As one of the key elements in overcoming current social and economic challenges, social entrepreneurship is gaining increasing importance in Croatia. In agriculture, social entrepreneurship is primarily represented through the activities of civil society organisations and cooperatives. The community led local development approach as well as the bottom-up approach overall play a compensatory role in often inadequate conventional state incentive measures aimed at local and regional development. The focus of this paper is on actors who, besides being profit-oriented, are primarily driven by the aim of increasing the quality of life for poorly employable groups and creating positive and sustainable social and economic impacts. The results of the conducted research through desk analysis and focus groups emphasize the important role of social entrepreneurship in the sector of agriculture and rural development, as well as its impact on socio-economic development in Croatia.
Cilj: Cilj je rada analizirati ulogu hrvatskih narodnih knjižnica u kontekstu održivog razvoja kroz dvojaku perspektivu interne (institucionalne/reaktivne) i eksterne (društvene/proaktivne) održivosti, promatrane unutar okolišnog, društvenog i ekonomskog stupa održivosti. Pristup/metodologija/dizajn: U radu je primijenjen mješoviti metodološki pristup koji uključuje desk research, analizu strateško-planskih dokumenata te kvantitativno empirijsko istraživanje provedeno anketnim upitnikom. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo 99 narodnih knjižnica u Republici Hrvatskoj, a istraživački instrument strukturiran je prema internim i eksternim aspektima održivosti te trima stupovima održivog razvoja. Rezultati: Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da narodne knjižnice u Hrvatskoj primjenjuju održive prakse u određenoj mjeri, no uglavnom nesustavno i bez jasno definiranog strateškog okvira. Interna (reaktivna) održivost najizraženija je u području osnovnih okolišnih praksi, dok je društvena održivost najrazvijenija u eksternoj dimenziji kroz programe inkluzije, cjeloživotnog učenja i osiguravanja pristupa znanju. Ekonomska održivost, osobito u eksternoj (proaktivnoj) dimenziji, pokazuje se kao najslabije razvijena i percipirana. Istraživanje se temelji na samoprocjeni ispitanika, što može uključivati subjektivna tumačenja i društveno poželjne odgovore. Praktična primjena: Rezultati istraživanja mogu poslužiti kao temelj za razvoj strateških smjernica, javnih politika i alata za sustavno upravljanje održivošću narodnih knjižnica na institucionalnoj i društvenoj razini. Društveni značaj: Rad potvrđuje važnu ulogu narodnih knjižnica kao društveno inkluzivnih institucija i ključnih aktera održivog razvoja lokalnih zajednica, osobito u području društvene održivosti i pristupa znanju. Originalnost/vrijednost: Originalnost rada očituje se u razvoju integriranog konceptualnog okvira koji po prvi put u hrvatskom kontekstu sustavno razlikuje internu (reaktivnu) i eksternu (proaktivnu) dimenziju održivosti narodnih knjižnica, nudeći cjelovit, analitički i praktično primjenjiv model.
Background. To successfully modernise public governance for the digital era, the strategic adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is an absolute necessity. The AI, however, cannot deliver sustainable value in a vacuum. Unlocking its true potential depends on institutional readiness, proactive regulatory frameworks, and robust governance capacity to mitigate both operational and societal risks. Purpose. This study aims to examine how the evolving EU AI Act’s governance framework shapes the concept of Sustainable Digital Governance and to evaluate AI literacy and institutional readiness among Croatian civil servants as critical prerequisites for responsible AI deployment. Findings. This empirical study utilises survey data collected in mid-2025 from Croatian civil servants to evaluate AI literacy, perceptions, and organisational readiness. While these preliminary findings are subject to certain methodological limitations, they reveal a severe implementation gap between regulatory mandates and institutional capacity. 73.6% of surveyed officials reported no prior exposure to AI-related training or professional discourse, and 80.2% could not identify high-risk AI systems within their operational environments. 62.6% noted a lack of organisational guidance on AI software utilities and their associated risks, leaving only 25.3% who felt capable of executing tasks in compliance with AI Act risk-mitigation standards. Implications. These insights demonstrate that successful public sector AI governance requires moving beyond mere regulatory compliance to embrace targeted capacity-building, institutional learning, and well-defined national implementation strategies. Ultimately, this study synthesises theoretical perspectives with empirical data to introduce a holistic framework for the sustainable governance of AI systems. It concludes with actionable recommendations designed to guide policymakers and organisational leaders through the regulatory and operational complexities of an AI-driven landscape.
Public works are usually considered a less important and less effective type of Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP) as has been emphasized by various empirical studies, mainly based on micro-level data. However, very few studies have looked at local-level labour market effects in the case of large-scale public works intervention. In this study, we perform a municipality-level counterfactual evaluation of a large-scale intervention targeting unemployed women without tertiary education in Croatia to work as assistants for elderly people. The municipality-level effects are examined in Croatia by applying difference-in-differences (DID) estimation and following the approach for staggered rollout by Callaway and Sant’Anna (Callaway and Sant’Anna 2021a). Empirical findings suggest that intervention has resulted in significant reductions in long-term unemployment over the longer term, albeit partly caused by the implementation dynamics, in particular the return of participants to the unemployment register after completion. More genuine and lasting impact on long-term unemployment was noted only two years after the municipality’s exposure to the intervention. Despite the significant financial resources invested in the intervention, we find no evidence of displacement effects. We found no effects on women’s employment in other jobs or on their activity rate. Besides the empirical findings, research also involves methodological insights regarding the application of aggregate-level counterfactual studies in the evaluation of labour market interventions, providing lessons on evaluation setup, evaluation timeliness, research questions and data availability.
This paper explores the macroeconomic and social implications of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for the Western Balkan countries. The study employs a partial equilibrium sectoral exposure model that estimates potential CBAM related costs in core industries steel, cement, and electricity by comparing projected carbon pricing burdens to sectoral revenues and employment levels. The analysis identifies areas of high vulnerability where CBAM-induced costs could undermine export competitiveness, threaten fiscal stability, and increase the risk of job displacement in carbon intensive sectors. Framed through the concept of development leakage, the paper argues that policies aimed at preventing carbon leakage within the EU may inadvertently constrain industrial modernization and economic convergence in its neighboring economies. The findings suggest that, without transitional financial and technical support, CBAM risks acting as a de facto trade barrier, potentially slowing the Western Balkans’ progress toward EU accession. To ensure an equitable transition, extended implementation timelines, coordinated carbon pricing mechanisms, and just transition measures integrated into EU-Western Balkan climate cooperation frameworks are needed.
