Institution Building for Regional Policy in Central and Eastern European Countries – Ready for Accession to the EU?
Gerhard Heimpold
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 6,
2002
Abstract
The contribution investigates the state of institution building for regional policy purposes in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary - candidate countries, which are preparing to become EU member states. In comparison with the situation at the beginning of the 1990s, when regional policy had only little importance in these countries, some progress has been achieved in the field of institution building, primarily at national level. A lot, however, still has to be done to complete this institution building: adaptation of programmes to the requirements of the EU regulations set for structural funds, designation of the management authorities and paying authorities, better coordination between the various central state institutions involved in regional policy, inclusion of regions into the national programming process. The competencies of these latter in the sphere of regional policy, which should be strengthened in the course of administrative reform in all the countries investigated, have not gained a foothold yet. In the accession states there is a need to clarify how the regions could be involved in the process of elaboration and realization of regional policy programmes.
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Employment in the East German environmental sector - an analysis based on the IAB Company Panel
Walter Komar
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 13,
2001
Abstract
The estimations of environmental employment in this paper are based on an analysis of IAB-Firm-Panel. In 1999 182 000 man were working in production of environmental goods and services. Recording to self-assessment of firms intermediate term environmental employment will increase in environmental services sector, particulary in the field of climate protection.
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Climate protection policy in the housing sector: Lacking impact and need for action
Steffen Hentrich
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 11,
2001
Abstract
Energy savings in the rental housing sector may contribute to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emission. However, emissions have gone up since the early nineties despite of large energy saving potentials. In general the effects of energy saving regulations and support programmes were overestimated. Unfortunately, these programmes ignore market specific restraints.
Markets do not provide optimal incentives to prevent emissions since the costs of greenhouse gas emissions are not fully internalised in fuel prices. Special characteristics of rental housing market in Germany enhance this deficit. Consequently profitable measures of saving energy are neglected. Overall the effectiveness of regulations and support programmes suffers.
Therefore it is necessary to strengthen energy saving incentives. Suitable instruments would include a gradual rise in fuel taxes (Öko-Steuer), a reduction of rental housing market control and measures to improve the transparency of energy consumption.
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