This paper deals with the effects of the transfer of additional funds on the real economy of recipient countries, in particular the European Member States. The intended and unintended effects of additional funds on national public finances and, ultimately, economic performance are discussed....

Infrastructure development is a priority on policy agendas in the EU and worldwide, because of the very high investment needs in basic infrastructure, especially in lagging behind regions and countries. The paper provides a descriptive analysis of the infrastructural gaps in EU transition...

This market research offers an accurate and comprehensive picture of the seating industry in 20 European countries. The report analyses the market by products: Residential Seating, Commercial Seating and Office Seating, providing data for production, imports, exports and apparent domestic...

Discounting enables to express future monetary or socio-economic effects in terms of present values when inter-temporal decisions are to be taken. In the context of the cost-benefit analysis, this allows for directly comparing net benefits expressed in terms of their net present values, and,...

This paper illustrates the story of the Port of Gioia Tauro, a major infrastructure investment co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the period 1994-1998, but whose origin dates back to the beginning of the 1970s. It draws from a recent ex-post evaluation carried out for the...

In 2009 production of office furniture in South Africa accounted for US$ 215 million. Although affected by the global downturn last year, the country is likely to show a surprising recovery during the middle quarters of 2010. The increasing trends in consumers demand, the ongoing relevant public...

The office furniture production in Japan accounts for worth US$ 3,500 million. The economy relies on huge flows of money from abroad, that in 2008 reached their peak increasing by 10.7% if compared with the previous year. The level of concentration of the industry is extremely high, with the...

This paper discusses some conditions under which the Cohesion Policy of the European Union can effectively contribute to enhance R&I in Europe and the extent to which it offers a relevant framework for devising Research & Innovation policies at regional level overcoming possible tensions and...

Ex-post evaluation of infrastructure projects is attempted by international and national organisations in different ways. Qualitative case studies, relying on documentary analysis, interviews and surveys, are regularly carried out, for example, by the European Commission, the World Bank, the...

North Africa, with the 17% of the total African population is a dynamic market with a considerable potential of growth, confirmed by the constant GDP growth rate expected to remain positive for 2010. The Morocco and Libya government's policy of further encouraging foreign companies to invest in...