INFRASTRUCTURE AS A COMPETITIVENESS FACTOR IN THE WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES
Abstract
The concept of a country’s competitiveness has increasingly gained in importance recently, although it is still contested in theory. Well developed and interconnected transport and energy infrastructures are the key drivers of economic growth and employment as well as important factors for attracting new investments and improving competitiveness. By using the GCI (WEF) dataset, the paper considers the global competitiveness of the six countries of the Western Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia) for the period 2006-2014, with particular emphasis on the importance of the second GCI pillar (Infrastructure) for improving competitiveness in these countries. The paper demonstrates a weak trend in infrastructure development of the region and a lack of balance among the countries in terms of the observed indicators. Hence there is a need for comprehensive infrastructure strategies in every individual country observed and also through joint regional approach to this problem.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Agbelie, B. R. (2014) An empirical analysis of three econometric frameworks for evaluating economic impacts of transportation infrastructure expenditures across countries. Transport Policy, 35, 304-310.
Cvetanović, S. Zlatković, A., & Cvetanović, D. (2011) Putna infrastruktura kao komponenta fizičkog kapitala u modelima privrednog rasta, Put i saobraćaj, 57(4):35-40.
Cvetanović, S. Zlatković, A., & Cvetanović, D. (2012) Investicije u opremu i puteve i ekonomska konvergencija zemalja, Put i saobraćaj, 58(3): 21-28.
Despotovic, D. Z., Cvetanović, S. Ž., & Nedić, V. M. (2014) Innovativeness and competitiveness of the Western Balkan countries and selected EU member states. Industrija, 42(1), 27-45.
Erber, G. (1995) Public infrastructure, productivity and competitiveness: Analysis of relative differences and impacts with regard to US and German industries (No. 115). DIW Discussion Papers.
Farhadi, M. (2015) Transport infrastructure and long-run economic growth in OECD countries. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 74, 73-90.
Filipović, M., & Njegovan, Z. (2012). Supporting local economic development by infrastructure debt financing in the Republic of Serbia. Spatium, (27), 8-11.
Gainova, R. A., Shaidullin, R. N., Safiullin, L. N., & Maratkanova, E. M. (2013). Infrastructural Component in Maintenance of Competitiveness of Region. World Applied Sciences Journal, 27(13), 97-101.
Gavanas, N., & Pitsiava, M. (2011). Description of the new member states transport system in an era of convergence: Development of an indicator system. Spatium, (24), 37-44.
Geiger, T. (2015) Competitiveness Dataset. World Economic Forum. Retrieved July 26, 2015. (http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2014-15/GCI_Dataset_2006-07-2014-15.xlsx)
Ketels, H. (2006) Michael Porter’s Competitiveness Framework – Recent Learnings and New Research Priorities, Journal of Industry Competition and Trade, Vol. 6. Issue 2. pp. 115-136.
Kitson, M. (2004) Failure followed by success or success followed by failure? A re-examination of British economic growth since 1949, in Floud, R. and Johnson, P. (Eds) The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain, Vol. III: Structural Change and Growth, 27–56. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Krugman, P. (1994) Competitiveness: A Dangerous Obsession, Foreign Affairs, 1994, 73(2): 28-44.
Kumar, N. (2001) Infrastructure availability, foreign direct investment inflows and their export-orientation: A cross-country exploration. Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi, 20.
Marginean, S. (2006) Competitiveness: From microeconomic foundations to national determinants, Studies in Business and Economics, Vol. 1. Issue 1, pp. 29-35.
Martin, R. (2004) A Study on the Factors of Regional Competitiveness, A draft final report for the European Commission Directorate-General Regional Policy, European Commission.
Nijkamp, P., & Siedschlag, I. (2010) Innovation, growth and competitiveness: dynamic regions in the knowledge-based world economy. Springer Science & Business Media.
Porter, M. (1998) Location, Clusters, and the "New" Microeconomics of Competition. Business Economics Vol. 33, No. 1 , pp. 7-13
Snieška, V. & Bruneckienė, J. (2009) Measurement of Lithuanian Regions by Regional Competitiveness Index. Engineering economics, No. 1 (61).
The world competitiveness yearbook. (2000). Switzerland: I.M.D.International.
Vickerman, R. W. (1989) Measuring changes in regional competitiveness: The effects of international infrastructure investments. The Annals of Regional Science, 23(4), 275-286.
WEF (2014) The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015. World Economic Forum, Geneva.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
© University of Niš, Serbia
Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND
ISSN 0354-4699 (Print)
ISSN 2406-050X (Online)