Научная статья на тему 'Rural tourism and agritourism - forms of sustainable development in Marginimea Sibiului'

Rural tourism and agritourism - forms of sustainable development in Marginimea Sibiului Текст научной статьи по специальности «Социальная и экономическая география»

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Ключевые слова
стійкість / сільський туризм / агротуризм / розвиток / устойчивость / сельский туризм / агротуризм / развитие / sustainability / rural tourism / agritourism / development

Аннотация научной статьи по социальной и экономической географии, автор научной работы — Nicula Virgil, Spanu Simona

The delightful geographical framework, the purity of nature, the accessibility of places, the richness and diversity of cultural heritage, make Marginimea Sibiului an area with great tourism potential. The area holds more than 30% of the total accommodationcapacity available in Sibiu. Although it is a rural area, tourist offer is diverse (active tourism and recreation, traditional cuisine,cultural tourism and business segment coverage through specific facilities, all these in addition to the multitude of leisure), and the degree of comfort is increased. In Marginimea Sibiului, agritourism and rural tourism creates opportunities for local and regional economic growth and help create new jobs through harnessing the specific cultural and natural heritage. Also, an importantpart of the new jobs created represents an opportunity for regional female employment. Hence the need to implement many projects, which bring to the forefront the stabilization of the active population in rural areas, the capitalization of natural and anthropictourism potential in the context of eco-economy, and thus raising living standards.

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Текст научной работы на тему «Rural tourism and agritourism - forms of sustainable development in Marginimea Sibiului»

ISSN 1728-2667

ЕКОНОМІКА. 9(174)/2015

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тельство несет ответственность за управление бюджетом страны в отношении различных экономических показателей, например, ВВП, инфляция, безработица и т.д., для того, чтобы планировать уровень доходов и распространять его на соответствующих экономических районах. Кроме того, в статье рассмотрены проблемы бюджетного дефицита.

Ключевые слова: дефицит бюджета, макроэкономические параметры, бюджет, критерии конвергенции.

Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Economics, 2015; 9 (174): 51-56 JEL Q26, Q27, Q56 УДК 330.15

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17721/1728-2667.2015/174-9/8

V. Nicula, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, S. Spanu, PhD in Economics "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania

RURAL TOURISM AND AGRITOURISM -FORMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MARGINIMEA SIBIULUI

The delightful geographical framework, the purity of nature, the accessibility of places, the richness and diversity of cultural heritage, make Marginimea Sibiului an area with great tourism potential. The area holds more than 30% of the total accommodation capacity available in Sibiu. Although it is a rural area, tourist offer is diverse (active tourism and recreation, traditional cuisine, cultural tourism and business segment coverage through specific facilities, all these in addition to the multitude of leisure), and the degree of comfort is increased. In Marginimea Sibiului, agritourism and rural tourism creates opportunities for local and regional economic growth and help create new jobs through harnessing the specific cultural and natural heritage. Also, an important part of the new jobs created represents an opportunity for regional female employment. Hence the need to implement many projects, which bring to the forefront the stabilization of the active population in rural areas, the capitalization of natural and anthropic tourism potential in the context of eco-economy, and thus raising living standards.

Keywords: sustainability, rural tourism, agritourism, development.

Introduction

Tourism is one of the industries that should be involved in sustainable development as a resource industry dependent on nature endowment and cultural heritage of each society; tourism sells these resources as part of its product and at the same time, shares some resources with other users, including the local population.

It is in the interest of tourism to be active on the issue of sustainable development and to work in cooperation with other industries in ensuring the quality of the resource base and its survival.

The tourism industry is seen by its specificity, as related to the environment, but its size and presence have created negative physical and social impacts on the environment.

As hundreds of millions of travellers crossing borders each year, the temptation to obtain high income generated by receiving visits, may lead to development decisions, thus resulting a decrease of green, natural elements. However the number of green tourism campaign is growing, causing only some green attitude, but in the end, all have an impact on the brand and credibility sector (Stanciulescu Gabriela Cecilia, State Olimpia, 2012).

In Romania, organized tourism in natural areas is suffering from many viewpoints. The low quality of tourist services is the first negative aspect worth mentioning. Secondly, the national legislation is deficient in this area of natural and anthropogenic environmental protection. A third negative aspect is the practice called "Greenwashing". This refers to companies that call themselves as "sustainable", "green", "responsible", "eco-touristic", but in fact they do not meet generally accepted standards, or even are in contradiction with these concepts (Hornoiu, R., Nistoreanu, P., Tanase, M. O , 2009).

The sustainability of rural tourism and agritourism

Tourism, by nature, is one of the main users of the environment and hence an important contributor to its damage. Enhancing tourism trips generated, as expected, the increased of the negative environmental impact and on the long term, a reduction in tourism development opportunities. Rodica Minciu and collaborators argue that, in this context, there is the increasingly acute problem of finding and promoting those forms of travel with low environmental impact, including ecotourism, rural tourism, tourism in pro-

tected areas, cultural tourism, adventure tourism etc., while encouraging, stimulating potential tourists to consume these types of products / holidays (Minciu Rodica, Pa-durean Mihaela, Popescu Delia, Hornoiu R., 2012).

Studies conducted worldwide have shown an understanding and an increasing receptivity of tourists towards sustainable forms of travel, but their owned place in the structure of tourist traffic is modest, mainly argued on the insufficient offer, determined on its turn by a misunderstanding of the demand and the additional requirements which the consumers of such holidays must respond, especially regarding their behavior.

Also, promoting its sustainable forms such as ecotourism, rural tourism and agro-tourism, adventure tourism, cultural tourism and, not least, tourism in protected areas as well as encouraging tourists in their practice are able to provide an attenuation of negative environmental consequences (Hornoiu R., 2009).

At the same time, many countries are making significant efforts to develop and operationalize a number of certification systems designed to confirm that a tourist company has improved its performance, in terms of a number of indicators including: health and safety, conservation and biodiversity, environment, product management, quality, etc.

By focusing on quality tourism certification schemes, health, hygiene, safety and the three dimensions of sustainable development (environmental, socio-cultural and economic) the aimed was to increase tourist satisfaction. According to the World Tourism Organization assessments, in the world there are currently more than 80 certification programs for sustainable tourism and ecotourism in which skills are found aspects of tourism impact on the economic, socio-cultural and ambient environmental. Most programs assess accommodation, only a few are certifying sectors and other aspects of the tourism industry (Hornoiu, R., Nistoreanu, P., Tanase, M. O., 2009).

Rural tourism and agritourism in Marginimea Sibiului

Sibiu and its surroundings are one of the most visited areas in Romania. Marginimea Sibiului has become during the last years a famous tourist attraction, visited by thousands of foreign and Romanian tourists, an established brand. Most of the villages in the area have retained strong spiritual and folk traditions, giving these communities a

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special physiognomy. The delightful geographical framework, the purity of nature, the accessibility of places, the richness and diversity of cultural heritage, make Margini-mea Sibiului an area with great tourism potential.

The area consists of 21 localities, with the centre in Salute, all with a unique ethnological, architectural and historical heritage. These places are: Boita, Sadu, Rau Sadului, Talmaciu, Talmacel, Cisnadioara, Cisnadie, Ra§inari, Poplaca, Gura Raului, Orlat, Fantanele, Sibiel, Vale, Saline, Cristian, Gale§, Tili§ca, Rod, Poiana Sibiului and Jina.

The Forbes magazine considers it the most romantic ecotourism area in the world. By its aspects of material and spiritual culture, Marginimea Sibiului lies between the ancient hearths of Romanian ethnogenesis. Inhabitants of these settlements in Sibiu were told "Margineni" because they lived in an area of contact between the hills and mountains, the old Austro-Hungarian border in southern Transylvania. This area has developed a mixed economy based on agriculture, livestock and crafts, with special weight on sheep breeding.

The typical peasant atmosphere, preserved traditions and customs, the hospitality of the villagers, increase the attractiveness of the region. This unique zone in Romania has proven the value it has in tourism when, in 2009, received the "Golden Apple" awarded by FIJET, the equivalent Trophy of "Oscar" Award in tourism, due to the traditional wedding from Sibiel, the landscape, the hospitality of people and the agro-tourism from Sibiel.

At the forefront of Marginimea Sibiului, is the established ethno-folkloric area, that has benefited from national notoriety and that has developed as an authentic Romanian space. The three localities in which are kept German influences, travel and geographical criteria included in the same major anthropogenic tourist resource, contribute to the multicultural character of the analysed area and add to the attractiveness of tourism a region already established for agro-tourism and active tourism.

The endowment of territory with many accommodation facilities, catering and entertainment is, among other components, a fundamental premise of harnessing the tourism potential in the area. Establishments of tourist reception are generally represented by agro-touristic pensions, as it is a mostly rural area, but does not lack of villas, holiday homes and chalets.

In the concentration area of the Marginimea Sibiului accommodation structures were included the 18 localities that traditionally define the ethno-folk area (Boita, Fantanele, Gale§, Gura Raului, Jina, Orlat, Poiana Sibiului, Poplaca, Ra§inari, Raul Sadului, Rod, Sadu, Sali§te, Sibiel, Talmacel, Talmaciu, Tili§ca and Vale), plus three other localities in the vicinity of the area (Cristian, Cisnadie and Cis-nadioara). Among the localities mentioned above, the most important accommodation capacities are in Ra§inari, Sibiel, Gura Raului and Cisnadioara, accounting for about two-thirds of beds available in this area.

Besides in terms of tourism management development programs/ travel promotion is more effective the juxtaposition of Cristian, Cisnadie, Cisnadioara to Marginimea Sibiu-lui than to Sibiu (practically any entity associated with Sibiu would go clear in the background due to the concentration of well-known tourist attractions in the city), and their exclusion from any area and form a separate entity would generate fragmentation which could lead to an administrative inefficiency in terms of tourism.

Accommodation, gastronomy and culture in Marginimea Sibiului

Marginimea Sibiului area holds more than 30% of the total accommodation capacity available in Sibiu. Although it is a rural area, tourist offer is diverse (active tourism and recreation, traditional cuisine, cultural tourism and business segment coverage through specific facilities, all these in addition to the multitude of leisure), and the degree of comfort is increased.

At the level of 2013, Marginimea Sibiului had 1002 beds distributed in 37 establishments of tourist reception with accommodation functions. According to specific area, agrotourist pensions are the predominant type of accommodation units (62.20%), concentrating the largest number of available places (446 seats, namely 44.50% of the total accommodation capacity in the area considered). They are followed by structures for school camps and tourist pensions.

Approx. 2/3 of the total accommodation capacity of the Marginimea Sibiului inventory is not classified by the National Tourism Authority and the weight capacity for accommodation units that has not been identified with a comfort level amount to 16% of the total. Thus, in Table 1 we presented the accommodation capacity from the area:

Table 1. Tourist accommodation capacity in Marginimea Sibiului by types of establishments of tourist reception - no. units and no. beds

Types of tourist accommodation structures 2011 2012 2013

No. of units No. of beds No. of units No. of beds No. of units No. of beds

Hotels 1 30 1 30 1 30

Motels 2 60 2 60 2 60

Tourist Chalets 2 51 2 51 2 51

School and preschool camps 3 359 3 345 3 346

Tourist pensions 4 66 5 66 6 66

Agro-tourist pensions 21 399 23 444 23 446

Total 33 965 36 996 37 1002

Source: INSSE, 2014

From the analysis in the field, it was found that units with a low degree of comfort (2 daisies) predominate in number and size of accommodations, followed by those with a medium degree of comfort (3 daisies), encompassing about a quarter of the total accommodation capacity in the area considered. A notable number of units have the possibility to rent ATVs (17%) or to provide horse-drawn sleigh rides in winter (33%). This mismatch between sources can be explained by the fact that the approval may not distinguish between tourism and agritourism guesthouse but differentiated statistics appears. In the analysis

of tourism infrastructure, we used the information coming from the base of the National Authority for Tourism, which contains only the accommodation classified, the number of accommodation facilities with accommodation being much higher in reality (confirmed case of field investigation and the information presented in tourism portals.

The number of rural tourism has decreased significantly in 2011 compared to 2010 due to the fact that many business entrepreneurs renounced due to fierce competition in certain places such as Sibiel, Gura Raului and due to persistent economic- financial crisis.

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In terms of allocation of accommodation in Marginimea Sibiului, in some areas may be observed concentration of tourist attractions that overlap with known both nationally

and internationally. The most important of accommodation are in Ra§inari, Sibiel, Gura Raului and Cisnadioara, totalling nearly two thirds of beds available in this area.

Fig. 1. Tourist accommodation capacity in Marginimea Sibiului from types of structures

No tourist reception, No. beds

Source: INSSE, 2014

On Marginimea Sibiului villages, the situation is as follows:

Fig. 2. Tourist accommodation capacity in villages from Marginimea Sibiului (No tourist reception) - Data from statistical bulletins and field investigation

Source: INSSE, 2014

It is noted significant differences between the number of units and places of official statistics and the number of units actually existing sites. These differences are explained, while the hostel type accommodation agritourism works on the basis of certificates issued by the Ministry.

Although the specific gastronomy is one of the attractions of this area, few accommodation units have their own restaurants (24%), most of them preferring to provide tourists an equipped kitchen, barbeque and dining room where they can eat. However, the number of tourist's pensions preparing meals is higher, not necessarily as part of organized services of a restaurant. Providing parking space for

tourists is a priority for the accommodation in this area; moreover, there is a high availability from them (33% of units) to ensure auto transport to and from the tourist accommodation units (transfer from airport / train station). In this context it should be noted that the concept of quality is seen by 41.1% of the pension administrators as the degree to which a product meets the requirements of a group of customers in other words ecotourism operators are aware that it is necessary to work to identify, understand and comply with these requirements by implementing an efficient quality management system.

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Fig. 3. Tourist accommodation capacity in villages from Marginimea Sibiului (No. beds) - data from statistical bulletins and field investigation

Source: INSSE, 2014

Also, 81.1% of pension administrators stated that "customer orientation should be a mandatory rule to be implemented in the units providing eco-touristic services" and 98.9% that "continuously improve of the quality of tourism products" is a principle leading to performance in ecotourism.

As for the situation overnight stays, data recorded in official statistics show a growing preference for accommodation in Marginimea Sibiului for the whole year, with a few notable peaks during the winter holidays and Easter and for the summer holidays. Fig. 4 present the evolution of the number of nights spent on settlements:

Fig. 4. Evolution of the number of nights spent on rural guesthouses in Marginimea Sibiului (no.day/tourist)

Source: INSSE, 2014

We note that Ra§inari, which is near Sibiu has attracted more tourist nights even than other villages, although the number of tourists attracted drawn is smaller than in the other destinations. This aspect is the fact that the proximity of Sibiu offers many recreational opportunities, practicing various forms of tourism, especially cultural and hence an increasing average length of stay.

Improving service quality in tourist pensions, who qualify to be classified as eco-guesthouses, can make a substantial contribution to the development of the Mar-ginimea Sibiului area, but to be valued at a higher level, tourism potential must seize the unique mountain resources, which is the main attraction for tourism devel-

opment. The development of agritourism and rural tourism in the area contributes to:

• preservation of natural heritage and biodiversity of SCI Frumoasa;

• respect for socio-cultural authenticity of the local community;

• preservation of cultural heritage and traditional values of the area, contributing to inter-cultural knowledge;

• facilitating sustainable long-term economic activities which bring socio-economic benefits equal to all local actors, including stable employment and opportunities to achieve financial incomes and social services for communities, thereby contributing to the prosperity of the area.

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Fig. 5. Tourist accommodation capacity in Marginimea Sibiului - No. rooms, No. beds

Source: INSSE, 2014

In Marginimea Sibiului, agritourism and rural tourism creates opportunities for local and regional economic growth and help create new jobs through harnessing the specific cultural and natural heritage. Also, an important part of the new jobs created represents an opportunity for regional female employment. Hence the need to implement many projects, which bring to the forefront the stabilization of the active population in rural areas, the capitalization of natural and anthropic tourism potential in the context of eco-economy, and thus raising living standards.

Tourism development takes into account the principles of sustainable development, in the sense of conservation, and protection of natural and cultural heritage, but also reduces human pressure on the environment, inherent in the tourism practiced widely.

Conclusions

Marginimea Sibiului has a great diversity of natural resources which form part of the "basic" tourism product. The most important opportunities for tourism development in the short term are given by the niche tourism (equestrian tourism, adventure tourism, ecotourism, etc.) based on natural resources (forest areas, protected areas, areas that offer winter sports opportunities etc.). Valorisation tourist attractions is largely limited by the quality of tourist areas infrastructure, services in general and recreational services in particular, all of this representing major obstacles in tourism development. These restrictions may however be partially mitigated by professional actors in rural tourism, which will have to highlight the strengths of tourism in the area, thus reducing the negative impact created by gaps still exist in terms of infrastructure. It is therefore necessary an modern, realistic approach of the advantages and opportunities that rural tourist areas presents.

Agritourism and rural tourism as economic and social activity must become a component of sustainable tourism. To enable the rural tourism development of Marginimea Sibiului, current tourism needs to store the principles of sustainable development to support conservation both in terms of natural and cultural heritage of this area.

An important principle of ecotourism, which the actors involved in tourism activities should integrate into practice, is that more important than quantity is quality. Marginimea Sibiului communities or other areas of rural tourism, agro-

tourism and ecotourism, should measure tourism success not only by the number of visitors, but also the average length of stay, in the sense to increase its revenues and quality travel experience. It is estimated that an eco-tourist is willing to pay more, even if it does not receive comfort, but with the condition that the "sacrifice" that he makes leads to environmental protection.

All these things can be achieved through distinctive trait of the Marginimea Sibiului communities, which consists in the open and receptive cultural spirit of the locals to authentic cultural values, expressing a parallel evolution of civilization, between pastoral and technical areas, between archaic and cultural progress, between tradition and innovation.

References

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2. Brown, L. R. (2010), Planul B 2.0 pentru salvarea unei planete sub presiune §i a unei civilizatii in impas, Ed. Tehnica, Bucure^ti.

3. Dorobantu, M.R, Nistoreanu, P. (2012), Rural Tourism and Ecotourism - the Main Priorities in Sustainable Development Orientations of Rural Local Communities in Romania,Economy Transdisciplinarity Cognition, XV (1).

iНе можете найти то, что вам нужно? Попробуйте сервис подбора литературы.

4. Gheorghe G., Nistoreanu B. G., Filip Alina, (2013), Produsele tradi-tionale - vectori ai dezvoltarii durabile pe piejele regionale §i najionale, Revista Amfiteatru Economic, Vol. XV, Nr. special 7.

5. Glavan, V., Nicula, V. (2014), Satul turistic, o marca pentru turismul rural romanesc, fn volumul Conferintei Internationale Turismul rural romanesc in contextul dezvoltarii durabile. Actualitate si perspective, Vatra Dornei.

6. Hornoiu R., (2009), Ecoturismul - orientare prioritara in dezvol-tarea durabila a comunitatilorlocale, Editura ASE, Bucure^ti.

7. Hornoiu, R.,Nistoreanu, P., Tanase, M. O., (2009), ECOROM -propunere de sistem de indicatori pentru certificarea calitatii fn ecoturism, Revista Amfiteatru Economic, vol. XI, nr. 26, p. 331-332.

8. Minciu Rodica, Padurean Mihaela, Popescu Delia, Hornoiu R., (2012), Cererea pentru vacante/calatorii rn ariile protejate - dimensiune a comportamentului ecologic al turi^tilor, Revista Amfiteatru Economic Vol. XIV, Nr. 31, p.82.

9. Nicula V., Spanu Simona, Neagu Roxana, (2013), Regional Tourism Development in Romania - Consistency with Policies and Strategies Developed at EU Level, ELSEVIER - Procedia Economics and Finance, Volume 6 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(13)00171-8, p. 530-541.

10. Stanciulescu Gabriela Cecilia, State Olimpia, (2012), Posibile in-terpretari ale comportamentului ecologic rn turism, Revista Amfiteatru Economic, Vol. XIV, nr. 31.

11. Jigu, G., (2008), Diferente culturale, etica §i comportament turistic., Ed. ASE, Bucuresti.

12. OMT (2009), Codul global de etica pentru turism.

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B. Нікула, канд. екон. наук, доц.,

C. Спану, канд. екон. наук

Сибійський університет "Лучан Блага", Сібіу, Румунія

СІЛЬСЬКИЙ ТУРИЗМ ТА ВІДПОЧИНОК - ВИДИ СТАЛОГО РОЗВИТКУ В ПРОВІНЦІЇ СІБІУ

Чудове географічне розташування, чистота природи, доступність місць, багатство і різноманітність культурної спадщини, зробили провінцію Сібіу областю з великим туристичним потенціалом. Площа провінції займає більш ніж 30% від загальної площі Сібіу. Хоча це й сільська місцевість, туристичні пропозиції є різноманітними та активними (туризм і відпочинок, традиційна кухня, культурний туризм і охоплення бізнес-сегменту за допомогою спеціальних засобів, все це на додаток до відпочинку), і ступінь комфорту збільшується. У провінції Сібіу, агротуризм і сільський туризм створює можливості для місцевого та регіонального економічного зростання та створення нових робочих місць шляхом освоєння культурної і природної спадщини. Крім того, важливою частиною нових робочих місць, створених являє собою можливість для регіональної жіночої зайнятості. Звідси необхідність для реалізації багатьох проектів, які висувають на перший план стабілізаціїю активного населення в сільській місцевості, капіталізація природного і антропного туристичного потенціалу в контексті екологічної економіки, і, таким чином, підвищення рівня життя. Ключові слова: стійкість, сільський туризм, агротуризм, розвиток.

B. Никула, канд. экон. наук, доц.,

C. Спану, канд. экон. наук

Сибийский университет "Лучан Блага", Сибиу, Румуния

СЕЛЬСКИЙ ТУРИЗМ И ОТДЫХ - ВИДЫ УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ В ПРОВИНЦИИ СИБИУ

Замечательное географическое расположение, чистота природы, доступность мест, богатство и разнообразие культурного наследия, сделали провинцию Сибиу областью с большим туристическим потенциалом. Площадь провинции занимает более 30% от общей площади Сибиу. Как и сельская местность, туристические предложения разнообразны и активными (туризм и отдых, традиционная кухня, культурный туризм и охват бизнес-сегмента с помощью специальных средств, все это в дополнение к отдыху), и степень комфорта увеличивается. В провинции Сибиу, агротуризм и сельский туризм создает возможности для местного и регионального экономического роста и создания новых рабочих мест путем освоения культурного и природного наследия. Кроме того, важной частью новых рабочих мест, созданных представляет собой возможность для региональной женской занятости. Отсюда необходимость для реализации многих проектов, которые выдвигают на первый план стабилизациию активного населения в сельской местности, капитализация природного и антропного туристического потенциала в контексте экологической экономики, и, таким образом, повышение уровня жизни.

Ключевые слова: устойчивость, сельский туризм, агротуризм, развитие.

Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Economics, 2015; 9(174) : 56-61 УДК 001.89, 001.83, 334.72, 334.021 JEL A11, A13, I23, I28

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17721/1728-2667.2015/174-9/9

A. Oleinik, Doctor of Sciences (Economics), PhD in Sociology, Professor Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Canada

BETWEEN THE WEST AND THE EAST:

UKRAINIAN ECONOMIC THOUGHT AS THE CROSSROADS

Ukrainian economists, similarly to Ukrainian society, are in the middle of the process of turning from the East to the West. However, the visibility of their work remains low both in the East and the West. The analysis of their publication activity (using data from the Web of Science and eLibrary) confirms these assumptions. It is argued that the first step in this eventual transition consists in building the space for economic debates at the national level. Active and healthy debates at the national level will increase chances of Ukrainian economists to be heard internationally.

Keywords: economic sciences, Ukraine, publication activity, content analysis.

Introduction. The process of nation-state building is still ongoing in today's Ukraine. It started with the Act of declaration of independence of Ukraine in 1991, but it is far from being over a quarter-century later. The country is still defending its independence, including by military means. The military and geopolitical dimensions of the fight for independence tend to overshadow its intellectual dimension, however. An element of the sustainable (as opposed to failed) nation-state refers to a space for economic debates at the national level that may eventually contribute to the emergence of a distinctive economic thought. This article discusses the current state of intellectual debates in the area of economic sciences and argues that Ukrainian economists tend to contribute to scholarly discussions either in the West (in Western Europe and North America) or in the East (in Russia). As a result, an existing potential for economic debates at the national level that would be focused on the particular problems and challenges that Ukraine faces remains untapped.

Data and methods. The article uses statistical data about publications of scholars affiliated with Ukrainian scientific organizations in the West, in Russia and in national scholarly journals. As a source of information about publications of economists with a Ukrainian affiliation in Western Europe and North America, the Web of Science, WoS, core

collection was chosen. WoS is the most respected and authoritative source of information on publications in the most rigorously peer-reviewed periodicals in the world. More specifically, 35 journals in economics with the highest impact factor in 2014 were selected for the study (their list is available from the author upon request). The search covered the period from 1991 through 2015.

As a source of information about contributions of economists affiliated with Ukrainian research centres eLibrary (Russian Index of Scientific of Scientific Citation) was used. Compared with WoS, eLibrary is far less selective: it includes almost all periodicals published in Russian language. 10 economic journals with the highest citation index in this database were searched: Вопросы экономики, Мировая экономика и международные отношения, Российский Журнал Менеджмента, Journal of Institutional Studies, Финансы, Проблемы прогнозирования, Проблемы теории и практики управления, Общество и экономика, Инновации и Менеджмент в России и за рубежом. The search covered the period from 2003 through 2015 (eLibrary was created in 1999 and it does not offer a comprehensive coverage for the early period of its existence).

Ukraine does not have a national database of scientific publications similar to eLibrary in Russia or Persee in France. Thus, contributions published in a single Ukrainian

© Oleinik A., 2015

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