2,116,086 research outputs found
Does strict employment protection discourage job creation? Evidence from Croatia
No full textEmployment protection legislation in Croatia is among the most strict in Europe. Firing is difficult and costly, and flexible forms of employment are limited. Is this apparent rigidity reflected-as one would expect based on standard economic theory-in low labor market dynamics? Is job creation low and hiring limited? Is the job security of insiders achieved at the cost of outsiders not being able to enter thelabor market? The author attempts to answer these questions by examining job flows. If the employment protection legislation is binding, then job and worker turnover should be low. He shows that this is indeed the case. Hiring is limited and the average job tenure is very long in Croatia. Job destruction is low, however job creation is still lower. The result is accumulation of unemployment, in large part due to new labor market entrants not being able to find a job. The high degree of job protection also seems to strengthen the bargaining position of insiders and results in relatively high wages. So, wages in Croatia are higher than among its competitors, even after adjusting for productivity. These high labor costs are likely to contribute to limited job creation in existing firms, but also are likely to discourage the entry of-and thus job creation in-new firms. The author presents evidence that firm growth has been indeed limited in Croatia, contributing to the low employment level. The author examines other potential causes of high unemployment in Croatia (the unemployment benefit system, labor taxation, the wage structure, and skill and spatial mismatches). He argues that they do not play a substantial part in accounting for poor labor market outcomes in Croatia. The author concludes that the stringent employment protection legislation is the key labor market institution behind low job creation and high unemployment. Based on this he recommends specific measures aimed at liberalizing the labor market to foster job creation and employment.Labor Management and Relations,Labor Policies,Labor Markets,Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade Finance and Investment,Labor Markets,Labor Management and Relations,Labor Standards,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies
STRATEGY OF TOURISM IN CROATIA FOR COMPETING ON THE EUROPEAN TOURISM MARKET
No full textThe paper deals with the problems that have arisen due to the rapid development of traveling motives in the world tourism market. Croatia, as Mediterranean tourism country still does not have a clear solution of alternative tourism offer. There are other problems that are generated by the growing number of tourists and changes in tourism consumption. In the paper author have demonstrated the results of influences of trends in the tourist demand side. The changes in the tourist demand have resulted in the change in the concept of mass type of tourism. Such trends have influenced the emergence of specialized producers and offers of typical Croatian products.Strategy, Tourism, Croatia, Alternative tourism, European market.
Welfare policy and social transfers in Croatia
No full textThis Occasional Paper occurred as the byproduct of preparations for writing the report by Predrag Bejaković and Alastair McAuley “Welfare Policy and Social Transfers in the Republic of Croatia”, The World Bank, Europe and Central Asia Region, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit, June 1998. The authors, Predrag Bejaković (Institute of Public Finance, Zagreb, Croatia) and Alastair McAuley (University of Essex, Colchester, England) first published the text in Croatian in the Institute's journal "Financijska praksa", Volume 23, Number 1, (March 1999). This Occasional Paper is the English language translation of the article published in "Financijska praksa"
Croatia and Po Basin : Northern Italy
No full textBoth Croatia and the Po Region share a similar concern at being anchored to a Europe increasingly oriented towards the North. The economies of Croatia and the Po basin are, to a large degree, complementary. The Alpe Adria initiative revealed the success of cooperation in tackling similar problems through inter-regional collaboration. What Croatia needs, after the breakup of Jugoslavia, is the broadest access to the world, the acquisition of foreign markets and economic integration with major development poles in neighbouring European countries. To achieve all this, a major economic pole joining the German area and the Po region is necessary. It is becoming more and more possible for Croatia to forge links and organize exchanges with the Po region. Collaboration between the Po region and Croatia may nowadays turn out to be essential factor in mantainig the peace and prosperity in Europ
The funding and efficiency of higher education in Croatia and Slovenia: a non-parametric comparison
No full textThe paper applies a non-parametric approach, i.e. data envelopment analysis (DEA), to assess the relative technical efficiency of higher education across countries, with a particular focus on Croatia and Slovenia. When estimating the efficiency frontier we focus on measures of quantities outputs/outcomes. The results show that the relatively high public expenditure per student in Croatia could have resulted in a relatively better performance regarding the outputs/outcomes, i.e. a higher rate of higher education school enrolment, a greater rate of labor force with a higher education and a lower rate of the unemployed who have a tertiary education. On the other hand, regardless of the input-output/outcome mix, the higher education system in Slovenia is shown to have a much higher level of efficiency compared to both Croatia and many other comparable EU and OECD countries.higher education; funding; efficiency; DEA; Croatia; Slovenia; EU; OECD
Welfare Policy and Social Transfers in Croatia
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to review the range of social policies that have been adopted by the government of Croatia since independence together with those that have been retained from the socialist past and to ask whether it might be possible to improve them. The paper concentrates on issues of social security and employment. After the Introduction, in Section 2 we provide estimates of the level and composition of social expenditure in Croatia in the last two or three years. These show that the scale of public expenditure has been growing and that it is high compared with a number of other transition economies. This is also true of social expenditure within the overall budget. It is this development that has, in fact, prompted the present report. Section 3 focuses upon the labour market. It assesses evidence on participation and on the level of unemployment. It also examines evidence on inequality and poverty. Finally, it looks at the unemployment benefit to see how far it provides an adequate safety-net for those who lose their jobs. Section 4 concentrates on the structure of social welfare and social assistance programmes provided by the Croatian government. Finally, Section 5 examines possible ways in which the efficacy of the present system might be improved.social welfare, Europe, public policy
Governance Structures for Local Economic Development in Croatia
No full textWho should take care of local economic development in Croatia? This question seems trivial, however, there are still some open questions. According to current legislation, local economic development is an administrative task of the 21 counties, the current units of regional self-government. On the other hand, the cities and municipalities as units of local self-government regularly get involved in economic development activities, though this is not directly defined in the legislation. There is a contradiction concerning development capacity of cities and counties. Cities attract population and economic activity and are usually stronger than counties in terms of financial and human resources that are necessary for economic development activities. This research will question if the existing administrative-territorial setup and functions of counties in Croatia correspond to the needs of economic growth and development on local level. It is also intended to get some insights from contemporary concepts that derive from trade theory, location theory and economic geography. Governance relations between bigger cities and counties in fostering local economic development in Croatia will be examined. For this purpose, local and regional data will be analyzed and through the discussion on existing governance structures, qualitative insights on the appropriateness of the current situation will be presented. The main goal of this research paper is to find quantitative and qualitative justification for an appropriate governance structure for fostering local economic development in Croatia.
Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations - Potentials and Limitations for Financing of Local Development in Croatia
No full textThe major goal of this paper is to give an overview on the most important issues regarding intergovernmental fiscal relations and regional inequalities in Croatia. The first section will give a general background for analysis of intergovernmental fiscal relations. In order to achieve this, the present model of financing of the local and regional self-government units, the number and size of local and regional governments and distribution of functions and revenue sources among levels of government in Croatia will be presented. The second section will elaborate regional inequalities in Croatia measured by several indicators. The aim is to find out degree of correlation among intergovernmental finance system, especially the current grant and equalization system, and regional inequalities in Croatia. The paper will conclude with a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the overall intergovernmental fiscal relations and regional inequalities. This last section will offer several recommendations aiming at the improvement of intergovernmental finance and reduction of regional inequalities in Croatia.
Women in the transformational democratic society of Croatia
No full textThis thesis investigates how women in a transformational, post-conflict country perceive equality between women and men. Specifically, the thesis examines whether there is a need to anticipate, analyze, manage and resolve potential conflict issues perceived by women in Croatia towards increased gender equality in the course of the state's transformation towards full democracy. Through guided interviews, women in Croatia discussed whether the status of their society could be measured, in part, by the representation of women in public, political, and economic spheres. The thesis is guided by the theoretical assumption that gender equality and the political and socio-economic development of Croatia are interrelated; therefore, the contributions women could make in the transformational democratic society of Croatia may be crucial for its successful development towards democracy. This qualitative study offers awareness and insights on women‟s perceptions of gender equality issues experienced in Croatia
Regional disparities in labor market performance in Croatia : the role of individual and regional structural characteristics
No full textThe labor market performance in Croatia failed to keep pace with the moderately good overall macroeconomic development in the past few years. Youth, the less well-educated, and women face more difficulties in getting a job with a decent salary. A large part of the difference in regional labor market performance is associated with the difference in the human capital endowment. With a stagnant total employment rate, the large disparities in employment and earnings across individual groups and regions have become one of the concerns for the long-term sustainable development of the economy. Using Labor Force Survey (LFS) data from 2002-04, this paper studies the labor market performance in Croatia at the national and regional levels. The results show that both one's individual characteristics (including age, education and gender) and where he or she works plays a role in his or her employment and earnings. Regional differences in employment and earnings are reduced to a large extent when accounting for differences in individual characteristics. The simulations shed light on the effectiveness of the nationwide education policy and regional specific labor market policy, and suggest that improving human capital endowment and adjusting labor market structure are both important to rebalance regional development and enhance total welfare.Labor Markets,Access&Equity in Basic Education,Population Policies,Education For All,Gender and Education
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