11.06.2006
EIDHR - European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, micro-projects, 2006 programme, call for proposals
The European Mission in Macedonia is seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed at promoting and protecting human rights, as well as, democracy and governance strengthening with financial assistance from the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), micro-projects programme of the European Communities.
11.02.2006
CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES REUNITING EUROPE FUND
The British Embassy in Skopje seeks proposals from government institutions and civil
society for projects to be funded under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s
“Global Opportunities Reuniting Europe” Fund in the financial year 2007/08.
The deadline for submission of project concepts is 6 November 2006. Only selected
projects will be required to submit full bids by the 21 January 2006 deadline.
Macedonia is eligible to bid for the Global Opportunities Fund Reuniting Europe
Fund. The objective of this programme is to bolster and extend the success of
enlargement by supporting countries through the EU integration process, particularly
in the field of improved governance and economic growth. The overall budget for
Macedonia is £550,000 for the financial year 2007/2008. Interested implementers are
encouraged to submit multiyear projects ranging from £80,000 - £100,000 per year.
The Project Appraisal Committee of the British Embassy Skopje will consider
proposals that meet at least one of the GOF Reuniting Europe objectives as set at
below:
-To increase political and economic transparency and accountability
-To build administrative capacity for EU integration
-To contribute to the creation of a pro-business environment
All interested potential implementers are invited to a briefing meeting on Monday, 30
October 2006 at 12:00 at the British Embassy, Salvador Aljende 73, IZIIS
building.
Due to a limit on numbers, we would be grateful if each organisation is represented by
one person only. Please confirm the details of your representative by Friday, 27
October 2006, on the following contact numbers: 02 3299 277 or 02 3299 244.
10.27.2006
Тhe Draft Strategy for Public Information and Communication has been presented
On 25 October 2006, the new Draft-Strategy for Public Information and Communication in the Process of European Union Integration of the Republic of Macedonia 2006-2010 was presented. The presentation took place in the building of the Government of Republic of Macedonia.The event was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for European Affairs, Gabriela Konevska Trajkovska. She stressed that the EU membership is not a strategic priority of the government only, but also of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, which is confirmed by the support of 90 % for EU accession.“The goal of this Strategy is to raise the general level of knowledge abut the EU Integration Process. This Strategy will inform, educate, unite and mobilize towards the fulfilment of the EU idea. This approach is in line with the EU documents on public communication”, Konevska-Trajkovska outlined.“The government needs a clear strategy and a consistent message to convince the people at home that the short term pain of real reform is outweighed by the long term gain of real membership. And it needs a similar strategic approach to the external message that Macedonia is making the real changes needed to qualify for membership”, the Ambassador of Great Britain, Robert Chatterton Dickson said. “It is important every effort to be made from the earliest possible opportunity to prepare the public opinion of the challenges of becoming a member of the European family of nations. The support is enormous here, it is over 90%. But, we should keep it high and in order to do so, a lot of work has to be done. That is why this Strategy is very important”, the Head of the EU Mission to the Republic of Macedonia, Erwan Fouéré emphasised.Igor Ilievski, State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is prepared to make active and complete contribution to the successful implementation of this Strategy. This is the right time to develop, conceptualise and implement a comprehensive Strategy for media presentation of the Republic of Macedonia in the EU Member States”.The participants included State Secretaries form the Ministries, persons responsible for public relations, ambassadors from EU Member States as well as representatives from other institutions involved in the EU Integration process.Some of the key projects envisaged by the strategy include:develop a number of “champions” – people well known to the public or specific sectors, and trusted by them - to support Ministers promoting EU messages, These to be selected from the entertainment and sports world, business leaders, academia, and to be provided with programmes of activity and the Briefing/Message sheets
set up an informal consortium – Friends of the EU Process for RM – coordinated by the President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and SEA. The consortium members would include eminent individuals form the EU Member States and would held informal meetings in Macedonia.
establish a virtual library/data bank of visual (photographs and video/DVDs) and audio material on EU issues, and key documents. For media use.
establish and coordinate a network of municipal information officers, through the Association of Units of Local Self Government, as a means of communicating with local communities.
establishment of EU Communication Centre (pool) to conduct a campaign (round table discussions, debates, workshops in the units of local self-government. The Centre would be coordinated by the President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in cooperation with SEA, all ministries and the Association of Units of Local Self-Government.
SEA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture – establishment of EU Cultural Centre (pool) for promotion of Macedonia’s cultural and historical values in the country and abroad.
“We learn about the EU” – SEA and the Ministry of Education – a project aimed at organising regular educational presentations in primary, secondary and higher education institutions.
“EU and the Business” – SEA and the Ministry of economy – under coordination of the Deputy prime Minister responsible for Economic Affairs – a project aimed at organising promotional activities and debates about the economic standards, challenges and the expected results.
“The EU Agriculture and RM” – SEA and the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Water Supply – a project aimed at organising a campaign for approximation of the standards to the farmers, educational and promotional concept.
7.21.2006
Media Relations Manager for the Objective One Partnership of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Clare Morgan, Media Relations Manager for the Objective One Partnership of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are well known in the UK as a place for traditional bucket and spade holidays. British families have stayed in bed and breakfast accommodation and sunbathed on beaches.
This led to seasonal, low paid jobs and while the holiday image is known nationwide, the region as a place for successful business is a new message.
The message that the Objective One Partnership is tasked with getting across is that the region has a burgeoning knowledge-based economy as well as top quality food and drink producers.
The obstacles to relaying this message include distance; Cornwall is about five hours by road or train from London. National journalists will often not travel yet the best way to challenge preconceptions is by demonstrating the evidence.
Because the next generation of European funding is likely to be different the Partnership also wants to demonstrate that the region has handled its first round of Objective One investment wisely.
The theme is not only present successes but also the need for partnerships to work well in the future. We believe that Objective One has been used so effectively in our region because of the uniqueness of the Objective One Partnership.
The Objective One Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was created solely to work and speak for the Programme. It fulfils an essential role as the independent voice of the Programme, and has been crucial in ensuring common ownership across the region. It is the public face for the Programme.
This partly arose from the Objective 5b Programme, which ran until 1999. It was discovered that not enough communication had gone on and the people of the region did not feel involved and did not see investment benefits.
Partnership communication challenges include gaining high visibility regionally, nationally and across Europe. The partnership team needs to communicate to the media, programme partners and interested parties such as MEPs.
One of the main ways of doing this is by gathering and publicising evidence of successful projects ranging from the largest such as the Combined Universities in Cornwall to the smallest which can include buying a bicycle for someone out of work so they can get to a new job on time.
The Combined Universities in Cornwall is the region’s first and the Objective One flagship project. Because of this it has generated a lot of media interest. Publicity includes stories about its opening, about students working with businesses and about their achievements.
The main campus building is an iconic design and the Objective One Partnership hosted an architecture conference there in September. This was an excellent chance to demonstrate the concrete and visible difference O1 has been making. Speakers included Partnership Director Carleen Kelemen who could emphasise the people in the buildings who are working to increase the region’s knowledge and wealth.
Another great story opportunity to come from the university was Qemscan, a piece of machinery that analyses non-organic particles. The first to be installed in a university Qemscan is usually used by mining companies but, thanks to the imagination of professors at the CUC, its applications have expanded and several murderers have been convicted with the help of Qemscan forensic evidence analysis. The machinery is also being used on ancient archaeological remains and has spin out applications for many businesses. The fact that Qemscan is used in murder investigations immediately fascinated the media.
The CUC could be called a publicity dream because of its size and its intentions. The Hub is a purpose-built £50 million campus offering world-class facilities for up to 5,000 students. By 2010, the CUC will have created an additional 4,000 HE student places, producing 1,300 graduates a year and generating £32 million a year for Cornwall. It is expected to create an additional 1,000 jobs.
Its own team has been to Brussels to talk about the project. Even detractors of how Objective One money is being spent, particularly an economist who has long argued that the European money should not have gone to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, has no disagreement with the CUC.
The Knowledge Spa, which houses a part of a new medical school as well as business incubation units built with O1 investment is also an easy publicity target. The Partnership team is writing case studies of every business to become a tenant and undertook the publicity for a conference in May.
A project which aims to introduce locally sourced food and drink to hospitals is based at the Knowledge Spa. To celebrate Organic Week, organic breakfasts were served at Cornwall’s largest hospital. The partnership and hospital organised a media event which resulted in good coverage as well as building good relations with the media by giving them a free breakfast.
The Eden Project is another easy publicity target. The Project has its own press team and attracts worldwide attention with events such as the African part of Live Eight held this summer.
O1 money has been invested in the new education centre as well as a project to encourage local food sourcing and the Partnership communication team works side by side with Eden PRs to make sure the O1 name is prominent.
Eden is a great example to show visitors as its twin biomes are unique. In April this year a delegation of Swedish and Danish representatives, including Maria Evertsson, came to Cornwall to study Partnership communications. Eden was one of the places they were taken as it is such a visual demonstration of success.
Projects less easy to publicise often involve training. Many projects concentrate on trying to introduce or reintroduce people to work. Many of these people do not want publicity and this makes it difficult for the communication team when the question is raised – what has Objective One done for communities? Instead the team has to point to statistics or visible community regenerators such as restoration of historic buildings. This is a challenge as it is the people that the press are interested in.
Other methods the Partnership team uses to communicate messages include:
· Answering media inquiries both good and bad.
· Highlighting heroes because the press likes people.
· Working with project partners. EG: Cornwall County Council has been a major partner in investment for many O1 projects. The partnership and the council’s communications teams share events and add to each other’s press releases.
A major opportunity about to open up is in the form of businessman David Brewer. In November he will become Lord Mayor of the City of London. He has strong ties with Cornwall and has said he wants to promote the region as much as possible during his busy year. This will include serving Cornish food at official banquets. The Partnership is working closely with Mr Brewer and he has agreed to write his own articles for us.
There are various channels the Partnership uses to send out its message. One is our own Quarterly review. Themes for this small booklet have included business, food and drink, university and environment.
Other channels include newspapers; radio; TV; magazines; websites and presentations.
Stories that have sparked interest include one about a clothing store that is branching into organic cotton. The store received Objective One investment via Business Link, a business support organisation. This was published nationally in Drapers, a fashion trade magazine which that week chose an eye-catching front cover.
The Partnership has its own website – www.objectiveone.com- and all press releases are uploaded and the site has information for media, partners and potential applicants.
Partnership Director, Carleen Kelemen, spreads the message by giving interviews to the media and presentations to others.
Sometimes partners come up with opportunities for publicity themselves. In June Cornwall Pure Business, a project encouraging businesses to move to Cornwall, organised Cornwall Business Week. This received coverage on national television, radio and newspapers. One reporter was so interested he spent two days in Cornwall to see the effects O1 investment had really had. To generate this interest in what is seen is as a distant rural area is quite a coup.
On top of the success stories which need to be communicated two new messages have arrived. Because so much investment has gone on since the Objective One Programme began in 2000 the four funds are now almost committed. This means some applicants will be disappointed. This is now being weaved into press releases.
This leads onto the second emerging message - Post 2006. While the region believes Objective One will be followed by some form of investment it doesn’t yet know what. The partnership is represented on a new group set up to keep abreast of news on Post 2006 convergence through the whole of the South West of England. That group is also deciding a communications strategy.
In taking forward the economic agenda the partnership is determined to maintain the territorial visibility of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as an area with a positive appetite for regeneration and change and will continue to dream up new ways to get the message across.
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are well known in the UK as a place for traditional bucket and spade holidays. British families have stayed in bed and breakfast accommodation and sunbathed on beaches.
This led to seasonal, low paid jobs and while the holiday image is known nationwide, the region as a place for successful business is a new message.
The message that the Objective One Partnership is tasked with getting across is that the region has a burgeoning knowledge-based economy as well as top quality food and drink producers.
The obstacles to relaying this message include distance; Cornwall is about five hours by road or train from London. National journalists will often not travel yet the best way to challenge preconceptions is by demonstrating the evidence.
Because the next generation of European funding is likely to be different the Partnership also wants to demonstrate that the region has handled its first round of Objective One investment wisely.
The theme is not only present successes but also the need for partnerships to work well in the future. We believe that Objective One has been used so effectively in our region because of the uniqueness of the Objective One Partnership.
The Objective One Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was created solely to work and speak for the Programme. It fulfils an essential role as the independent voice of the Programme, and has been crucial in ensuring common ownership across the region. It is the public face for the Programme.
This partly arose from the Objective 5b Programme, which ran until 1999. It was discovered that not enough communication had gone on and the people of the region did not feel involved and did not see investment benefits.
Partnership communication challenges include gaining high visibility regionally, nationally and across Europe. The partnership team needs to communicate to the media, programme partners and interested parties such as MEPs.
One of the main ways of doing this is by gathering and publicising evidence of successful projects ranging from the largest such as the Combined Universities in Cornwall to the smallest which can include buying a bicycle for someone out of work so they can get to a new job on time.
The Combined Universities in Cornwall is the region’s first and the Objective One flagship project. Because of this it has generated a lot of media interest. Publicity includes stories about its opening, about students working with businesses and about their achievements.
The main campus building is an iconic design and the Objective One Partnership hosted an architecture conference there in September. This was an excellent chance to demonstrate the concrete and visible difference O1 has been making. Speakers included Partnership Director Carleen Kelemen who could emphasise the people in the buildings who are working to increase the region’s knowledge and wealth.
Another great story opportunity to come from the university was Qemscan, a piece of machinery that analyses non-organic particles. The first to be installed in a university Qemscan is usually used by mining companies but, thanks to the imagination of professors at the CUC, its applications have expanded and several murderers have been convicted with the help of Qemscan forensic evidence analysis. The machinery is also being used on ancient archaeological remains and has spin out applications for many businesses. The fact that Qemscan is used in murder investigations immediately fascinated the media.
The CUC could be called a publicity dream because of its size and its intentions. The Hub is a purpose-built £50 million campus offering world-class facilities for up to 5,000 students. By 2010, the CUC will have created an additional 4,000 HE student places, producing 1,300 graduates a year and generating £32 million a year for Cornwall. It is expected to create an additional 1,000 jobs.
Its own team has been to Brussels to talk about the project. Even detractors of how Objective One money is being spent, particularly an economist who has long argued that the European money should not have gone to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, has no disagreement with the CUC.
The Knowledge Spa, which houses a part of a new medical school as well as business incubation units built with O1 investment is also an easy publicity target. The Partnership team is writing case studies of every business to become a tenant and undertook the publicity for a conference in May.
A project which aims to introduce locally sourced food and drink to hospitals is based at the Knowledge Spa. To celebrate Organic Week, organic breakfasts were served at Cornwall’s largest hospital. The partnership and hospital organised a media event which resulted in good coverage as well as building good relations with the media by giving them a free breakfast.
The Eden Project is another easy publicity target. The Project has its own press team and attracts worldwide attention with events such as the African part of Live Eight held this summer.
O1 money has been invested in the new education centre as well as a project to encourage local food sourcing and the Partnership communication team works side by side with Eden PRs to make sure the O1 name is prominent.
Eden is a great example to show visitors as its twin biomes are unique. In April this year a delegation of Swedish and Danish representatives, including Maria Evertsson, came to Cornwall to study Partnership communications. Eden was one of the places they were taken as it is such a visual demonstration of success.
Projects less easy to publicise often involve training. Many projects concentrate on trying to introduce or reintroduce people to work. Many of these people do not want publicity and this makes it difficult for the communication team when the question is raised – what has Objective One done for communities? Instead the team has to point to statistics or visible community regenerators such as restoration of historic buildings. This is a challenge as it is the people that the press are interested in.
Other methods the Partnership team uses to communicate messages include:
· Answering media inquiries both good and bad.
· Highlighting heroes because the press likes people.
· Working with project partners. EG: Cornwall County Council has been a major partner in investment for many O1 projects. The partnership and the council’s communications teams share events and add to each other’s press releases.
A major opportunity about to open up is in the form of businessman David Brewer. In November he will become Lord Mayor of the City of London. He has strong ties with Cornwall and has said he wants to promote the region as much as possible during his busy year. This will include serving Cornish food at official banquets. The Partnership is working closely with Mr Brewer and he has agreed to write his own articles for us.
There are various channels the Partnership uses to send out its message. One is our own Quarterly review. Themes for this small booklet have included business, food and drink, university and environment.
Other channels include newspapers; radio; TV; magazines; websites and presentations.
Stories that have sparked interest include one about a clothing store that is branching into organic cotton. The store received Objective One investment via Business Link, a business support organisation. This was published nationally in Drapers, a fashion trade magazine which that week chose an eye-catching front cover.
The Partnership has its own website – www.objectiveone.com- and all press releases are uploaded and the site has information for media, partners and potential applicants.
Partnership Director, Carleen Kelemen, spreads the message by giving interviews to the media and presentations to others.
Sometimes partners come up with opportunities for publicity themselves. In June Cornwall Pure Business, a project encouraging businesses to move to Cornwall, organised Cornwall Business Week. This received coverage on national television, radio and newspapers. One reporter was so interested he spent two days in Cornwall to see the effects O1 investment had really had. To generate this interest in what is seen is as a distant rural area is quite a coup.
On top of the success stories which need to be communicated two new messages have arrived. Because so much investment has gone on since the Objective One Programme began in 2000 the four funds are now almost committed. This means some applicants will be disappointed. This is now being weaved into press releases.
This leads onto the second emerging message - Post 2006. While the region believes Objective One will be followed by some form of investment it doesn’t yet know what. The partnership is represented on a new group set up to keep abreast of news on Post 2006 convergence through the whole of the South West of England. That group is also deciding a communications strategy.
In taking forward the economic agenda the partnership is determined to maintain the territorial visibility of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as an area with a positive appetite for regeneration and change and will continue to dream up new ways to get the message across.
Rough road through the way of public procurement after the EU accession
Rough road through the way of public procurement after the EU accession
László Velikovszky
Head of Unit
Hungarian Development Office – Unit for Procurement Coordination and Control
Deák F. u. 5.
1052 Budapest
Hungary
Phone: +36-30-2227428
Email: velikovszky.laszlo@cfcu.gov.hu
Web: www.cfcu.hu/ekke
The new Hungarian Act on Public Procurement entered into force on 1 May 2004, on the day of Hungary’s EU accession. But it’s important to emphasize that those parts of the new Act which regulate contract award procedures for public procurement with support from European Union structural funds and Cohesion Fund entered into force on 1 January 2004. The main purpose of the Act was to ensure the total harmonization of the Hungarian regulation to the Community Law. This purpose has come to fruition.
Furthermore the purpose was to provide for transparency and extensive public control in the reasonable use of public monies, ensure the fairness of public competition in the course of public procurement in accordance with our applicable international agreements and European Community legislation and hereby promote the reduction of risks of corruption. The principles of fairness and public nature of competition also predominate in the course of Hungarian contract award procedures. In the remedy proceedings regulated by the Act the application may be submitted only on an infringement of principles.
The Hungarian regulation of public procurement also wanted to assure the transparency of use of public monies through determination of thresholds of the public procurement. Although the Community directives on public procurement deal only with the public contracts of a value reaching or exceeding the Community thresholds, the Member States of the EU had the possibility to establish their national thresholds. Hungary has exploit this opportunity. Therefore our Act has determined three kinds of regimes on thresholds and procedures: public procurements reaching or exceeding Community thresholds, public procurements of a value reaching or exceeding the national thresholds but not reaching the Community thresholds and finally public procurements below the national value thresholds.
The Hungarian Act on Public Procurement determines the contracting authorities extensively: with respect to the contracting authorities the Act distinguishes two larger groups: one of them is called the classical contracting authorities and the other one is called the special contracting authorities. The fist group involves for example ministries, central budgetary authorities, public bodies, public foundations, those entities whose subsidy is granted by the State or the EU by more than 50 %. The second group involves entities operating in the water, energy, transportation and electronic telecommunication sectors. The system of the remedies in relation to public procurement also harmonizes with the Community Law. This system regulated by the Act ensures immediate and efficient remedies after the occurrence of the infringements. It imposes sanctions against breaking and evading the Act.
László Velikovszky
Head of Unit
Hungarian Development Office – Unit for Procurement Coordination and Control
Deák F. u. 5.
1052 Budapest
Hungary
Phone: +36-30-2227428
Email: velikovszky.laszlo@cfcu.gov.hu
Web: www.cfcu.hu/ekke
The new Hungarian Act on Public Procurement entered into force on 1 May 2004, on the day of Hungary’s EU accession. But it’s important to emphasize that those parts of the new Act which regulate contract award procedures for public procurement with support from European Union structural funds and Cohesion Fund entered into force on 1 January 2004. The main purpose of the Act was to ensure the total harmonization of the Hungarian regulation to the Community Law. This purpose has come to fruition.
Furthermore the purpose was to provide for transparency and extensive public control in the reasonable use of public monies, ensure the fairness of public competition in the course of public procurement in accordance with our applicable international agreements and European Community legislation and hereby promote the reduction of risks of corruption. The principles of fairness and public nature of competition also predominate in the course of Hungarian contract award procedures. In the remedy proceedings regulated by the Act the application may be submitted only on an infringement of principles.
The Hungarian regulation of public procurement also wanted to assure the transparency of use of public monies through determination of thresholds of the public procurement. Although the Community directives on public procurement deal only with the public contracts of a value reaching or exceeding the Community thresholds, the Member States of the EU had the possibility to establish their national thresholds. Hungary has exploit this opportunity. Therefore our Act has determined three kinds of regimes on thresholds and procedures: public procurements reaching or exceeding Community thresholds, public procurements of a value reaching or exceeding the national thresholds but not reaching the Community thresholds and finally public procurements below the national value thresholds.
The Hungarian Act on Public Procurement determines the contracting authorities extensively: with respect to the contracting authorities the Act distinguishes two larger groups: one of them is called the classical contracting authorities and the other one is called the special contracting authorities. The fist group involves for example ministries, central budgetary authorities, public bodies, public foundations, those entities whose subsidy is granted by the State or the EU by more than 50 %. The second group involves entities operating in the water, energy, transportation and electronic telecommunication sectors. The system of the remedies in relation to public procurement also harmonizes with the Community Law. This system regulated by the Act ensures immediate and efficient remedies after the occurrence of the infringements. It imposes sanctions against breaking and evading the Act.
Countries might converge, unlike provinces
Albert van der Horst
Researcher
CPB, Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis
Van Stolkweg 14
2585 JR The Hague
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 703383402
Email: vanderhorst@cpb.nl
Web: www.cpb.nl/nl/general/org/homepages/avdh/
Countries might converge, unlike provinces
The European Union is one of the most prosperous parts of the world. Yet there are large regional disparities in productivity, wages, and employment, and they have only increased with the recent enlargement. Thus, there seems to be ample justification for helping lagging regions to catch up, both at the national and the European level. Unfortunately, regional policy appears to be ineffective. Well known are the fruitless attempts of Italy to bridge the gap between the Mezzogiorno and the North, of Germany to bridge the gap between the Neue Länder and the West, and of the European Commission to reduce regional disparities in general.
This study validates one explanation of the ineffectiveness of regional policy. We set off from the New Economic Geography (NEG), a relatively new branch of economics that incorporates agglomeration advantages and location choice in a formal general equilibrium framework. By estimating the key parameters of NEG models with European regional data, we are able to underpin the conclusion that dogged attempts to make lagging regions catch up are often doomed to fail. Lagging regions do not stand alone, but pertain to local core-periphery systems. Economic activity lured to the periphery by subsidies will in the long run end up
in the core. This is because the periphery lacks the critical economic mass.
Regional policy demands a theory that explains the location of production and consumption. Since the early nineties economists have such a theory at their disposal: the NEG unites within a consistent general equilibrium framework older insights from international trade theory and spatial economics.
Firms and workers are subject to centripetal and centrifugal market forces. The owner of a firm must choose a location for his plant. If he chooses a core region, i.e. a region with a large market, then he saves on trade costs. Less goods will have to `exported' to other regions. Therefore, he can set a lower price, and thus capture a larger share of the market. If he chooses a peripheral region, i.e. a region with a small market, then he faces less competition from other local firms. Moreover, he evades urban costs such as congestion and high land prices. Similarly, a worker must choose a location where to live and work. If he chooses a core region, then he gets a higher real wage. If he chooses a peripheral region, he evades urban costs.
The list of centripetal and centrifugal forces working on firms and workers can be extended, and differs between NEG models. The common denominator of the models is, however, that location decisions depend on the balance of these forces, which in their turn depend on trade costs. A range of trade costs supports an even distribution of economic activity. We call this state the `dispersion equilibrium'. A complementary range supports an uneven distribution of economic activity, in which one region hosts a disproportionate amount. We call this state the `agglomeration equilibrium'.
The agglomeration equilibrium is characterised by a spatial wage structure: agglomeration advantages materialise as higher wages in core regions. Moreover, the causality of location choice underlying the equilibrium is circular: firms and workers prefer the core since it has the largest market; the core has the largest market since it host many firms and workers. Thus, if agglomeration equilibria are the rule, regional disparities are difficult to counter with regional policy.
What does the European economic geography look like? A satellite picture of Europe reveals banana shaped beam of light running from London to Milan that indicates a large cluster of economic activity. Zooming in reveals, moreover, that similar core-periphery structures repeat themselves at lower levels of aggregation. Agglomeration is ubiquitous.
Descriptive statistics confirm the eyeball analysis of the satellite picture. It indicates that
agglomeration is especially pronounced at a (sub) provincial level of regional aggregation. Moreover, the little movement in the location of economic activity that can be discerned is attributable to the increasing importance of services as compared to agriculture and manufacturing. Agglomeration is local and stable.
The observation that agglomeration is global is confirmed by the econometric analysis of the spatial wage structure in European regions. We show that wages are relatively high, not only in, but also in the neighbourhood of agglomerated regions. The estimates imply a strong agglomeration advantage that quickly peters out over distance.
It is unsurprising that regional policy often fails to reduce regional disparities in productivity and income. Core regions tend to be better off than their surrounding peripheries. And core-periphery structures are hard to upset since agglomeration advantages pull economic activity to the cores.
In this light the recent shift in thinking on regional policy makes sense. Policy makers seem more willing to recognise that disparities between provinces, and between regions within provinces are persistent. They increasingly target the available funds on regional growth poles.
There is, however, an equity-efficiency trade off. Agglomeration is positively related to overall productivity and growth, but negatively to wage equality. Moreover, improving the market access of peripheral regions with infrastructure - or any other initiative that promotes economic integration - may in fact increase regional disparities. It increases the incentive to locate in the core once the peripheral market can be supplied from here with
more ease. If one is to improve the fate of lagging regions, then a focus on large regions that contain their own core periphery structures, as well as a focus on labour - the least mobile production factor - is desirable.
Researcher
CPB, Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis
Van Stolkweg 14
2585 JR The Hague
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 703383402
Email: vanderhorst@cpb.nl
Web: www.cpb.nl/nl/general/org/homepages/avdh/
Countries might converge, unlike provinces
The European Union is one of the most prosperous parts of the world. Yet there are large regional disparities in productivity, wages, and employment, and they have only increased with the recent enlargement. Thus, there seems to be ample justification for helping lagging regions to catch up, both at the national and the European level. Unfortunately, regional policy appears to be ineffective. Well known are the fruitless attempts of Italy to bridge the gap between the Mezzogiorno and the North, of Germany to bridge the gap between the Neue Länder and the West, and of the European Commission to reduce regional disparities in general.
This study validates one explanation of the ineffectiveness of regional policy. We set off from the New Economic Geography (NEG), a relatively new branch of economics that incorporates agglomeration advantages and location choice in a formal general equilibrium framework. By estimating the key parameters of NEG models with European regional data, we are able to underpin the conclusion that dogged attempts to make lagging regions catch up are often doomed to fail. Lagging regions do not stand alone, but pertain to local core-periphery systems. Economic activity lured to the periphery by subsidies will in the long run end up
in the core. This is because the periphery lacks the critical economic mass.
Regional policy demands a theory that explains the location of production and consumption. Since the early nineties economists have such a theory at their disposal: the NEG unites within a consistent general equilibrium framework older insights from international trade theory and spatial economics.
Firms and workers are subject to centripetal and centrifugal market forces. The owner of a firm must choose a location for his plant. If he chooses a core region, i.e. a region with a large market, then he saves on trade costs. Less goods will have to `exported' to other regions. Therefore, he can set a lower price, and thus capture a larger share of the market. If he chooses a peripheral region, i.e. a region with a small market, then he faces less competition from other local firms. Moreover, he evades urban costs such as congestion and high land prices. Similarly, a worker must choose a location where to live and work. If he chooses a core region, then he gets a higher real wage. If he chooses a peripheral region, he evades urban costs.
The list of centripetal and centrifugal forces working on firms and workers can be extended, and differs between NEG models. The common denominator of the models is, however, that location decisions depend on the balance of these forces, which in their turn depend on trade costs. A range of trade costs supports an even distribution of economic activity. We call this state the `dispersion equilibrium'. A complementary range supports an uneven distribution of economic activity, in which one region hosts a disproportionate amount. We call this state the `agglomeration equilibrium'.
The agglomeration equilibrium is characterised by a spatial wage structure: agglomeration advantages materialise as higher wages in core regions. Moreover, the causality of location choice underlying the equilibrium is circular: firms and workers prefer the core since it has the largest market; the core has the largest market since it host many firms and workers. Thus, if agglomeration equilibria are the rule, regional disparities are difficult to counter with regional policy.
What does the European economic geography look like? A satellite picture of Europe reveals banana shaped beam of light running from London to Milan that indicates a large cluster of economic activity. Zooming in reveals, moreover, that similar core-periphery structures repeat themselves at lower levels of aggregation. Agglomeration is ubiquitous.
Descriptive statistics confirm the eyeball analysis of the satellite picture. It indicates that
agglomeration is especially pronounced at a (sub) provincial level of regional aggregation. Moreover, the little movement in the location of economic activity that can be discerned is attributable to the increasing importance of services as compared to agriculture and manufacturing. Agglomeration is local and stable.
The observation that agglomeration is global is confirmed by the econometric analysis of the spatial wage structure in European regions. We show that wages are relatively high, not only in, but also in the neighbourhood of agglomerated regions. The estimates imply a strong agglomeration advantage that quickly peters out over distance.
It is unsurprising that regional policy often fails to reduce regional disparities in productivity and income. Core regions tend to be better off than their surrounding peripheries. And core-periphery structures are hard to upset since agglomeration advantages pull economic activity to the cores.
In this light the recent shift in thinking on regional policy makes sense. Policy makers seem more willing to recognise that disparities between provinces, and between regions within provinces are persistent. They increasingly target the available funds on regional growth poles.
There is, however, an equity-efficiency trade off. Agglomeration is positively related to overall productivity and growth, but negatively to wage equality. Moreover, improving the market access of peripheral regions with infrastructure - or any other initiative that promotes economic integration - may in fact increase regional disparities. It increases the incentive to locate in the core once the peripheral market can be supplied from here with
more ease. If one is to improve the fate of lagging regions, then a focus on large regions that contain their own core periphery structures, as well as a focus on labour - the least mobile production factor - is desirable.
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme
By Johannes Flensted-Jensen, County Mayor of Aarhus and Chairman of the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme
e-mail: jfj@ag.aaa.dk www.aaa.dk and www.jylland-fyn.dk
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme was set up in 1998 by the 8 counties and 173 municipalities in the region, along with the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs. Just over 50% of the Danish population live within the Jutland–Fyn region.
Long before 1998, these Danish counties and municipalities had observed that Greater Copenhagen was developing at a much faster rate than their own region. They also noticed that this rate of development was intensifying over time. A significant reason for this was that state funds were being spent to a greater degree in Greater Copenhagen than in the rest of Denmark. Until 1998, the individual counties and municipalities competed for investments from both the state and private sectors. This meant that it became much too easy for the state to play the local and regional authorities off against each other. Something had to be done to alter this state of affairs.
That “something” was the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme, headed by a political steering group with very good decision-making powers. This group consisted of the 8 county mayors and 8 mayors representing all the municipalities in each of the individual counties. The Danish state was also represented.
The venture was set up after realising that wide-reaching cooperation was necessary right across the board, cutting through administrative boundaries and both the public and private sectors – to ensure good conditions as a basic framework for the business community throughout the region.
The first task for this venture was to analyse precisely where any imbalance occurred. The results confirmed the feeling that most people already had – namely that, compared with Greater Copenhagen, the Jutland–Fyn region had a considerably lower level of education and training; a higher rate of unemployment; lower income levels and basis of taxation; lower incidence of setting up new companies; less use of IT in business; and considerably less expenditure on research and innovation.
With this information in hand, it was much easier to reach agreement on what the problem was and which issues should be focused on as part of the business cooperation scheme.
The venture currently has four main focus areas that should also be considered in the light of increasing globalisation:
· Education, training and expertise
· Entrepreneurship
· Innovation and research
· IT
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme has led to a number of projects that have provided additional benefits in terms of the emergence of a network culture that transcends the normal boundaries between the business community, the education and research institutions and the public authorities. This has provided a solid, forward-looking basis for collaboration focusing on growth and innovation in the Danish business community – and it is this environment that provides the foundation for the comprehensive activities that are constantly being developed as part of this business cooperation scheme.
The venture also aims to exert an influence on the overall regional-political agenda in Denmark. One measure currently under way is a conference to be held in Copenhagen on 7 October 2005 to help persuade the Danish parliament to decide on greater decentralisation of state jobs.
What has the venture achieved in these focus areas?
IT
The Jutland–Fyn IT effort really took off in 2002, when a broad political agreement was reached in the Danish parliament regarding the allocation of DKK 175 million to the Jutland–Fyn region over a period of 4 years. This sum was doubled by an allocation from members of the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme and the business community. Our focus on IT will strengthen the key IT skills and widen the use of IT in the entire Jutland–Fyn region – especially in those areas that are not located close to the IT knowledge centres. The IT effort is built up via close collaboration between the knowledge and education institutions and the business community. The aim is to create synergy between the business community and the world of research as regards knowledge about IT. Half of the funds have been allocated to 4 specialist IT centres in the Jutland–Fyn region. The other half have been used for specific collaborative projects between the knowledge centres and the business community. So far, this has involved more than 80 projects, ranging from IT in toys to digital scenography and computer models of building components. Two knowledge-sharing conferences have also been held.
Innovation and research
Expenditure on innovation and research has also been sharply increased in both the private and public sectors. However, cooperation between private companies and public research institutions is lagging behind. The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme has therefore financed and set up a scheme called “Research Contact”, which draws on DKK 28 million (EUR 4 million) to provide subsidies to collaborative projects between knowledge institutions and private companies in the Jutland–Fyn region. In addition, the venture has initiated several projects aimed at enabling students to gain practical experience in private companies, especially those located outside the major urban areas. The aim of this is twofold – partly to get the students to see the job opportunities that exist in smaller private companies, and partly to provide these companies with the latest research knowledge.
Within this area, the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme also held a camp that focused on commercialising a larger proportion of the inventions and research results that stem from the public health sector.
Education, training and expertise
Education and training are mainly financed by the state in Denmark, and the venture’s opportunities therefore mostly consist of exerting an influence on the national decision-makers to increase education and training efforts and to make it easier to get credit for skills already acquired. We are by no means passive. We held a camp attended by all the most important education and training representatives to obtain as many ideas as possible for raising the level of education and training in the region. This resulted in a suggestion for building up business courses based on modules to make further education and training more flexible. Members of the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme were willing to jointly finance such a proposal for state courses, but the Danish state has so far refused to contribute to implementing the suggestion.
Another project that arose at the camp is “Developing skills at the workplace”, which enables employees to improve their skills during working hours.
Entrepreneurship
All the counties and municipalities in Denmark try to provide consultancy services to increase the rate of entrepreneurship and improve the ability of entrepreneurs to survive. The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme held a camp to boost entrepreneurship in the region. This led to the building of a Jutland–Fyn entrepreneur high school, which is currently under construction. This school will provide tuition for both entrepreneurs and their families in what it actually means to be an entrepreneur and an entrepreneur family. The school is financed by the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme, participating counties and the European Social Fund (ESF).
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme in an EU perspective
Collaborating with other regions in Europe has not been part of the agenda to date – in terms of the EU. This is not because we are reluctant to cooperate, but because the venture has concentrated up to now on managing to set up interdisciplinary partnership across administrative boundaries in West Denmark. However, cooperating with other European regions is one of our aims. Based on the preliminary statements regarding the new programme period, the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme can see opportunities for entering into new partnerships with other regions in Europe.
Individual members of the Jutland–Fyn partnership have independently participated in a number of EU-related activities and programmes, such as political-administrative collaborative projects in CPMR (Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe), including the North Sea Commission. Other projects include the EU Commission’s network of Innovating Regions in Europe (IRE), as well as research projects and regional development projects.
In the new programme period for 2007, we see far more opportunities for entering into partnerships with other regions in Europe. This could include regional development with a focus on research and innovation, business development, tourism and rural districts. We see significant advantages in being part of the solid Innovating Regions in Europe (IRE) network.
I can also see opportunities for Jutland–Fyn participating in
· Entrepreneurs: Seeking financing through business matching
· InvestorNet: Investors
· Technology Incubator Managers: Incubator forum for technology and management
· Academia Network: Academia in entrepreneurship, innovation and finance
· Service Centre: Innovative companies seeking expert service providers
· ProTon Europe: Transferring knowledge between research centres and companies, institutions, etc., including the setting up of Knowledge Transfer Offices between education and training at a high level of knowledge.
This opens up considerable opportunities for developing cooperation and regional partnership within the region between knowledge centres, companies and public institutions, as well as expanding geographically to include European regions and European collaboration with the EU.
e-mail: jfj@ag.aaa.dk www.aaa.dk and www.jylland-fyn.dk
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme was set up in 1998 by the 8 counties and 173 municipalities in the region, along with the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs. Just over 50% of the Danish population live within the Jutland–Fyn region.
Long before 1998, these Danish counties and municipalities had observed that Greater Copenhagen was developing at a much faster rate than their own region. They also noticed that this rate of development was intensifying over time. A significant reason for this was that state funds were being spent to a greater degree in Greater Copenhagen than in the rest of Denmark. Until 1998, the individual counties and municipalities competed for investments from both the state and private sectors. This meant that it became much too easy for the state to play the local and regional authorities off against each other. Something had to be done to alter this state of affairs.
That “something” was the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme, headed by a political steering group with very good decision-making powers. This group consisted of the 8 county mayors and 8 mayors representing all the municipalities in each of the individual counties. The Danish state was also represented.
The venture was set up after realising that wide-reaching cooperation was necessary right across the board, cutting through administrative boundaries and both the public and private sectors – to ensure good conditions as a basic framework for the business community throughout the region.
The first task for this venture was to analyse precisely where any imbalance occurred. The results confirmed the feeling that most people already had – namely that, compared with Greater Copenhagen, the Jutland–Fyn region had a considerably lower level of education and training; a higher rate of unemployment; lower income levels and basis of taxation; lower incidence of setting up new companies; less use of IT in business; and considerably less expenditure on research and innovation.
With this information in hand, it was much easier to reach agreement on what the problem was and which issues should be focused on as part of the business cooperation scheme.
The venture currently has four main focus areas that should also be considered in the light of increasing globalisation:
· Education, training and expertise
· Entrepreneurship
· Innovation and research
· IT
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme has led to a number of projects that have provided additional benefits in terms of the emergence of a network culture that transcends the normal boundaries between the business community, the education and research institutions and the public authorities. This has provided a solid, forward-looking basis for collaboration focusing on growth and innovation in the Danish business community – and it is this environment that provides the foundation for the comprehensive activities that are constantly being developed as part of this business cooperation scheme.
The venture also aims to exert an influence on the overall regional-political agenda in Denmark. One measure currently under way is a conference to be held in Copenhagen on 7 October 2005 to help persuade the Danish parliament to decide on greater decentralisation of state jobs.
What has the venture achieved in these focus areas?
IT
The Jutland–Fyn IT effort really took off in 2002, when a broad political agreement was reached in the Danish parliament regarding the allocation of DKK 175 million to the Jutland–Fyn region over a period of 4 years. This sum was doubled by an allocation from members of the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme and the business community. Our focus on IT will strengthen the key IT skills and widen the use of IT in the entire Jutland–Fyn region – especially in those areas that are not located close to the IT knowledge centres. The IT effort is built up via close collaboration between the knowledge and education institutions and the business community. The aim is to create synergy between the business community and the world of research as regards knowledge about IT. Half of the funds have been allocated to 4 specialist IT centres in the Jutland–Fyn region. The other half have been used for specific collaborative projects between the knowledge centres and the business community. So far, this has involved more than 80 projects, ranging from IT in toys to digital scenography and computer models of building components. Two knowledge-sharing conferences have also been held.
Innovation and research
Expenditure on innovation and research has also been sharply increased in both the private and public sectors. However, cooperation between private companies and public research institutions is lagging behind. The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme has therefore financed and set up a scheme called “Research Contact”, which draws on DKK 28 million (EUR 4 million) to provide subsidies to collaborative projects between knowledge institutions and private companies in the Jutland–Fyn region. In addition, the venture has initiated several projects aimed at enabling students to gain practical experience in private companies, especially those located outside the major urban areas. The aim of this is twofold – partly to get the students to see the job opportunities that exist in smaller private companies, and partly to provide these companies with the latest research knowledge.
Within this area, the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme also held a camp that focused on commercialising a larger proportion of the inventions and research results that stem from the public health sector.
Education, training and expertise
Education and training are mainly financed by the state in Denmark, and the venture’s opportunities therefore mostly consist of exerting an influence on the national decision-makers to increase education and training efforts and to make it easier to get credit for skills already acquired. We are by no means passive. We held a camp attended by all the most important education and training representatives to obtain as many ideas as possible for raising the level of education and training in the region. This resulted in a suggestion for building up business courses based on modules to make further education and training more flexible. Members of the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme were willing to jointly finance such a proposal for state courses, but the Danish state has so far refused to contribute to implementing the suggestion.
Another project that arose at the camp is “Developing skills at the workplace”, which enables employees to improve their skills during working hours.
Entrepreneurship
All the counties and municipalities in Denmark try to provide consultancy services to increase the rate of entrepreneurship and improve the ability of entrepreneurs to survive. The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme held a camp to boost entrepreneurship in the region. This led to the building of a Jutland–Fyn entrepreneur high school, which is currently under construction. This school will provide tuition for both entrepreneurs and their families in what it actually means to be an entrepreneur and an entrepreneur family. The school is financed by the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme, participating counties and the European Social Fund (ESF).
The Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme in an EU perspective
Collaborating with other regions in Europe has not been part of the agenda to date – in terms of the EU. This is not because we are reluctant to cooperate, but because the venture has concentrated up to now on managing to set up interdisciplinary partnership across administrative boundaries in West Denmark. However, cooperating with other European regions is one of our aims. Based on the preliminary statements regarding the new programme period, the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme can see opportunities for entering into new partnerships with other regions in Europe.
Individual members of the Jutland–Fyn partnership have independently participated in a number of EU-related activities and programmes, such as political-administrative collaborative projects in CPMR (Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe), including the North Sea Commission. Other projects include the EU Commission’s network of Innovating Regions in Europe (IRE), as well as research projects and regional development projects.
In the new programme period for 2007, we see far more opportunities for entering into partnerships with other regions in Europe. This could include regional development with a focus on research and innovation, business development, tourism and rural districts. We see significant advantages in being part of the solid Innovating Regions in Europe (IRE) network.
I can also see opportunities for Jutland–Fyn participating in
· Entrepreneurs: Seeking financing through business matching
· InvestorNet: Investors
· Technology Incubator Managers: Incubator forum for technology and management
· Academia Network: Academia in entrepreneurship, innovation and finance
· Service Centre: Innovative companies seeking expert service providers
· ProTon Europe: Transferring knowledge between research centres and companies, institutions, etc., including the setting up of Knowledge Transfer Offices between education and training at a high level of knowledge.
This opens up considerable opportunities for developing cooperation and regional partnership within the region between knowledge centres, companies and public institutions, as well as expanding geographically to include European regions and European collaboration with the EU.
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