This study focuses on the role of financial development in the economic growth of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European (CESEE) countries in the post-communist era (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014), which coincides with the opening up of financial markets to foreign investors and the global financial crisis. We investigate whether economic growth in CESEE countries has benefited from the presence of foreign-owned banks. To this end, we introduce some refined measures of financial development and control for banks' financial strength. Our results challenge the idea that bank credit fosters economic growth and that foreign-owned banks are indisputably a positive addition to local markets able to foster economic growth.

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Background: Surgical management of severe pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy remains challenging, and carries high mortality. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare different surgical techniques used at relaparotomy for pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy, and to identify factors predictive of failure to rescue.Methods: A total of 43 patients after pancreatoduodenectomy developed a pancreatic fistula requiring relaparotomy. The perioperative data and outcomes were reviewed retrospectively.Results: Completion pancreatectomy, simple drainage of the pancreatic anastomosis and external wirsungostomy were performed in 17, 16, and 10 cases, respectively. The mortality rate for completion pancreatectomy was 47.1%, compared with 56.3% for simple drainage (p = 0.598) and 50.0% for external wirsungostomy (p = 0.883). Simple drainage was associated with a higher rate of further relaparotomies (56.3%) in comparison with completion pancreatectomy (23.5%, p = 0.055) and external wirsungostomy (0%, p = 0.003). A rescue resection of the pancreatic remnant after failed simple drainage resulted invariably in death. On multivariate analysis, the factors predictive of mortality after relaparotomy for pancreatic fistula were organ failure on the day of reoperation (p = 0.001) and need of further surgical reintervention (p = 0.007). Conclusion: Timely reintervention and appropriate surgical technique are essential for reducing mortality after reoperation for pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy.

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In a seminal article, Hanushek and Woessmann explained economic growth as a function of the quality of education. While they did not find evidence of the importance of years of schooling, they argued for the relevance of cognitive skills and a basic literacy ratio for economic growth. However, this result was based on cross-country data limited to 23 observations. In this study, we extended and modified their approach based on the results of PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests to explain the GDP changes over the last 50 years. Using panel data, we considered the possible lag that characterizes this relationship, used statistical methods to address the risk of reversed causality of economic performance affecting the quality of education, and extended the model by the inclusion of other potential growth factors. The results, which also included several robustness checks, confirmed the relevance of earlier education quality as a significant growth factor. Our results suggest the significance of educational skills for GDP growth, which might be treated as a confirmation of the importance of quality primary and secondary education for economic development. We showed that our results are robust to changes in the order of lags and confirmed the validity of the conclusion with the use of specification-robust Bayesian model averaging.