Can there be a ‘golden triangle’ of internal equilibrium?

The necessity of maintaining a balance between growth, employment and prices has always been in focus of economic policy debate. This piece of research is our modest contribution in the same direction. We explore the possibility of a simultaneous equilibrium of the mentioned three targets of national economic policy. Our empirical analysis show that a triangular equilibrium (what we call ‘golden triangle’) exists and that the governments can follow a policy of close monitoring the behaviour of the three variables and support the ‘optimum’ rate through an active intervention. We have looked for the quantitative relations that exist between the key economic variables and economic policy goals. It is our contention that a macroeconomic policy mechanism based on the golden triangle rule can help the governments to promote a long-term equilibrium growth and avoid possible close encounters with business cycles.     

The impact of government CSR supporting policies on economic growth

In this paper, we explore the link between socially responsible companies and economic growth across 25 countries during the 2000–2008 period. We extend the growth equation by incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) variables and a dummy variable to measure the impact of government CSR-supporting policies. We find that CSR firms are important for economic growth (positively affect growth) and that countries that strongly support CSR achieve higher growth rates. Specifically, countries without an organized and supportive CSR environment and guidelines can hardly expect to increase economy performance through the new growth channels generated by CSR companies (new markets and customers). It is thus important to investigate how CSR companies affect economic growth towards reconsideration of the government's role in CSR promotion as a means to boost economic growth.     

Youth,risk and the Structured Dialogue: governing young EU citizens

The European Union’s (EU) Structured Dialogue, a consultation process between young people and policy-makers on the EU’s youth policies, has achieved remarkable popularisation and is perceived as a valuable mechanism in finding remedies for the risks facing young people across the EU. Applying the Foucauldian analytics of government approach, this article critically analyses the formation and features of the Structured Dialogue and its practical implementation during the final phase of the third work cycle under the Greek Presidency of the EU (January 2014 to June 2014). It shows that the proliferation of dialogue is a practical feature of government at the EU level undertaken by a multiplicity of stakeholders. In this constellation, risks associated with youth are mobilised as representational notions that render reality in such a form to make it amenable to specific types of operations and interventions. The Structured Dialogue works as a practical form of governing reconstituting power relations so that government is reaffirmed as a valid and legitimate process through which actors collectively search for the best possible outcome and in the interest of all, while youth are pursued and encouraged to make them active citizens capable, as both individuals and communities, of managing their own risk.