Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

The paper analyses the agri-food trade specialisation pattern in Slovakia prior to and after its accession to the European Union in the period 2000 – 2005. The most competitive Slovak agri-food commodities in trade with the examined trade groupings were consumer-oriented products. Degree of agri-food trade specialisation dropped over the period for all most important markets. At the same time, Slovakia did not maintain positions of the most competitive commodities; however, it improved positions of a number of previously uncompeti-tive ones. After 2004, the dynamics of previously rigid trade specialisation with the EU-15 and the New Member States of the 2004 EU enlargement accelerated. This is likely to lead to convergence of Slovak trade specialisation dynamics across trade partners/groupings.

The aim of the article is a characterization of interplay between macroeconomic policy and structural reforms in linkage to microeconomic adaptation in several periods of up to now development of the Slovak economy. Realization starts from macroeconomic analysis of consequences of microeconomic adaptation’s practice started by transition process and problems induced by influence of insufficient progress of this adaptation on financial sector. Subject of analysis are also macroeconomic issues of slow development of financial sector. Attention is paid to basic specifics of development in connection with progress of economic transition which to the end of nineties resulted to insufficient financial serving of real economy representing main barrier of Slovakia’s further development.

The article deals with attacks on “traditional“ social economic functions of the nation-states in the globalization processes. The prism of the view is the approach of international political economy as an interdisciplinary science. It is discussed the state intervencionism, new possibilities of the state concepts in the globalization processes, “the necessity“ to dismantle the social state, such as the question of the alternative actors of these social functions formerly provided by the nation-state.

This paper deals with woman statistical discrimination on the labour market and presents it as one of the possible barriers to the full realisation of women´ human capital. It analyses problems, which cause so far insufficient utilization of the institute of law on the juridical practice in the Czech Republic, when mentioning women discrimination on the labour market. It deals with work-life balance programs and interprets them as one of the ways that could to break through traditional stereotypes and diverse the perception of moment by firms and contribute to reduce their discriminating behaviour. It divides these programs according to the part of work responsibility left on a woman and how they influence her future work career.

This article examines the use of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index in the anti-monopoly policy of Slovak Republic. This index is a commonly accepted indicator that is focused on absolute concentration of the industry and in that way it allows to measure market concentration for purposes of antitrust enforcement. The index is used for the analyses of absolute concentration of the branch: Electricity, gas, steam and hot water during the years 2004 – 2006. Besides it, the sensitivity analysis that gives the information about characteristics of the indus-try after the entrance of the new subject on the market is presented. Presented analysis of the branch indicates that also by increasing number of subjects the absolute concentration does not have decrease.

Public debt management is one of basic fiscal functions the government performs. Public debt usually comprises a large share of nation’s gross domestic product and is therefore an important instrument of fiscal policy. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on public debt management in Slovenia. Our goal was to estimate and present effects of debt management transactions performed by Slovenian Debt management office from year 2002 onwards. We found that these transactions had significant and positive effects on costs of public debt and also on its dynamics: they caused the turn in interest payments’ trend and lowered the dynamics of upward-sloping trend of public debt.