Journal of Economics - Obsahy ročníkov

Nowadays, the concept of clusters is being indiscriminately accepted as an important path to the competitiveness of industries and spatial units. The aim of the paper is to present the concept of (regional industrial) clusters pointing to its historic predecessors. Above all, reasons that cause its ambiguity and the confronting attitudes of the scientific and political authorities are discussed. Based on the literature study, the problems connected with an especially free and flexible definition and delimitation of clusters are emphasized, as they may offer pragmatic and simple solutions but also cause numerous theoretical/methodological problems. The paper concentrates on problems associated with identification of clusters and choice of appropriate methodical approaches for its industrial and spatial delimitation. Some risks connected with the general glorification of the role of clusters in industrial and regional development without taking into account the local and regional specific features are also pointed to. Keywords: regional industrial cluster, identification of clusters, cluster brand, regional and industrial competitiveness, regional and industrial development JEL Classification: L19, L52, O10, O25, R12

Advanced simulation and/or experimentation in virtual laboratories help to better understand the complex economic phenomena without sophisticated mathematical skills. That is useful for acquiring economic knowledge too. Economic laboratories created in Excel and STELLA for analysing dynamical behaviour of nonlinear economic models is exhibited. Such devices help to understand the complex behaviour of dynamic economic systems at least in qualitative imaginations. There are several cases of emergences of qualitative phenomena such as equilibrium-disequilibrium, bifurcation to orbit with several periods and/or to deterministic chaos in simple discrete non-linear systems. In order to demonstrate this, we used an example of Day’s descriptive theory of economic growth with environmental factors, and Hermann’s modification of Kaldorian cyclical growth. Keywords: basins of attraction, cobweb simulation, cyclical growth, chaos, ecological approach, dynamics, logistic maps, manifolds, Verhulst function, virtual laboratory JEL Classification: B40 – 41, CO2, C15, C29, C39, C60 – 65, C70, C88, C91, D40 – 43, D84, E12, E32

The paper provides a Central European reader with some information concerning the knowledge in the field of economic growth. Information on neoclassical growth models (the Solow-Swan model and the Ramsey model) is given. We present production functions, the dynamic equations of the models, the steady state, and transitional dynamics. We discuss three variants of the introduction of the technological advance to the Solow-Swan model and possible extensions of this model. The problematic behavior of the neoclassical models in an open-economy setup is mentioned. The paper selects the AK model, which does not exhibit transitional dynamics, and the Uzawa-Lucas model, which on the contrary exhibits transitional dynamics, as examples of endogenous models. We discuss the modeling of the technological change and technological diffusion. Keywords: economic growth, endogenous models, neoclassical models, technological change JEL Classification: D90, O41

This article is focused on the analysis of those key factors of energy policy which will be the most crucial in further growth of competitiveness of Slovak economy. It addresses to the Slovak energy market structure, comparing its production and consumption and usage of various energy media. It concludes that it is necessary to exploit all disponible resources and to build new capacities in order to maintain long-term energy security of Slovak Republic. It emphasizes importance of nuclear energy and gas, along with energy saving and alternative resources, which could be in this strategy dominant. Keywords: competitiveness, consumption of energy, economic policy, energy market, European Union, globalization, governance responsibility, industrial policy, nuclear energy JEL Classification: B30, D24, D49, E22, F23, L11

In the paper we tried to estimate the implications and consequences of Basel II for Slovenian banking sector just before its implementation. Our survey indicates that a lot of the Basel II impacts are actually unclear to the banks and even to the regulator. The impact on individual institutions will be driven by their level of sophistication in risk management. Banks claim that implementation of the International Rating Based (IRB) approach requires large initial investments in risk management technologies from the cost perspective as well from the knowledge and data gathering. This could deter small banks from choosing the IRB approach. Keywords: Basel II, credit risk, market risk, operational risk, capital definition JEL Classification: G21, G28, G32

Global and integration processes as well as social trends of modern democracy of the last century (and also the current one) caused that Europe has been going through crucial changes in both economy and social sphere. This process combines old problems with new ones. The biggest and the most permanent problem of socio-economy is unemployment, which determines the growth of poverty and then unacceptable rise of social exclusion of population. The aim of this paper is to define basic issues of development in the field of social economy as a perspective interdisciplinary scientific field. Social economy gives us alternative models and practical solutions of proposed issues. For the first time we tried to define fundamental features of social economy – its aims, subject, principles and scientific methods and we suggest its future development. Keywords: methodology, social economics, social enterprising, social enterprise JEL Classification: A19, B49