The investment activity and development capacity of local self-government units are influenced by a diverse set of financial determinants. Due to their frequent interdependence, assessing their joint effect is essential to accurately determine their impact on the realization of local capital projects. The paper empirically examines the impact of carefully selected financial determinants, including revenues per capita, public debt, the level of self-financing and fiscal autonomy, on the percentage share of capital expenditures in total expenditures of the 10 most indebted local self-government units in the Republic of Serbia, covering the period from 2011 to 2023. The empirical findings indicate that revenues per capita have a dominant impact on investment activity, suggesting that the actual fiscal strength of local self-government units is the most crucial factor in the realization of capital projects.
Mountain areas of Italy experienced substantial socio-ecological changes over the last four decades. Partly due to outmigration, traditional agro-forestry activities and cultural landscapes were progressively abandoned and forest expanded substantially. Biodiversity trends observed during the last 30 years of rewilding are unlikely to continue under climate change. Understanding the decadal impacts of rewilding remains challenging. Biodiversity monitoring data are scant, scarcely integrated and scattered. Some vegetation plot time-series do exist, but they are essentially point observations in space. Achieving a complete picture of biodiversity change requires integrating different data, expertise, and mostly, viewpoints. Integrating biodiversity surveys with data that is available with complete spatial coverage, such as remote sensing, is a necessary first step. But interpreting biodiversity changes also requires considering people’s perceptions and knowledge. Only a qualitative-quantitative approach allows us to understand not only the patterns and trends of biodiversity change, but also the reasons why it changed. This study proposes an interdisciplinary, data-driven approach to understand historical and future trends of plant biodiversity in Italian rewilded mountain areas. We produced spatially explicit assessments of vegetation change between 1990 and 2020 in three mountain protected areas spanning the Italian Peninsula: 1) Eastern Alps (Lagorai mountain range); 2) Northern Apennines (Foreste Casentinesi Monte Falterona e Campigna NP), and 3) Central Apennines (Velino Massif). To do so, we used generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDMs) to model the dissimilarity of plant assemblages as a function of their geographical distances, ecological dissimilarities, and differences in land cover derived by remote sensing. After calibrating the GDMs with historical and newly collected vegetation plot data, the maps of predicted species composition at different times were created, whose comparison allowed highlighting areas where change in land cover induced the largest changes in species composition, and quantified the consequences for regional plant diversity.
This paper examines the patterns of corruption and their role in the consolidation of democracy in Serbia after 2000. We begin by assessing the mechanisms by which corruption undermines the fragile balance between institutions, norms and rules that provide trust and legitimacy of the system, thus affecting democratic backsliding. Employing Wolfgang Merkel’s model of embedded democracy as an analytical framework, and drawing on quantitative data from Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and the V-Dem dataset covering the period 2000–2024, the paper explores the mechanisms through which corruption exacerbates democratic backsliding. We then shift our focus towards an examination of the patterns of corruption and democratic backsliding in Serbia. By using data from Transparency International and V-dem database, the paper identifies key forms of corruption and their consequences for democratic processes in Serbia. The findings indicate that corruption is deeply entrenched in state institutions and the political system. Since lack of political will and weak implementation of reforms slow down democratic consolidation, greater transparency, strengthening of independent institutions and active involvement of citizens are necessary for the consolidation of democracy in Serbia.
Rapid advances in technology, especially AI applications, have contributed to economic transformation at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels. Given its substantial potential, AI adoption can become an important source of a country’s comparative advantage. This study examines whether European countries achieved a comparative advantage derived from AI applications during the period 2014–2019. Comparative advantage is assessed using the RSCA index, where positive values indicate its presence. The index is calculated based on the AI patent applications per one million people. The findings reveal that only a limited number of European countries possess a comparative advantage in AI, and that these countries are at varying levels of economic development. This suggests that a nation’s level of economic development is not a decisive factor for the emergence of innovative ideas driven by AI adoption.
The LEADER approach is recognized as a pioneering methodology enabling rural communities to design and implement local development strategies. Originally a bottom-up initiative under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, LEADER has evolved in Romania to address social inclusion, economic disparity and environmental protection. This article analyzes the LEADER approach within Romanian sustainable local development, evaluating the methodology's effectiveness by focusing on Local Action Groups (GAL) implementation and outcomes in the North-West Development Region through a case study of GAL Zona Sătmarului. By synthesizing multiple research sources, the study explores strategic planning, resource allocation, and performance outcomes of LEADER-initiated development strategies. The investigation examines how LEADER principles translate into practical solutions, assessing achievements and limitations in the Romanian context. This research contributes to broader sustainable rural development discourse, offering insights into challenges and opportunities facing Romanian communities pursuing locally driven development initiatives.
