Transnational governance
Encyclopedia
Transnational governance, within a European Union
framework, is both a subset of governance
in general and an application of it to situations outside its usual limits of corporate or governmental hierarchies, whether regional or national. When such disparate hierarchies within the EU find common goals, typically within a conterminous geographic area, they seek to achieve them by integrating their various policies and activities. The goals of transnational governance, especially for areas previously divided by the Iron Curtain
or pre-EU barriers to free trade
and movement of peoples, is to foster economic and social development.
The economic development
could be defined as the increased of wealth
of a country or a region and the social development could be loosely defined as the improvements of quality of living for the population. Economic and social are, or at least should be, inseparable concepts. Why reach a high economic development if the inhabitants living in the area don’t see any benefits of that improvement?
Reach social and economic developments are already a challenging but it’s even more challenging in a transnational area such as the greater region. Some projects were created in order to foster these developments. The operational program Interreg IV A, “grande region” has for main objectives to make the greater region more attractive, encourage innovation, improve the numbers of high quality jobs, etc.
The improvement of the economic and social situation could be analysed through the example of the Vienna-Bratislava-Györ triangle which is a cross border are including involving three different countries (Slovakia
, Austria
and Hungary
) that once were part of the same empire. Good governance
could lead to the adoption of a common identity which could lead to mutual support between people, companies or authorities sharing this common identity. Concretely, we observe a high amount of Foreign direct investment
s (FDI) coming from Austria in order to develop the general situation of Slokia and Hungary. This is very well descript in this citation of Tatzberger (2007) : “Foreign direct investments (FDI) play an important role in restructuring and improving the competitiveness
of industry
and manufacturing
by helping to raise productivity
and to expand export
s. It has been one of the driving forces behind industrial restructuring in Hungary and Slovakia”.
However, it has to be said to huge economic and social disparities could be seen a real threat to the process leading to the creation of a common identity. For instance, the migration of workers stays underdeveloped because of Austrian fears and restrictions. On one side workers mobility is seen as an important force in enhancing economic integration
of the region but on the other side it could lead to real changes in the social structure especially in Austria due to the migration of very low qualified workers. An important brain drain
could also appear which will make highly decrease the number of educated people who could have been able to develop and teach regional strategic development plan.
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
framework, is both a subset of governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
in general and an application of it to situations outside its usual limits of corporate or governmental hierarchies, whether regional or national. When such disparate hierarchies within the EU find common goals, typically within a conterminous geographic area, they seek to achieve them by integrating their various policies and activities. The goals of transnational governance, especially for areas previously divided by the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
or pre-EU barriers to free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and movement of peoples, is to foster economic and social development.
The economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
could be defined as the increased of wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
of a country or a region and the social development could be loosely defined as the improvements of quality of living for the population. Economic and social are, or at least should be, inseparable concepts. Why reach a high economic development if the inhabitants living in the area don’t see any benefits of that improvement?
Reach social and economic developments are already a challenging but it’s even more challenging in a transnational area such as the greater region. Some projects were created in order to foster these developments. The operational program Interreg IV A, “grande region” has for main objectives to make the greater region more attractive, encourage innovation, improve the numbers of high quality jobs, etc.
The improvement of the economic and social situation could be analysed through the example of the Vienna-Bratislava-Györ triangle which is a cross border are including involving three different countries (Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
) that once were part of the same empire. Good governance
Good governance
Good governance is an indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the realization of human rights. Governance describes "the process of decision-making and the process by which...
could lead to the adoption of a common identity which could lead to mutual support between people, companies or authorities sharing this common identity. Concretely, we observe a high amount of Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
s (FDI) coming from Austria in order to develop the general situation of Slokia and Hungary. This is very well descript in this citation of Tatzberger (2007) : “Foreign direct investments (FDI) play an important role in restructuring and improving the competitiveness
Competitiveness
Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market...
of industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
by helping to raise productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
and to expand export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
s. It has been one of the driving forces behind industrial restructuring in Hungary and Slovakia”.
However, it has to be said to huge economic and social disparities could be seen a real threat to the process leading to the creation of a common identity. For instance, the migration of workers stays underdeveloped because of Austrian fears and restrictions. On one side workers mobility is seen as an important force in enhancing economic integration
Economic integration
Economic integration refers to trade unification between different states by the partial or full abolishing of customs tariffs on trade taking place within the borders of each state...
of the region but on the other side it could lead to real changes in the social structure especially in Austria due to the migration of very low qualified workers. An important brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
could also appear which will make highly decrease the number of educated people who could have been able to develop and teach regional strategic development plan.