2017
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN EUROPE
P Pavlínek, R Aláez-Aller, C Gil-Canaleta, M Ullibarri-Arce (2017)
ETUI Research Paper-Working Paper
This working paper provides an overview of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the automotive industry in Eastern Europe and Spain, examining trends and patterns since the 1990s, with a focus on the 2000s and especially the period after the 2008- 2009 economic crisis. It draws on analyses prepared in the context of an ETUI project on developments in FDI after the crisis of 2008 (see Galgóczi et al. 2015).
The first part focuses on Central Eastern Europe (CEE) as an example of an integrated periphery in the automotive industry where the main characteristics of FDI can be seen. Besides a comparative analysis, the author provides a detailed description of the sector’s developments country by country. The paper argues that the 2008-2009 global economic crisis coincided with the end of the period of rapid expansion of the CEE automotive industry that was related to the opening up of CEE to foreign trade and FDI in the 1990s and European Union membership in the 2000s.
The second part of this working paper seeks to analyse the investment decisions of automotive groups with plants in Spain during the years of the Great Recession, focussing on FDI inflows to vehicle assemblers in Spain. The analysis seeks to provide a description of the trends affecting the position occupied by Spanish vehicle assembly plants in Europe.
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN CZECHIA – GEOGRAPHIC AND MEDICAL CONTEXT
J Jarolímek, P Urban, P Pavlínek, D Dzurova (2017)
International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health 30(3), 455–468
Objectives: The automotive industry represents the most important industrial sector in Czechia. The objective of this study has been to analyze the occurrence of occupational diseases (OD) in the automotive industry during the period from 2001 till 2014. Material and Methods: Data on OD cases was retrieved from the National Registry of OD. Further, we conducted a survey in automotive companies with focus on occupational health services and positions of the companies in global pro- duction networks (GPNs). An analysis of OD distribution in the automotive industry was performed (age, gender, company size and its role in GPNs, regional distribution of studied companies, and regional unemployment rate), and was accom- panied by assessment of the quality and range of occupational health services. Results: Employees older than 40 years old have nearly 2.5 times higher probability of OD occurrence as compared with employees younger than 40 years old (odds ra- tio (OR) = 2.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.05–2.85). Occupational diseases occurrence probability was 3 times higher for women than for men (OR = 3.01, 95% CI: 2.55–3.55). Occupational diseases incidence rates increased with the size of the company (0 OD/10 000 employees in micro enterprises to 57 OD/10 000 employees in large enterprises). A particu- larly steep rise in OD incidents in the automotive industry was observed in the Plzeň Region between 2001 and 2011. An association between OD incidents and the unemployment rate was not statistically confirmed. Conclusions: A statistically significant increase in OD incidents dependent on company size may be arguably attributed to a higher quality of occu- pational medical services in bigger companies, which ensures better detection and diagnosis of OD. In the Plzeň Region, the rapid increase in OD incidents was mainly caused by a change in the production process of automobile textiles in one factory due to the introduction of a glue containing isocyanates, which are potent allergising agents. This led to an increase in occupational allergic diseases – bronchial asthma in particular.
DEPENDENT GROWTH: FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE.
P Pavlinek (2017)
Springer International Publishing
This book offers a critical analysis of recent developments in the automotive industry of East-Central Europe (ECE). Economists, industry specialists and national governments have considered the rapid development of the automotive industry in ECE in the past twenty years an unqualified success. This rapid growth has been based on large inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Western Europe, North America, Japan and South Korea, and it significantly contributed to GDP growth, created thousands of new jobs, and completely transformed the previously existing automotive industry in the region. This volume offers an analysis that goes beyond uncritical celebratory accounts of this rapid growth. It is based on original, detailed firm-level research conducted by the author in Czechia and Slovakia between 2009 and 2015 that covered assembly firms and the networks of component suppliers. Theoretically and conceptually, the analysis will draw on the global production networks and global value chains perspectives. Drawing on the original empirical data and on additional available information, this volume concentrates on several important questions related to the development of the automotive industry in ECE in the 2000s
CLUSTERS, INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS AND THE IMPACT OF THEIR GROWING INTERSECTION WITH GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS
MD Parrilli, J Blažek (2017)
Local Clusters in Global Value Chains, 65-82, Routledge
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EXPLORING THE VARIABILITY AND GEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS OF POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS: REGIONAL AND SPATIAL PERSPECTIVES
P Netrdová, V Nosek (2017)
Moravian Geographical Reports 25 (2), 85-94
The variability and geographical patterns of population characteristics are key topics in Human Geography. There are many approaches to exploring and quantitatively measuring this issue. Besides standard aspatial statistical methods, there is no universal framework for incorporating regional and spatial aspects into the analysis of areal data. This is mainly because complications, such as the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem or the checkerboard problem, hinder analysis. In this paper, we use two approaches which uniquely combine regional and spatial perspectives of the analysis of variability. This combination brings new insights into the exploration of the variability and geographical patterns of population characteristics. The relationship between regional and spatial approaches is studied with models in a regular grid, using variability decomposition (Theil index) as an example of the regional approach, and spatial autocorrelation (Moran’s I) as an example of the spatial approach. When applied to empirical data based on the Czech censuses between 1980 and 2011, the combination of these two approaches enables us to categorise the studied phenomena according to the regional and spatial nature of their variability. This is a useful advance, especially for assessing evolution over time or comparisons between different phenomena.
WHAT VALUES OF MORAN’S I AND THEIL INDEX DECOMPOSITION REALLY MEAN UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS: ON THE ISSUE OF INTERPRETATION
V Nosek, P Netrdová (2017)
Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences 10 (2), 149-159
In recent decades, improved methodological apparatuses and increased data availability have enhanced data analyses in social sciences. Moreover, complex analyses using sophisticated methods take just a matter of seconds nowadays thanks to highly powerful software. However, such methods are often poorly understood from a methodological point of view despite the fact that knowledge of their specific properties is crucial to accurately interpreting the results. In this paper we study methods of spatial aspects of variability and examine a specific property of such methods to demonstrate how it can affect the final interpretation. By modelling data in a regular 100 by 100 grid as well as empirical examples from Czechia based on data from the 2011 Czech census, this paper presents possible interpretation-biases and recommendations for how to avoid them. We use the example of spatial autocorrelation (measured by Moran’s I) and variability decomposition (measured by the Theil index); two basic methods which enable us to measure variability in regions and in space.
THE ROLE OF EU RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN THE NEO-PRODUCTIVIST AGRICULTURAL PARADIGM
M Pelucha, V Kveton (2017)
Regional Studies 51 (12), 1860-1870
The role of EU rural development policy in the neo-productivist agricultural paradigm. Regional Studies. European Union rural development policy tools have renewed their emphasis on agriculture for the period 2014–20. This shift has been driven by an incoming neo-productivism paradigm, a terminology only recently applied to rural studies. This paper focuses on the discussion of European Union rural policy positions in the context of key drivers of neo-productivism. Existing academic debates focus mainly on ‘neo-productivist agriculture’, with less attention paid to rural development policy. This review shows the need to address the terminological issues of this policy and to reflect upon the territorial impact of other sectoral policies.
BARRIERS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT – A CASE STUDY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
M Pelucha, J Kourilova, V Kveton (2017)
Journal of Social Entrepreneurship 8 (2), 129-148
Social entrepreneurship (SE) began to be strongly supported in Central and Eastern European countries during the programming period of 2007–2013. However, the level of SE development still lags behind developed countries. The paper focuses on the identification of barriers to SE development in the Czech Republic and recommendations for policymaking. The value added is the adaptation of the Community of Practice on Inclusive Entrepreneurship methodology and its verification. A limited range of financial support options and a lack of interest of banks to improve the availability of loans were identified as main barriers to the development of SE.
THEORY AND REALITY OF THE EU’S RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY APPLICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF TERRITORIAL COHESION PERSPECTIVE—THE CASE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN THE LONG-TERM PERIOD OF 2004–2013
M Pelucha, V Kveton, K Safr (2017)
Land use policy 62, 13-28
Strategic and legislative documents concerning the EU’s rural development policy emphasise the link with territorial cohesion. Long-term identification of the countryside with agriculture, however, ushered in a focus on this sector in the rural development policy. This has been also further emphasised by the policy inclusion into the Common Agricultural Policy in 2007. The aim of this paper is to assess the socio-economic characteristics of the municipalities, within which subsidies of the rural development policy were localised. The analysis includes the most important tools in terms of financial allocation. These tools are divided into the agricultural and non-agricultural allocations, for the period of 2004–2013. The results of the analysis indicate close interconnections and a targeting of agricultural tools on farmland and municipalities with characteristics of the supported sector. Non-agricultural tools were marginal in financial terms and diversified with respect to their focus. The relationship of the provided subsidies with the socio-economic level of the supported municipalities was not entirely clear. The dominant part of the rural development policy was therefore not implemented in line with the objectives of the socio-economic dimension of territorial cohesion.
EVALUATION CULTURE WITHIN INSTITUTIONAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONTEXT: THE CASE OF EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
M Pelucha, V Kveton (2017)
Evaluation Theory and Practice
Evaluation culture within institutional and methodological context: the case of EU Structural Funds in the Czech Republic