg lehet takarítani közép- és hosszú távon. / === / Interest in examining the quality of life has increased steadily in Hungary in recent years. Improving it was the main objective of the first National Development Plan, for the 2004-6 period, but it failed to do so, for Hungary's indices for quality of life were at the bottom of the European list according to figures published by the WHO in May 2010. The results of the representative research Furobarometer 2010 are saddening: 77 per cent of the population pursue a low-exercise, physically inactive lifestyle. The authors' researches sought to fill a gap by measuring and quantifying the national economic costs of a low-exercise lifestyle and to estimate quantitatively the savings to be made by reducing such physical inactivity. The paper relics on the data of the National Health Insurance Fund and on an authors' questionnaire (n = 1158). The potential savings on illness relating to physical activity are listed one by one. to arrive at the economic costs of such inactivity, based on which it is possible for decision-makers to prepare adequate action plans for reducing physical inactivity. This will improve the "morale" of the public and bring appreciable savings in the medium and long term.

Világgazdasági folyamatok és nemzetgazdasági alkalmazkodás 2001-2011: Fejlett országok (USA) – és Magyarország esete = World economic trends adjustment to changes 2001-2011: Developed countries (USA) and the case of Hungary

Az első rész az USA és a legfejlettebb ipari országok, a G7 konjunkturális ingadozásait kívánja értelmezni egy pénzügyileg jóval globalizáltabb világgazdaságban egy hosszabb1970-2010 és egy rövidebb 2001-2010 közötti időszakban. Mindenekelőtt arra keresve választ, hogy mennyire lehetett előre látni a súlyos pénzügyi válság és outputvesztés jövetelét. Továbbá arra, hogy a 2011-ig felgyülemlett empirikus tapasztalatok tükrében vajon beszélhetünk-e egységes, a fejlett ipari országok, /G7/ egészére általában jellemző, és a meghatározó országok esetében is megragadható válságlefolyásról? Megállapíthatók-e olyan univerzálisan megjelenő változások a kibocsátás, a munkapiacok, a fogyasztás, a beruházás tekintetében, amelyek jól illeszkednek a korábbi tapasztalatokhoz, nem kevésbé az ismert makro modellek predikcióihoz? A válasz nemleges. Sem a válság lefolyásának jellegzetességei és a makrogazdasági teljesítmények romlásának ütemei, sem a visszacsúszás mértékei és időbeli kiterjedésében a vizsgált fejlett országok nem mutattak jól azonosítható közös jegyeket, olyanokat, amelyeket a meglévő elméleti keretekbe jól beilleszthetők. A válság lefolyása és mélysége sokféle volt a G7 ország-csoportban. A korábbi válságértelmezések, főleg a pénzügyi csatornák szerepei tekintetében és a nemzetközi konjunkturális összefonódás jelentőségét és mechanizmusait, valamint a globális válságterjedés illetően elégtelennek bizonyultak. A tanulmány áttekinti a válsággal és makrogazdasági sokkokkal foglalkozó empirikus irodalom pénzügyi globalizáció értelmezési nyomán relevánsnak tartott gyakran idézett munkákat. Ezt követően egy hosszú történelemi, a II. vh. utáni 60 év távlatát átfogó vizsgálatban próbáljuk megítélni a recessziós időszakokban az amerikai gazdaság teljesítményét, annak érdekében, hogy az elmúlt válság súlyosságának megítélése legalább a fontosabb makro-változók változásának a nagyságrendje tekintetében a helyére kerüljön. A tartós output rés /output gap/ és munkapiaci eltérések magyarázata más és más elemeket takart az USA-ban, Japánban és Németországban. A pénzügyi csatornákban keletkező, a növekedést és a konjunktúrát érdemben befolyásoló, torzító és sokk-gerjesztő mechanizmusok nem tejesen új-keletűek, az USA-ban. A privát szféra eladósodottsági mutatói - a szövetségi kormány adósság-terheinek cipelésében - a bevett makro felfogással ellentétben - az elmúlt 30 évben nem mutattak szoros és egyirányú (negatív) összefüggést a növekedéssel és recessziókkal. A második rész a pénzügyi globalizáció után kialakult nemzeti alkalmazkodás lehetőségeit vizsgálja, különös tekintettel a kis nyitott gazdaságokra, és így Magyarországra nézve. E tanulmány a globális pénzügyi folyamatok két fontos kérdését taglalja: a nemzetközi tőkeáramlás fokozott liberalizációjából húzható előnyök közgazdasági lényegét; valamint a fokozott nemzetközi tőkeáramláshoz leginkább illeszkedő, „adekvát” árfolyamrendszer kérdését. A következetések részben elméletiek, részben gyakorlatorientáltak. Megerősítésre kerül azon állítás, hogy a tőkeforgalom liberalizációjának és a megvalósítandó árfolyam-politikának a kérdése mind a mai napig erősen problematikus. Sem a tőkeforgalom liberalizációját, sem a megvalósítandó adekvát árfolyamrezsimet illetően nem lehet egységes és elméletileg minden tekintetben megalapozott álláspontról beszélni. Az ún. „lehetetlen szentháromság”, a külföldi és a belföldi célok szimultán követésének különös nehézsége a kis nyitott gazdaságok, és így a magyar gazdaságban még fokozottabban érvényesül. A nemzetközi pénzügyi integráltság magas foka miatt a hagyományos eszközökkel – kamat és fiskális gazdaságélénkítő lépésekkel - nem lehetséges, egy irányba mutató, vagy egymást nem gyengítő, szimultán lépésekkel szabályozni a belföldi és külföldi hitelkeresletet, illetve a konjunktúrát. A kamatpolitika, a forint- és devizahitelezés nehézségei ezt fokozottan illusztrálják Magyarországon is. Ugyanakkor a mindenkori gazdaságpolitika nem bújhat ki azon kényszer alól, hogy egy változó globális pénzügyi környezetben is tatható arányokat találjon a belföldi és a külgazdasági célok között. „Királyi út” azonban nincs a gazdaságpolitika számára. Ez a megállapítás igaz a jegybanki szerepvállalásra is, amely a felduzzadt magyar devizaadósság által okozott bankrendszer szintű kockázatok kezelésére irányul.

One More Awareness Gap? The Behaviour–Impact Gap Problem

Preceding research has made hardly any attempt to measure the ecological impacts of pro-environmental behaviour in an objective way. Those impacts were rather supposed or calculated. The research described herein scrutinized the ecological impact reductions achieved through pro-environmental behaviour and raised the question how much of a reduction in carbon footprint can be achieved through voluntary action without actually affecting the socio-economic determinants of life. A survey was carried out in order to measure the difference between the ecological footprint of “green” and “brown” consumers. No significant difference was found between the ecological footprints of the two groups—suggesting that individual pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour do not always reduce the environmental impacts of consumption. This finding resulted in the formulation of a new proposition called the BIG (behaviour–impact gap) problem, which is an interesting addition to research in the field of environmental awareness gaps.

The Europe of Elites. A Study into the Europeanness of Europe's Political and Economic Elites

Contents: 1 Introduction: European integration as an elite project, Heinrich Best, György Lengyel, and Luca Verzichelli; 2 Europe à la carte? European citizenship and its dimensions from the perspective of national elites, Maurizio Cotta and Federico Russo; 3 Ready to run Europe? Perspectives of a supranational career among EU national elites, Nikolas Hubé and Luca Verzichelli; 4 National elites’ preferences on the Europeanization of policy making, José Real-Dato, Borbála Göncz, and György Lengyel; 5 The other side of European identity: elite perceptions of threats to a cohesive Europe, Irmina Matonyté and Vaidas Morkevicius; 6 Elites’ views on European institutions: national experiences sifted through ideological orientations, Daniel Gaxie and Nicolas Hubé; 7 Patterns of regional diversity in political elites’ attitudes, Mladen Lazic, Miguel Jerez-Mir, Vladimir Vuletic, and Rafael Vázquez-García; 8 The elites–masses gap in European integration, Wolfgang C. Müller, Marcelo Jenny, and Alejandro Ecker; 9 Party elites and the domestic discourse on the EU, Nicolo Conti; 10 Elite foundations of European integration: a causal analysis, Heinrich Best; 11 Elites of Europe and the Europe of elites: a conclusion, Heinrich Best; 12 Appendix. Surveying elites: information on the study design and field report of the IntUne elite survey, György Lengyel and Stefan Jahr.

Összegződnek-e az egyéni törekvések? A cselekvés és az eredmény közötti szakadék problémája (Can individual efforts be aggregated? The problem of the action-impact gap)

A szerző arra a kérdésre keresi a választ, hogyan alakulhat ki látványos szakadék az egyéni cselekvések iránya és azok együttes hatása között. A szándékok és tettek hatását felülírhatja a társadalmi gazdasági tényezőkből adódó tehetetlenség: a kritikus tömeg hiánya, szervezeti-infrastrukturális tényezők, kompenzációs hatások, egymás hatását kioltó cselekvések. A szerző a környezettudatosság és az ökológiai lábnyom példáján - ezerfős reprezentatív felmérésre alapozva - mutatja be, hogy az önkéntességre alapozó megközelítés sokszor túlbecsüli a fogyasztó - társadalmi-gazdasági tényezők által korlátozott - lehetőségeit és szuverenitását. _____ Behaviour impact gaps are demonstrably present in everyday life. It is increasingly found that environmental awareness in individuals fails to lead to reductions in the ecological footprint. Intensive agricultural practice reduces biodiversity in the EU even in areas where massive agri-environmental grant schemes are available and applied. Labour market training programmes do not necessarily facilitate job-finding for underprivileged segments of the society. So individual efforts may not add up or induce the expected effect. This outcome appears even for programmes that are successful in attaining the required behavioural change in a target group. The impact of attitudes and individual acts may be wiped out by structural and economic lock-ins such as trade-offs made for the gains, lack of a critical mass of actions, infrastructural deficiencies, or interfering acts of economic actors. The discrepancy between environmental awareness and ecological footprint is used to point out how awareness-raising programmes may miss their targets by overestimating the sovereignty and capabilities of consumers. Consumers are unwillingly locked into unsustainable practices and cannot be moved from that position unless economic and structural premises are also changed.

The civic achievement gap: A study on the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools

This study assessed the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic eighth grade students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), Florida. Three hundred sixty one Hispanic students of Cuban (253), Colombian (57), and Nicaraguan (51) ancestry from 10 middle schools participated in the study. Two hundred twenty eight students were from low socio-economic status (SES) background, and 133 were of middle SES background. There were 136 boys and 225 girls. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Civic Education Student Questionnaire was used to collect data. The instrument assessed the students’ civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test for differences in the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of participants based on ancestry, SES, and gender. ^ The findings indicated that there was no significant difference in the civic knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Hispanic eighth grade students that were of Cuban, Colombian, and Nicaraguan ancestry. There was no significant difference in the civic skills and in five of the civic attitude scales for students from low SES families compared to those from middle SES families. However, there was a significant difference in the civic knowledge and in the civic attitude concerning classroom discussions and participation based on SES. The civic knowledge of middle SES students was higher than that of low SES students. Furthermore, middle SES Hispanic students displayed a higher mean score for the civic attitude of classroom discussions and participation than low SES students. There was no significant difference in the civic knowledge and in five of the civic attitude scales between boys and girls. However, there was a significant difference in the civic skills and the civic attitude of support for women’s rights between boys and girls. Hispanic girls displayed a higher mean score in civic skills than Hispanic boys. Furthermore, the mean score of civic attitude of support for women’s rights for Hispanic girls was higher than that of Hispanic boys. ^ It was concluded that Cuban, Colombian, or Nicaraguan participants did not demonstrate differences in civic attitudes and levels of civic knowledge and skills that eighth grade students possessed. In addition, when compared to boys, girls demonstrated a higher level of civic skills and a greater support for women’s rights and participation in politics and their roles in politics. Moreover, SES was demonstrated to be a key factor in the acquisition of civic knowledge, regardless of ancestry.^

Women-led community development organizations (CDOs) in Miami-Dade County: A model of community development efforts impacting the economic security of women

Recent studies on the economic status of women in Miami-Dade County (MDC) reveal an alarming rate of economic insecurity and significant obstacles for women to achieve economic security. Consistent barriers to women's economic security affect not only the health and wellbeing of women and their families, but also economic prospects for the community. A key study reveals in Miami-Dade County, "Thirty-nine percent of single female-headed families with at least one child are living at or below the federal poverty level" and "over half of working women do not earn adequate income to cover their basic necessities" (Brion 2009, 1). Moreover, conventional measures of poverty do not adequately capture women's struggles to support themselves and their families, nor do they document the numbers of women seeking basic self-sufficiency. Even though there is lack of accurate data on women in the county, which is a critical problem, there is also a dearth of social science research on existing efforts to enhance women's economic security in Miami-Dade County. My research contributes to closing the information gap by examining the characteristics and strategies of women-led community development organizations (CDOs) in MDC, working to address women's economic insecurity. The research is informed by a framework developed by Marilyn Gittell, who pioneered an approach to study women-led CDOs in the United States. On the basis of research in nine U.S. cities, she concluded that women-led groups increased community participation and "by creating community networks and civic action, they represent a model for community development efforts" (Gittell, et al. 2000, 123). My study documents the strategies and networks of women-led CDOs in MDC that prioritize women's economic security. Their strategies are especially important during these times of economic recession and government reductions in funding towards social services. The focus of the research is women-led CDOs that work to improve social services access, economic opportunity, civic participation and capacity, and women's rights. Although many women-led CDOs prioritize building social infrastructures that promote change, inequalities in economic and political status for women without economic security remain a challenge (Young 2004). My research supports previous studies by Gittell, et al., finding that women-led CDOs in Miami-Dade County have key characteristics of a model of community development efforts that use networking and collaboration to strengthen their broad, integrated approach. The resulting community partnerships, coupled with participation by constituents in the development process, build a foundation to influence policy decisions for social change. In addition, my findings show that women-led CDOs in Miami-Dade County have a major focus on alleviating poverty and economic insecurity, particularly that of women. Finally, it was found that a majority of the five organizations network transnationally, using lessons learned to inform their work of expanding the agency of their constituents and placing the economic empowerment of women as central in the process of family and community development.

Investing in the Homeland: Foreign Assets and Patterns of Immigrant Economic Incorporation

This dissertation consists of three separate studies that examine patterns of immigrant incorporation in the United States. The first study tests competing hypotheses derived from conflicting theoretical frameworks−transnational perspective and cross-national framework− to determine whether transnational engagement and incorporation are concurrent processes among Chinese, Indian, and Mexican immigrants. This study measures transnational engagement and incorporation as home and home country asset ownership using multi-panel, nationally representative data from the New Immigrant Survey (NIS) collected in 2003 and 2007. Results support a cross-border framework and indicate that transnational asset ownership decreases among all immigrant groups, while U.S. asset ownership increases. Findings from this study also indicate that due to disadvantaged pre-migration SES and low human capital, Mexican immigrants are less likely than other immigrants to own home country assets during the year after receiving their green card.

The second study examines the doubly disadvantaged position of elderly immigrants in the U.S. wealth distribution by applying the life course perspective to the dominance-differentiation theory of immigrant wealth stratification. I analyze elderly immigrant wealth in respect to U.S.-born seniors and younger immigrant cohorts using two data sets: the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the New Immigrant Survey (NIS). The Survey of Income and Program Participation (2001 to 2005) is a nationally representative survey of U.S. households. The first series of analyses reveals a significant wealth gap between U.S.- and foreign-born seniors which is most pronounced among the wealthiest households in my sample; however, U.S. tenure explains much of this difference. The second series of analyses suggests that elderly immigrants experience greater barriers to incorporation compared to their younger counterparts.

In the third study, I apply a transnational lens to the forms-of-capital and opportunity structure models of entrepreneurship in order to analyze the role of foreign resources in immigrant business start-ups. I propose that home country property use represents financial, social, and class resources that facilitate immigrant entrepreneurship. I test my hypotheses using survey data on Latin American immigrants from the Comparative Immigrant Entrepreneurship Project. Findings from these analyses suggest that home country asset ownership provides financial and social capital that is related to an increased likelihood of immigrant entrepreneurship.

Can a Broader Education Narrow the Gap? Evidence on Non-Academic Features of Schooling

Empirical studies of education programs and systems, by nature, rely upon use of student outcomes that are measurable. Often, these come in the form of test scores. However, in light of growing evidence about the long-run importance of other student skills and behaviors, the time has come for a broader approach to evaluating education. This dissertation undertakes experimental, quasi-experimental, and descriptive analyses to examine social, behavioral, and health-related mechanisms of the educational process. My overarching research question is simply, which inside- and outside-the-classroom features of schools and educational interventions are most beneficial to students in the long term? Furthermore, how can we apply this evidence toward informing policy that could effectively reduce stark social, educational, and economic inequalities?

The first study of three assesses mechanisms by which the Fast Track project, a randomized intervention in the early 1990s for high-risk children in four communities (Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; rural PA; and Seattle, WA), reduced delinquency, arrests, and health and mental health service utilization in adolescence through young adulthood (ages 12-20). A decomposition of treatment effects indicates that about a third of Fast Track’s impact on later crime outcomes can be accounted for by improvements in social and self-regulation skills during childhood (ages 6-11), such as prosocial behavior, emotion regulation and problem solving. These skills proved less valuable for the prevention of mental and physical health problems.

The second study contributes new evidence on how non-instructional investments – such as increased spending on school social workers, guidance counselors, and health services – affect multiple aspects of student performance and well-being. Merging several administrative data sources spanning the 1996-2013 school years in North Carolina, I use an instrumental variables approach to estimate the extent to which local expenditure shifts affect students’ academic and behavioral outcomes. My findings indicate that exogenous increases in spending on non-instructional services not only reduce student absenteeism and disciplinary problems (important predictors of long-term outcomes) but also significantly raise student achievement, in similar magnitude to corresponding increases in instructional spending. Furthermore, subgroup analyses suggest that investments in student support personnel such as social workers, health services, and guidance counselors, in schools with concentrated low-income student populations could go a long way toward closing socioeconomic achievement gaps.

The third study examines individual pathways that lead to high school graduation or dropout. It employs a variety of machine learning techniques, including decision trees, random forests with bagging and boosting, and support vector machines, to predict student dropout using longitudinal administrative data from North Carolina. I consider a large set of predictor measures from grades three through eight including academic achievement, behavioral indicators, and background characteristics. My findings indicate that the most important predictors include eighth grade absences, math scores, and age-for-grade as well as early reading scores. Support vector classification (with a high cost parameter and low gamma parameter) predicts high school dropout with the highest overall validity in the testing dataset at 90.1 percent followed by decision trees with boosting and interaction terms at 89.5 percent.

The principle of legal certainty as a principle of economic efficiency

Legal certainty, a feature of the rule of law, constitutes a requirement for the operational necessities of market interactions. But, the compatibility of the principle of legal certainty with ideals such as liberalism and free market economy must not lead to the hastened conclusion that therefore the principle of legal certainty would be compatible and tantamount to the principle of economic efficiency. We intend to analyse the efficiency rationale of an important general principle of EU law—the principle of legal certainty. In this paper, we shall assert that not only does the EU legal certainty principle encapsulate an efficiency rationale, but most importantly, it has been interpreted by the ECJ as such. The economic perspective of the principle of legal certainty in the European context has, so far, never been adopted. Hence, we intend to fill in this gap and propose the representation of the principle of legal certainty as a principle of economic efficiency. After having deciphered the principle of legal certainty from a law and economics perspective (1), we shall delve into the jurisprudence of the ECJ so that the judicial reasoning of the Court as this reasoning proves the relevance of the proposed representation (2). Finally, we conclude in light of the findings of this paper (3).

Economic crisis and national health system

The text analyzes the impact of the economic crisis in some critical aspects of the National Health System: outcomes, health expenditure, remuneration policy and privatization through Private Public Partnership models. Some health outcomes related to social inequalities are worrying. Reducing public health spending has increased the fragility of the health system, reduced wage income of workers in the sector and increased heterogeneity between regions. Finally, the evidence indicates that privatization does not mean more efficiency and better governance. Deep reforms are needed to strengthen the National Health System.

Financialisation, Capital Accumulation and Economic Development : A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of the Nigerian Economy

The primary focus of this study is to highlight those unobtrusive, yet fundamental, factors undermining economic development in Nigeria. To begin with, it posits that the decelerating pace of capital accumulation in Nigeria, which naturally occasions rising unemployment and poverty levels, and widening inequality gap, is the result of the ‘low possibility’ of capitalist enterprises in the country of earning an adequate rate of profit from their productive processes. In turn, the ‘low possibility’ is argued to be the result of the uneven development inherent in the modern capitalist structure, the high cost of capital and of production peculiar to Nigeria, and the ineffective demand for goods made in Nigeria: these elements are viewed as been precipitated by the contradictions of the contemporary political-economic arrangement that organises the Social Structures of Accumulation. For Nigeria to ‘develop’, it is contended that the unobtrusive elements inherent in the contradiction of the political-economic economic that undermine the capitalists’ ability to earn a commensurate rate of profit in the country needs to be fully addressed first. Furthermore, this study suggests that it is crucial the country embraces knowledge-based industrialisation if it is to achieve some form of ‘competitive advantage’ in the global market, which could enable its productive processes extract a commensurate level of profit from the market. To facilitate the knowledge-based industrialisation, the state should, not only create a conducive environment for industrial development but also play the lead role in transforming the peripheral and oil dependent economy to a knowledge-based economy by coordinating business organisations and investing in high-risk innovations.