Abstracts
Updated: 12 September 2006
Aaviksoo, Ain
Bianchi, Annaflavia
Panel: eHealth and the public sector reform in Eastern Europe
"eHealth as an Opportunity for Health Sector Reform"
Estonia is often considered as one of the most successful reformer of its health care system among CEE countries. It has developed parallel to radical and relatively successful macroeconomic changes of the whole country. Today Estonia has one of the lowest share of health spending in Europe - total spending 5.5% of GDP, public spending 4,2% of GDP in 2004. Y et, the performance indicators of health care system are relatively good – for instance access to primary care services is available in 3 days in 99% of the cases.
Estonia is also considered as a frontrunner in applying IT in public services, at least among new EU Member States. In 2003 99% of family doctors (FD) in Estonia were using computers and 88% had broadband internet access.
While dissonance between increasing demand for improved services and low overall spending on health is increasing, a justified question rises, if and how better IT-use can save health systems.
Currently Estonia is standing on the verge of dramatic change in eHealth development where national government and the Ministry of Social Affairs is playing major role. In 2006 the Government launched ambitious plan to develop nationwide system for exchanging the diffuse health information and creating the database with critical medical information and index list of full health history about every individual. Currently the success of the plan remains uncertain, as only 2 years and 2.2 million Euros have been allocated to reach the goal. At the same time several smart and useful eHealth applications have been implemented on the background, such as novel internet-based patient information and practice management system for family physicians or fully integrated online claims management application between Health Insurance Fund and providers. M ore could be possible with adequate government support.
The presentation analyzes how much of the current and upcoming health system challenges can and should be solved through proper use of IT. Also the threats of e-enthusiasm in health sector reforms for a transition country will be elaborated using the example of Estonia .
Bogdanowicz, Marc
Panel: Asian Growth Patterns: Threats or Opportunities for European ICT?
"Knowledge-based Development in Key Asian Growth Areas: How to position Europe?"
The presentation aims at pointing to the main drivers of the recent growth of the largest Asian countries, China and India , trying to outline the knowledge-based components of such extraordinary development.
The presentation will outline the following issues:
• It illustrates the main drivers of the recent growth, especially those components related to information and communication technologies and knowledge;
• It provides the positioning of these countries in the Knowledge-based economy;
• It identifies the main implications and opportunities for Europe , both in terms of competitive pressure and of cooperation opportunities especially through FDI, technology transfer and joint research.
Open questions arise when looking at the implications and opportunities for European countries, especially New Member States. On top of the list:
• How to prepare and how to be pro-active towards Asia ?
• Which strategies should prevail - competition, cooperation, " coopetition " – in each of the segments of the economy, at the institutional and societal level?
Bradley, John
Panel: eHealth and the public sector reform in Eastern Europe
"Framing Conditions for eGovernment Developments, How Much Do They Apply to Eastern European Countries? "
and
Panel: eGovernment and the Public Sector Reform in Eastern Europe
"Three Framing Conditions for eServices, How Much Do They Apply to Eastern European Countries? "
The aim of this presentation is to sketch out the general context of development of the e-Services in the New European Member States , as to hopefully help framing the presentations that more specifically focus on factors, policies, projects and impact assessement .
The presentation introduce s to four major framing statements:
1. The information Society take-up has occurred in the New European Member States in the period 2000-2005. This is, in fact, very good news; in particular if one thinks that this achievement occurred mainly in the last 3 years.
2. There is a strong consensus among experts that Europe enters now the so-called "deployment period", a period where the applications derived from the Information and Communication technologies, the dominant pervasive technology of this early XXIst century, will allow to reap of the benefits of such technology while transforming radically most human activities.
3. This transformation relies on deep social trends among which the emergence of a service economy is not the least one to observe. Current foresight exercises point in particular at the observable transformation of such services as those related to Health, Education, Governance, etc. Hence the importance of the present panel.
4. Two major categories of innovations - Ambient Intelligence and Web2.0 - seem to define the potential space of the future e-services. Nobody knows today which will domiante or if we will see the emergence of a complementary set of initiatives.
Dunbar, Angela
Panel: (IMF): Absorbing EU Funds in the New Member States -- A Challenge for Economic Policy
We review the two possible interpretations of the problem of "absorbing" EU Structural Funds. The first, and most important, concerns the proper use of such funds in the acceleration of improvements of NMS physical infrastructure, human resources and business competitiveness. Here the evidence from the "old" cohesion countries is mixed, with tales of success and failure.
In the NMS, the first absorption challenge is made more difficult by a post-Communist legacy of failed central planning which makes it more difficult to address the need for the state to act in association with the private sector as a strategic planner in the provision of a range of public goods that are crucial to development.
The second interpretation of the absorption challenge is a financial and monetary one. In other words, can local co-finance be provided, and the overall package be implemented without causing any further destabilisation of the already difficult situation in some of the NMS? We suggest that while the problems are real, this is a less serious challenge.Panel: Asia versus Eastern Europe: FDI, R&D investments and relocation of the industry
Since none of the countries of Eastern Europe are likely to be major sources of outward FDI, we discuss these issues in terms of increased competition for the means of accelerated development in the CEE region. The simultaneity of the collapse of Communism in Europe with the rapid rise of dynamic economies in Asia (a process dominated by China), presents problems for the previous European FDI-based model of development exemplified by Ireland. However, the alternative development model, based on growth of indigenous industries and exemplified by Denmark, does not appear to be a feasible route for most CEE economies in the short to medium term. We examine this dilemma and suggest that the CEE region, with its mix of small and medium-sized economies now all located inside the EU single market, and in a world where the "China price" must be matched, cannot assume that its development model will be a simple choice between the Irish and Danish models.
Garamhegyi, Ábel
Panel: eHealth and the public sector reform in Eastern Europe
"eHealth for Health System Transformation Exploiting Opportunities"
The WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) aims to support it's 52 Member States in the strengthening of their health systems. With the World Health Assembly's adoption of resolution WHA58.28 in 2005, WHO/Europe will further explore the use of eHealth as one of the tools to reach the objectives of the countries' long-term strategic plans for health improvement.
This presentation provides the foundations for the WHO /Europe position to respond to the needs of Member States, and identifies various opportunities of eHealth to facilitate health system transformation on the road to fair access, quality and responsiveness.
It acknowledges the vast diversity in the European Region in terms of health, economy, health priorities, drivers for change and penetration of information and communication technologies (ICT). It examines Member States´ needs relative to eHealth, based on the current biennial collaborative agreements with Member States and the results of the survey undertaken by WHO and its Global Observatory on eHealth.
WHO /Europe in collaboration with public/private partners will support individual Member States, according to their identified needs, in the appropriate use of eHealth, considering the potential positive impact on stewardship, capacity building, service provision and fair financing.
Gáspár, Pál
Panel: eHealth and the public sector reform in Eastern Europe
"Asia Versus Eastern Europe?"
Eastern Europe's Competitiveness can be up to Asia 's. According to Earnst & Young Attractiveness Survey 2006 investors search for the right balance between risk and growth and find it in Europe . The level of relocations is increasing in the region and 52% of the asked decision makers chose Central Eastern Europe as one of their three most preferred business locations. The region plays a leading role in developing high-technology industries, as well.
Hungary , as a proud member of the Visegrád Countries is focusing mainly on FDI-attraction in its economic policy. The FDI-stock per capita is still the highest in the region and a lot of m ajor Asian companies has chosen Hungary as investment location, like the Japanese Suzuki, Bridgestone or Sony, the Chinese Hisense and the Korean Samsung and Hankook Tire.
However, Eastern Europe has a lot of challenges to face in order to be competitive. The most important challenges to face are the m ore effective enhancement of establishing regional corporate centres and research and development activities. T here is a growing number of SSC-investments in CEE but India is still keeping the leading position. Besides, w e cannot and do not want to take part in the competition for low cost investments, therefore, we need significantly more sources on R&D-enhancement.
Goldberg, Itzhak
Panel: eGovernment and the Public Sector Reform in Eastern Europe
"eGovernment: Development and Policy Issues in the New Member States "
The presentation presents factual evidence on the diffusion of eGovernment services in the New Member States, discusses the major drivers and barriers of this process and the policy challenges. Among the latter it focuses especially on the possible contribution of the diffusion of eGovernment on the inevitable reform of public sector and administrations in the NMS.
Panel: eHealth and the Public Sector Reform in Eastern Europe
"Health and eHealth in the EU-10 "
Based on the first findings of an ongoing project the presentation discusses two major issues. First, it presents the major structural, financial, organisational challenges the health systems of the New Member States face. Second, it presents briefly the evidence on the spread of eHealth in the European Union. Finally, the paper links eHealth and health sector challenges by asking where eHealth could contribute to meeting the aforementioned challenges of health systems in the NMS.
Gressani, Daniela
Panel: R&D and New Innovation Systems in a Global Economy
"Commercial Innovation in Post-transition Economies"
Although the diversity of Knowledge Economy developemnt in the transioton post scosilaist economies is associated with GDP p/c, one needs to look for the bottlenecks – the weakest links in the chain of Knowledge Economy components:
Education, ICT, Investment Climate, Innovation (R&D). In the economic growth models, innovation and absorption, together with Investment Climate and human capital, are increasingly seen as important as the conventional inputs, capital and labor. Although not all countries can innovate, an absorptive capacity to learn from FDI, imitate and re-engineer imported capital goods requires indigenous R&D, education, etc. The forthcoming World Bank Study ECAKE2 will focus on understanding the significance of absorption for competitiveness.
What determines Innovation? Firm Surveys in CEE and Russia show, for example, that firms in less competitive environments spend less on R&D and innovate less. But, will competition alone ensure an optimal level of innovation?
We will discuss approaches to government support for commercial innovation and argue that such support does not Necessarily mean “Industrial Policy”. We recommend that support instruments follow: (i) neutral and transparent project selection and (ii) public – private partnership through risk sharing.
Laursen, Thomas
Panel: European Social Models and Growth: Where are the Eastern European Countries Heading for?
The countries of Central Europe and the Baltics have made great strides towards establishing social policies well adapted to their new status as dynamic market economies and members of the European Union. The key issue has been to address social needs rather than creating entitlements. Good practices – and lessons that can be useful for the whole of the European Union – have been generated in the new member states, for example in health in Estonia, old-age pensions in Poland, and social transfers in Slovakia. Upgrading higher education now stands out as the most important area where further progress is needed.
Lovelock, Peter
Panel: Growth in Old and New Europe : What needs to be done?
"Growth in the New EU Member States, Risks and Opportunities "
The promotion of productivity and growth is on the policy agenda in almost all EU countries, including the New Member States (NMS) striving to catch up with income levels in Western Europe. While the NMS are currently enjoying rapid rates of output growth, little is known about the prospects for sustaining this pace and the role of economic policies in this regard. This may risk leading to complacency in the pursuit of the outstanding reform agenda in the region.
This study analyzes aggregate growth patterns in the EU8 economies, examining the main factors affecting growth as well as some of the policies that may help to sustain or enhance growth prospects. We supplement this analysis with a more detailed, sector-based examination of the largest country in the region?Poland.
This will help shed light on whether the same key factors support growth at the sector level as at the country level and potentially strengthen the basis for policy directions. We find that since the mid-1990s, rapid output growth in the region was driven by services and industry, with domestic demand playing a relatively larger role in the Baltic countries and net exports more important in the Visegrad countries. Total factor productivity rose rapidly in all EU8 countries, but capital accumulation was also important, notably in the Baltics.
Openness to trade and competition, R&D spending, and shift of resources toward industry seemed to be key drivers of productivity growth in the region.
For Poland, we find that value added and productivity (TFP) growth was particularly rapid in export-oriented and competitive manufacturing industries such as office machinery, pulp and paper, rubber and plastics, fabricated metal products, and machinery and electrical apparatus as well as in motor vehicle manufacturing.
TFP growth was the main contributor to value-added growth in most sectors while few relied on factor accumulation. The reallocation of capital across sectors played an important role in fueling overall productivity growth, especially in the first half of the period, while movement of labor mattered less.
Our empirical analysis confirms the importance of competition and openness to trade and FDI for TFP growth.
Mairate, Andrea
Panel: Asian Growth patterns: Threats or Opportunities for European ICT?
"The 3rd Wave of China's ICT Growth - Internationalisation"
The presentation provides a brief review of the first 2 "waves" of China's ICT growth and development before leading into an overview of the government-driven policy of internationalisation (zouqu). Addressed in the presentation are the following questions: Why have they started down this path, who is driving it, and who are the main focus of the policy and its beneficiaries? What is the focus for China's overall ICT 'industry', and how will it benefit? And what will be the regional and global impact of the policy and the already emerging development?
Panel: R&D and new innovation systems in a global economy
"China's Technology Development: From Imitation to Innovation"
Large integrated manufacturers such as Lenovo and Huawei have streamlined their supply chains, reduced costs and are now competing not only on low prices but also on after-sales service support. As such, ‘service to order’ is replacing ‘build to order’ and this potentially represents a significant innovation for Chinese companies. This presentation examines China's new-found focus upon innovation, standards and sustainable development.
Martin, Reiner
Panel: Absorbing EU Funds in the New Member States -- A Challenge for Economic Policy
"Renewed Cohesion Policy Speeds Up Innovation and Information Society "
Over the last two decades, the EU has pursued an active cohesion policy aimed at reducing income disparities by subsidising various types of investment programmes in the poorest regions through structural and cohesion funds. Drawing on past experience in the cohesion countries, the paper shows that cohesion policies have worked quite well in terms of promoting real convergence in the beneficiary countries. However their effectiveness is conditional upon the implementation of adequate national policies as well as developing institutional capacity, as evidenced by some striking differences in growth performance in the cohesion countries. The challenge posed by real convergence will be drastically amplified in the EU both in terms of an extension in spatial scope and increased intensity due to the enlargement to the new Member States whose average GDP per capita is only 35 per cent of the EU15 level. In this context, cohesion policies raise both opportunities in terms of improving long term growth potential but also short term macro economic risks associated to the EU transfers.
Panel: Structural Funds and the Building of the Knowledge Society in Eastern Europe
"Convergence and the Role of the Structural Funds: Main Lessons and Policy Challenges "
Information Society has been widely recognised as a key factor to the modernisation of European Economies. This is the message conveyed by the Lisbon strategy, but it has also important implications in terms of economic and social cohesion. The existing digital divide between regions needs to be narrowed by appropriate policies. The success of cohesion policy will depend largely on the capacity of the regions to integrate ICT to improve their economic performance and the quality of life of their citizens.
Matolcsy, János
Panel: Absorbing EU Funds in the New Member States -- A Challenge for Economic Policy
"The Cyclical Impact of EU Cohesion Policy in Fast-growing Economies"
The new EU Member States in Central and Eastern Europe will receive considerable support from the EU’s Cohesion Policy in the coming years. This support is mainly used for infrastructure and human capital investments and can amount to almost 4% of GDP per year, thus constituting a significant fiscal stimulus. In the long-run Cohesion Policy should help to raise the supply-side potential of the supported economies. However, given that some of the new Member States, in particular the Baltic countries and Slovakia, already operate close to or above their current growth potential, there is a risk that in the short- to medium-run Cohesion Policy funding exacerbates bottlenecks in the economy, in particular in the construction sector, increase wages and prices and contribute to overheating. Careful project selection and timing can help to reduce these risks. In addition, suitable macro- and microeconomic policy measures can help to avoid overheating in (certain sectors of) the supported economies.
Mejstrík, Michal
Panel: Structural Funds and the Building of the Knowledge Society in Eastern Europe
"Structural Funds and Knowledge Society in Hungary "
The presentation aims to give a broad overview on the development programs concerning Hungarian Knowledge Society. The presentation outlines state-funded interventions on this field (Hungarian Information Society Strategy), and describes the main issues concerning the relevant ongoing operational programmes (Economic Competitiveness OP). Furthermore it summarizes the latest information on the forthcoming operational programmes (Economic Development, Public Sector Renewal and Public Services Modernisation OP) and their role in creating a Knowledge Society.
Piatkowski, Marcin
Panel: European Social Models and Growth: where are the Eastern European countries heading for?
"The European Social Model "
The author finds as crucial issue for the Eastern European countries to understand that a single European Social Model does not exist. Only recently some Eastern European unionists have started to defend their requirements by a reference to the European Social model having in mind its inefficient continental form. Deeper public discussion of the pros and cons of the various social models and approaches should be triggered taking into account also resulting past and future country competitiveness. Let those models compete to open opportunities based on forward looking approach with full respect to the minimum harmonized standards (such as social safety net etc.) instead of fixing the past.
Panel: Growth in Old and New Europe : What Needs to be done?
Old Europe is losing ground in the global economic competition, particularly vis-à-vis the US and emerging Asia. What policies need to be implemented to reverse this worrisome trend? Is there anything that Old Europe can learn from New Europe to accelerate growth? Will New Europe continue to grow fast? What needs to be done to sustain its growth?
Panel: The Role of Public Sector's Support for Commercial Innovation
"The Role of Public Policies in Promoting Innovation – The Case of ICT"
ICT has a large potential to accelerate economic development in CEE countries both on the macro and industry-level. Public policies should help realize this potential through: -Promoting more conducive business environment and better corporate governance; - Supporting ICT use in the non-ICT producing sectors, particularly in services; - Implementing full e-government, online public services, and e-procurement (push strategy).
Panel: Absorbing EU Funds in the New Member States -- A Challenge for Economic Policy
"Sustaining Convergence: Policy Challenges for the New Member States"
Real convergence to West European income levels has progressed rapidly in the new member states, driven by improvements in institutional development indices, the use of foreign savings and trade access to European markets. Going forward, EU membership (including access to EU funds of up to 4 percent of GDP annually) and opportunities for outsourcing/offshoring from Western Europe present huge opportunities. But competition from the East is growing, and the momentum for structural reforms has petered out. What needs to be done to sustain convergence? Growth accounting suggests that increasing labor utilization and maintaining productivity growth are key. Specific challenges include: (i) increasing employment by lowering labor market rigidities, (ii) promoting the efficient use of foreign savings while keeping external vulnerabilities in check, (iii) providing a flexible business environment, (iv) adjusting fiscal policies to support growth, including efficient use of EU funds. Membership in the Euro zone can accelerate the convergence process, through its potential to increase cross-border trade and investment, and by eliminating exchange-rate related vulnerabilities.
Panel: The Role of Public Sector's Support for Commercial Innovation
The two-part presentation shall provide an overview of current basic policies in innovation support and demonstrate the development of an innovation model implemented in the German Region Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
International and intranational bodies such as the Worldbank and the EU have developed basic support policies such as neutrality and transparency in project selection, risk sharing in execution and a major trend towards soft measures aimed at strengthening e.g. Human Capital, knowledge and investment/innovation climate. Among others, the EU structural funds development can be used to display trends and standards.
A brief case study on a complex support model for innovation support and technology transfer in the German Region Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania shall show the practical relevance and effectiveness of these standards. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a joint and risk-shared effort of HEI, state, private commercialisation partners and investors has delivered respectable results in an underdeveloped environment.
Panel: Asian Growth Patterns: Threats or Opportunities for European ICT?
The new Asian growth dynamics: lessons for Europe
This presentation will summarise the results of a study currently in its final stages of completion, funded by IPTS/ESTO, into 'ICT for Growth and Cohesion in a Global Knowledge-based Economy: Lessons from East Asian Growth Areas'. The "lessons" are not so much cases of copying policies or structures in place in East and South Asia but rather one of understanding the drivers of the 'new' growth dynamics and then making inferences about how Europe might go about reacting in a positive vein to those drivers. The five 'new' characteristics of the growth dynamics are taken to be: 1) the contextual base, of a 'Global Knowledge-based Economy'; 2) the technological base, of a growing 'convergence' between technologies and markets; 3) the geographical base, of the rise of China and India and implications thereof; 4) the political economy base, of a coexistence between competition and cooperation; 5) the policy base, of mobilising 'knowledge-based societies'. In relation to the last of these, 'informatization' is an ever-moving target, expressed in the succession of E-M-U (Electronics to Mobile to Ubiquity) programmes. The U-society is at one level an extreme manifestation of the convergence of technologies and markets, but its intentions go much further, "to build up a totally new country in technologies and culture", as the Korean plan puts it. The presentation concludes with arguments for overhauling the 'Lisbon agenda' of the EU and locating new EU member states within this context.