“A new comparison between the countries in East and Central Europe shows just how well economic reforms work. The data show that those that abandoned central planning the fastest are the best off today. In many of the more successful countries, the prospect of EU membership has been a decisive factor for enacting the reforms.”
The author goes on to compare a recent EBRD report, that shows quick reformers are faring better economically, with a UN report that shows citizens of these countries are living better lives according to a Human Development Index.
In this post I noted that yet another Indian company is setting up operations in Hungary and asked why this is happening. Indian wages are cheaper, geography shouldn’t matter in IT outsourcing, and I can’t imagine India is running out of programmers.
This article offers some of those answers, and it’s written from an Indian perspective. The answer is that Europeans are not used to long-distance outsourcing, and so the Indians are coming to them. The see Central Europe as a gateway into Western Europe.
We’re all familiar with the concept of ‘brain drain’. In the face of Communism and other hardships, some of Central Europe’s best minds have chosen to emigrate to countries that provide them better conditions for success.
According to this article, however, some of those people are now returning. Continue reading ‘Are the brains coming back?’
In August the Economist Intelligence Unit published a comparative survey study focused on introducing e-government in the Central Europe. The white paper style publication covers the new member states from Central Europe, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
Seven weighted criteria were examined for each of the countries ranked, collectively comprising 35 separate qualitative and quantitative indicators - Connectivity and technology infrastructure, Business and legal environment, Education and skills base, Government policy and vision, E-democracy, Online services for citizens and for businesses. The survey methodology was based on in-depth interviews with programme managers and direct participants in the local development.
Continue reading ‘e-Government in Central Europe’
I read with interest that Indian outsourcers Satyam Computer Services are setting up a facility in Hungary. It’s also worth noting the company’s stock rose 4%, based largely on this news.
Hungary is good business for Satyam largely because local wages are still lower than in Western Europe. According to the Satyam piece a programmer’s average salary in Hungary is $10,500 compared to $24,500 in Ireland.
However, the piece goes on to say the comparable wages in India are $7,500, so I can’t help but ask what are the advantages for an Indian outsourcer setting up in Hungary?
Is India running out of programmers?
Is there a tax advantage I’m not aware of?
Does geography make such a difference?
The cost advantages are clear for multinationals that set up programming here (this includes Ericsson, Siemons, Nokia, Motorola, EDS …) but I can’t see the argument for an Indian company. Any suggestions out there?
The European Commission organised on Friday 12 November 2004 a high level workshop to present the results of the study on good public national and regional policies in support of the competitiveness of the ICT sector, in which LL&A participated as a consortium member along with Fraunhofer Institute Systems and Innovation Research (FhG-ISI - Germany) and the Strategy, Technology and Policy Institute of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO-STB). Continue reading ‘Improving the competitiveness of the European ICT sector: high level European workshop on good public national and regional policies’
NETIES is not going to map the ICT sector “only” (well - it goes across other industries anyway). One of the emerging fields still more attractive for investors is biotechnology including genetic modifications, bioinformatics, medical devices and many others.
In October we had in Brno one of the “Best of Biotech” events. The next ones were organised also in Bratislava and Budapest. They are a part of the international initiative awarding the best biotech projects and the tour covering Austria, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The third annual international business plan competition, Best of Biotech - get your business started! is organised by Life Science Austria (LISA), a programme run by Austria Wirtschaftsservice on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Economy and Labour. The mission has been described as encouraging the development of the biotech scene in Austria, but also to improve cross-border collaboration between Austria and its neighbours.
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