The paper analyzes the determinates of the general government budget and the character of fiscal policy in Croatia, with special emphasis on the election period. In addition, the paper focuses on different factors that affect the size and structure of government revenues and expenditures, such as the European semester and political budget cycles. The main goal of the paper is to analyze potential Croatian budgetary policy during an election period under the Excessive Deficit and the Macroeconomic Imbalance procedures.

Full enjoyment of the right to health is crucial for the enjoyment of other human rights and has a central role in many other dimensions of sustainable development. In addition, human health is a consequence, but also a precondition of development, and is crucial to human welfare. Investment in health, especially prevention, fosters the economic output of a country through its effects on education achievements and skills acquirement, labour productivity and employment, increased savings and investments, demographic transition and the earth’s ecosystem. This paper analyses the importance of health and efficient health systems in terms of sustainable development, and their role in Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals. Through sustainable development in the 21st century, the priority is to maximize health welfare for all age-groups, through universal health protection and pro-health policies in all sectors. Creating sustainable health care systems for the future demands reshaping the demand for health care services, diminishing the burden of illness, helping people to stay healthy, and empowering them to manage their own health.

The main hypothesis of the paper states that the level of banking loans to private individuals growth rate correlates with the personal consumption growth rate in Croatia. Following the Engle-Granger cointegration and Johansen cointegration approaches on yearly data samples from 1996 to 2012, we found banking loan to private individuals annual growth rate and personal consumption annual growth rate in Croatia were cointegrated. According to estimates, there is empirical evidence for statistically significant, long-run and short-run levels of banking loans to private individuals growth rate having an effect on the personal consumption growth rate in Croatia. Given the low competitiveness of the domestic economy, the research results raise questions regarding the sustainability of a banking business in Croatia which is mainly oriented toward lending to private individuals, and the potential need to update banking regulations in Croatia. We found evidence of debt-financed consumption. In addition, the research results further illustrate the sensitivity of cointegration methods to deviations from the pure unit-root assumption, since unit-root tests cannot easily distinguish between a unit root and close alternatives.

The aim of this paper is to analyze how foreign direct investment can impact sustainable development, particularly from an environmental standpoint. Pursuing that aim, the structure and flows of foreign direct investment are analyzed, along with environmental protection regulation and its evolution over the last few decades in European Union (EU) countries. The conclusion of the research is that most EU countries have strong environmental requirements that can influence investors seeking pollution havens in these countries. However, while common EU policies are in place, member countries also apply their own national regulations and incentives. Different approaches to investments and sustainable development policies may have implications for the level of harmonization and collaboration among EU countries in the future.

The main aim of this study is to determine possible strategic guidance for increasing the effectiveness of implementing the development cooperation policy in the Republic of Croatia, bearing in mind its membership of the European Union and the fact that, since 2011, the Republic of Croatia has been officially classified as an international donor. Thus, taking into consideration the limited financial resources available for the implementation of this policy, the analysis in this study proposes a model of delegated cooperation as a possible strategic commitment on the part of the Republic of Croatia in policy implementation in the coming period. The delegated cooperation model should be considered in the context of the Republic of Croatia’s meeting its commitments towards the European Union and the global donor community, as well as guidance for alignment with current global donor trends in policy implementation. Furthermore, it should be seen as beneficial in terms of achieving the visibility of the Republic of Croatia as a donor country, its proliferation through comparative advantage, and the withdrawal of European Union funds in order to achieve its own benefits and ultimate fulfillment of global development goals. In order to achieve this, structural changes should be introduced regarding the necessary political commitments and appropriate institutional and procedural reforms. In this respect, the need to introduce changes in the existing political system of the Republic of Croatia should be considered.

This paper summarizes modern aspects of the capital market environment. The aim is to provide an extensive overview of theoretical and empirical studies which analyse changes in the ownership and demutualisation of stock exchanges, ongoing technological innovations, initiatives for changing and eliminating regulation, and increase in competition. For this purpose, the author employs deductive-logical methodology, compilation, synthesis and classification. An analysis of the relevant research showed that transformation of ownership was one of the key drivers of the capital market environment, changing stock markets from monopolies to competitive companies. Technological innovations changed trading platforms and overcame geographical distances, eased communication and cut transaction costs, which encouraged the development of competition overall. Competitive forces have also been spurred by changes in regulation, in particular by deregulation, self-regulation and, in the case of EU capital markets, harmonisation of regulation. The results of the research showed that these modern aspects of capital markets have led to significant changes in the industry, and directed capital markets towards overseas mergers and cooperation.

Crowdfunding is an alternative source of financing by which a large number of people use online platforms to make small contributions to a cause. Crowdfunding can take place either through investment-based platforms, or through reward-based and donation-based platforms. The choice of platform by a supporter of a campaign reflects their motive for participating in crowdfunding financing. Participation can be either intrinsically driven, when the supporter requires no monetary compensaton, but enjoys helping others, or extrinsically driven, when the supporter expects potential financial returns. In addition to the main aspects of the crowdfunding market, this paper aims to analyze the potential challenges and risks faced by the crowd. A high-quality regulatory environment would help mitigate these risks.

The main goal of this paper is to analyze intellectual property rights at the international level and draw conclusions about similarities and differences among international systems. For this purpose, intellectual property rights in the European Union (EU), United States and China were analyzed and compared. The analysis results show that there are common elements of intellectual property rights among the countries analyzed, which is to be expected, since they are all members of the World Intellectual Property Organization. However, certain differences exist, primarily in the degree of implementation and duration of rights. Since the EU ant the United States have the most developed systems of intellectual property rights, they have the most to lose by cooperating with countries with poor intellectual property rights systems. On the other hand, during the last few decades, China has emerged as a global leader and important trading partner. Although China is developing its system of intellectual property rights, many provisions are not being applied, or are misinterpreted in international cooperation due to language or other barriers, and this diminishes the desire for investment and technology transfer resulting in economic damage to firms holding original intellectual property rights

The subject of the paper is the importance of the dollar as a world currency. The paper analyzes how the dollar became a world currency, the implications of its role as a world currency in the economy of the United States and other countries, and how various changes in the world economy (the global financial crisis that began in 2007, the emergence and growing importance of the euro, and the potential growth of the yuan) affect the status of the dollar as a world currency. In accordance with the topic of the paper, the historical context or environment in which the dollar has emerged as the leading world currency is analysed, along with economic context in which the phenomena prominently connects this world currency issuer with the economy of the country and its impact on other countries. The impact of the global financial crisis on the dollar, its current status and future perspectives are also analyzed. Accelerated growth in developing countries and the increase in the importance of the euro and the yuan in international payments represent challenges to the dollar in the near future, when it is expected that a system will develop using several world currencies, instead of one dominant world currency.

This article provides an overview of the Renewable Energy Sources and High Efficiency Cogeneration Act and its expected implication for project development, power plant construction and electricity production from renewable energy sources and high efficiency cogeneration in the Republic of Croatia. The Act was adopted by the Croatian Parliament at its session held on 3 September 2015. Through the adoption of this Act, the production and use of electricity from renewable energy sources such as the renewables support scheme have been regulated for the first time by a special Act

The paper explains the implications of the European refugee crisis for the functioning of the EU and democracy within Europe, with reference to Hannah Arendts theory on refugees and human rights. The paper examines critically the handling of the refugee crisis by the European Commission and its attitude towards EU Member States, which compromises the actual functioning of theEU and democracy in Europe. Arendts theory helps us understand better the present situation, taking into account the historical context. Her theory on human rights, born of the French Revolution provides a possible answer regarding how to preserve European nation states and democracy in Europe, notions that have been challenged seriously by the waves of refugees from the Middle East, and ultimately by the European Union itself.