ABSTRACT
In the post-covid world, governments explore options to enhance their policies so that corporations can act as successful motors of recovery and sustainable growth. Countries select various objectives related to global value chains (GVC), such as participation, value capture, inclusiveness and resilience, yet might be unaware of the position of corporations they are supposed to motivate. In this paper, we aim to (re-)investigate the position of Visegrad Four (V4) suppliers within the regional automotive value chains and to compare results with suppliers in other EU member states using the trade in value added (TiVA) statistics. We set two research questions: How does the position of V4 in automotive GVCs differ from the positions of other EU member states and significant other automotive-producing countries? What is the link between the domestic value added in gross exports of final automotive products and the selected policy variables? A multiple linear regression model is run with TiVA in the automotive industry as the dependent variable and independent variables embodying proxies of GVC-oriented policy consequences. The analysis identifies significant differences in value-added levels between V4 countries and other EU countries, and other large automotive-producing economies. Labour costs, productivity, investment in R&D and innovation support are among the factors where V4 countries fall behind. Implications for Central European audience: The results of our research might be helpful for respective authorities and governments in V4 and other Central and Eastern European countries. They can be of use when setting goals and implementing policies targeted at promoting innovation, upgrading within existing GVCs and in cooperation between universities and research centres on the one hand and the automotive industry on the other. © 2023, Central European Business Review. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: media news exposure to traumatic events was previously correlated with the development of distress, PTSD, as well as other mental health issues. Considering our interest in mental health, we decided to study in more detail the impact of media news consumption as well as the role of political attitudes during the nationwide lockdown in the spring climax of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic. Method(s): In an online-survey (carried out 15-29 April 2020) we tested several factors of media news consumption (frequency of media exposure, use of media categories - public/mainstream/tabloid/disinformation, news reading habit, the usage of social media as a news source), as well as political attitude (political orientation and social activism). Subjective self-reported measures of anxiety, depression, general distress, health anxiety, and specific worries associated with COVID-19 were used. Result(s): We found some significant associations between the mental health measures and media/political variables. Discussion(s): Our findings show that higher frequency of media news exposure and the usage of social media predicted higher worries associated with COVID-19. It supports the claim that the overabundance of pandemic-related news in media increased the participant's perception of the situation as threatening. Also, our findings suggest that the exposure to tabloid and disinformation media can be considered a risk factor for mental health. Furthermore, our results indicate that quick browsing over the headlines as opposed to deep reading of news articles increased participants' distress. Finally, we discuss a negative effect of the distrust in the government on some of the mental health indicators.