Infrastructure In Central Eastern And Southeastern Europe

CESEE countries lag in terms of infrastructure compared to the EU15, and deficient infrastructure is often cited as a constraint to growth and convergence. Investing in infrastructure is therefore an important long-standing policy issue for the region. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, infrastructure investment has also gained some ground as economies look to support activity in the recovery phase once the virus has been contained. Against this backdrop, this project seeks to benchmark infrastructure in CESEE, assess the macro impact of higher infrastructure investment, and discuss policies issues to maximize such impact. First, we benchmark infrastructure in the region versus the EU15, across various infrastructure sectors and using different methodologies. Second, deploying empirical estimates and model-based simulations, we analyze the macroeconomic impact of boosting infrastructure investment. Third, we present an in-depth analysis of policy issues: enhancing public investment management, managing fiscal risks, and mobilizing private sector participation.

World Bank Technical Paper No. 332. Uses firm-level data to measure how the largest industrial firms in five Central and Eastern European countries restructured during 1992-94 and makes projections through 2000. Various measures of restructuring are used, including changes in export performance, factor productivity, profitability, and rate of return on capital. The study reveals which reform strategies have been the most effective in firm restructuring. Also available in Russian: Stock No. 13729 (ISBN 0-8213-3729-7).

The design of infrastructure policies is a controversial issue in the transition economies of Eastern Europe, where the dismal state of infrastructure was widely regarded to be one of the major obstacles to economic recovery and sustained growth. With the imminent enlargement of the EU, Christian von Hirschhausen provides a detailed, reflective analysis of the state of infrastructure development in Eastern Europe.

This paper discusses the robust growth that continues in most Central and Southeastern European economies as well as in Turkey. Accommodative macroeconomic policies, improving financial intermediation, and rising real wages have been behind the region’s mostly consumption-driven rebound, while private investment remained subdued. In the near-term, strong domestic demand is expected to continue supporting growth amid continued low or negative inflation. The Russian economy went through a sharp contraction last year amid plunging oil prices and sanctions. Other CIS countries were hurt by domestic political and financial woes, as well as by weak demand from Russia. In 2016, output contraction is projected to moderate to around 11⁄2 percent from 41⁄4 percent in 2015 as the shocks that hit the CIS economies gradually reverberate less and activity stabilizes. In the baseline, a combination of supportive monetary policy and medium-term fiscal consolidation remains valid for many economies in the region.

The collapse of previous command economic structures in Eastern Europe has led to an often chaotic reorganization of transport operations. Southeastern Europe in particular not only lags behind the western EU countries in terms of transport infrastructure, but also in terms of management and policy. However, despite this, or perhaps even because there are no long-standing established patterns, this region is a fertile territory for innovation. Based on the first major international conference dealing with transport issues in Southeastern Europe, this edited volume brings together key researchers and policy makers to discuss and critically analyse these innovations. Focusing on issues related to privatization and harmonization of national legislation, the contributors also address the countries' struggle with inadequate management structures and the challenges posed in running shipping, ports and railways in a region fragmented into numerous nations and states. It not only provides an up-to-date overview of transport operations and planning in Southeastern Europe, but also provides more general insights into recent and current developments in a region that has undergone widespread upheavals in the past two decades, and is now experiencing renewed growth.

This timely book explores the long-standing process of infrastructural integration across Europe, with a particular focus on the EU member states. It illuminates the main economic infrastructure sectors, including transport, energy and information, examining how the process of infrastructural integration reflects an alignment of the needs of the states that are the main drivers behind this process.