1955 research outputs found
Sort by
Environment and Economy Interactions in the Western Balkans: Current Situation and Prospects
No full textIn the sustainable development paradigm, the environment and the economy are closely intertwined in many ways. Everything that happens in the environment, whether positive or negative, has a considerable impact on the economy, and vice versa. This research aims to gain a better understanding of the existing condition and prospects of economic-environmental links in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). The issue of environmental protection is fundamental, especially given the Western Balkan countries’ desire to join the European Union and the fact that the decisions made by their governments will have an impact not only on the environment in the region but also on the environment of other countries on the European continent. After gaining a deeper theoretical understanding of the economy-environment relationship, we proceed with a desk study of the economic and environmental state and prospects for the Western Balkans and individual countries. A panel regression analysis is used to further investigate the GDP-CO2 link in the Western Balkan region. The findings show that higher GDP values are associated with higher CO2 emissions and that each additional increase in GDP above the average results in 0.08% higher CO2 emissions. All this confirms that economic growth has harmed the environment in the Western Balkans over the last six decades
The impact of high-tech products exports on economic growth – the case of Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary
Get PDFInnovative capacity represents the ability of long-term production and
commercialization of the flow of innovative technologies and is an essential
factor influencing competitiveness in modern economies. When it comes
to innovation, research and development, gross domestic product (GDP)
is often used as an indicator of investment opportunities at the national
level to gain insight into the country’s ability to improve innovation and
competitiveness. Accordingly, this paper aims to determine whether
the export of high-tech products, as one of the results of innovation
in the economy, measured by GDP growth, has a positive effect on
overall economic growth. For the analysis process to have a comparative
character, four countries were included in the empirical research: Serbia,
Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The international Eurostat database was
used as the main source of data, and the period covered by this survey
is from 2008 to 2018. A simple linear regression model was applied in
the analysis to determine the relationship between the share of hightech products in the country’s total exports and GDP per capita. The
research results in this paper show that it was not possible to confirm
the positive relationship between exports of high-tech products and GDP
growth in the case of Serbia, Hungary and Romania, while in the case of
Bulgaria, the impact of growth in exports of high-tech products on GDP
growth can be confirmed. According to the obtained results, it is most
adequate that the issue of innovation, exports and economic growth
is not observed exclusively through the development and application
of innovations in high-tech industries. We need to look at the broader
context in terms of how much innovation can improve exports and the
overall business of medium and technologically inferior (less demanding)
industries, what innovations these industries need, and how to develop
and implement them
Do Persons with Disabilities Perceive Digital Platform Work as a Chance for Employment?
Get PDFAccording to the SORS data, persons with disabilities make up approximately
10% of the total population in Serbia (between 700,000 and 800,000 persons)
(Marković, 2014). Of that number, only about 13% are employed,
significantly less than the 42.5% employment rate in the total population
(Mamula Nikolić et al., 2019). The low employment rate among persons with
disabilities results from discrimination, unperformed assessment of work-related functional abilities, unfavorable socio-economic background, and low
educational and skill levels. The advances in digital technology can offer fairer
work opportunities for traditionally excluded groups in the labor market. This
paper aims to investigate the attitude of persons with disabilities towards work
on online labor platforms (so-called freelance platforms) and assess the level
of their digital competencies and digital entrepreneurial competencies as a
precondition for this type of work engagement.
To obtain information on socio-economic background, the level of digital
competencies and digital entrepreneurial competencies of persons with
disabilities in Serbia, their knowledge of the digital labor platforms, and the
intention to engage in digital freelance work, the authors developed a
structured, four-point Likert scale questionnaire. The assessment of the possessed level of digital competencies is performed by applying the
methodology used in the Digital Competences Development System –
Contents of the Self-Assessment Tool (2018). This methodology is essentially
based on DigComp 2.1 framework.
This research concludes that a significant percentage of persons with
disabilities in Serbia positively assess their general digital competencies. It
could result from numerous retraining programs organized by the National
Employment Service (nsz.gov.rs). On the other hand, digital entrepreneurial
competencies, knowledge of freelance platforms' work mechanisms, and
employment opportunities they offer were not rated accordingly. The
respondents mainly stated that they have never created a digital business, have
no intention of starting one, would not know how to apply for a job on a digital
labor platform, nor to determine a price for their work.
Due to unfavorable socio-economic status, persons with disabilities are at a
higher risk of long-term unemployment and withdrawal from the labor market.
The results of this research point to the need for introducing tailor- made
retraining programs in digital competencies and digital entrepreneurship,
which could provide persons with disabilities with practical knowledge and
empower them for self-employment through digital entrepreneurship on
digital labor platforms. The results and insights that this paper offers could be
beneficial for persons with disabilities and policymakers.
A plethora of studies have already addressed the topic of digital competencies
among the general population. Anyhow, the evidence regarding the digital
competencies of persons with disabilities is scarce. Accordingly, a research
gap is determined, as there is a lack of evidence on the intention of persons
with disabilities to engage in work on online labor platforms. This paper can serve as a starting point in investigating the
alternatives to traditional employment for traditionally excluded groups from
the labor market. This paper's limitation is that the authors have examied
only the basic digital competencies of persons with disabilities. Further
research should examine advanced digital competencies and specialized skills
needed for engagement in the online labor market
With a little help from my friends: Medium-Term effects of a remedial education program targeting Roma minority
Get PDFA poor-performing student can achieve better results by following the footprints of an older friend. In this paper,
we study a remedial education program that takes advantage of this phenomenon. Introduced in Serbian primary
schools in 2009, the Roma Teaching Assistant Program targets underachieving students belonging to the Roma
minority. It assigns one person, usually Roma, to each school participating to provide support to targeted pupils
and create a bridge with their community. We estimate its medium-term effects on educational attainments at the
end of primary school by comparing students in schools participating and in schools that applied, but were not
selected, before and after the introduction of the program. The impacts on marks and standardized test scores are
modest, although positive and bigger in schools with a lower percentage of Roma. Roma students are, however,
more likely to choose longer secondary school tracks, a requirement for entering higher education
The Impact of Investment on the Economic Activity of the Balkan Silk Road Countries
No full textThe aim of this chapter is to examine the impact of investment in research and development on economic growth, as well as the nature of the impact of trade openness and foreign direct investment on extended Balkan Silk Road economies. The authors used the general econometric specification of the regression panel model and for the period from 2002 to 2018. The results showed that expenditures on research and development and trade openness have a significant positive effect on the gross domestic product of the countries with lower GDP per capita, while foreign direct investment in these countries has a neutral and nonsignificant impact on gross domestic product. For the countries with higher GDP per capita, expenditures on research and development have a marginally negative effect on the gross domestic product. Trade openness is significantly positive, while foreign direct investments have a significant but neutral effect on the gross domestic product. The main limitations of the research are the use of data on total R&D investment and foreign trade relations instead of sectoral
Digitalne veštine u funkciji održivog turizma Srbije
Get PDFTurizam je u poslednjih dvadeset godina doživeo eksponencijalni rast prometa, čime su u velikoj meri potencirani
negativni efekti koje ova privredna grana ima na životnu sredinu. Uticaj se, kroz povećanje broja posetilaca, prenosi na
širenje saobraćaja i neophodne infrastrukture, izgradnju objekata i urbanizaciju što posledično utiče na klimatske promene,
ugrožavanje biljnih i životinjskih vrsta, zagađenje vode i vazduha. Da bi se sprečila dalja deprivacija prirodnih i turističkih
resursa neophodno uložiti sistematski i kontinuirani napor, a jedna od mogućnosti je upotreba digitalne tehnologije u
turizmu. Brojni su primeri upotrebe tehnologije u turizmu, što je postalo posebno značajno tokom Covid krize, od kada se
pojavila potreba za bezkontaktnim mogućnostima komunikacije, plaćanja i slično. Među najvažnijim digitalnim konceptima
primenljivim u turizmu su kompjutersko simulaciono modeliranje, elektronski sistemi za upravljanje destinacijom,
informacioni sistemi za upravljanje okruženjem, GPS, bežična i mobilna tehnologija, virtuelni turizam i gejmifikacija.
Međutim, treba imati u vidu da uspešna implementacija digitalnih rešenja zahteva odgovarajući stepen digitalnih veština
zainteresovanih strana. Cilj ovog rada je da na osnovu mikropodataka Republičkog zavoda za statistiku RS utvrdi nivo
digitalnih veština radno sposobnog stanovništva angažovanog u oblasti pružanja usluga, sa ciljem da se utvrdi da li postoji
dovoljan nivo veština za primenu digitalnih tehnologija u turizmu u Srbiji
Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing: Challenges and Opportunities for Serbian Railways
Get PDFThe paper presents research that proposes
prototype solutions based on open innovations, the Internet
of Things, and crowdsourcing, which can increase traffic safety and reduce human casualties and material damage. The
paper's authors conducted the research in cooperation with
the Faculty of Organizational Sciences (FON) students in Belgrade and railway experts. FON students were presented with
seven typical situations on the railway in Serbia. Traffic safety is often endangered, with human casualties and significant
material damage, and the cause of these negative phenomena
and accidents is not the railway. Traditional technical-technological solutions to these traffic problems to increase safety
are extremely expensive and functionally complex, so they
cannot be comprehensive, universal, and global. After the
research, prototype solutions based on crowdsourcing principles were proposed, based on open innovations and the Internet of Things, to reduce the number and consequences of
such characteristic situations on the railway. The research
results confirm that open innovations based on crowdsourcing and the Internet of Things can increase safety in specific
segments of railway traffic
Parenthood and Labour Market Outcomes in Serbia
Get PDFUsing the Labour Force Survey data for the period 2014 to 2018 for Serbia, this paper explores the effect of parenthood on the labour market trajectories of
parents, the so-called ‘parenthood penalty’.
We find that mothers are less likely than
non-mothers to be active in the labour
market when their children are very young,
but this effect is transitory, and mothers of
older children are actually more likely to be
active than non-mothers. Similarly, we observe that mothers of small children are less
like-ly to work overtime than non-mothers,
but also that both parents of older children
are more likely to engage in overtime work
than men and women without children.
We find a motherhood penalty in terms
of hourly wages for mothers with younger children, but the penalty is not significant
as children become older. By contrast, fathers are more likely to be active than nonfathers. We do not find an effect of fatherhood on hours worked or hourly wages.
Overall, our results suggest that the motherhood penalty is present in Serbia in the
early stages when children are young, but
motherhood does not seem to have lasting
effects on the labour market participation,
hours worked, or wage rates of mothers. We
do not find evidence of a fatherhood bonus,
but we find that fathers are more likely to be
active than non-fathers
