No abstract

This paper empirically investigates the effects of transport infrastructure on economic growth in Central and Eastern European Member States (C.E.M.S.) in the period 1995-2016. During the transition period in C.E.M.S., most investments were focused on the roads, while railways have been lagging for decades. The aim of this paper is to estimate the effects of transport infrastructure (road and rail) on economic growth while controlling with other variables such as population growth, gross fixed capital formation and trade openness. We use panel data analysis with three standard estimators: pooled ordinary least squares, fixed effects and random effects. The results show positive effects in case of all estimated variables, except the railway infrastructure where the effects seem to be negative. The results illustrate the long-standing problem of inefficient and outdated railway infrastructure. These results should be seen in a broader context, especially in the light of the ongoing desire to reduce CO 2 emissions that are to a large extent produced by road transport, while railway transport is more environmentally friendly. This paper supports the European Union's guidelines for the need to invest in railway infrastructure to ensure effective transport in the long term, create competitive advantages, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus simulate sustainable economic growth in C.E.M.S.

Over the past decade, a number of papers attempt to capture the decisive impact of trade facilitation on international trade. Since the emergence of trade liberalization and tarrif reduction, trade facilitation analysis has been put in the spotlight. Trade facilitation is defined as all measures that reduce trade costs other than lowering tariffs. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of trade facilitation from the logistics perspective on international trade distinguishing between low, middle and high income importing countries. We used the augmented gravity model to estimate this relationship across 150 countries within the period 2007-2016. The Logistic Performance Index (LPI) created by the World Bank is used as a proxy variable for trade facilitation. The results of our analysis show that all used variables are significant and show the expected signs correspondingly to our hypotheses, suggesting that trade will increase with trade facilitation. The results also lead to the conclusion that exporter logistics performance seems to be more important than importer logistics performance. This paper supports the World Bank trade facilitation initiatives to assure lower trade costs as they serve as a barrier to enjoying the benefits of increased trade.

Globalization, offshoring and the notable growth of containerization have changed the maritime transport and logistics chains. Ports became integral part of complex supply chains and serve as a logistics centres, add value, link flows and influence the supply chain patterns and processes. The port competitiveness is determined by its in-house strengths such as efficient freight handling and hinterland connections and by its position and links in the global supply chains. The aim of this paper is to investigate the importance of port integration in the supply chains overall and to analyse how North Adriatic Ports are integrated into the supply chains. The analysis is based on the sample of 939 firms aggregated by ports regions and classes level within Section H (Nace Rev.2). The assumption is that if the business cycle of all firms (classes) included in the port supply chain is correlated, it can indicate that the port is integrated in the supply chain. The results of our analysis are ambiguous, where the correlation is rather negative than positive. This paper provides the conceptual framework and outline the significance of this investigation for port operators, shipping lines, forwarders and other stakeholders.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the concept of a fourth-party logistics provider and to identify his functions and importance for an organization. Although the concept of fourth-party logistics provider is present in academic researches for a relatively long time, it still remains underestimated. The paper presents a conceptual model that is based on the research of fourth-party logistics provider within the exsisting theorethical and empirical literature. The results have shown that fourth-party logistics provider is not incorporated enough into contemporary supply chain solutions, although a growing demand for it is evident. Future research may be broadened by implementing both qualitative and quantitative approach to evaluate the impact of fourth-party logistics provider on a business performance distinguishing among industries. This paper provides a knowledge-based conceptual framework to understand the value of fourth-party logistics provider inclusion in an organisation supply chain.