The latest wave of European Union expansion has brought many central and Eastern European countries into the fold. Unlike previous enlargements however, the latest new members are also undergoing radical economic reform as they reintegrate into international economy.This book reviews the changing industrial architecture of the new wider Europe from

This informative new book analyses the extent and major determinants of the east and west European industrial networks in reinforcing the competitive advantages of the EU and CEECs.

This important book focuses on post-Lisbon Agenda issues of alignment and misalignment on different dimensions of European society and the European economy, including industrial systems, R&D systems, educational systems and job markets. It also looks in particular at the peripheral regions of Europe — the less developed parts of ‘old’ Europe, the parts of old Europe that are outside or only half-inside the EU, the new member-states of the EU, and Turkey as the most important EU candidate country. It takes as its methodological starting point the theory of network alignment as developed in SPRU, notably by Nick von Tunzelmann, and builds on this to produce an incisive assessment of the institutions, individual actors and markets that drive the knowledge economy. In all of this, it sets the European picture firmly in the context of global developments in investment, labour and intellectual property flows. Key authors include the editor himself, von Tunzelmann, Andrea Salavetz of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Matija Rojec of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia./a

Estonia is regarded by many as one of the most hopeful cases for the integration of eastern Europe into the enlarged European Union. It provides positive examples of how the integration process can be well handled, but at the same time some of the contentious issues this can give rise to. This book assesses the tensions involved in the development of the Estonian economy in terms of growth, convergence, financial development, labour reallocation, structural and organizational change, and the role of foreign companies and international networks. The analysis of Estonia is placed within a broader context and among a wider set of nations, and thus aims at understanding the potential for growth and structural change in the eastern part of the enlarged EU. In these and related fields, the book seeks to draw lessons from Estonia for other new (and indeed future) EU accession countries.

The period of transition from socialism to capitalism in parts of Europe and Asia over the past 25 years has attracted considerable interest in academia and beyond. From the Editors of Palgrave's iconic series 'Studies in Economic Transition' comes the Palgrave Dictionary of Emerging Markets and Transition Economics. This dictionary addresses the needs of students, lecturers and the interested general public to quickly find definitions and explanations of topics, institutions, personalities and processes in this historical phase of changing societies, which as such is not concluded. Today newly emerging market economies try to learn from the experiences of transition economies. Those who love The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics will enjoy the format of this Dictionary, which uses an encyclopaedia-based approach, where articles not only define the terms but provide an overview of the evolution of the term or theory and also touch on the current debates.

Many recent books on information and communication technologies concentrate on individual country experiences or neglect to analyze political factors in conjunction with entrepreneurial ones. This book, the result of an international research project, comprises a comprehensive comparison of three key countries: Japan, the United States and Germany. The book adopts an institutional approach.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) assumed a prominent role in Central East Europe (CEE) early on in the transition process. Foreign investors were assigned the task of restructuring markets, providing capital and knowledge for investment in technologically outdated and financially ailing firms.