Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

Within the first stage of his research activities Pavel Hoffmann analyzed the employment development during the process of industrialization in Slovakia. He devoted substantial part of his research career to the problems of optimalization of the spatial arrangement of Slovak or Czechoslovak economy by making use of economico-mathematical modelling, statistical, empirical and theoretical analyses. In the years 1983 – 1989 he was a team leader and principal author of the study „Forecast of economic development of Slovakia up to 2010“. As a criterion of optimum solutions searched in the research results, he considered not only dynamics in economy but also progress and humanization of the whole social movement. In connection with these criteria the inseparable part of Hoffman’s studies is his critical view at the centrally directed planning joined with requirement for political and economic democracy development. Keywords: history of economic thought in Slovakia, socialist institutions and their transition, spatial distribution of regional economic activity JEL Classification: B31, P30, R12

This paper empirically looks at the growth dynamics of the world economy at large and regional economies during the period 1960 – 2000. The analysis is based on the neoclassical growth framework which goes back to the seminal work of Robert Solow (1956). The results of the regressions from a cross-section of the world economy at large seem to suggest that there was a substantial dis-parity in the growth dynamics of the world economy during the period under consideration. The results also indicate that this disparity was worst in the 1980s and 1990s, the decades known for intensive development in the process of glob-alization. One possible explanation therefore is that so far some regional economies have failed to benefit from the process of globalization and moved to wrong growth paths. Nevertheless, globalization alone may not be accountable for the world growth disparity given the complexity of issues when it comes to long-term determinants of economic growth. Keywords: convergence, Solow’s growth model, growth disparity, cross-section JEL Classification: C13, C21

Paper is focused on the appreciation of the Slovak currency, which started to be a more significant in the second part of the year 2002. The application of the international relations (purchasing power parity, interest rate parity and Fischer relation) is not sufficiently successful for currency analysis. Therefore it is efficient to extend this analysis on monetary policy based on the balance of national bank and particular accounts of the balance of payments. The Mundell-Fleming model, its total differential formulation, appears as the actual instrument for the mentioned analysis. The recent process of the evaluation of the Slovak crown coresponds to the theoretical deduction of the Mundell-Fleming model. Keywords: total differential, exchange rate in fixed and freely regimes, moneta-ry policy, economic development strategy JEL Classification: E1, E42

Selecting the tools of environmental policy has been an open question of how to resolve environment protection issues for a long time in history. This is because financial and economic dimensions, but also environmental efficiency of their application differs significantly. Direct tools (as opposed to indirect tools) of environmental policy are considered to be environmentally more efficient and more often checked. Lower economic effectiveness of financial resources is the main disadvantage of direct tools of environmental policy. On the other hand, increasing economic effectiveness of direct tools is determined by stimulative function. The article focuses at theoretical basis of environmental payments application – their typologies, functionality and constraints in providing economic effectiveness and environmental efficiency. Keywords: environmental policy, internalisation of negative externalities, direct measures, indirect measures, environmental payments JEL Classification: Q56, Q58

The aim of my article was a research of behaviour of subjects at financial market via modern information technologies. The software application based on multi-agent simulations was developed for modelling of certain features of the project. Previously mentioned technology is new at the present time and in the area of financial and economical applications is still being developed. Financial market is a complicated system. Operations of the system can be described by, and enables to examine all subjects joining the financial market. Such multi-agent system enables to model different groups of agents, which interact with each other like in real life. The created software application is oriented on agents – or investors interaction at financial market. It enables to simulate preset conditions of financial market and results using graph and charts. Keywords: multi-agent financial markets, probability of risk operations JEL Classification: C70, G10

Paper presents some techniques for portfolios efficient set modelling in Excel. From the technical point of view one needs to solve a series of quadratic programming problems that are known as Markowitz portfolio selection problems. For an effective realisation of solving the process, the Excel solver specially created VBA procedures were used. The first part of the paper illustrates an application of the procedures for modelling efficient portfolio sets of selected countries on the base of one year performances of their markets in period from 1900 to 2000. In the second part the methodology of efficient frontier modelling in Excel environment is presented together with its illustration for modelling of efficient portfolios sets of selected capital market segments. Keywords: investment analysis, efficient portfolios sets, investor’s risk attitude, VBA procedure JEL Classification: G11