Month: June 2010

Interregional Differences in Adoptive Abilities: An Alternative Framework

Stilianos Alexiadis
University of  Piraeus

Abstract: 
Although the importance of technology adoption has been acknowledged, nevertheless, at a more general level, a critical question arises: how do the overall infrastructure conditions affect the absorptive ability of a regional economy? This question can be stated alternatively as: what are the implications of a poor or a superior infrastructure for regional convergence? It is possible to provide some answers to these questions by constructing a model of regional convergence that encapsulates the impact of infrastructure in the absorptive ability of a regional economy. In this model the possibility that high technological gaps might act as obstacles to convergence is taken explicitly into consideration. The model developed in this paper indicates that convergence towards leading regions is feasible only for regions with sufficient absorptive capacity, which is assumed to be a function of infrastructure conditions in a regional economy. read more
 
Key Words: Convergence Clubs, Technological Gap, Technology Adoption    

Globalism – the important factor of the life of the countries of the region in general and of Albania in particular

Antoneta Polo
University Eqrem Cabej, Gjirokastra, Albania

 
Abstract:
The fundamental idea which would like to convey this material is that in the stream of the world economy will be framed those countries which successfully will pass the transition process, by involving all the human and material resources in function of development and the regional and global integration. The countries in transition which become members of the European Union, the most powerful integrated market in the world, can start to get involved into the economy of the world, i.e. in the global economy. Albania is still far from being integrated in this economy. The ideas of the globalism are directly related to the elaboration of the concept of the new world collocation and with the acceptance of five indispensable values which are foundations of the international unity; peace, human rights, development, democracy and the ecology balance. Related to this logic, the new European countries, among which Albania as well, have the possibilities to orientate their development in a way to respond as much as possible to their interests. This should become related closely to the new global conditions. The survey accomplished in the town of Gjirokastra, with people of different levels and groups will give a support for drawing some of the conclusions presented in this material. read more
 
 
Key words: country in transition, globalism, integration, countries of the region, free trade, immigration, global economy, Albania.  
 

Regional Tourism Development using Linear Programming and Vector

Stephanos Karagiannis
Technological Educational Institute of
Lamia

Dimitrios Apostolou
Technological Educational Institute of
Lamia 

Abstract :
This paper describes a linear programming formulation and vector analysis which aims at presenting an evaluation of the available tourism forms of Dirfis area as part of a greater development planning for altering the tourism development in the area. The target of the present paper is to investigate the contribution of three different tourism forms (conference, ecotourism and pilgrim) in the local tourism economy given the available resources. The model introduced is a LP maximization model under the constraints of cost and space allocation.  The final results of the model indicate an overall contribution to profits only of two tourism forms (conference and pilgrim) hence ecotourism is criticized from the model as unprofitable.  read more
 
Keywords: Linear Programming (LP), vector analysis, tourist forms, tourism development